AN: Bit shorter then most, but this is finally it, the last bit of prep before the War on Balor. I've gotten fuckin goosebumps finally having reached this point. I've had this in mind since I started the story, and it feels so weird to have finally gotten to this moment.
I'm pumped.
Thanks for all the lovely reviews again, more at the bottom peeps.
They'd kept her in the cell for a long time.
A very long time.
While a guard entered every now and then to give her food, the girl was left in a perpetual cage of isolation.
The boy hadn't come back.
He'd promised she'd be safe here.
He'd promised it would be alright.
He'd promised.
… she didn't like being alone, away from all the people. She didn't like the way the guard's looked at her on the occasions they did approach her.
Disgust.
Fear.
And after such a long time she was used to such expressions. That didn't mean she enjoyed it. She preferred it when she lived in the shadows of the spires.
Before Father had taken her.
When Mother was still around.
She could keep them hidden, protect them from the bad people using her power. It was sheer happenstance that Father had come across them, scooping her up in order to use her power against those that had wronged him.
Father was a bad man.
He had wanted to kill his own family.
…like he killed Mother.
Isolated in this cage, the girl had much taken away from her. But she was given silence and time.
A peaceful silence that was rarely interrupted and time to think.
She thought about Father.
She thought about Father's death.
She thought about the man with the black hat.
And she thought about the boy.
He'd promised.
In the silence of her cage a white hot ember grew within her, a deep coal of anger that the normally quiet girl had never felt before.
Because he had promised her.
Instead she was a prisoner once again.
Trapped and alone.
It was her greatest fear come true.
….
"You promised," she whispered.
Her words would have been taken by the silence of the room, not an ear or soul to have heard them spoken.
But she was not alone in the room.
Far from it.
"This is beginning to feel like a trap" Caius hummed, not having drawn a weapon, but his hands remained close to his hip's holsters.
He was skittish, constantly glancing off into the darkness cast by the underlayers of Hive Primaris, but still keeping in line with his Inquisitor.
Lynwood brought up the rear, a Hellgun he procured from their vessel in his arms. While he wasn't scanning the long shadows as violently as Caius was, he did glance occasionally from left to right.
Vownus was the least disturbed by their back alley pathway.
A servitor had been acquired before departing the Governor's palace. A pre-programmed destination was given to the pilot of the drop ship that was ferrying them about, and after finding the nearest accessible landing pad in the lower levels of the inner city, they had set out.
At first they had passed through sparsely populated walkways and access paths, until slowly but surely the numbers of people began to drop away, and their road narrowed into nothing.
From there they were to traverse through what little space could be found between hab-blocks and the structural reinforcement of the spires.
Under overhanging pipes, over steam ducts and around great mechanical obstacles, Vownus had followed the lone servitor as it chartered a path through the natural obstructions of closely packed Imperial architecture.
"They'd have shot us out of the sky if it was a trap" Vownus said over his shoulder to Caius, "or we would have been ambushed at the Governor's palace"
"Yeah? What if they want to sacrifice us for something, and we're just being lured in to make it a bit easier?"
Vownus scratched his chin and hummed "hmm… never thought of that…" he said in a contemplative manner as he clambered over a large coolant pipe.
Caius spluttered.
"Kidding. I'm kidding" Vownus called back, "by the Throne you're easy to mess with Caius"
Smug smirk on his face, the Witch Hunter could feel the heated glare on the back of his head emanating from Caius.
Lynwood's grunt of laughter was barely audible, but if Mr. Stoneface 'I hate Smiling' Lynwood found it funny, Vownus counted it as a win.
But the elder Arbite followed up his display of mirth with a question, one that was audibly called to Vownus from the back.
"Are we walking into a confrontation, my Lord?"
The Inquisitor nodded, his eyes still focused on the patches of light and darkness just beyond their guiding servitor, "it is quite possible"
"But you have your reservations?" Lynwood asked.
He was acutely perceptive. Vownus knew he had picked him up for a reason beyond Ahmazzi's recommendations.
"Yes" he affirmed, "while Governor Paxat didn't strike me as the traitorous kind, it never hurts to expect the unexpected. We are dealing with unknown Adeptus Astartes after all. But if anything-"
The path cleared ever so slightly, a small cut of powerful sunlight filtering in from above to reveal the odd sight before them all.
A church.
A maintained and hidden church.
"-my curiosity brought me here…"
Vownus stopped before the sight of the structure, Caius and Lynwood coming one after the other to stand beside him.
Caius took the word's right out of his mouth.
"An odd place for a church"
Lynwood comment was blunt, "not unless you did not want to be found"
Vownus couldn't help the grim mental affirmation at that comment. The Church was indeed far from even the road less traveled.
He'd half expected to find mutants or ab-humans in the dark corners of the path they had traversed… but in the shadows they only found silence.
The path to this church was well hidden, yet obvious after treading along it. And that meant the church was intentionally hidden, an active effort made to conceal it from prying or curious eyes.
A set of curious eyes not unlike the ones staring at him from a nearby cluster of shadows.
"Well" Vownus dusted his hands off, drawing out the word for dramatic purposes "are you going to invite us in?"
Caius's head snapped toward the sudden emergence of a figure only a few meters from them. Lynwood was already pointing a weapon toward the figure.
The large form of the silent footed stranger was at first discomforting, even though Vownus had just mentioned they were to be meeting with Space Marines…
"Inquisitor" the voice was deep and rolling, not as gravely as those of his kin who shouted battle commands or bellowed war cries.
Garbed in a dark cloak composed of rags and midnight cloths, this man was certainly a stealth specialist of some kind.
His attire did a good deal to keep most of his heraculan form hidden, an effort that only a proficient infiltrator could properly achieve.
However this unknown Space Marine was not Seraphis.
Vownus could tell this because the being before him was most certainly not a Psyker. His presence in the Immaterium was calm, yet the soul was most certainly untouched by the Warp in any grand capacity.
Vownus dropped into a somewhat mocking bow.
"At your service" he smiled, "Seraphis, I take it?"
He was fishing.
And the silent stare of the unknown Space Marine showed the Astartes was aware of the attempt.
"I am Mordo" the warrior answered, his silent step taking him to the doors of the Church at which he stopped just before the doors.
The newly identified Mordo then turned back to Vownus, his words slow and pointed.
"The Blood Raven awaits you"
Vownus looked over at Caius and Lynwood before looking back to the discrete Astartes. The implication was clear and received.
"They are permitted to enter," Mordo said simply, "but Seraphis will speak only to you"
Vownus turned back to his Agents.
Lynwood was stone faced as usual, but his weapon was lifted a touch higher than it would if the man was relaxed in his stance. His eyes fixed on Vownus for a second before turning back to watch the mysterious Mordo.
