AN: be sure to read the end of the chapter if you want more information about the story.
-Craftworld: Beil-tan -Year: 932.M34 -Location: Segmentum Tempestus, Forsarr Sector -POV: Farseer Kaedra
"Do not allow your emotions to overtake you, your masks are feeble, cease and start again" Kaedra berated her students, these younglings were too eager to tread her path
The witches opened their eyes from meditation and followed the instructions of their teacher. The two young witches were new students giving to farseer Kaedra, just like how she was once trained by Anath'lan, they would be training under her gaze if they wish to tread her path, but unfortunately, the young witches weren't as talented as Anath's student.
"Stop" Kaedra ordered, the younglings haven't improved on their last mistake "I found your mask lacking, you two must practice your masks first if you wish to use your gifts again, you may leave for now" hearing this, young witches left the room grumbling to themselves
As the two were leaving another person entered the room, Anath'lan looked at the young witches as they passed by him, he then saw Kaedra's tired expression "Tired already? I do not remember raising an idler" Anath said
"The young ones are impatient, they do not know how to wait, they seek something greater without attaining its requirements" Kaedra confessed
"I did raise you, and yet you do not see me complaining" Anath chuckled
"I and them are different Anath, even in my youth, I knew reverence did I not? there are clear distinctions" Kaedra argued
"Yes, there are differences, you went through circumstances which they did not, you experienced pain which allowed you to mature faster, they did not, do not expect everyone to act like you" Anath scolded her "Perhaps you too lack in patients?" Anath suggested
"Isha's tears I understand Anath, so please stop your lecture" Kaedra whined in defeat
"You are a farseer, it's time for you to act like it" Anath lectured her "But that is not the reason I am here, Kaedra, we need to discuss something"
Anath's serious expression gathered her attention, what could possibly cause such expression? was an exodite world under attack? perhaps a new vision came to pass?
"What is it that troubles you Anath?" Kaedra asked
"I have received some information regarding the silver mask from our kin in Il-kaithe, it seems they themselves have bear witness to it" hearing Anath's words, Kaedra takes a stoic face
"You say that they have witnessed it themselves? what is the silver mask and what connection does it have with our craftworld? is the council aware of this?" many questions passed Kaedra's mind, the old vision that Anath saw all those years ago finally revealed part of its meaning
"Yes, the warlocks of Il-kaithe have witnessed something very similar to our visions, we are yet to know what it stands for and yes the council is aware of this new revelation" Anath answered
"So what is it Anath? have our kin eliminated the threat?" Kaedra asked, eager to see an end to the old visions of her teacher
"They have not eliminated the threat if you could call it a threat that is" Anath explained, Kaedra wanted to barge in with her questions but decided to be patient and let Anath finish his words "They have faced the silver mask through imperium's inquisition, and it seems that they have aided our kin to face a chaotic threat, hearing this, the council have been debating a new course of action"
"Has anything revealed itself about the mask's nature?" Kaedra asked
"A nearsighted mon-keigh was seen wearing a silver mask of our description, from what we have been told, said mon-keigh is an acolyte of an Inquisitor and capable of using his gifts better than any of his kind, though we are not sure about the scale of his capabilities with the gift"
"We should eliminate before our vision comes to pass, we must make haste to Il-kaithe, if we..." Kaedra said
"No, we will not" Anath interrupted Kaedra's words "I regard you a talented seer, yet you choose such a rash course of action"
"But Anath, the fates of many craftworlds depends on US!" Kaedra argued
"Yes, we have seen the death of a craftworld with a silver mask as an observer, but we do not know if he is the cause! besides, he, as an acolyte of the inquisitor has aided our kin of Il-kaithe, what will they think of us if we spill the blood of the one who helped them EVEN IF he is a human" Anath'lan replied, this caused Kaedra to pause, as much as she hated to admit, he was right "We do not know the part he plays in our vision, he may be the cause but he can also be the contrary, the council will decide our next course of action, until then, we will simply observe, do you understand that Kaedra?" Anath asked
Kaedra sighed and calmed herself, Anath was right, the mon-keigh may be despicable and barbaric, but they were also useful pawns from time to time, she shouldn't let her hatred cloud her judgment.
