...
/destination: system Sollides
/calculating optimal route
/result: 7 warp jumps required
+++notification: visions from Omnissiah suggest more efficient means of transportation
+++review process: 'inertialess-theory' - progress 14%
++++error: principles violate laws of physics; progress halted
+++++override: resume; ignore errors, substitute calculations for custom values, allocate additional 9% computing power
...
/query: Sollides/system features
/alternative nomenclature: Ahhot; Triwath
/planets: 4
/classification: 1, 3, 4 - barren worlds; 2- death world
/population: irrelevant
/result: purging not required
...
...
/override routine
/query: Sollides/star parameters
/calculating energy gain…
/calculating energy expenditure
/projecting transfer efficiency
/predicting net energy gain
+argument: processing the star's energy quickens Omnissiah restoration; value: true
/route confirmed… warp jump initialized
/all praise Omnissiah!
Journey back to the craftworld was uneventful, if spent on speculations about the events unfolding on Carralos II. The seer remained tight lipped, and we knew better than to try and fruitlessly convince him to talk.
What we were all unanimous for was that the premature death of the star was instigated by something. The implications were worrying, whether the destruction was wrought by an ancient device unearthed by short-sighted mon-keigh, or a herald to awakening another dynasty of the Necrons.
"On the bright side, it's not our problem anymore. We survived and that's all that matters!" Fia said. "We must rejoice, praise Cegorach, and what's better way than to have some fun? I know this nice gin mill we could all visit…"
"Speak for yourself ranger, the one who saved us is the seer, or Morai-heg who gave him the foresight, not your clown god. Seek escape if you wish, I will wait for Autarchs to call me for battle in Khaine's name," one of the warriors answered.
"It was the system inhabited by humans, we should let them clean up their mess instead of intervening ourselves. I for once would enjoy a good drink."
My declaration was met with a few murmurs of assent, but also some curious, or even judging expressions.
Would it be too frivolous of me to enjoy a drink or two in a company? If I were still a dreamer, became a wanderer or even a merchant, nobody would bat an eye. Even Khainites would sometimes gather to celebrate a victory, or remember those that have fallen. Tenets of my current Path were more rigid, but for Asuryan's sake, I wasn't a seer!
I assumed a pose of unwavering conviction, flick of fingers signifying my prior introspection, which seemed to at least partially ease others doubts.
Even if today's encounter could be seen as the epitome of my reasons to start my Path, I needed a way to unwind in a safe place, with a camaraderie of those who survived the same woes. The experiences would be vital for my further growth, but for now they were slightly overwhelming.
Of course, memories of this foray would remain with me forever, me-dreamer making sure that I could vividly remember the thrill and elation of fleeing the doomed world whenever I'd like.
A dream-crystal with such adventure would be acclaimed throughout the craftworld, me-artist added.
I had to share the memory with Searlieth. As a scholar, she would never miss the first hand account of the universe changing event such as a death of the star. Of course I would refrain from depicting my brief encounter with a daemon. Arguably far more dreadful, despite me actually being prepared for it as a part of my training as a thought-talker, contrary to what happened with the planet.
Soon the Wave Serpents left the webway and we found ourselves surrounded from all sides by colossal wraithbone superstructure. Multitudes of Webway Gates of varying sizes constantly swirled and ebbed, countless ships of different classes heading to and from them. Grand battleships and sleek destroyers stately ventured through ordered commotion, while slender pleasure yachts darted through trongs of seemingly languid long fluted hulls of trade ships.
Behind the scenes, countless thought-talkers and port workers coordinated travel vectors of the vessels and directed them to docking bays.
On the sides, tiny eruptions of golden light signified passage of smaller crafts or even groups of Aeldari venturing on foot. Our group arrived by one of such smaller gates and the pilots were guided towards a landing bay assigned to us.
Finally, our Wave Serpent gently stopped.
"Feels good to be home," I mused, preparing to disembark.
"Well, I seem to have misplaced my pigment-comb somewhere, a girl has to prepare for the evening, so I guess I will wait for you in the gin mill. It was nice traveling with you all!" Fia said as soon as the transport's ramp opened.