The man was a soldier, he had no time or interest in mystical conversations.
And this was a matter between Psykers.
Something Caius must be aware of by now, considering how he had actually drawn his pistols. Sometime during the short exchange of words between this Church's exterior guardian and the Witch Hunter, the calm quiet had shifted into a tense standoff.
Caius' weapons remained at his side, yet still ready to be used. Like Lynwood, he also had his gaze fixed on the Astartes Mordo.
Even unarmoured, a Space Marine was a dangerous opponent.
Especially for a mortal like Caius.
"Caius, Lynwood" Vownus said, getting both to look at him as he said their names.
"Wait for me here. I'll go see what all the fuss is about" he smiled, attempting to put his compatriots at ease with the cheerful comment.
After all, he wasn't worried about himself.
Vownus was sure of his own abilities, and knew that if the situation deteriorated into violence, he knew he'd be alright.
But Caius and Lynwood? Against an unknown cadre of Astartes… if even one of them engaged the two humans under Vownus' command…
Vownus shook away the thought as he approached the building.
Mordo popped the door for him, but remained outside the structure.
The Witch Hunter fixed him with a look as he passed under the outstretched limb which held one of the wooden doors open.
Mordo had his gaze fixed on the Agents.
As he passed the threshold of the Church, the door slowly swung closed behind him. Vownus exhaled slightly.
Everything would be alright.
"Inquisitor Kaede"
His call was firm and direct, addressing the Witch Hunter that had stepped into his sanctum.
Seraphis watched as the Inquisitor suddenly focused on him, as if the man hadn't noticed his seated presence in the turned pews.
The old Psyker smiled as he gestured toward the pew that was opposite from his.
In the twinkling light cast by hundreds of insignificant wax candles placed all throughout the interior of the Church, his movement and implication was not missed.
But in order to be polite to his guest, he still spoke further.
"If you'd care for it, I welcome you to sit"
The hat of the Inquisitor dipped slightly with his brief nod, "thank you. Seraphis, if I'm correct"
As the mortal walked toward the pew and found his way into a comfortable position, the Blood Raven Psyker leant forward, resting his forearms upon his thighs.
"You are. I am Seraphis. I pass as the leader of my small congregation"
They were separated by meters and the saming burning candles at the center of all the inwardly focused pews.
Like a campfire, the soft flame flickered between the two of them.
The Inquisitor had sharp eyes.
He was also incredibly powerful.
Seraphis could feel the rippling layers of Warp energy that coated the man, so subtle in their application, but incredibly precise in their purpose.
The man had an incredible defensive ability.
"A congregation" Vownus repeated, testing Seraphis' words as his eyes flickering in the shadowed light "should I be concerned as to what it is, exactly, that you worship"
"The Emperor," Seraphis calmly replied.
Tilting his head slightly, the Inquisitor regarded the unarmoured Astartes with a cold gaze.
As the temperature suddenly dropped, the Space Marine tensed.
But no force of strength or power was wielded against him.
It seemed the Witch Hunter had far simpler intentions.
The Blood Raven allowed the light brush of warp touch against his mind.
After all, he spoke the truth, something that the Witch Hunter gleamed immediately. There was no taint of Chaos within these walls.
The Inquisitor seemed to shift into a more serious disposition.
"I'm told you wished to speak with me regarding my charge, the 'Psychic storm' that you sensed"
"Aye" the Space Marine nodded, "that I do"
"Before we do…" the Witch Hunter adjusted himself slightly, getting more comfortable in his seat as he continued to speak, "... I would know what penance you are serving. I would know what you seek absolution for"
Seraphis frowned slightly.
"You think us to be Traitors"
"I think nothing," the man tutted, "but you are unarmoured, unknown and a penitent bunch… or so I am told. This leaves me with questions, the answers of which I require before we speak"
"We seek to right our wrongs" Seraphis murmured, "to be free of past sins"
"What sins" the Witch Hunter sharply demanded.
Seraphis sighed.
"I seek absolution for my accursed creation"
"What does that mean?" the Inquisitor hounded him, tension still lingering in the air between them.
Seraphis knew the man had to ask his questions. He knew that the information must be sought.
An Inquisitor was required to pull back the layers that shrouded mystery and secret, to reveal if there is a danger or threat to be defeated.
For there were many dangers that lingered in this Universe.
Seraphis bowed his head, offering a silent prayer before he spoke.
"It means that I suffer the sins of my Father. I sought the identity of the Blood Raven's founder, our Primarch"
"And?"
The Witch Hunter wanted details.
"And I found it. Even after my Chapter Master warned me, and attempted to dissuade my search, I discovered the truth"
Leaning forward, the Inquisitor had a sharp gleam in his eye as he studied the Blood Raven Librarian.
"And you were banished for it?"
"No," Seraphis calmly denied, meeting the man's intense gaze, "not at first. Only when I believed it necessary to share the truth with my Chapter… my Brothers deserved to know…"
Contemplation drifted across the mortal's face.
And then a hint of realization.
Seraphis realized the man was in possession of a keen intellect.
"Your Primarch sided with Horus" the Inquisitor hissed the name, before calming himself, "didn't he?"
With a whisper, and a voice nearly choked with regret, the Librarian nodded.
"He did"
"Which one was he?"
"Is it not obvious?" Seraphis sighed weakly, his body sagging slightly over himself, "the clues are hard to miss"
The Inquisitor went quiet for a moment.
"You are ashamed to admit it, aloud"
The Librarian met his eye in a sharp glance upward, "I am"
Vownus nodded to himself, the dour expression of the Astartes before him convincing him of the warriors sanctity.
There was no play here, no masterful deceit to be suddenly unfolded.
Discovering your Gene-Father, your Primarch, was on the side of the Archtraitor… was a contentious thought.
Vownus wondered how he'd have felt if his Dad had turned out to have turned to the side of Chaos….
…not a pleasant thought.
But he was of the thought that he'd have certainly been far worse than the old warrior before him.
The subtle fires of the church were echoed in the warrior, an anger that simmered like meat over flame.
An anger that Vownus felt some kinship in.
Because Seraphis was also spurned from his own Chapter. And not for discovering such a connection, but merely because he believed it to be the right of his brethren to also know the truth.
He saw a connection to a potential avenue of corruption, and thought that the Blood Ravens deserved to be aware of it…
And he had been exiled for this belief.
Vownus trusted that this grief was real.
He could see it on the warrior's face, and the near hollow look into the candlelight.
That, and the small touches he had made in the Warp revealed all he needed to know.
"A penitent crusade, to right the wrongs your Gene-father has inherently granted you. A noble effort, but this does not account the rest of your number"
Vownus glanced around the Church for a few moments, taking in the designs around him, "from what Chapter do they hail?"
