Several things were happening simultaneously.
The first thing that actually was NOT happening was the bringing into being of the eldar's God of Death. Prognostications from Eldrad and the other Farseers had indicated they should wait for Craftworld Iyanden to be safely in orbit around Yggdrasil's sun so they could take all of their forces to the planet. Bringing forth Ynnead would weaken the barriers of reality and allow the Slaaneshi demons to launch a full attack, so they needed to be ready. Also, they needed to wait for the Stormlord to take care of other matters… by the time Iyanden was in position, huge contingents of necrons could be deployed to the planet for the brief but extremely intense war that would follow.
Because of the arranged meeting with Guilliman and the Imperium, Manric was still on Hope and would remain there for an entire year. That was actually distressing to him, as he quickly longed to return to his work, but he found respite in helping train and work with brand new pwi-necrons. He also spent his time resouling and working with Rahkaak's Immortals. While the nobility and crypteks of Uhnashret had all been completed, the Immortals were lower priority and most had not been done. The delivery of Fulgrim's clone was arranged with Trazyn and he would be arriving along with Imotekh's fleet, roughly six months before the meeting.
Also, although she didn't particularly want to, in light of Trazyn's help and the fact that he would be their voice among the Nihilakh, Rahkaak was rescinding her ban on Trazyn and Manric was rescinding the shoot on sight order. He would be permitted to fully enjoy Hope, completely openly, as well as talk to all the resouled necrons. The only request – demand really – was that he refrain from stealing things. No one expected him to follow it completely but if only a few minor things wandered into Trazyn's pockets, it would be acceptable.
Meanwhile, the Charnovokh were on a timer and Theokh was faced with a very unpleasant choice that actually needed to be made quickly. Because of that, that is where our story shall begin.
In the Crownworld of Charnovokh, Bardic, life continued as normal. Canoptek scarabs tended to their duties, Warriors and Immortals continued their patrols, and crypteks continued their work and research. The only real difference from before was the Overlords quietly discussing their eventual fate.
"What do you think, brother?" Phaeron Theokh asked his younger brother, Overlord Thalokh. They were actually twins, with Thalokh being just a minute younger. In the past of the necrontyr, that could easily have led to a war between the two of them to claim the throne but as necrons things were different. It also helped that their father had survived long enough for biotransference and survived the War in Heaven, all to die in the ruins of their true Crownworld, never awakening from his slumber. Fortunately, he had anticipated that disaster might fall and split his sons, placing them both on separate Coreworlds. Fighting over the wreckage of the Charnovokh was pointless and self-destructive, so Thalokh had gracefully conceded the title of Phaeron to Theokh.
"I think we need to make our decision quickly," Thalokh said after a moment. "But you know that." Yes, it was obvious. Even though they had two years to decide, every moment was precious. If they intended to reject the Stormlord's offer and side with the Silent King, they should notify the Silent King immediately and then proceed to run out the clock. Hopefully before the two years were up, the Silent King and his allies could move to save them.
However, if they intended to join Sautekh, they should do the opposite. No communication to Szarekh should be made and they should, as quickly as possible, give Imotekh word of their decision. Then they could be incorporated into Sautekh to move against the Silent King.
"I just don't know what is best for us," Theokh said after a moment of thought. That was the true crux of the matter. On balance, he thought depending on Szarekh to save them from Sautekh was very dangerous. True, the hordes of the Maynarkh were endless but to reach them was a long trip indeed. And regrettably, Theokh had dealt with them before… he KNEW they would get distracted on the way. He KNEW they would stop to destroy some organics and get bogged down with the Imperium, the orks or even the eldar. Perhaps the Mother of Oblivion could keep them on track but perhaps not. From what he'd heard, she was even more insane than she'd been before. And despite that, Theokh considered Maynarkh to be their most reliable defender… Nihilakh were terrible allies, always more concerned with themselves and their wealth than anything else. The Szarekhan Dynasty would try, but they had always been smaller and most of their strength was caught up in the Pariah Nexus. There were numerous smaller Dynasties that had sworn alliance with Szarekh, but they were largely also caught up in the Pariah Nexus, swelling the Szarekhan ranks.
"Brother, I have an important question. Do we actually care about our loyalty to the Silent King? Or are we making a decision based on sheer practicality?" Thalokh asked and that was a good question. Theokh considered it for a long moment.
