Loki was quietly having a crisis of conscience.

Are my dreams really real? Loki was gradually coming to believe that they were. He could reliably drive a rat completely insane, although taking one into a dream with him and keeping it sane was way more challenging. So he had to be SOME kind of psyker and his dreams wouldn't be entirely made up, would they? Loki supposed they could be symbolic of his inner thoughts, but if that were the case, why would Ahriman be asking him about biotransference? Is there some way to confirm that my dreams are real?

Could he find out if Magnus was real? Loki considered asking the mutants but decided they wouldn't know. Most of them weren't fully literate. Loki reflected disconsolately that even fully literate, intelligent people with good careers might not be able to answer him… a lot of fiction and other works weren't allowed on Luminous. The Inquisition no longer existed in the Sautekh Empire, but the Church of the Emperor still did and they checked all incoming stuff for heresy. Loki was a bit vague on how it worked but he thought their power was greatly diminished… xenos style heresy, for instance, was permitted now. But the stories of Ancient Terra, like the Epic of Gilgamesh, would never be allowed.

The censorship of fiction was followed by censorship of fact. Loki knew that was for good reason… knowing that Chaos Cults existed was the first step to joining one. That meant, though, that even if Ahriman and Magnus the Red were fully real beings and he wasn't crazy, maybe no one could confirm it. Maybe he'd need an Inquisitor or something, and Loki couldn't get one of those.

However, if he couldn't confirm anything, that led Loki to his next problem. Is it okay to talk to them? Ahriman had been honest with him, although Loki could tell he was doing that for his own ends. So Loki knew they were Chaos Marines although the whole thing had been very unfair, they hadn't really wanted to go into rebellion but they'd been shoved into it. He knew that Chaos had been really rough on them, causing so many mutations that Ahriman had tried to help but flubbed it. And Magnus was their Primarch, but he'd sold his soul to Tzeentch and was a Daemon Primarch now. If Loki wasn't just making all of this up in his head, was it okay to talk to them AT ALL, even if he wasn't telling them about classified things? Weren't they enemies?

Loki agonized over it for a while before deciding he needed to go to Captain Revalt. He'd at least listen even if he thought Loki was insane.

The Captain was busy but he was able to make an appointment for later and Loki made sure to be exactly on time. Revalt really had a lot to do, things were pretty busy right now with all the new recruits and training.

"What is it, Loki? Is everything fine with you and Calder?" Revalt asked and Loki nodded.

"Everything is fine, we're ready to go when the mutants are ready." They had to finish their tour of duty before getting biotransference and joining Imotekh. The whole current crop would be going at the same time, they were all like Khas, they wanted bodies that weren't weird and creepy. A few of them had been weeded out so far, but only a few, the rest of them were all approved unless they really screwed up somehow. "Captain… can I tell you something that might make you think I'm insane?" Revalt tilted his head, flashing glyphs of amusement, the necron equivalent of a smile.

"Ah, Loki, I don't think you're insane. Just a bit eccentric." Loki wondered what the difference was, exactly. "What is it?"

"Uh well… is it okay to talk to people in my dreams who are technically enemies?" Captain Revalt tilted his head and Loki forged onwards. "Ahriman says he's a Chaos Space Marine and Magnus the Red is a Daemon Primarch and they're both from the Thousand Sons. And um, they're sworn to Tzeentch but it wasn't really their fault and Ahriman says he wants to understand Tzeentch and I said you can't do that that's the whole point but he says he's going to do it anyway and I said well it's your brain you can melt it if you want…" Loki knew he was babbling and forced himself to get back on track. "Ahriman wanted to know about biotransference and I told him it was nothing classified but is that okay? Is it okay to talk to Magnus?" This was giving him anxiety. He didn't want to be a traitor, even by accident! Revalt reached out to gently pat his arm.

"Oh Loki… it's fine. Don't worry about it," Revalt said gently and Loki knew the Captain thought he was crazy. That hurt, it really did but… maybe he was crazy? Well if this was crazy, then he didn't want to be sane.

"Uh, so, I have permission to talk with Chaos Space Marines about non-classified things sir?!" Loki said brightly and Revalt sighed.