Seraphis shook his head slowly.
"This is not my place to tell Inquisitor"
Vownus wanted to sigh, but instead decided to extend an olive branch. The Librarian had given him much, and Vownus didn't intend to abuse the Authority and power of his office.
"Andoa told me you fought for Balor, that you stood by her people's side… an act of penance?"
Serpahis seemed lost for a second, before his head bobbed once in understanding.
His eyes gained a misty and distant look as he spoke.
"The Governor… yes. We were stowaways aboard the colony ships… we were there when the first of Andoa's lineage set foot on Balor… and we fought beside them for every inch…they were bloody times…"
"I am not well versed in this planet's history," Vownus politely added.
Seraphis glanced up at him, before looking down at the candle flames once more.
"There was a Xenos race that lay claim to the planet. Primitive hunters, with a twisted sense of honor… the Guard was ill-equipped to handle them" his fingers interlocked with one another, his eyes lost in the memories of old.
"But not you?"
Seraphis hummed, "we are the Emperor's finest. We struck a deal with the Guard. A promise that we would both protect this world"
He flicked a hand toward the candles before him.
A recently dead wick reignited. Vownus blinked at the act, before he refocused on Seraphis' words.
"After we secured the safety of the colonists, my Brothers and I led an army of the most formidable soldiers across Balor's surface"
"You took the Colonists to the mountains" Vownus realized, "kept them safe as you cleansed the world"
Seraphis nodded.
"The Alien had nests in all corners of the world. It took time to eradicate their filth… a long time. The people did not remain idle as we marched across the globe, becoming masters of the mountain and earth"
As the rogue Astartes had led the forces of the Guard in a bloody Campaign of domination, Balor's people had remained safe within the earth.
"We have remained since, vowing to maintain the protection of this world until our destiny arrives"
….
Vownus knew he couldn't have expected a complication free conversation.
But there it was, an incredibly dangerous word for a Psyker to be throwing around. Especially in the context it was used.
Vownus finally let out his explosive sigh, a very familiar exhaustion sneaking into his bones.
He avoided directly addressing the word that Seraphis had used.
His least favorite D-word.
"Coming to Balor wasn't by mere happenstance or chance… was it?"
Seraphis shook his head but said nothing.
Vownus wanted to groan, but he remained calm.
"Before we go any further, before I say anything else, I suggest you tell me what you saw"
"Saw…"
"In your vision" Vownus added to his rolling request, "what did you see?"
Seraphis' shift from melancholy to grim determination was not something Vownus felt thrilled by.
And as the Librarian spoke, the Inquisitor couldn't help the sharp jolt of emotion in his heart.
Vibrant and cancerous, the feeling weighed heavy in his breast as the Blood Raven continued to speak.
It was a feeling Vownus was painfully growing accustomed to as of late…
He felt fear.
Lucian tried to keep himself under control.
A tall order considering the circumstance. Each and every hasty step the youth took to keep up with the stride of the Rune Priest was charged with barely contained excitement.
Why?
Because today had been set up as any other day of instruction.
Or it had been, until the Space Wolf had decided to begin practical instruction.
Lucian was to be taught how to use the energy of the warp in a particular way, and was then required to demonstrate the ability before the evaluating gaze of the Rune Priest.
Ivur was going to teach him how to draw upon the Immaterium and cast Lightning.
A concentrated bolt of power designed to fell a single enemy in a swift manner.
As they trekked into the jungles that surrounded the walls of the Tree House, the occasional animal call or rustle of leaf or fern caught Lucian's ear, but never his full focus.
If Ivur did not react, then it was of no concern.
The youth's eyes remained focused on the pelt of fur that hung from the Astartes' upper back.
His ears were locked onto Ivur's continuing explanation of both the lesson and the precautions.
"I will first demonstrate the ability. I want you to watch me closely, feel for my pull through the warp. Watch as I guide my intention into its full manifestation"
Ivur had taken contention with Vownus' prior instruction.
While the Rune Priest had admitted Vownus' simplified explanation of utilizing the Warp was, by definition, correct… There were some holes.
To demand things of the Warp was dangerous, yes, but one does not imagine the action of casting lightning forth from their fingertips with ease.
Especially a novice Psyker, no matter their strength.
Vownus' prior rule that you could not focus on the result, was only correct by technicality.
Or so Lucian supposed.
The youth couldn't make heads or tails of the minutiae of the discussion between Ivur, Vownus and Aethod, but he had come away with a simpler understanding.
Emotion could be used as a tool, but it could also be a crutch.
Regarding practical application however; the action can be focused on, but only in the sense that it fulfills the driving force of the Psyker' intent.
An action cannot be fully incurred unless the result is understood.
After all, for a Psyker to smite one's enemy down, they must picture them in their mind's eye to be slain. Only then can the Immaterium bend reality to the Psyker's will.
The Warp will meet the demand of a Psyker with a manifestation of action within the real world, and that action is channeled through said Psyker. To summon a bolt of lightning was to infringe upon the domain of what many a Psyker considered Sorcery, Aethod being one such believer. Yet Ivur thought differently.
To make acute usage of the Warp, one opened themselves up to the potential damage that emotional influence could wreak.
If rage fueled the demand, even the truest of intentions would be beset by the corrupting powers of the Immaterium.
Ivur embraced emotion.
He believed that should one have mastery over their own feelings, then the powers of anger, loss or hatred could be used to devastating effect.
It seemed that Intention, Emotion and Action were all tied to one another, each aspect of a Psyker's usage of the Immaterium interpreted differently by each of Lucian's teachers.
And that wasn't even including what Red had taught him.
"This will do"
Ivur came to a stop, having broken through a wall of flora that beheld a large clearing.
The grass came up to Lucian's ankles, a few flowers and fauna poking from around knee high bushes.
Trees lined all around them, their broad canopies blocking most of the cloud dotted blue sky. The midday sun cast lances of light through what little gaps the green tree tops provided.
"Now" the Rune Priest braced his feet, before looking over to Lucian, "are you ready?"
Quickly jogging a few feet away, Lucian took a few excited breaths to calm his beating heart.
As the familiar cold bloomed in his tones, a shivering chill traveling all the way up his form, Lucian looked upon Ivur with wide eyes.
In that instant he could see the coiling energies of the Warp as they twisted around the Rune Priest.
An invisible wreath of a phantom miasma, unseen by all yet felt by him.
Lucian took one last deep breath.
"I'm ready my Lord"
Ivur remained silent for a second longer, in turn studying that boy that so closely inspected him.
"Very well"
And in a heartbeat, he raised his fist, fingers splayed.