"We are making this decision on practicality," he finally said. Unlike Maynarkh, who had the tradition of being Szarekh's attack beasts, the Charnovokh were loyal but not excessively so. Also. "I do not disbelieve Imotekh's allegations." Theokh had never really thought about it before – none of them had – but there was a strange lack of female necrons in Charnovokh. And he could remember they had always been a very patrilineal dynasty. That gave the accusations about the children a weight of truth, in Theokh's mind.
Still, Theokh could overlook that. It had all happened a very long time ago and unlike the resouled Overlords, he remembered nothing. Kallathsek's questions about his wife brought absolutely nothing to mind. Theokh could not miss what he did not remember, and he wasn't sure he cared to remember. He was content with his life as a necron Phaeron. He needed nothing more so the blandishments of a soul meant little to him.
"If we are deciding purely on what is best for us, I think we should pick the Stormlord." Theokh's head swung to look at his brother, who gazed back evenly. "He is the greatest of strategic geniuses. He has Orikan and I suspect he has Oramoton." That made Theokh want to kill Kallathsek again, because he knew it was true. Oramoton had arrived at Ifrayd in an Uhnashret scout ship, just like the one Kallathsek had been given to go home. Where else would he have gone? And the tiny, congenial Uhnashret Dynasty would have given him a place even if he was badly broken. From then, if he could actually be repaired, Sautekh. "And the things Arikhos has to say about the humans of Uhnashret are ominous."
"…" Theokh still found it hard to believe that Uhnashret had lit the fires of biotransference and tossed humans into the flames. But if Arikhos was to be believed, it went even beyond that. Of the three Overlords to return, Arikhos was the one most noted for his personal likability and it showed in the information they had. Arikhos had chatted up the humans, asking innocent questions and encouraging them to talk. So they knew about the STC and the nature of it, the highly advanced technology it contained. The human biotransference that they had made themselves but not used, due to the negative effects. The fixing of those effects with the transfer of the soul.
(Theokh had a dark suspicion that the humans weren't actually being cozened by Arikhos, they were deliberately being fed the information the Stormlord wanted them to have)
(that was largely correct)
"Thalokh, do you believe that even if we send word immediately, Szarekh can save us from Imotekh?" Theokh finally asked, tapping his fingers against the haft of his scythe. There was a long silence as Thalokh ran everything through his mind.
"No." Yes… that was his conclusion as well. "Szarekh never planned for this. He thought Imotekh would fall in line." Yes. Never in his wildest nightmares had the Silent King contemplated that the Stormlord would turn against him so thoroughly, Theokh was sure of it. "The two years will give him a fighting chance and he will try, but unless he can really light a fire under Nihilakh's ass…" And that wasn't likely to happen. That was the other problem with Nihilakh, they tended to move at a glacial pace at the best of times. Although Theokh cynically thought that was completely deliberate. He'd noticed them moving very quickly when it was to THEIR benefit.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the Stormlord is already making very quiet overtures to Nihilakh," Theokh growled. "Probably to Trazyn." He was the obvious 'in' for the Sautekh to reach out to Nihilakh. Although there were two other Nihilakh nobles he could think of offhand who would be highly interested in this 'resouling' experiment. They were the kind to lament their lost pleasures. "Very well, I have made my decision." Theokh abruptly made his choice. "We will side with Sautekh." Thalokh nodded with glyphs of relief and resolution.
"We can probably get away with providing the Stormlord with minimal forces, pleading weakness." Thalokh made a sound that mimicked a sigh quite well. "Regrettable that it's close to true." Indeed. Still, although it grated, Theokh would play up the weakness of the Charnovokh to stay out of this as much as possible. Imotekh would understand, he knew how badly broken they were.
With any luck, no matter who won, Charnovokh would escape this relatively intact.
Before contacting the Stormlord, though, there were a few things to be done.
Theokh made a full inventory of his forces and worlds. Given the losses Charnovokh had suffered, it wasn't terrible, but it was fairly bad. He would say they were perhaps half the strength of Nihilakh. Fortunately – for a very dark degree of fortune – their space had been so thoroughly ravaged by the Tyranids that Theokh thought further incursions from the bugs were unlikely. They wanted biomass and there was little to be found here anymore.
