In my conception of the Warhammer 40k universe, for this fanfic, this is how things are.
I believe it is fully canonical that the Immaterium is non-linear. Slaanesh was born, yet she had always existed and if she dies I would assume she will also always be dead. It's confusing, since we are linear beings, but it means that if God ever existed than he has always existed. The Warhammer universe doesn't touch on that, and rightly so since bringing modern religion into it would be a bad idea.
However, this is just a fanfic so I can do that. In my concept of the Immaterium, the Abrahamic God was brought into existence by the fervent belief of humanity and never stopped existing. The reason he wasn't destroyed by the Ruinous Powers is because God became a kind of underpinning of the Warp, a whisper in the wind. For most of the Ruinous Powers, striking at him is like punching at shadows.
The one exception to this is Tzeentch. Of all the Chaos Gods, he is the one with the greatest affinity to the Abrahamic God, because of the qualities of being able to see the future, mysticisms, long ranging plots and unfortunately, just the iconography. Biblically accurate angels favor eyes and wings, which is exactly what Tzeentch favors. If Tzeentch really wanted to he could possibly absorb God, but he chooses not to because he's a giant troll. It amuses him greatly when the other Ruinous Powers get creatively stymied by an Angel and because of the appearance, they usually blame it on him.
To answer the question, 'how could an entity of pure good exist in the Warp?' this version of God is not really that. This is the God of the Old Testament, who could be very ruthless with humanity when they disappointed him. He very much inclines towards helping humanity, but existing in the Warp causes God no particular distress. He's very much above it all and the angels are also rather disconnected from the rest of the Immaterium, existing there but not particularly affected by its darkness.
The Abrahamic God encompasses the whole concept of one god, the only god, that needs no other name. As such, he fundamentally does not align with any of the Ruinous Powers and he shares an affinity with the Emperor, the Greater Good and also a myriad of smaller xenos dieties who are also singular gods. The Emperor and the Greater Good are separate entities from the Abrahamic God, but can partake of his strength and call upon his angels in some circumstances.
The Emperor is arguably much stronger than God, as he is worshipped by an immensely larger number of humans. But due to his confinement in the Golden Throne and the fact that he is not truly a Warp entity yet, that strength is greatly hobbled. God's angels are actually quite helpful to him and he is willing to use them when he can. Does the Emperor know what they are? Almost certainly yes, and it would be interesting to know how he feels about that. He might not be happy, but practicality wins out.
The Greater Good is very much the youngest of the one god dieties and a creation of the humans living in the Tau Empire. The connection it has to the Abrahamic God is really the only reason it hasn't been mashed flat by something and like the Emperor, it can call upon the angels. However, because of the relative lack of strength, it rarely intervenes in the real world.
The Angels, meanwhile, range in strength from the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones – the level of angel Manric spoke with – down to things that are akin to Muses, gentle whispers that promote peace and harmony in the real world. Guardian Angels are also among the very bottom tier of angels, sometimes reaching out and causing the dice of fate to roll in a way that favors a chosen human. The lowest ranks of angels are very subtle and hard to detect.
Also, I want to add that the Greater Good existing in the Warp amuses me… I think for the Tau, the Greater Good is actually a philosophy. So it's like trying to teach people about stoicism and they somehow start worshipping it, the Tau are probably like 'what is wrong with you people.'
Anyway, that's just my take on the Warhammer 40k universe for this fic. Now, on with the story!
Elsewhere, Imotekh was making a decision.
It was, in a way, a fairly minor decision. It was, in another way, a momentous decision because of the eventual implications it would have for his Empire.
He was contemplating offering Luminous the status of a Serf World. Of all the planets under his rule, it might be the one the Stormlord most approved of. They had sent necrons and then the Hopian humans to garrison it against the orks, but even before that, Planetary Governor Emerard had been managing the problem without a word of complaint. Imotekh wasn't going to leave it to him – it was a drain on their resources – but it had still been commendable.