Lucian watched as the coiling energy surged forward, licking and tumbling its way from the head of the Rune Priest and down his extended limb.
As soon as it reached his armored hand, the frigid air dropped further in temperature.
Ice blossomed from around Ivur as the cold only grew in strength.
But Lucian did not notice this.
His senses were locked on the tips of the Psyker's fingers.
With an inhuman crackle of power, a vicious screech that shattered the tranquility of the clearing, a series of white bolts lanced from Ivur's hand.
The bolts of energy crossed the clearing instantly, striking against the surface of a tree thickest of its like.
Lucian saw as fire exploded from the body of the trunk, before the raw power behind the attack severed the wood from its base.
For a moment, the behemoth remained in place.
The great tree towered high over the two living beings in the clearing.
But in the next second gravity took over.
The mass of the tree came tumbling down, its weight drawing it closer to the earth. By some unlucky twist of fate, the tree came down upon its attacker.
Ivur did not dodge.
Instead, as the cold energies of the Immaterium receded to the dark dimension of which it had been summoned, the Rune Priest caught the descending column of wood.
He didn't even let out a grunt as the mass landed against his outstretched arms.
With naught but a toss, the collapsing tree thundered against the forest floor.
Silence filled the clearing, and the jungle beyond.
Lucian supposed if the sound of Warp lightning had not scared off any of the wildlife, then the falling tree would have done it.
His attention turned to the Rune Priest that gazed upon him.
Ivur gestured to the trees that stood beside the one he had felled.
"It is your turn," he stated calmly, "as I have instructed, replicate what I did. Draw the power correctly"
With a nod toward his teacher, Lucian turned to face the target Ivur had designated.
He took a deep breath, centering himself in the world around him as he closed his eyes.
With a touch not granted by a physical limb, Lucian reached into himself, drawing upon the deep place that Red had shown him.
A light breeze rustled against the distant leaves that hung above him as his senses began to fade.
The temperature of the day was forgotten against his skin.
His ears could not make out any noise.
Time lost its meaning.
And in that moment of seemingly nothing, he slowly raised his hand.
Ivur was tense as the boy focused upon his connection to the Warp.
The Rune Priest did not possess any kind of altered sight, and had to perceive Lucian's presence through his feeling of the Immaterium and not his gaze.
And so he stood back as the inhuman weight of Lucian's power surged at the command it was given.
Power unlike anything Ivur had ever witnessed coalesced, slight ripples and bursts of Warp energy flickering out in spasms of power.
The invisible touches of the Immaterium froze over spots of ground.
Ivur frowned.
"Control, Lucian" he cautioned, the grip he held on his staff far tighter than what it had been, "master your strength"
Whether the boy heard him or not, the Rune Priest could not tell.
But the enormity that was Lucian's draw upon the Warp focused down. The spitting geysers of power were reeled in.
Ivur watched as the mortal raised his hand, his fingers spayed as his own were.
And then the boy's eyes opened.
The bands of gold that composed Lucian's gaze were glowing. The incredibly fearsome well of power coiling and frothing behind the youth's very eyes.
His gaze was of cold command, a pinpoint focus that was given to the target, and only the target.
For a brief moment, a deep part of Ivur's mind expressed feeling at the sight.
A primal part of him.
His senses warned him, and his once mortal brain expressed a feeling many believed to have been removed from the Emperor's finest.
This feeling was not removed.
Merely buried.
In the second before Lucian allowed his great and terrible power to materialize, Ivur understood his own feelings.
It was fear.
Then the boy let loose.
And the heavens cried out with dazzling light.
Those stationed on guard upon the walls of the Tree House were the closest witnesses of the event.
Even from miles away, the men and women posted on the outermost ring of Hive Primaris could see it.
It was a flash of blinding white light, a clustering of bolts that touched both the skies, the earth and the forest between them.
An unholy screech of transdimensional origin accompanied the bright flash of light.
The sound of which drew concern, and the combined sight drew fear.
From all over the Fortresses and Hab blocks, from Guard posts to the Market Squares, the people of Balor had their attention drawn to the unworldly act.
Never had imagined even the possibility of such power.
In the days that came to pass, many would still be fearful of such a moment.
Even though the officers of the Guard dispersed answers among their distrubed men, and the people of the city would learn second hand that it was a human of the Imperium that had caused such a display… fear took heart in the people.
A fear of the Psyker.
It didn't take long for the identity of the particular Psyker responsible for the lightning and subsequent forest fire to emerge.
And now nearly all of Hive Primaris knew to fear not only the Inquisitor, but the monster he commanded.
A name would be given to the monster, information that spread from soldier to friend, and from friend to family…
And that name was Lucian.
Vownus bolted upright, nearly stumbling from the chair he was seated in. As the passing aftershock of Warp energy flooded over him, the once calm atmosphere around him exploded. The Tree House command center was in an instant uproar as the Psyker attempted to calm himself.
Only seconds before it could have been described as Docile.
He had been seated around the large black operation's table when everything suddenly went to shit.
It was an expansive and grand piece of material, a map of the Hive City and surrounding regions proudly etched into its smooth surface. Vownus had been casually seated at it, milling through stacks of parchment as he daydreamed.
When he liked to find some kind of idle distraction for his thoughts, the Inquisitor often found himself seated alone at the table, regarding reports and communications that were to be filtered through him.
Only certain communications were of note, and various reports he was able to give his official seal and stamp. It would surprise some to know that there was paperwork involved with Inquisitorial work. Vownus had learnt that there was no institution free of hardback bureaucracy within the Imperium.
And on such a calm day, Vownus had decided to tackle some reports he owed Anton Zerbe. What better location then the formally quiet and calm operations center?
It was almost completely inactive, as shown by the meager attendance of officers in the room.
The 501st was to undergo operational exercises in the coming days, and Officers were off meeting with their sergeants.
Around the central table were various seats assigned to the 501st' Brass, and almost all of which were currently empty.
Then the blast wave of near raw Warp Energy came rolling over Vownus' body and soul.
As the power of the Immaterium caught Vownus somewhat off guard, the room jolted into uncontrolled action.
Sudden and panicked reports from the bases' sentries came flooding over Vox channels, buffeting the Officers that stood around the operations center.
For a few moments it was absolute chaos.
"Say again Guardsman, what did you-!"
"-unbelieveable! It came out of nowhere-!"
"-repeat last, are we under attack!? Say again-!"
"-my Sergeant is down! Need immediate-!"
Vownus got a grip of his faltering mind, the shock leaving him as he stood tall.
As they were completely unexpecting such an incident, the base had gone from a calm standstill to an immediate mustering of all personnel.
The doors to the room burst open, and a ragged yet controlled Colonel Wilk appeared.
He looked to Vownus, the former of which raised his voice for the entire room to hear.