The ranger quickly ran towards the biggest crowd and disappeared.
"Outcasts…"
Her reason for getting away became soon visible - a group of three seers and some guardians were heading straight towards us.
I smiled at Fia's folly.
"They'd probably like to hear the account of the events. Well, our seer should be enough to explain everything, they won't concern themselves with us…" my smile started to fade when one of the three made a beeline directly towards me.
Eh, would they want me to prepare a dream-crystal for the Council to analyze? It would take a few cycles anyway, I will tell her that I begin tomorrow…
"Head Farseer Arhorwal Naer urges you to head to the Dock of Crystalline Shores; The Azure Envoy will be departing soon."
"I wasn't planning to board any ship…"
"It will head to the Triwath system. There is an exodite world, and our intervention is required to save it from the fate which befell Carralos."
I looked at her with a mixture of annoyance, frustration and curiosity.
"But why me? Surely there are other thought-talkers, more qualified, who trodden Paths better suited for such a mission, be it combat or negotiations with exodites."
"There might be, yet it is the Farseer's prediction that your presence is crucial to achieving the favorable outcome."
"Then this is an order of the Seer Council?"
"No, merely a request of the Head Farseer," she answered, a pose of measured indifference. "The rest of the Council views your presence as either allegorical omen - the one who already faced the threat and returned - or as something irrelevant. The choice is yours; either head to the ship immediately, or we'll leave without you. Leaving on the schedule is more important than trying to convince you to join our expedition."
Seers and their requests. How much of what she told me was calculated to push me in the direction they foresaw? Was I requested to join this expedition because it was important, or did they expect that after denying it I would feel more obliged when they ask for something different? Especially if I learn about the outcome of this expedition believing that it could have gone better…
"It was a pleasure to see you in person, Iriath, the Harmonic Nexus. A pity I never got the chance of viewing one of your premiers myself. If this is your decision, then take some rest after your journey, and have a nice day," the seer turned to leave.
I stood there for a moment watching her back.
I knew that her use of the full name I earned on my last Path was deliberate. I turned away from it in hopes to experience the universe first-hand. And yet… Here I stood, willing to throw away a chance to witness the next chapter of a tale I just lived through…
"Wait! You said 'our expedition', so you're also boarding the Azure Envoy?" the seer nodded. "The shuttles to other docks are departing from there," I pointed in another direction.
"True," she headed deeper into the docking bays, her stance momentarily miming a mischievous harlequin, "but we won't be taking shuttles to the Dock of Crystalline Shores. Only a short elevator ride. Why would the Wave Serpents be directed to disembark you there otherwise?"
I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
"So, with me roped for this expedition, maybe you could at least tell me your name. And something more about what we are facing?"
"Aviel. As for your question, it's not something I would simply tell you."
I wanted to object to her sudden dismissal, but the seer turned to me, and looking into her eyes I felt a tug on my mind.
+See.+
A circle of seers cast runes. They intertwine with each other, forming incomprehensible arcane patterns, but Aviel quickly overlays them with other images.
A hooded mon-keigh clad in red robes, venturing through barren rocky corridors of a maze. With each step he takes, he loses more of his flesh, becoming a little more than a machine by the time he approaches guardians of a chained gateway. A fight ensues, and the hooded mon-keigh retreats, but not before chipping part of the chain. The man, his eyes blind, gleaming with sickly green light, rides a decaying horse now, searching for something. He picks an egg, and it hatches, to devour both the rider and the steed. Now, a dragon flies the void, latching itself to the stars, with each that is destroyed a chain covering the door is eroded a little more. And the presence behind those doors stirs, its hunger only growing, casting its gaze on the universe again as it prepares to feast once more. The stars disappear by dozens as countless mortals fall to the beast's unsated hunger. Their dying throes feed the Womb and it too spews its spawn. The sky shatters in half and a distant light flickers. The guiding beacon gutters as the corpse falls from the throne, only to rise again, illuminated and unforgiving. The reality itself crumbles as…
The vision suddenly broke and I shuddered with horror. I studied history and had a background knowledge to recognize some of the metaphorical concepts shown to me by the seer.
"This was meant to happen should we not intervene," Aviel said.