Still, he couldn't spare that much for Imotekh. Theokh hoped to offer him only an eighth of his available forces, keeping the rest for defense. Gathering the FTL communications web, Theokh sent the Stormlord a terse message indicating his surrender to Sautekh and requesting either a full meeting or a two-way FTL communication. He also provided his location, if the Stormlord preferred the latter.
To Theokh's surprise, the Stormlord's response was extremely prompt, arriving within the hour in the form of a two-way FTL communication link. He'd anticipated waiting days for a response.
Phaeron Theokh, I am pleased with your decision. What forces can you offer? The expected question. Theokh ran through what he could spare and the Stormlord's eyes flared. That is all?
"I must defend what is left of my worlds. You must understand, we are not well," Theokh replied steadily. If Imotekh forced him, he would up the offer to a quarter of his forces, but no more than that. Anything beyond that would truly be putting his Dynasty at risk.
Very well. It is paltry, but you have suffered greatly. Theokh wanted to bridle at that description – once, the Charnovokh had been much greater than Sautekh! – but he knew it was accurate. What he'd just offered was more in line with a much smaller Dyansty. But there is something else I desire from you. You know the nature of the ship I sent to you, the one containing your Overlords? That reminded Theokh of the destruction of Ifrayd but he knew he couldn't make an issue of that now.
"It is a survey ship. What of it?" Any Dynasty could make such a vessel if they had a particular need to survey and expand. Charnovokh was not in that position, they were in a state of contraction if anything. It was highly unusual to see one, since Dynasties rarely expanded that way anymore but Theokh vaguely recalled such things.
Sautekh is in a state of expansion. In particular, the planet of Hope is attempting to establish colonies. It is a long-term project that will extend over hundreds if not thousands of years, but I wish to extend the reach of this sub-species of humanity. Theokh stared, wondering if he was hearing properly. Was the Stormlord suggesting? I will be making a treaty with the Imperium of Man soon. What?! We will have to denote exactly what space the Imperium claims and does not claim. There will be many opportunities for expansion but for my subjects, worlds within your sphere could prove fruitful.
"Are you proposing we welcome humans onto our Tomb Worlds?" Theokh asked in disbelief. Was he serious?
No. Some worlds should remain for ourselves. I am more referring to the other, unsettled worlds that lie within Charnovokh. Theokh still wasn't happy but found that more palatable. Are you aware of how my Empire is structured? That was an interesting question.
"Only vaguely. I know you are ruling many human worlds," Theokh said guardedly. Numerically speaking, the necrons of Sautekh probably outnumbered the humans, since Imotekh had trillions of Necron Warriors beneath his command. Still, the humans were quite numerous and inhabited a vast number of worlds. Hundreds, probably, although Theokh was vague on the number.
There are the human slave worlds, providing tithes and labor to the glory of my empire. They are ruled by Planetary Governors, often human but sometimes lesser Lords. Above them are greater Lords, the regional rulers, who also command military forces for defense and guide lesser Lords to root out issues within my domain. Issues? What sort of issues? Chaos infections, genestealers, outside provocateurs and problems with the tithes. Oh, human things. Above them are the Overlords, the sector rulers and the greater military commanders. They manage all of this in my name and send me collated reports. All of this left Theokh a bit puzzled, but he could see where Imotekh was going with this.
"You wish me to mimic this structure in Charnovokh?" He clarified and Imotekh nodded.
It has many advantages for a ruler. Theokh rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He thought he understood Imotekh's way of thinking… ennui and boredom could be quite deadly for the necrons. Not that they killed directly, but they often led to complicated murder plots. Humans are more than capable of keeping my Lords and Overlords fully occupied. Sometimes, excessively so. Imotekh sounded mildly exasperated there. Theokh wondered what stories he could tell of the humans' antics. Well, it probably wasn't time to ask.
(Imotekh was actually thinking about an ongoing situation in his Empire where two Knight Worlds had decided they most ardently wanted to kill each other)
(it honestly made him a little nostalgic for the Flesh Times, it was all so familiar)
"This sounds like a long-term project, for when Szarekh is defeated," Theokh said after a moment and Imotekh nodded.
Yes, it will be. For now, I only ask that you allow the survey ships to move through your territory unmolested. Oh, that would be fine. Although.