"QUIET!" the Inquisitor roared.
The room turned to face him in silence, even as Vox reports came flooding in.
"I want all forces to man their posts. Defensive stance this instant!" He gestured to Wilk to come forward as he addressed the rest of the officers and comms-men in the room, "Bring the base up to a high alert. Inform Hive Primaris to have its forces on standby"
"What are we to say to the Hive?" a faceless voice asked the Inquisitor.
Vownus found an excuse quickly enough "training exercise. Inform them I am personally handling it" he turned to Wilk.
"My Lord Inquisitor" the Colonel bowed.
Vownus didn't bother with decorum or propriety, instead directly ordering the Guardsman with a firm tone.
"Send for the Astral Knights and assemble a squad of your best marksmen"
.Vownus? Are you there?.
Aethod's voice in his mind distracted him for a moment.
"Keep everyone calm while I'm away"
The Colonel did not object, but he fixed the Inquisitor with a questioning look, 'away?'
Vownus nodded.
"I'm going to investigate this myself"
He knew Ivur was instructing the boy in a practical lesson… he just never imagined…
Vownus had to admit he'd never felt a warp fluctuation like that before.…the experience closest to what had just washed over the Tree House was when Naal had been possessed.
Lucian…
He had a firm belief that the boy was fine… he just needed to be sure….
The Witch Hunter spoke back to the Librarian of the Astral Knights.
.Be prepared for the worst.
Titos was nude as he approached the singular sheet of raised steel. His eyes took in the details of the surgical table he was to lay upon, noticing how small slashes and gaps were present in pooled area's.
These spaces and holes were to drain liquid from the table.
Titos paid no attention to the wall of various sharp tools across the room as he slid onto the steel.
For a moment he lay in complete silence, staring up at the bright collection of lights that illuminated his prone form.
This was broken by the voice of the old Daemon Hunter, Ahmazzi.
"Boy" the cane wielding Inquisitor stepped out from a cluster of shadows, two others beings accompanying him.
One was heavily augmented and bionic in nature, half of his body consumed by steel while the other was dressed in the fatigues of an apothecary.
The other was Titos' teacher, the skull masked killer.
"Yes my Lord" Titos replied calmly, the chittering and mechanically whirring doctor approaching his still form.
As the surgeon toiled around his figure, Titos received a calmingly nod from the old man.
"You will prevail" Ahmazzi said, before lapsing into silence and shadow.
The skull masked figure by his side merely crossed his arms.
Titos felt a swathe of mechadendrites begin to mark parts of his legs and torso with small slices and cuts.
Incision points.
The larger limbs of the doctor selected tools from the wall, a large saw in one hand and tweezers in the other.
"For the Emperor" Titos relaxed his body as the doctor leaned over him.
The blade bit deeply into his flesh, and as the pain in his mortal form grew, Titos knew the procedure had started.
All he had left to do was survive.
Ezekiel could tell that Lucian was in a foul mood. He didn't know the specifics, but of what he knew the Private was empathetic toward the youth.
It had been a week since the Tree House had gone on a red alert.
Ezekiel still heard whispered stories regarding what men and women of the day watch had seen from over the walls.
'A storm of lightning had come alive from the ground, its tendrils of power striking at the sky!'
Had perhaps been the most apt description.
Ezekiel had been running the obstacle course when the sudden event had bloomed from over the battlements.
Of what he could see… Well that description did the act justice.
But the feelings of wrongness that had clung to the air for days prior… in fact, if Ezekiel focused hard enough, there was that presence in the wind that drew a shiver up his spine.
Lucian had been the cause of the 'Warp Lightning' as the Officers had explained.
Seemed the boy was given some kind of Pskyer lesson. In doing so, the youth had nearly set half the damn forest on fire.
Something that Vownus and a few modified vessels of Hive Primaris eventually dealt with. But the true problem only blossomed in the aftermath of the event.
A stern talking to from the Inquisitor wasn't enough to set everyone's minds at ease.
Energy from the Warp was… not a favored thing by the men and women of the Guard. Psykers are always a contested and tense topic of discussion based upon their powers being sourced from the very place all known evil in the Universe resided.
That Lucian was not only incredibly powerful and gifted in such abilities, meant Ezekiel understood why Romeo squad was being given a large breadth of space by the other Squads at the firing range.
In fact, besides Vartic, Ezekiel and technically Grikken, the latest additions of Romeo Squad stayed far away from Lucian.
The boy had a glare pointed downrange as he fired off his designated Las Rifle into the reinforced targets.
An incredibly filthy glare.
Ezekiel was in the lane beside the boy, taking glances between all the members of the squad between salvos.
The ten lanes to the left and right of them were clear of people. Soldiers were by their equipment, praying and giving sacrament to their tools of war as a way to avoid being close to Romeo Squad, and by extension, Lucian.
"You got something you want to say?"
Ezekiel's focus was drawn by the quiet growl of the fifteen year old boy, half of his body cocked toward the armed Psyker.
Lucian loosed another salvo of scarlet Las fire, before turning to look Ezekiel head on.
The young blonde was caught in the golden gaze of the youth, his mind running a mile a minute yet his mouth failing to move.
"Nice shot"
Vartic complemented the youth as he stepped up on Lucian's other side.
The glowering boy turned his head to the other side, looking away from Ezekiel as the older Private regarded Lucian's shots.
The experienced Vartic took a common stance, braced his weapon and then fired in a fluid set of motions.
Every splash of crimson against the marked broadside of the target range was clustered tightly.
Vartic grinned down at the youth.
"But not perfect, eh?" the man taunted.
Lucian grunted, before facing forward again.
Once more he fired at the targets.
As the boy kept his gaze downrange, Vartic fixed Ezekiel with a stern glare. His eyes glanced down to Lucian once before gazing at the other Private.
Ezekiel got the meaning.
'Lay off'
Basically, don't bother the kid.
Ezekiel wasn't blind to the looks and whispers from around them. And if he wasn't then neither was Lucian.
In that second, the young Necromundan private made a determined decision.
"Please" he scoffed, "if you want to brag about accuracy"
He twisted, aimed, and fired.
Every impact was layered atop the other, "let the professionals show you how its done"
A quiet snort came from the boy, who was no longer frowning. But he wasn't smiling either.
Lucian's mouth opened.
But orders were hollered in their direction, a strongly accented voice accompanying them.
"Romeo Squad!"
Lucian slowly closed his mouth as he turned to face the approaching figure.
It took a few seconds for Lucian's mind to recognise the uniform of the individual that had called to the squad he was attached to.
As Romeo's newest additions formed a line next to the saluting Sergeant, Grikken named the Commissar that had approached them.