"Yes Loki, you have permission to talk with the voices in your head." YAY! Although that wasn't very nice but still, he would take it!

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it!" Loki saluted before beating a quick retreat before Revalt could reconsider. What would he do if he ever managed to keep a rat sane? Would he show Revalt his dreams? No, he would show them to Calder! Calder would love the snow castle, he loved snow. What could they do? Could they go on a sleigh ride or maybe hunt wolves?

Happily imagining taking his best friend on a crazy adventure, Loki went to find Calder. When he did, Calder was taping on his datapad.

"FRIEND!" Loki tackled him from behind, clinging like a limpet as Calder made a soft yelp, holding onto his datapad. "What are you…" Loki stopped as he looked at the datapad. "Wow. Uh… we don't have bits for that anymore." It was a really pretty girl showing off her bits. Calder cursed as he tapped out of that.

"That was just an ad, you know how it is." Oh right, an ad! He'd probably clicked it accidentally as Loki tackled him. And what was beneath it… Loki made a soft oooh sound as he saw the video playing. It was a view of the Cauldron on Yggdrasil!

"Oh wow, is the tour company back up?" Loki said as he let go, looking at the datapad intently. Calder flipped to another page.

"They're having a grand reopening in just six months." YAY! Although it made Loki a little sad that they couldn't go – "Do you want to go?" Loki looked at Calder sharply but he didn't seem to be joking. "I asked Revalt and he said that he could arrange the leave for us, as a going away present."

"But… but we don't have the money for that! And don't you want to go see your family?" Loki objected. Calder paused for a moment.

"Well… we did that so many times. I love my family and they were always glad to see us both, but that was more for me than for you. I think we should do something for you." Loki almost wanted to cry. Calder really was a wonderful friend! "And don't worry about the money, I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure…?" Loki had to ask. It was a lot of money and Loki had always been terrible at saving, he tended to buy games and books. Also, before biotransference he'd only had a job in a bookstore, and his retirement income. Calder had been the one with a real job.

"I'm sure. I want to do this too, and it wouldn't be the same if I went by myself. Just try not to go for recall, please?" He'd definitely try! Loki was over the moon at the thought though. He could see the waterspouts up close! He could hunt a sea serpent with a spear! …Wow, that sounded like one of his dreams… "Here, take your datapad back." Wait, that was HIS datapad? "I was just playing one of your games, sorry."

"Oh, no worries!" Loki happily took back his datapad. He had more games on it than Calder, by a lot. "Hey, want to play co-op farming sim?" The farming sim was a lot of fun and Calder had it too.

"Well, alright, but no getting ridiculously hardcore. It's just so silly when you get upset about not optimizing your turnip harvest." Loki flashed some of his favorite Norse glyphs, combined with necron ones, to make a poem about the value of doing your best no matter the circumstances. "Oh stop! No one can read that!"

"I can though," Loki said happily as he opened the game. "No hardcore turnips, right. Why don't we go fishing?" Loki loved the fishing game. "We can make it a contest! Who can catch the most fish in ten minutes?"

"Oh, you're on," Calder said decisively as they fired up the co-op. As they played, Loki was blindingly happy.

He had official permission to talk to Ahriman and he was going to go to Yggdrasil! Could his day get any better?!


Phaeron Rahkaak stood on the balcony of her private suite, overlooking the beauty of Coreworld Abydos.

Most of the time, she stayed on Hope, in the Tomb that had been her home for so long. But sometimes, she wanted to leave to see her subjects. In Hope, she would do that by renting an entire building, trusting her security to the King, Simokh, her loyal Lychguard and the cities twin AI's. While that was probably all unnecessary, if you were going to interact with the common folk, it was always better to err on the side of safety.

On Coreworld Abydos, that was mostly unnecessary. Rahkaak still kept her Lychguard close and Simokh by her side, but just as in the long-ago Flesh Times, she was able to interact quite freely. The resouling also had changed things… they all truly knew they were family, now. It made a difference.