"And with us taking action? The Yngir…"
I let my voice hang, unable to even put into words the latter part of the vision-dream, its details already slipping from my mind, leaving behind only a dreadful premonition and conviction that it was something that must not come to pass.
"We will do our part, and the Shard remains imprisoned and powerless for the foreseeable future. The chain of events is broken before it starts. The finer threads of fate will reveal themselves in due time. This is all you need to know right now."
We entered an elevator and the lift began its descent, quickly gaining speed. I once again savored the sights of the docking bays, the crystalline walls of the cabin providing a marvelous vantage point. I considered further inquiring the seer about the mission, but the thought was forgotten as soon as I spotted the vessel docked below us.
Even kilometers below us, the spacecraft seemed massive. A long, slender, wraithbone hull housing several pulsar lances and countless smaller weapon batteries. On its sides were hatches of launch bays, each adorned with pleasant, floral patterns. The rear fourth of the vessel was the most distinctive feature of this ship class; a characteristic quadruple sail.
"Magnificient, isn't she?" Aviel's mask of cold detachment was completely dropped for an instant, giving way to the unbidden pride of a mariner presenting her vessel.
"I only heard about those ships, never had a chance to witness them embarking during my work in the port."
"They are rarely returning to docks, usually deployed for long-drawn assignments, serving as outposts for operations. The webway passages whose size can accommodate them are few and far between," she said with a tinge of sadness. "This is one of our oldest vessels; nowadays bonesingers rarely grow them to the full size, deeming their smaller variants more practical."
For the rest of the ride we just stood in solemn silence, marveling at the sight of the Void Stalker below us. If I had any doubts that it would be a diplomatic mission to the exodite world, the Azure Envoy dispelled them.
Having left the elevator Aviel quickly led me through the throngs of engineers, mariners and warriors. Many of them bowed their heads with respect when she passed them; with others she exchanged a few pleasantries before moving on.
There was a visible dichotomy with how the people reacted to her presence; for most it was solely a simple deference to the seer; others evidently looked up to her. For a thought-talker, an undercurrent of tension and uneasiness directed at the first group by the second was plainly visible.
"It's one thing to work with strangers, but having ranks suddenly dwarfed by the foreign personnel is an odd experience for the crew used to operating on their own for so long as we had," she explained. "Though, being suddenly reassigned from their own vessels to bolster ours is bound to be unpleasant for our guests too. Still, being experienced as most of them are, a few cycles of travel to our destination will even things out."
I snorted.
"Glad to be the only rookie here. Never stepped on a ship this large. I only sailed on a yacht before."
"We all have our part to play."
"Now, don't sell yourself short, youngling," another eldar chimed in. "You spend your entire life on the greatest ship one can imagine."
"Eldion! You are just in time to meet your new charge. Iriath, this is the Azure Envoy's Lann Caihe and Chief Thought-Talker. You'll be in his care during our expedition."
I politely greeted the man, an older Asuryani, easily in his 7th or 8th arc, yet still beaming with energy of someone much younger. We followed the seer and engaged in a small talk. Amongst other things, I learned that the Azure Envoy had spacious hydroponics farms not only dedicated to feeding its crew, but also housing a variety of interesting alien flora - having heard that me-botanist took reigns in the conversation. As it turned out, Eidion walked the Path of the Chemist before, and was eager to tell me about the properties of some more curious species they preserved.
The talk helped alleviate a sinking feeling growing inside me, allowing me to forget that I was being involved in something far above my capabilities. At least until the moment we reached the voidbridge leading to the ship's entrance. Eidion might have claimed that the wraithbone behemoth was tiny compared to the craftworld, but the experiences traveling it promised were of a completely different category.
"Are the preparations finished?" Aviel's question broke my reverie.
Eldion reached to a crystal reader and his eyes quickly skimmed its pale display.
"Bonesingers finished retrofitting bays used by our landbound vehicles. All attackcrafts are already loaded. Psychic well fully charged. We could set sail as soon as you board the vessel."
The seer closed her eyes for a moment and I sensed a faint echo of mental communication.
"Splendid. Tell everyone that we'll depart in an hour."