"Commissar Cadet Vervash"
A high top cap crowned with the wings of the Aquila donned the head of the youthful Commissar. She was a picture perfect example of those that served under the title of Officio Prefectus, her uniform ordered and in line with regulation.
Lacking the raised pauldrons of those instated as a full Commissar, the Cadet still was adorned in the similar color scheme shared by Agents of the Inquisition and a short series of medals displayed against her heart.
The brace of her uniform was tightly pulled together, her slim figure hidden under the rigid and uncompromising gray materials.
Her raised lapel offered a short collar around her neck, and Lucian could have sworn he could make out some kind of tattoo work against her-
"And what is the reason you are not at attention, Soldier?" The heated anger was blatant behind the question, and it took Lucian a moment to realize the Commissar had spoken to him.
A short glance to the left and right revealed both Ezekiel and Vartic to be at attention, their gaze upon the space before them and nothing further.
"Oh.. uh…"
Commissar Cadet Diana Vervash walked right up to him, and even though she stood only half a head taller than him, her furious glare made him feel so much smaller.
It was the same lethal gaze that Aethod had subjected Lucian to only days before when the Librarian had accompanied Vownus to confront Lucian and Ivur… and their 'practice site'.
Before he could answer, a fist found itself nestled in his gut.
The wind was knocked from Lucian in an instant. A second later he found his crumpling form gripped by two hands.
The world flipped end over end as he was flung through the air. And as he saw the sky, Lucian's body met the dirt.
His groan of pain was cut short by the whiplash of an order.
"Chevek" she spat the foreign word at him, "stand at attention or I will have you whipped"
Unaided by the men around him, those of which looked on in disregard to the youth's plight, Lucian drew himself up onto shaky feet.
The Commissar Cadet eventually backed off, her attention returning to the Sergeant of the Squad.
"Sergeant Grikken. Pending further considerations, I have been assigned to Romeo Squad for the foreseeable future"
Grikken nodded at the woman, "of course. Your instruction shall be well received"
Even as she replied to those words, Diana forced her cold eyes toward the short of breath Lucian.
"Indeed"
The youth couldn't help the note of fear that flooded up his spine.
A Commissar? Now?
Lucian knew this stunk of Vownus' meddling hand, especially since he'd been so angry regarding the practice in the woods.
Ivur bore the responsibility of such an incident, but the Rune Priest ultimately answered to his Wolf Lord alone. Vownus would have to go to extreme lengths to punish the Space Wolf for haphazardly testing Lucian; an effort that was not worth the response it would receive.
So Lucian had gotten a fair brunt of the blame.
… wasn't his bloody fault he was so powerful.
Besides! Ivur had actually taught him something! And if Red wasn't offering his knowledge, Lucian felt that the show of Lightning would have gone far worse.
All things considered, what was there to punish? Lucian finally had a way to defend himself without a Las Rifle or shortsword.
But no.
It seemed Diana Vervash was here to teach him a lesson Vownus was too lazy to impart.
"Do I have something on my face, Chevek?!" the aforementioned Commissar barked, Lucian's gaze having lost its focus as he considered the woman.
Gritting his teeth, his back straightening under the authoritative gaze he was under, Lucian barked back with a simple, "no ma'am"
Diana was a young woman, yet her snort was gruff and old, "you will address me as Commissar Cadet Vervash, or you will not address me at all, are we clear?!"
Lucian felt a drop of sweat slide down his temple.
But he replied as he was bid too.
"Yes, Commissar Cadet Vervash"
She nodded in acceptance, but was once more dismissing him for the Sergeant. Lucian's eyes stayed away from her as she spoke to Grikken.
"Sergeant. I intend to test your Squad's Martial prowess. We will reconvene at 13:00 by training field two"
"Of course, Commissar Cadet Vervash"
And she marched off.
"Captain!"
Olivina's body was moving toward the call before her mind made heads or tails of the worried exclamation.
The Junior officer had only eyes for his station and displayed monitors and as such the sudden presence of his superior did little to unnerve him.
Even as he leant over his shoulder to study the display.
"The anomaly?" She asked with concern.
The Junior nodded grimly, "more fluctuations. They're far more powerful than the ones we detected last month"
She skimmed the data, numbers and digits running through formulas she had learned a lifetime ago.
Her mind spotted another crucial detail of the display.
"The gravity waves are more frequent"
The officer took a moment to study the readout, before announcing in affirmation, "by the Emperor they are… Captain-"
She sighed, standing to her full height, "I know, Carmichael. It is as you feared" she swept away from the station a second later, making for her personal Vox caster placed within her Captain's chair.
She needed to contact the Axe of Russ, see if they had some input as to the strange spatial anomaly.
The Junior Officer that had first discovered the anomaly over a standard year ago was Carmichael Sinclair.
The Navigational Officer of the Tempests Advance and member of Navigator Varus' contingent, Carmichael was responsible for relaying critical information from the Navis Nobilite to the Captain.
Carmichael had held onto his earliest suspicions regarding the anomaly, and that it was in fact a slow warp translation of a large force using a damaged drive.
Or… a drive that was barely capable of sustaining the Dimensional translation for a force greater than its strength.
Both options were dangerous, but Olivina would not dismiss the man's theory outright.
While unfavorable, it did not make it impractical or incorrect.
Carmichael had a good head on his shoulders, a mind naturally attuned for astral and cosmic anomalies, and thus he rarely made mistakes.
Which was what made the potential accuracy of his predictions worrying.
"Comms, patch me through to the Axe of Russ"
The vox link crackled for a moment.
A few beats of static later and another voice came through.
"Captain Olivina. We have registered the anomaly as well"
"It is as we feared" she sought guidance in the older Captain.
"Perhaps"
"I will be deploying the last of our Astra Militarum elements to the surface. I cannot order you to do as such Captain, but it is better to err on the side of caution"
"This is true" the wise tone of the Astartes mumbled back, "I shall advise Lord Grimblood. In the meantime Captain, the Axe of Russ will be entering a defensive stance alongside the Orbital Platforms. Would the Tempests Advance do us the honor of holding to our flank, Captain Olivina?"
The Cadian Captain nodded to herself, "the honor is ours Captain Thors. The Emperor Protects"
As the vox line closed a second later, Olivina began to bark orders.
Her crew readily obeyed.
Whatever was coming, if there was something coming, they would not be caught unawares or ill prepared.
"It's odd how I always find it impossible to recall when I arrive here" Lucian commented, a tongue of fire coiling and slipping between the cascading motion of his hands.
The eternal torrent of flame and the one that manipulated it so freely were being closely observed by the only other occupant of the pyramid's peak.
"You are losing the grasp of conscious thought when you sleep Lucian" Red answered, his one eye leveled on the act of Sorcerers over the rim of a black tome he had before him.