"Yes Anath, I do understand" Kaedra replied which received a nod from Anath
"Well, so long as you understand, now, I shall take my leave" Anath moved towards the door but stopped at the door frame "Don't be so harsh towards the young ones, not many people are born with natural talent"
"I'll keep that in mind" Kaedra said with a smile which Anath returned in kind
-Inquisitorial Vassel Fatorum ruptor -Year: 930.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, Askellon Sector -POV: Anon
It has been more than ten years in service of the emperor's most holy inquisition, during this decade Anon had gained the trust of his comrades by slaying many daemons, psykers, and heretics during their missions, he even aided them in eliminating a few fallen Astartes. Though, even with them as a vigil against the chaos of the warp, the darkness still crept towards them.
In these ages where Imperium is in great turmoil, the work of Inquisition only increased. Ordo hereticus was constantly in pursuit of traitors, heretics, and witches. Ordo Xenos was busy dealing with the problems that aroused in Anon's former home sector, the ghoul stars, though the threat was dealt with, the remaining Xenos needed to be exterminated, otherwise, they will have to deal with them again. Imperium cannot afford to face such threats again, not for hundreds of years, so they had Death spectors keeping a constant vigil on ghoul stars.
During this age, Ordo malleus suffered the most, the chaotic threats took advantage of the civil unrest and spread across many sectors like wildfire, and many such incursions were dealt with thanks to William.
William's reputation within the Inquisition rose to the point where a few Lord Inquisitors took notice of him, they might consider making him a lord inquisitor as well but that is remained to be seen. William was seeking such promotions while Anon didn't care and why would he? William's promotion did not affect his plans much.
"Master" Anon heard a voice behind him "You really do enjoy looking at the planets don't you?" Celliphus asked, she was referring to Keplar prime below them, a lush jungle planet, a planet with no hives and proper cities
"Seeing a planet with a proper ecosystem is rare, it is quite beautiful, it's shame that it has succumbed to the heretics" Anon said with a sad tone, the worst part was the fact that even if they remained loyal, the planet would turn into a radioactive wasteland since mechanicum showed great interest in it "This planet has a vital connection to the events in the entire sector, or so believes the Inquisitor" Anon explained "I fear that an exterminatus might be a solution if we don't hasten our efforts, Cartha has already used the energy readings and planet's uprising as an excuse to summon an exterminatus fleet"
"It would be a shame if that happened, I have never seen a world so green with life, even the holy terra don't have that" Celliphus stood beside her master "Do you really think this planet is connected to the rumored Astartes in Septor?" She asked
"They are not rumors Celliphus, those Astartes are heretics, the entire chapter is damned" Anon seethed "I have searched through a marine's mind"
"I trust your judgment master but the truth is yet to be revealed to others, condemning an entire chapter is no trivial thing" Celliphus argued "It is also frustrating for me that others don't believe you master" she said with a sad and frustrated tone
"No matter, we will deal with them when we have sufficient evidence, William won't believe my words, but he will believe the grey knights...I hope" Anon said as he walked towards the training grounds "If he doesn't, the entire sector will suffer"
"But what is it, in Keplar prime that earned Inquisitor's attention?" Celliphus questioned
"Most likely is the exterminatus order given by Cartha, the reason for exterminatus is not sufficient for them to perform one" Anon answered "However, I believe Cartha had a reason for this order" the masked man looked at his disciple "Can you sense something from the planet?" Anon asked "Large amounts of psychic energies, Perhaps a skilled psyker?"