"Tell them to be careful. There are many worlds we do not claim at all, infested with various species of vermin. Even some Death Worlds that seem to be Tyranid controlled." THAT worried Theokh greatly. While he blamed the Imperium for the Exterminatus of many of his worlds, Theokh knew the reason for those actions had been the Tyranids. Since awakening, Charnovokh had fought them several times and they were so bad that many Tomb Worlds with life had decided to simply remove it, boiling away atmospheres and water, to prevent invasion. A cowardly method, perhaps, but very effective.
Oh? Send me a report on that. In fact, send me a report on all the threats your Dynasty currently faces. Theokh would do that gladly. While the Stormlord could not spare anything now, hopefully in the future he would be able to extend support to rebuild the Charnovokh. We will send our crypteks to begin the resouling of your Lords, Overlords and Crypteks. Do not send the forces yet… we are not ready to move against Szarekh. When they are needed, I will call upon you to send them to Mandragora. Theokh nodded as the conversation came to an end. When it was done, he pondered what the future would hold. What would 'resouling' be like? Would he remember Kallathsek's sister, his wife?
Theokh honestly rather dreaded it.
Sehenna was loving her time on the planet of Hope.
For the very first time in her life, she was seeing a truly normal world. Mandragora was beautiful in its' own way, but that was the way of a world that could never have supported necrontyr life. Hope wasn't the ideal for her species – it was too cold – but Sehenna knew the necrontyr would have settled it anyway, probably mostly in the more arid equatorial regions. The humans liked the temperate regions but that was the only real difference.
(in the long forgotten past, when Rahkaak had been alive, the planet had been warmer)
So for the first time in her life, Sehenna was seeing trees and snow. Water falling from the sky in crystallized form was amazing to her… she had heard of it, of course, but never seen it. It was particularly funny when the children tried to pack it against her, to make her a living snowman.
Sehenna also loved the children. Manric had so many descendants, an entire pack of them. Zelda had given birth to twins and now had three children, but it was more than that… in the family estates of Duleth, where they all lived, there was an entire clan. Aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, all living in this truly ancient building surrounded by a great estate. It was truly vast, the size of a massive park, and it was all for them. From what Sehenna understood, this had been theirs for over four thousand years. The city had grown much later, building around it, but it had always been theirs.
Right now it was winter, the Estates covered in snow, and Sehenna enjoyed playing with the children in that winter wonderland. She had to be very careful of her strength and weight – no one wanted an accident – but other than that, it was wonderful.
The snow flaked away from her body when she moved and the children laughed. Sehenna heard the buzzing sound of a necron laugh and she glanced over to see Manric wearing his own coating of snow. Ah, this was so much fun!
They played until everyone was tired and hungry, then came back to the Estates for lunch. Not knowing when everyone would be back, the servants had taken the practical route and prepared a lovely stew of beans and meat. To Sehenna, it was familiar, close to a dish called seltekhen that was prepared as a special feast on the ships. They used something very similar to dried beans, and dried, rehydrated meats and it was absolutely delicious and filling, a rare treat. Most shipboard rations had been far more basic.
While the children were eating, Manric and Sehenna joined the adults. They were discussing the politics of Hope's Landing, which went entirely over Sehenna's head. But they were also discussing things she knew about… the arrival of the Stormlord in six months and Trazyn the Infinite being allowed back on the planet.
"He's only required to arrive at the same time as Imotekh, but Rahkaak thinks he will be here early. I am told Reinhart has volunteered to help show him around," Manric said and Sehenna nodded. She had heard of that. "I might need to take some time evaluating the clone of Fulgrim. We are deciding if we should simply keep him in status until he is handed over to the Imperium, or if we should release him early to introduce him to Hope."
"Why would you want to?" Rafeef asked and Sehenna glanced at him a bit curiously. He was a psyker, which was a bit odd to her, and also a former Imperial. From what she understood he'd settled in completely and considered himself Hopian now. "To evaluate his attitudes towards tech heresy and the xenos?" Manric nodded.