The status of the entire system of Luminous was commendable. The mining operations on the third planet were efficient and produced extremely fine adamantium ore, meeting their tithe quota with ease. The planet could feed itself, rarely needing to import much in the way of food. They were not as technologically advanced as they could be, but if Imotekh ever saw fit to supply them with an STC, that could be fixed. Imotekh wasn't sure he would ever do that, however. He had a different fate in mind for Luminous.
Making his decision, Imotekh accessed the power needed for a two-way FTL communication. He would not reach out to Emerard directly – he was only a planetary governor – but he would advise the sector administrator, Overlord Udjemka. She would take care of communicating the offer to Emerard, in whatever way she found most appropriate. Imotekh would also listen to her objections, if she had any, but he doubted it. Udjemka had only positive things to say about Luminous, unlike several other worlds in her charge.
The final decision, however, would be up to Emerard. Imotekh was curious to see what he would decide.
As far as Necron Overlords went, Planetary Governor Emerard thought that Udjemka was a decent sort. A rare female Overlord, Emerard only knew her gender because she had identified it… visually, there was no difference between her and male Overlords, aside perhaps for her headdress. It was fairly elaborate, decorated with diamonds and emeralds and Emerard wondered if, to another necron, that would have indicated her gender. He suspected the answer was no, he'd seen a few Lords who fancied themselves fashionable with trappings equally elaborate.
Whatever he thought of her fashion sense, Udjemka ruled the sector with an iron hand in a velvet glove. Some other planets had misjudged her and decided to try her control, and experienced the iron beneath her gentle grip. Emerard had been smart enough to recognize the threat from the beginning… despite being a xenos, she reminded him of a few female inquisitors he had met. The ones who were very nice right until the moment they weren't.
She came to him in person to bring him Imotekh's offer, but that was not as impressive as it sounded… it just happened that Udjemka was already doing an inspection of various worlds, and Luminous was on her list. So she had delayed the message until she could arrive.
"Planetary Governor Emerard, Phaeron Imotekh has noticed your excellent work and loyalty to the Sautekh empire." Well, that last was debatable, as she surely knew… Emerard was really just loyal to Luminous. That meant he had to be loyal to Sautekh, because the Inquisition would show them no mercy. They were too badly infected with xenos ideas and that new religion, 'Christianity' was becoming reasonably popular. "Also, Imotekh has received reports that there are those among your population that wish to join the God's Hands, to defend your world." Ah, yes… Emerard had heard the rumors that Imotekh actually read all their reports. He wasn't sure if he was grateful or appalled, but the Stormlord might really know about that. "If you are willing, he has decided to grant that request."
"Eh? Sorry… how could that possibly be so?" Emerard asked, deeply surprised by that. It was very hard for him to read necron body language, but Udjemka seemed pleased?
"The Stormlord is formally offering to increase your status to Serf." Ah, that was right, the Hope system was a Serf World. But what did this mean? "This means you will be trusted to provide military recruits, for the glory of the Sautekh Empire." They would offer biotransference to humans from Luminous? Emerard was a bit speechless. "There are also other privileges. You will be allowed access to the full suite of civilian technologies of Hope. Facilities will be built on the planet to enable the use of them, and supplies brought from Antioch." Wait… was he understanding this correctly?
"I am sorry, we have only heard rumors of this. Civilian shells are being made in Antioch and being sold?" Emerard asked to clarify. She nodded.
"Yes. We do not spread this information widely, as it has been decided this will be a reward for those who are particularly loyal and competent. However, if you are a Serf World, you may pay for them privately." Emerard felt a little faint. He was three hundred years old, not quite on the verge of death, but well into middle age, assisted with rejuvenation. He could have immortality? "There are other technologies that will be made available, but that is the major one… the full information of the offer is here." She offered him a small data cube and Emerard took it automatically. "You have until I depart the planet to decide." That was a week, if everything went according to schedule.
"Thank you, Sector Governor. I will review it and have my answer soon," Emerard said and Udjemka nodded him before leaving to begin the inspection. Normally Emerard might have hovered and fussed a bit, but he was confident in his subordinates and this was too important to put aside.