So Rahkaak stood freely on her balcony, looking at the glory of Overlord Aahora's domain. It was a recreation of the past, but given a modern twist. The ancient architecture of the necrontyr, but all the unnecessary parts were removed. There were no quarters for the commoners and no pyramids for sacrifices. Instead, there were beautiful monuments, many of which doubled as potent defenses. There were statues, most copies of ancient necrons but some newer, with the spark of artistry that had been lacking before. Native grasses and fronds were flourishing now and had been encouraged, making beautiful patches of green and even sending vines up some of the statues, finding purchase and putting out leaves. In this pleasant environment the Warriors patrolled in their endless, pre-planned routes. Rahkaak truly wished they could be re-souled… alas, it simply could not be. The currents of time here were so badly distorted that Oramoton could not possibly scry their futures. If they ever wished that the Warriors would have to be sent to him, and there was a billion of them. It was impossible.

Rahkaak had reason to come here, at this particular time, however. The door was old fashioned, by choice, and Overlord Aahora pushed it open to let herself in.

"You summoned me, Phaeron?" she said with a bow. Rahkaak turned to look at her… Aahora was also her cousin and a far more competent and dangerous one than Kototep. As a necron, Rahkaak had not trusted her but now she remembered that they had once been friends. In terms of appearance, Aahora was as tall and powerful as any male necron. Her necrodermis was primarily silver but lightly marked with gold, a sign of their relationship. She wore a gilded neckpiece and two great lines of plaques, hanging from that neckpiece. Aahora wore no headpiece, the better to display her forehead, which was etched with the symbol of the Uhnashret Dynasty and inset with gold.

"I want your wisdom on a private matter, cousin," Rahkaak said, placing her hands together. She was deeply torn on if she should do this. Watching Osatekh and Anhomqena had given her the idea, otherwise she would not have thought of it. Aahora tilted her head.

"I am always willing to help. What is your dilemma?" She asked and Rahkaak hesitated a moment before launching into it.

"Have you heard that Overlord Osatek, son of Imotekh, and Lord Anhomqena have been wed?" Rahkaak asked and Aahora nodded. "I wish to propose marriage to Simokh. Do you believe this will cause issues among my Overlords?" In the far-off past, it most certainly would have. They were terribly snobby and Simokh was a commoner born. Rahkaak had seen the picture Aleksander had made and learned the history behind the image… Imotekh was also a commoner born and that had directly led to the duel, as a jealous and angry Overlord insulted his wife. Oddly enough, the only acceptable scenario for a noble to marry a commoner was exactly the one Osatek and Anhomqena had… an older male taking a young, pretty thing for his old age. There was a pause as Aahora considered it.

"I do not believe it would be a problem. Phaeron, can I be honest?" Yes, that was very much what she wished. Rahkaak flashed glyphs for assent. "I see this as foolish mummery. We all know you love him, and we are long past the practicalities of marriage, like the children." A bit of bittersweet pain touched her heart. Rahkaak remembered her one child with Simokh, a boy. He had been born with a heart defect and despite the medical Crypteks best efforts, had passed on. They would have had more, but then the time of biotransference had come. "I believe most of us will see it the same way," Aahora said before cocking her head, making glyphs indicating a great sadness. "The one who would have been the worst about it was Overlord Sele'keth… alas, he is no longer here." Yes, that was the Overlord in charge of the Coreworld that had vanished. Rahkaak was a bit puzzled for a moment but then she remembered.

"Oh, that's right, he could never stand Simokh." It had been so long that she had forgotten. It had merely been a personality conflict… Sele'keth's personality was a bit similar to Reinhart, but with absolutely no sense of humor and no ability to tolerate teasing. Back then, Simokh's sense of humor had been pronounced and he'd been unable to resist teasing the humorless Overlord a bit. As a result, they just had not gotten along and Rahkaak had taken care to keep them separated. "You think no one else will mind Simokh's elevation?" That was really what Rahkaak was concerned about. Becoming the consort of the Phaeron was a distinct increase in status.

"What elevation? You do not intend to make him co-Phaeron." No… Simokh loved his duties as her head Cryptek and they were very important. "Some small-minded fools might dislike it, but that is what they are. And even that will pass as it becomes clear there is no real change." Rahkaak could see that. Simokh definitely would not lord his new status over them, that was not his way.