"Mostly that. I would not call Guilliman xenophobic… more humanocentric. He very firmly believes in the superiority of the human race." Well… Sehenna obviously didn't agree with that, but she was guiltily aware that replace 'human' with 'necrontyr' and that would adequately describe most of her superiors, when she'd been alive. "He's surprisingly open minded about the idea of letting xenos races exist. I suspect he would not have run the Great Crusade as his father did." Manric shrugged slightly. "Or perhaps he's mellowed with age… that was a very long time ago." Sehenna had heard of the Great Crusade but wasn't going to say a word about it. She remembered the songs, and could sing some of them, celebrating the necrontyr's victories over other races. Most of those species had been driven to extinction by the necrontyr. "As for tech heresy, I do truly wonder what his feelings on that will be. Guilliman seems quite opposed to AI."
"It's crazy to think…" The discussion moved on from there to lighter topics, mainly the winter festival that was scheduled. An event called 'Christmas' it involved a great tree covered in lights and this year, they were hoping to avoid the small fire that had happened last year. Apparently the tree had been cut too early, gotten unfortunately dry and one of the lights had malfunctioned. Fortunately the fire had been contained efficiently by the sprinklers and suppressants, but it had still put quite a damper on the Christmas celebrations.
Eventually it was getting late, and Manric and Sehenna retired to their room. Not that necrons needed to sleep, but the could either amuse themselves with other things or go into a short stasis mode while waiting for morning. When she was alone with Manric, though, Sehenna allowed herself to be consumed with longing.
"I wish…" She wished, more than anything in the universe, that she could have children of her own. She had been so close to that time in her life when it had been cut abruptly short. Despite her love of the ship and her firing solutions, Sehenna had so been looking forward to returning to the space habitats where she had been born. As a respected naval rating with an excellent track record, she would have been given the privilege of choosing among the males available. Older necrontyr, their reflexes beginning to slow but with excellent track records like her own, Sehenna was sure she could have found love and affection there. Manric's hand on her shoulder recalled her from the bittersweet musings of what might have been.
"Ah, Sehenna, I wish I could give that to you," he said and Sehenna nestled against him, feeling the solidity of his body by her side. There was no warmth and it was a bit odd, the feeling of cold metal against metal, but she was getting used to it. "Sehenna… I have been practicing something and the spirits of my spear thing I am ready. Would you like to do something with me?"
"Oh, what?" Sehenna asked, a bit confused. The spirits of the spear? Manric turned to face her and gently touched her chin, cupping it in the way of a male with a female.
"You remember the accident we almost had?" Manric said carefully and Sehenna winced. She still blamed herself for that. "I have been working to control my empathy further. I believe I can replicate that, in a more controlled fashion. If you want to try?" Sehenna was a bit afraid, but she remembered how wonderful it had been. They could do that again?
"If we could?" Sehenna said and Manric nodded, gently resting their foreheads together.
What followed was like being bathed in sunlight. Manric's gentle affection for her, a warm feeling, flooded her mind and Sehenna responded in kind. But as he had promised, it was tightly controlled and it did not increase out of control like the first time. Sehenna felt moved to embrace him and Manric returned the affection, holding her close. It was nothing like physical affection, the things Sehenna had longed for as a living female, but it was a spiritual equivalent. The sharing of the emotions they held for each other.
Sehenna completely lost track of time, just enjoying the beauty of it, but Manric was conscious of it. Eventually there was a gentle tug and the moment came to a close, to Sehenna's deep reluctance. But then she realized there was light at the windows.
"Oh…" They had been in that reverie for that long? As she looked at the sun just beginning to rise, Sehenna realized that her body and mind had used the opportunity for a full repair cycle… she felt clean and well rested, her mind ready to take on the day.
"Sorry… I could have ended it earlier, but I was enjoying it," Manric said and Sehenna nodded, a touch speechless. "Forgive me, that was perhaps a bit excessive." Yes, they had been like that for hours. Still…
"It's fine, I loved it. We shouldn't do that every night though." It would cheapen the experience but also, they were currently playing a game. It was something the necrons had created, based on the ancient necrontyr's games and it could take weeks to play a single round. "I want to continue the game." Sehenna was mildly disappointed they hadn't gotten to that. Manric flashed glyphs of amusement and acknowledgement.
"I as well, but we will have plenty of time for that." That was true. Sehenna could hear the humans moving around as the household began to rouse. Sehenna and Manric embraced again, a quick display of affection, before they went to join Manric's family.
They could not eat, but they would keep them company for breakfast.