When he reviewed the full list of changes in their status, Emerard saw that they really had touched on the major points, the recruitment of soldiers from Luminous and the biotransference. The tithes would remain unchanged, much would remain unchanged. There would be other technologies and imports they would have access to, but Emerard found most of them rather puzzling. What was 'beef' exactly? One thing that caught his attention was a small note at the end… that after a thousand years of loyal service, the Stormlord would consider them for upgrade to commoner world. And he indicated that might mean a reduction in the tithes.
There really is only one reply to this. Emerard would be utterly insane to pass on this offer. The Stormlord's tithes were fairly reasonable, no more than what the Imperium had asked, but ANY possible chance to lower them had to be taken. Even if it was a thousand years from now. Will I still be alive to see it? As a Planetary Governor, Emerard's salary was large and he'd carefully reinvested it. He could easily afford a shell.
As he gave Udjemka his reply, another thought crossed Emerard's mind.
Would he see Iplanen again?
For Manric, the aftermath of his actions did not take long to materialize. He'd barely added the sword and shield to the weapons rack before he got an urgent communication from Reinhart.
Manric, what in hell is going on?! Why is my son calling me and telling me that you've fulfilled the deathbed prophecy of the Prophet? Wait, what? There was a prophecy?
"I don't know what you're talking about," Manric said, which was technically true, he'd never heard of the First Prophet having actual prophecies. Although, now that he thought about it, it did make sense that he might given that he was literally called the Prophet. No doubt those things were secrets of the church. There was a pause before Reinhart sighed.
Manric, come to me this instant. While technically, Reinhart was no longer the King and Manric didn't have to obey him, he still went. If he didn't, the actual King would surely summon him. The current King was Reinhart's son and Manric didn't know him well, so he was obviously using Reinhart as a proxy and it was probably better this way.
When he arrived, Reinhart's home was quite calm aside from a group of ballet dancers practicing their craft in one of his studios. Manric could hear someone giving them instructions and formed a quick impression of a very advanced class, for dancers showing particular promise. Quickly, though, it became less calm as Reinhart lit into him.
"Why would you do such a thing, in front of everyone?!" Well he hadn't had a CHOICE! "It's already spreading over the planet like wildfire!" Yes… he'd thought that would happen. "How on earth did you find out about the prophecy anyway? That knowledge is supposed to be limited to the Bishop and the King!"
"I really don't know anything about this prophecy, Reinhart. I spoke to a non-Chaos aligned Warp entity and it instructed me to do that, as payment for its assistance," Manric said, fully aware that Reinhart would jump to the correct conclusion. Reinhart just stared at him for a long moment and Manric could sense that he very sincerely wanted to throttle him.
"Manric, is 'non-Chaos aligned Warp entity' your addlepated way of saying 'Angel'?" Manric was vaguely aware of Trazyn shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation, but paid it no mind. This wasn't really private anyway.
"Well, yes? But it didn't look anything like an angel," Manric defended himself and Reinhart reached up to rub his forehead.
"Let me guess. It looked like four wheels, rolling against each other and covered in eyes." Manric almost froze in shock.
"Wh-What?! How did you know?!" He hadn't expected THAT! Reinhart heaved a sigh.
"You are so ignorant of religion… Manric, that is a particular class of angel called a Throne. And if you remember, the words you said were I have spoken to the Throne of God. We always speculated that it referred to that kind of angel." Reinhart shook his head. "Priests all over this planet will want to strangle you. They would give anything to speak to an Angel and it was wasted on you!" Well, pardon me.
"Reinhart… can you tell me more about this prophecy? I never knew the Prophet gave actual prophecies," Manric said although that sounded a bit absurd when he said it out loud. Reinhart's eyes glowed but he nodded.