"As such, you are inable of consciously remembering the moment you-"
"I get why, it was just remarking on how strange it is" Lucian huffed at the growing lecture, cutting it short with a spike of anger. This anger was reflected in the sudden growth of Lucian's flame.
"Emotions" Red automatically tisked, but said nothing further.
Eventually Lucian wrangled in the fire and brought it into its controlled and tight cascading path.
"It just seemed… weird, especially for an everyday thing like waking up"
"You'll find that much of natural… 'things'..." Red gave proverbial air quotes to the word, "...are guided less of by reason and order, but instinct and biology"
Red's eyes drifted back to his book.
"You'll find man's true nature to be far more chaotic than most would be comfortable admitting"
Lucian frowned at him.
"I told you not to say stuff like that"
Meeting with Red had become a daily event. Bit by bit, Lucian was starting to accumulate a vast amount of practice with his powers.
While their souls were bridged together in a place between Worlds… Lucian could feel, smell, see and touch whatever and wherever it was that Red decided to host them in.
It felt real.
And while it was as close to a practical lesson as Red could manage, it was not quite there. But everything learnt in this clandestine meeting of the minds could be applied in the real world.
After all, Red had been the one to teach Lucian how to cast lightning long before the Rune Priest had attempted to instruct the youth.
It had been the same meeting place as today's lesson.
Atop the Pyramids of white marble, robbed in gold and dressed in black. The towering height of the Pyramid looked over the empty streets of a foreign city.
Red had explained this was once his home, and the view both saddened yet emboldened him. For his home had been destroyed.
It was gone Yet its memory lived on, a reminder to Red as he used it for training grounds when dealing with the more finicky skills of the Warp.
Lucian remembered letting the vast swathe of lightning rip from his fingers across the horizon of the foriegn city.
It had felt exactly as when he'd performed the ability for Ivur.
"Like what?" Red asked lazily as his eye continued to scan the book slowly. Red had said he didn't like to miss details, so would often reread many of the books he could summon on command.
"The true chaotic nature of the Materium and shit, that weird look you get whenever you degrade me for being a regular human"
Red snorted at the hostile comment.
He was not to be dragged from his book however.
"Firstly, Biology, and what it does to your simple brain… that is chaotic. Some cannot see past their baser instincts, and it will be their downfall. Emotion is detrimental to law and order, yet you perceive it as a natural "thing""
He flipped a page.
"Secondly, and I cannot believe I need to keep stressing this. When I speak of normal people, you are not included in that grouping. Far from it in fact"
"And why is that exactly?" Lucian glared, knowing what the answer was before Red even began.
"You're not ready-"
"-ready to know that yet", yeah, I remember the first hundred thousand times you said it" Lucian flung the flame into the sky suddenly, watching as it burst into a rain of fire above them.
Each drop actively avoided the youth that had cast it.
Red merely pointed a finger to the sky as he fixed Lucian with an exhausted glare, dissipating the flames that threatened to land on him.
"If you already know, then why are you asking me again?"
The youth brought a frustrated hand to his hair, rolling his shoulders as he growled in frustration.
"You've told me you're here to teach me because of my dad, because if you didn't someone else who was far worse would…"
Red didn't comment, instead letting the boy speak.
"And that my father's identity, will be revealed to me in time! And I'm supposed to trust you on this-"
He closed the book as Lucian continued to vent, an accusing finger being jabbed in his direction by the youth.
"-You! Who has yet to tell me his real name! You, who stands heads above the Emperor's Angles and wields the knowledge of a hundred lifetimes! How am I even supposed to trust YOU, when I don't even know who you ARE-"
With a snap of his fingers, sound was taken away from the world.
Red stood as Lucian's impassioned speech fell deafly through the wind of a world that no longer had sound.
"Fine" the Crimson Scholar glowered, "If you must pester me constantly about your the truth of your family, I shall give you one clue"
The shadows of the world fell away, the structures receding into the all encroaching darkness of the bridge between them being severed from one end.
Red was mad, and Lucian was forced to be subjected to the giant's will.
And Red willed for Lucian to listen to him.
"If you are to discover my identity, by extension you will know your father" Red's body was beginning to vanish as Lucian was cast back to the waking world.
His teacher's last words remained in the boy's mind, repeating again and again to the boy's confused internal ramblings.
Lucian couldn't believe what the giant had said.
"For we are kin, Brother"
As it turned out, Captain Olivina of the Tempests Advance had been right to complete the rest of her vessel's deployment to Balor's surface.
The Axe of Russ had seen all of its Space Wolves on the surface of the young Fortress world as the General Alert sounded.
Every Auger array had exploded in alarm only an hour prior.
The anomaly that Olivina's Officer had been monitoring for the better part of two years had finally developed into its final stage.
A sinister rictus of energy had coalesced in its full form, a rip in the Material dimension forming past the energy.
The arrays detected what followed in the gate's wake minutes before the arrivals translated into realspace.
War ships.
Hundreds of them.
Great scoured and crudely constructed vessels, each held together as bastardized vessels of a once former glory. Jagged edges coated nearly every surface of the vessels, but this was also tied for the bristling weapons systems each ship carried.
The crude engineering could only belong to one species.
Only one despicable Xenos would willingly fly in such scrap.
Orks.
And judging by the near thousand ships… there were billions of them.
A war fleet had just snuck its way into Balor's system. And no sooner did it arrive, was their course corrected toward the direction of Balor.
Calculations were run as information was processed.
The world belonging to the Imperium of man was able to quickly react, forming a brief grace period to work with before the war began.
In two standard days, the Ork menace would be within firing range of the Orbital Platforms above Balor.
In nearly three standard days, they would also be within firing range of the Greenskin invaders.
They had little time.
But they would make every second count.
Vownus couldn't believe Olivina's decision to land the rest of his forces.
The Alert had sounded across Balor. A distress signal had been sent out into space. Balor called for reinforcements. But the plea would take time to reach any other Imperial forces. Longer still to receive a response.
Every Hive City was beginning to shore up their defenses in what little time they still had left.
Nearly twenty minutes ago mandatory conscription had been called, and the Valkyries stopped bringing new recruits for the 501st.
Andoa Paxat knew what Vownus had planned before he even notified her of such.
A hunch on her end, but Vownus had greater priorities than to deal with Greenskins attacking Balor.
It seemed that their brief moment of respite was gone, and he along with his forces were to return to the stars in search of a temporary haven.
Balor had been a nice world.
Vownus glanced around at all the new faces in the Operations Center, remarking upon how each of them handled the beginning of the evacuation protocol with tempered anger.
Because how could they not?