The man nodded and turned towards me, "Now, you said you were on this Path for a few passes. Then, watch and learn."
I felt his mind brushing against my own, and when I opened myself, I took a first seat in the great spectacle that was coordinating orders for hundreds of Asuryani. Eldion first reached seven other thought-talkers, and like ripples on the water they spread the message further. After a heartbeat, he maintained connection to all eldar on the dock and within the ship, suggesting alternate passages to some, as to avoid congestion before leaving and entering personnel.
Witnessing the usage of the skill honed to such heights, without assistance from the craftworld's Infinity Circuit as a crutch was breathtaking.
And sad.
It was only a premonition then, but I understood that such finesse and control over the telepathy wasn't without a cost, for it was only attainable to someone who dedicated his whole life to honing the skill - Eldion would be forever the Thought-Talker, for he was lost upon the Path.
+Ha! Don't pity me, youngling. I witnessed more of the universe than most of those who still restlessly change their Paths will ever have the chance. I too trodden countless before, and it is finally on this where I found my true calling,+ he chided in my mind.
So distracted by the spectacle was I, that I barely recounted crossing the voidbridge and entering a dozen meters long tunnel within the wraithbone shell of the voidship.
Like all Asuryani spacecraft, the Azure Envoy had been grown by bonesingers; beginning from the psycho-plastic skeletal core which served as a foundation for further layers of wraithbone forming the vessel's hull and compartments. The organic material merged seamlessly together, forming a pleasant continuous enclosure of softly gleaming alabaster. Throughout our way, at even intervals, thick petal-like doorways opened themselves with the grace which belied their size.
The tunnel ended, opening itself on the far larger central corridor of the vessel, broken only by the massive archways every hundred meters or so. Each of them could serve as a bulkhead should the vessel be required to quarantine its part. While not visible at a glance, hidden within the wraithbone structure were countless turrets and ramparts, ready to be deployed against borders. With one mental command of the captain this pleasant boulevard could be turned into a deadly maze filled with traps.
Numerous Asuryani moved through the vessel purposely; some disappeared within elevators, heading into the depths of the starship with last shipments of ammunition or rations, others interacted with crystalline clusters set into the walls, accessing the ship's psychic matrix. Sometimes, a blur of movement was visible throughout the midsection of the corridor - a passage of tiny grav-chariot carrying someone to a distant part of the vessel.
"It's been arcs since I saw the Envoy this crowded," Aviel said. "Regularly, we'd sail with less than two hundred souls."
"Don't worry, the ship is large, but it's hard to get lost," Eidon chimed in, sensing my distress. "And even if, as a thought-talker, you'd be able to access the basic function of the ship's matrix without even reaching for a physical node… Now, a sightseeing tour! Let's see, we'd start with getting you an attire more suited for the officer, then go to quarters, meditation room and mess hall amongst other places, leaving hydroponics farms as a final stop, as I have a feeling that I won't be taking you out of them any time soon… Unless you envisioned something different for us?"
"We'll all be heading towards the command bridge," Aviel answered.
As if on a cue one of the passing grav-chariots landed next to us.
"You are finally here, Lady Invash! Autarch Anvor Thuyelsa was growing impatient by your tardiness," its pilot, a young eldar following the Path of Service said, barely stopping himself from stuttering.
"A seer is never late, nor is she early. We appear precisely when we mean to," she answered, nonplussed. "Let's go."
We seated ourselves within the craft, to the pilot's relief it was Eldion and not Aviel who sat in the front of the chariot next to him. It didn't take long for the old telepath to sooth the youth with his talk.
"Are you glad?" the seer suddenly said, and seeing my confused look elaborated. "You aren't the only rookie here."
I laughed. The boy - for it was his first chosen Path - dreamed about becoming a sailor, but lacking the skills required to immediately become a mariner, he had chosen to enlist on any vessel by starting the Path of Service barely two cycles ago. Assigned to the Azure Envoy, facing an angry Autarch and fetching him a scion of one of the most influential Noble Houses of Il'sariadh probably wasn't something he had foreseen.
"So… Is it Seer Aviel, or Lady Invash?"