"He only really had two prophecies, both on his deathbed. Although before that, there were hints… it's said that he dictated the exact moment and direction the colony ship left Terra." Wait, what?! "They believed at the time, when we hit the Warp Storm and found this nearly dead world, that his wisdom was to offer us challenges. In retrospect, I wonder if the Prophet was guided by God to arrange the time skip." It… it was possible… "Given that Christianity was a dead religion when we arrived, I think that is actually plausible." Dear gods. "Also, it is mentioned in the records and confirmed by STC that at one stage of the terraforming, he insisted that STC do things his way, against her better judgement. I forget the exact details but STC complied and he was proven correct." Ah, interesting. "He died only five years after the colony ship arrived, of systemic failure and on his deathbed he gave two great prophecies… one is the one you just fulfilled, but the other was a rather blunt warning." Warning? "He said we would be tempted to employ the sword of God and the shield of God before their time but if we did so, they would be taken by the decayed and damned, and turned against our people in an orgy of destruction." Reinhart tilted his head slightly. "When the drukhari arrived, we took that to mean that if we dared use those weapons against them they would kill our champion and seize them."
"Very likely so," Manric said, a bit shaken. But the sword and shield were not like the gauntlet of Sanguinius… they were just very finely machined weapons, without a mind of their own. If the drukhari took them they would surely use them and delight in the sacrilege. "The sword would be too large to be used by anything but a Knight armor." And they all knew how vulnerable they were to destruction, before the adamantium. Reinhart nodded.
"So we kept them sealed away in the altar of the church, waiting for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Now, what do you plan to do with them? They can't be for you," Reinhart said and Manric sighed internally. They might object to this.
"The Angel directed me to give them to the Child of the Emperor. They are for Fulgrim." Manric was sure they would suit him perfectly. "Reinhart, I'm not sure you're still aware of what's happening but the battle it refers to, between the angel of death and the demon that thirsts… that is coming very rapidly. It will happen in roughly five years." This was exactly the kind of thing Reinhart might not know about now, as he was not King. "And given that Demon Prince Fulgrim will surely take the field, the clone Fulgrim must be properly outfitted."
"What is this?" Reinhart asked and Manric explained the situation with the summoning of Ynnead. Reinhart's eyes glowed and Manric could sense his temper. "You could destroy Yggdrasil?! Are you aware of what a blow to us that would be?! It is already producing immense qualities of fine ore and we've barely gotten started!" Yes but…
"Reinhart, this is a matter of the survival of an entire species. Right now, the aeldari can barely have children because each child requires a Soulstone to prevent them from being seized by Slaanesh on death and experiencing eternal damnation. Not a damnation earned, but merely given to them as a birthright." It was horrible really. "If Ynnead can overcome Slaanesh, absorb her and take in the souls of the eldar, it is possible they can rejuvenate their species." Manric thought they would never be what they once were. Trillions of eldar had been wiped from reality in an instant, that damage could never be truly recovered. But they could at least go from the edge of extinction to small but flourishing. Reinhart hesitated a long moment.
"Can you at least TRY not to blow it up?" They would certainly try. "And what are you planning to do with the colonists?" They already did have a tentative plan for that.
"We are planning to temporarily evacuate them to Craftworld Iyanden." While perhaps a bit uncomfortable for everyone, it was highly practical. The Craftworld was largely empty and with five years of travel, they could ramp up their internal food production to meet the new, temporary population. "I am told the prognostications are that in the most likely outcome, there will be a great deal of damage to the farming communities and Valhalla, an entire crop will be lost, but the planet will survive." Manric paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, there is a very unlikely but possible outcome of the planet being broken in two." There were also other bad outcomes, but that was the worst of them. "Because of that, the colonists need to be safely elsewhere."
"Please tell me you've informed Rahkaak of this." Manric stayed prudently silent and Reinhart's eyes glowed with his temper. "You haven't?!"
"That is for Imotekh, when he arrives," Manric said firmly and the glow of Reinhart's eyes ebbed a bit.
"Oh. I see. So this was an order from the Stormlord?" Manric nodded and Reinhart heaved a sigh. "Very well, I will say nothing more about it." Yes, he knew Reinhart could keep his mouth shut and from what Manric knew of him, Trazyn was also not the kind to go babble to Rahkaak. Speaking of which.