While certain aspects of the Imperial Guard did believe in such things as a tactical retreat, what Vownus's decision amounted to was fleeing the battle.
And they couldn't do anything about it.
Because Vownus was an Inquisitor. His Authority was absolute.
So when he ordered Colonel Wilk to begin organizing transport for all 501st assets to return to the Tempests Advance, he'd gotten some cold looks.
But they hadn't said anything.
Lucian was far more important than some Xenos squabble.
Also, Vownus knew a lost fight when he saw one.
Balor would be destroyed in the coming weeks. They were well defended by their cities, but there were simply not enough troops to tackle the sheer number of Greenskins on their way.
It would be a bloody Siege, if not an outright massacre.
From what Vownus could tell of the grainy visual of the Ork fleet, it consisted mostly of a particular clan of Ork, the Goffs.
The ones that preferred combat over everything if the Inquisitor remembered correctly.
He had not served in the Ordo Xenos for some time, but certain things one fails to forget simply.
But if he was correct, then this desire for war was a good sign. It meant they'd be spooling for a fight with the world's defenders, rather than just crashing a meteorite into the Hive cities… as the Greenskins have been known to do in the past.
"My Lord" Colonel Wilk nodded to the Witch Hunter as he approached from the side, "a flight of Valkyries are inbound"
"Good" Vownus nodded, "no need to-"
The door to the Operations Center was flung open with a powerful kick.
Of all the people Vownus had expected to angrily storm up to him, he had to admit, Lucian was quite near the bottom of that list.
Caius followed in the wake of the boy, a stern looking Lynwood not far behind the boy.
It seems in their effort to corral the youth back to the Tempests Advance, the boy had expressed some displeasure with the order.
"Lucian" Vownus attempted to be civil.
All he got was a word dripping with venom, "Coward"
The room turned deathly still and eerily quiet at Lucian's condemnation.
Vownus blinked, his face taking on a bemused smile in the tense silence as he fully faced the boy.
"I beg your-"
"You heard me" the boy snapped, "you, Vownus Kaede, are a coward"
"Listen kiddo," Vownus tisked, but Lucian wasn't having it.
The boy took a step closer to his master, fury plastered across his features.
"No. You listen"
The waving body of warp energy surged around the boy, a presence that only a Psyker could feel. And Vownus felt the overbearing presence of Lucian's power come to rest on his consciousness.
The suddenness of the act nearly gave him a headache, but he resisted as the child fumed.
"You told me I'd be trained to use my powers. You've barely done that. I'm to learn how to fight the enemies of man? As if I could, since I've yet to face any without being helpless! And now as a world of mankind is being attacked, we are running aw-"
Vownus brought his own power to bear.
The considerable wave of energy, while still dwarfed by Lucian's own, was enough to get the boy's attention.
The usual layer of protection that the Witch Hunter utilized hardened around his body as he icily spoke to the boy.
"You will learn to deal with greater threats than Orks, Lucian. This is a pointless fight to take part of"
Even at his most threatening, Lucian did not back down.
Youthful arrogance was a sight to behold.
"Pointless? Tell that to the people of Balor! Tell that to the soldiers of Mankind that serve under you, Inquisitor. I'm sure the Astral Knights also vowed to only occasionally protect the citizen of the Imperium-"
Vownus blinked through the warp, coming within an inch of Lucian as he lifted the boy up with an empower grasp.
His hand was fisted in the material of the boy's uniform.
"I play to a grander scheme than some planetary conflict, Lucian. We all have our parts to play, and Balor has seen the last of its use"
The boy glared deeply into him, the intensity of which drawing a flinch from the Inquisitor.
Golden eyes looked at him with absolute disgust.
"What would Alvarion Naal think of you now?"
A spasm shot through his body.
And a second later, Vownus dropped Lucian back to the ground.
He regarded the boy for a moment, before his gaze swept over the faces of Caius, Lynwood, Colonel Wilk and the officers of the control room.
Eventually he settled back onto Lucian.
"If we fight here, we may die here Lucian" Vownus tilted his head slightly at the boy, "you won't. But many of us may"
A firm resolution built up in the youth's gaze.
His anger shifted into determination.
Golden eyes flashed.
"If I am destined to face the enemies of mankind, then I will face them. Now. Not tomorrow, not a year from now… I will face them this very instant I will fight them, for the Emperor and our Imperium"
Vownus knew the boy's words echoed in the hearts of all the guardsmen around them.
The two Psykers regarded each other.
In silence the other occupants of the command center regarded them.
Eventually the Witch Hunter made his decision.
"Very well. We stay," Vownus looked deep into Lucian's eyes. The boy's gaze did not waiver, the cracks of his initial explosion of determination mended. He stood firm to Vownus' morose final comment.
"And we will fight"
Upon a throne of skulls, wreathed in armor forged in the flames of eternal war, the great deity sat.
Eyes that glowed the crimson shade of shed blood snapped open.
The black sword that lay across the being's lap sang with delight.
It was close now.
Very close.
Mountains of skulls crumbled before seas of blood, the nature of the realm in which this god resided responding to the blossoming war.
Life was a fickle thing.
In death, it served a greater meaning, serving the power of a deity that saw value in the liquid of existence.
The essence that every living being was filled with.
Blood.
The blood would flow.
Khorne demanded it and this it would be so.
"It is time boy" the entity murmured.
A path had been laid.
AN:
Wow. Much plot thread, many convo. We have our planet. We have our stakes. We have characters that we will be seeing many perspectives of the war from.
It's gonna start with the Ork landing process... well, first the orbital defense fight, and then we get into the landings and shit.
This is going to be the focus of the story from now on folks, and as such I'm going to be taking EXTRA time to make sure the visual descriptions for each bit of the conflict are accurate. Considering it was the Helsreach book that got me into Warhammer oh so many years ago, I'd be doing a disservice to the franchise if I didn't nail the atmosphere.
On another note, I'm visiting europe soon.
With covid hopefully remaining as a piece of history, I've decided to reconnect with some of my friends around the world. Preferably before everything shuts down again for whatever virus is gonna pop up next.
Frankly, tho, this will give me some time to work on concept ideas and the battle plan for the scenes. I'm in need of help tho, cuz I wanna post what the Balor city looks like (from the top down perspective), but I'm not sure where to upload such an image for you guys. It'll be a rough sketch of the city's layout, but it will help orient you guys once I start bouncing from perspective to perspective. Also, scenes will start to have locations attached to them before the scene begins.
This labeling will only be prevalent during balor and future conflicts. Mainly because scenes in the war will be closer to one another in regards to the timeline, I won't be skipping ahead months and days anymore.
So buckle up people,
Imma take you for a bloodthirsty ride!
Blood for the blood god! Skulls for the skull throne!
Freedom