House Invash was one of the first houses to join Il'sari's efforts to construct the craftworld many arcs before the Fall. From the very beginning they maintained their position as Fir Caurifel, a titan clan. Matriarchal, their female scions carry Isha's blessing, often giving birth to twins or triplets, an occurrence rare amongst Aeldari, especially nowadays. Yet, after the Fall, the blessing became also a curse; their male offspring becoming always infertile, as most of the female twins.
"Does one exclude another? We are as strongly defined by our runes as we let them define us. Are you Iriath? Or Iriath, the Harmonic Nexus?" she asked, the added rune barely audible with her timbre of voice; the undercurrent meaning being that I might have simply missed her full name when she introduced herself. "Or could you be someone else entirely? Some'll see me as wayseer Aviel. Others, as Lady Invash. A captain of the Azure Envoy. Or the captain's twin. Let the Crone's tapestry remain blurred. We're not the only ones unveiling its mysteries."
"I always preferred when you, honored seers, speak plainly. It's not like you couldn't," I answered, my solemn tone contrasting the words and posture. The answer was meant only as a slight jab, but somehow my anger and nervousness turned them into a mockery.
"Easy answer fades from mind quickly. It is the one someone reaches on their own that is cherished," the seer answered, completely ignoring my outburst.
The ride was swift and soon I found myself led by Eldion to the side of the circular room, already occupied by other thought-talkers. The sight of crystalline terminals, holo-displays and - oddly enough - assortments of xenotech, such as some kind of human vox-comms, paled in comparison to the crew of eldar gathered here.
They all stood around a large holo-display; short lived images of various vessels flickered through it as the Azure Envoy was updating its archives.
On the forefront was Anvor Thuyelsa, the Autarch. The man was unknown to me, but the tragic history of those whose heritage he claimed did not.
When the craftworld Thuyelsa was destroyed, its survivors found refuge on Il'sariadh, and named themselves as such, to never forget their origins. Once known mainly as impeccable crystal artisans, their descendants still develop the craft, although their designs are seldom solely aesthetic now. Thuyelsan crystals are highly valued by bonesingers creating Fire Prisms, said to be unrivaled when utilized in energy weapons. Those not blessed by Vaul, often take Khaine's Path, becoming unparalleled warriors. Like most contemporary Houses, nowadays it's not the ties of blood, but the core idea which unites the clan - any Asuryani pursuing revenge on mon-keigh or mastery in martial aspects of crystal sculpting is welcomed in their ranks.
+The Autarch is specialized in aerial and void combat,+ Eldion said in my mind. +He mastered Aspects of Swooping Hawk, Crimson Hunter, Eagle Pilot and Darkstar.+
The warrior was in full regalia. Clad in an imposing, heavy armor adorned with gravitic-wings on his back. Ornamental lasblaster was tightly secured to his side, a sleek blade to the other.
The figure radiated power and authority, but it was his entourage that made me shiver.
Surrounding the Autarch was a group of Exarchs; more prominent bulky frames of a Warp Spider and a Striking Scorpion, a lightly armored Dire Avenger, and six unarmed - save for their ritual knives - exarch pilots. Even busy discussing with each other, they constantly observed everyone in the room, assessing possible threats; coiled predators ready to strike in a heartbeat.
On the other side of the holo-display, four seers gathered. Three of them wore robes embroidered with similar runic patterns, with a dominant rune signifying an aspect of the Path they focused on. Even without looking at it, every Asuryani would easily identify them, for that close, the aura they excluded was palpable; coldness, melancholy, mourning. Guides of the dead, the spiritseers.
The fourth was different. An unobservant xeno might have described her as a mirror reflection of Aviel, for she must have been her twin. Yet, it would be far more accurate to describe her as both her opposite and supplement.
+Lahith Invash, the Voidseer,+ supplied Eldion.
By now I probably lost my capacity to be surprised. Though deep down, I might have expected a presence of a voidseer on the ship as soon as Aviel mentioned that nowadays the webway is of limited use to fully-grown Void Stalkers.
It was said that the Path of the Seer is ridden with traps and pitfalls. But even within the Witch Path, certain aspects were more dangerous than others. Few Asuryani dared to train as a voidseer, and even fewer had the required skills. It was not for a frail mind to navigate the Othersea and shield the ship's crew from its myriad dangers.