"If you have any questions for me, archaeovist, you should ask them." Manric said cooly and Trazyn melted out of the shadows, making Reinhart twitch.
"Well my first question is, why do you seem to dislike me? I really haven't done anything to you. Are you really that sore over my small acquisitions?" A person was not 'small!' But since he'd asked.
"I deeply disapprove of your conduct. Did you not care that Fulgrim was fully conscious and aware?" Manric said sharply and to his surprise, that set Trazyn back on his heels. He could feel the other necron's surprise.
"What? How? There wasn't the slightest trace of brain activity." Trazyn hesitated before making glyphs that indicated intense frustration. "I did hear once that Primarchs contain Warp entities… I wasn't sure it was true, but perhaps that might do it. I do take a great deal of care to make sure nothing in my collection is conscious, you know." Really? Manric tilted his head skeptically. "You don't believe me?" Trazyn was starting to feel extremely put out and Manric was sensing that he was being truthful. Still, he wanted to tax him a bit.
"No one else seems to believe that of you. I have spoken about you to necrons on both Mandragora and in the Uhnashret Dynasty and they seem to take it for granted that you would treat them so cavalierly. They are only organics and lesser lifeforms, after all," Manric said and Trazyn stared at him.
"That says more about THEM than me." That was a very good point, actually. "I assure you, I am not that cruel intentionally… well, except in a few cases where it is extremely warranted." Manric wondered what that meant, but then let it slide. He was planning to give some kind of cursed Slaanesh thing to Trazyn as a present, he assumed there WERE individuals who fully deserved some kind of eternal torture in Trazyn's collection.
"Very well, I accept that I had the wrong idea about you. I still want my men and our priests back, though," Manric said and Trazyn seemed to radiate innocence, a kind of 'I can't imagine what you're talking about' feeling. It was quite well done and Manric admired it a bit. "You know how my psyker gifts work?"
"Oh, I might have an idea," Trazyn said and Manric shook his head before making a few glyphs of amusement. "Now, describe this Angel to me. In fact, describe everything!" Well, there was no reason he shouldn't.
Manric spent a rather pleasant afternoon with Trazyn the Infinite, detailing all of his visions, how they had played out in reality, the current vision and the angel. That led naturally to a discussion of his gifts and the Warp in general, and Manric tried to give his insight. He also did get to ask Trazyn about the retrofit… apparently it was largely a joke. He'd foreseen the exact problem Manric had anticipated, who would he use it with?
"There's really only one person I really feel that close to, in a very bizarre fashion. And I doubt he'd be interested," Trazyn said and Manric wondered who he was referring to, then decided not to ask.
(elsewhere, on the fleet with Imotekh, Orikan felt an intense irritation that somehow brought Trazyn to mind)
"Well, for us pwi-necrons, the method of our biotransference is a most effective neutering. I have no capacity for sexual desire in any real sense," Manric said, reflecting on it. "I don't miss it and as far as I can tell, none of us do… retrofitting us would probably require that our brains be partly rebuilt." That might be impossible. "If we ever wanted to make pwi-necrons capable of such things, we might have to alter the entire process." Would it be worth it? Trazyn tilted his head.
"I'm not sure it would be as difficult as you think. Building new engrams can be done… you know, I really should look into this as a purely academic thing, just to see if it's possible." That might be interesting. "I could also ask Orikan what he thinks." To actually get his opinion or just to annoy him? "Do you know when the fleet will arrive?"
"Roughly three days, now." The Stormlord was fast approaching. Hm. "We should test Fulgrim's new weapons before they arrive." The young clone would need to get accustomed to them. Trazyn's eyes glowed with interest.
"Let me know when you do that, I would like to see it." Manric nodded, making a mental note to inform him. After the conversation was done, he departed Reinhart's home to go back to his Estates and spend time playing games with Sehenna. Hopefully, his family hadn't heard of what had happened and he would be able to avoid too many questions.
It had been quite a momentous day.