"Then I will do this," Rahkaak said, her determination firming. She loved Simokh and had not been able to do this in life, so she would do it now. "I want to wait to make this offer on his birthday." Admittedly, she was only guessing at what that date would be. But they had decided the day they thought was likeliest, as chosen on the human calendar, and taken to spending it together. Exactly as they had when they were alive. Aahora made a glyph poem about nostalgia for the past.

"Ah, these things of the Flesh Times… I feel that I am past all that. But if it brings you joy, I wish you well." Rahkaak nodded and that brought a natural end to the conversation. Feeling deeply heartened, Rahkaak gazed out over Abydos again. It really was a beautiful world.

Later that week, she and Simokh went for a walk in an ornamental park. Created by one of Aahora's Lords who fancied himself an artist, it was largely a rock garden. The rocks had been arranged in little terraces, with the meagre greenery encouraged to grow across them. On those stone terraces, if you looked closely, were tiny 'creatures' of stone. Cute little things, they were partly hidden in the grass, just peeping out. To Rahkaak they resembled Canoptek Scarabs and she thought they were actually meant to represent the ancient beetles the Scarabs had been modeled upon. And as they walked through the path, she spotted a few more stone creatures… a serpent sliding up the stones there, and even a little companion animal, sleeping in the shade. It made her almost painfully nostalgic, as she imagined all of these creatures coming to life.

"This is good work. Not as fine as Osatek's, but good," Simokh said and Rahkaak nodded. This was the work of an amateur, but a dedicated one. "The greenery makes it quite pleasing."

"Yes, without that it would be sterile and sad." Coreworld Abydos could not support much in the way of life without actual terraforming, but the plant life it had was more than enough for the necrons to enjoy. "Simokh, I have a question," Rahkaak said, gathering her courage. Normally a male would ask this question, just as with the humans, but she was the Phaeron. The offer had to come from her. Simokh looked at her, tilting his head questioningly. "Will you marry me?"

Simokh stopped dead and Rahkaak stopped with him. There was a moment of silence before he turned towards her and gently took her hands.

"My mind may be broken, but the one thing that is sometimes still clear to me is my love for you," Simokh said softly, looking into her eyes. Rahkaak felt a deep heat in her core, her own love responding. "It always pained me that we could not do this in life… I would be honored to do it now, my beloved Phaeron."

"Simokh…" Rahkaak moved towards him and Simokh embraced her. Her heart was so full, she felt like it might burst. "I do love you so much, my beloved Cryptek," she murmured and Simokh responded with a glyph poem, a beautiful declaration of love.

Eventually, though, everything passed. Simokh stirred before gently letting her go.

"My duties must remain the same," he said and Rahkaak nodded. "Not merely for the importance of our growing Crypteks, but also to prevent resentment from the Overlords." Rahkaak felt a bit of amusement, that he saw what she had been worried about.

"I have spoken to Aahora about it and she thinks it will be fine," she said and Simokh nodded. "Would you prefer a private ritual, or a public one? I would prefer the ancient rituals of the necrontyr." Rahkaak had Anhomqena's account of the ancient marriage. While that had been an extremely elaborate wedding, suited to high royalty, they could pare it down to something acceptable. Also, they would completely omit anything referencing the Star Gods. Simokh thought about it for a moment.

"I would prefer a private ritual. Perhaps conducted by the human King?" The… King?! "I remember that he has the authority to do that and the marriage is legally binding, but not recognized with their church. And other than the King, I am not sure who would be suitable." Oh, that was a point. Most of the Overlords would not want to officiate and Panaa was not a marriage priestess. The human King had the advantage of being equivalent to an Overlord, yet completely outside of their power structure.

"That is an excellent idea. I will arrange everything," Rahkaak said decisively. A few of the Overlords, like Kototep, would be invited. A few of the Crypteks too, the ones closest to Simokh. A shame that Nuhkes was not here, but he was busy with the Farsight Enclaves, learning about them and acting as an ambassador from Sautekh. They were still working out trade arrangements, last she had heard. Simokh gently squeezed her hand.

"I am sure it will be beautiful," he said before they resumed their walk. As Rahkaak enjoyed the garden, she felt truly happy.

Her realm was prospering and soon, she would marry the one she had loved for so long.