Where a Warp Spider would dive unprotected, a voidseer embarked on the journey protected by countless layers of her ship's wraithbone hull. Where the warrior relied on swiftness and stealth, the seer used her gift of divination and prophecy to chart a safe route.
Even then, nowadays, only in a bid of great desperation would a voidseer take the course through something deeper than the shallowest regions of the Warp.
Instead of plunging deep into the Othersea and pitting their psychic prowess enhanced by protections of wraithbone construct against perils of the demon-seas, most voidseers resolved to plot the course only barely touching it.
Where the classic warp jump used by humans could be compared to plunging a vessel deep underwater, the Asuryani would only skim on the waves of the ocean, not unlike a stone skipping on the water, ship's sails expending truly massive amounts of energy to keep it afloat.
Through this means of travel the ship disappeared from the Materium, but also moved impossibly close to it. What sailors of lesser races describe as sightings of a ghostship, often was only an afterimage left in the ship's wake. This method, even if much safer, was also far less energy efficient and slower than the alternatives.
Still, for Asuryani, it was solely utilized as a secondary drive, and with proper coordination between the voidseer and the wayseer it could be used not only between two places within realspace, but also to connect between 'wider' segments of the Webway.
To the Autarch's displeasure, Aviel chose to greet her sister first, before focusing her attention on him.
"As the Wayseer deigned to finally honor us with her presence, I expect that'll be departing immediately," he said after greetings.
"We might. Though, I'd be glad if you'd remembered, honored Autarch, that you'll assume command over this vessel no sooner than we reach our destination. Until then, it is me and my sister who are commanding this ship."
"Unless we encounter an enemy on the way."
"True, but neither had we," Lahith pointed at the present seers, "nor the Farseers back on the Craftworld envisioned such occurrence."
"Even a small thread can affect the tapestry, one must always be prepared."
"With that I can agree. But the current arrangement remains; mariners remain under our command, warriors under yours."
The Autarch nodded with begrudging acceptance, "I don't like this arrangement; sudden changes in command only lead to confusion in battles. Still, I concede to the seers' wisdom."
"Then we are ready to disembark. Set solar sails!"
A sudden snort reverberated throughout the room. Moments later, the Striking Scorpions Exarch was already schooling his posture back to an impassive one.
"It's been a while since I heard that one," the warrior said noncommittally, but some people were still giving him curious looks.
Laughter wasn't something one expected from an exarch.
As for the notion to call the sails 'solar', it was a running joke amongst sailors since it became widely known that xenos actually believed it!
True, the sails had an important role in collecting star's energy to recharge ship's core, and could gain some propulsion by utilizing solar winds, but to assume that the vessel could achieve reasonable acceleration solely by such means was something only uneducated races could come up with. In truth, they served mainly as projectors for fields created by massive anti-gravitational generators, not too dissimilar to those used in other Asuryani crafts. By precisely positioning sails in relation to the system's celestial bodies, attractive force was turned into repulsive one, accelerating the ship beyond capacities solar winds had.
On Aviel's command Eldion reached towards the craftworld's thought-talkers and after receiving their permission, notified the bridge. On the bridge, another eldar gently moved his fingers across a jeweled panel in front of himself. A soft pulse of energy that followed was more a sensation of the mind than something to be heard. Quickening waves passed the ship along the hull as it woke up from its slumber, a faint presence becoming a distinct one now as the vessel's engines generated power to counter artificial gravity of the craftworld.
The Asuryani on the bridge worked in tandem, without spoken word, their minds working in accord, connected with the psychic skeleton of the starship. Outside, other voidcrafts slightly altered their course, creating a passage for the magnificent vessel.
Aviel seated herself in front of one of the holo-screens and concentrated, several runes rising from her pouches and gently setting themselves around her. They swayed slightly in the psychic breeze in accordance with movements of her arms.
Suddenly, the energy within the ship's psychic well surged, opening a gold rimmed portal in front of the vessel's bow. With a barely perceptible tug the Azure Envoy entered the webway.