"A skilled psykers? no, I haven't, master" Celliphus answered "How skilled do you think this psyker is?" she asked
"Enough to make me doubt my abilities" Anon said with a grim expression not visible to his acolyte
It's been a few Terran months since they had entered the sector and only in the last few days did Anon notice the large amounts of psychic energy being discharged in the sector, the people behind this phenomenon should not be underestimated.
"Should I inform the Inquisitor to prepare for enemy Astartes, master?" Celliphus asked
"I don't know, I can barely able sense the psychic energies let alone sense the people behind it, it's either librarians of 'Ashen Claw' or Eldari witch seers, I can't tell which one is worse" Anon looked towards Celliphus "Do you still hear the whispers?" Anon asked to change the topic
Celliphus shook her head "Not anymore, it only happens when I use too much of my power"
"Good, it shows how much you managed to master your mental shield, how about your eyes?" Anon asked again
"Sister Fatima said that my eyesight is getting better, she thinks I can heal my eyes completely in next two years" Celliphus informed with a smile "Most I could see before was bluer, so I was used to sensing others with my power, but being able to see few meters in front of me without hitting the wall is good" Anon could feel joy from Celliphus's psyche, he smiled under his mask
"I'm still pondering about how sister Fatima examined you without gouging your eye out" Celliphus chuckled at her master's remark
"She isn't that bad master, except the insults and the way she looks at me as if I am an insect" Celliphus said
"No, she is worse" Anon said as he remembered the insults he had learned from sister Fatima
"Well, maybe" Celliphus's words came out in a low murmur
"You hate her?" Anon asked, Celliphus stopped walking and thought for a moment, Anon watched as she pondered about her answer
She shook her head "No, she is not to blame, it's just that... you know, they don't understand us, the way we don't understand them" Celliphus looked at Anon "We are born with psychic abilities so our perspective is different from theirs, we cannot expect them to like us when it is impossible for them to understand us"
Hearing Celliphus's words Anon stood for dumbfounded without saying anything, then he extended his hand towards his student and pat her head.
"Wise words for one as young as your" Anon said with a smile
"I AM 30 YEARS OLD, I AM NO CHILD!" Celliphus protested with a frustrated face, this caused Anon to laugh "Why are you laughing? I demand to be taken seriously, master!" Celliphus demanded which caused Anon to laugh even more
As Anon was laughing a servo skull appeared in front of him, the skull was decorated with the mark of the Inquisition, its bionic eyes were shining red, its vocal units started work.
"INDIVIDUAL DETECTED/ SANCTIONED PSYKER JERMAI/ REPORT TO COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY/ AVE DEUS MACHINA" the skull shrieked and prayed in high gothic
Without another word, the duo moved towards the command center where William was present, the armsmen moved out of the way upon seeing two psykers walking together.
(20 minutes later)
The duo opened the door and was greeted by William's retinue sitting alongside a few high-ranking troopers, William was waiting on the other side of the room, the holographic table in the middle displayed the planet below them.
"You have taken your time" William said and pointed towards two seats on the right side of the table where Celliphus and Anon usually sat, the seats around the two seats were empty except Isaac
'I know you hate me but at least try to make it less obvious, for decency sake' Anon thought. Isaac waved his hands under the table to the duo, his face had a disgusting grin which caused Anon to feel disgusted 'Why are you like this Isaac?' Anon questioned in his mind
Anon glanced towards his student, upon seeing Isaac, her face filled with disgust.
The duo took their sits, Celliphus made sure she is nowhere near Isaac. Upon seeing the entirety of his retinue alongside his troopers, William began.
"Now that all of you are here, let us begin" Inquisitor said as he looked at the image of the planet in front of him, he then began to explain the situation
The planet was going through a rebellion, the inquisition is unaware whether the rebellion is caused by warp influence or not, the loyalist PDF with the last few remaining noble houses were fighting a losing war and no guard reinforcements were sent, duo to massive ongoing civil strife within the imperium. The Ashen Claw space marine chapter had a presence within the sector, they were suspected of heresy. Inquisition has no solid evidence of their treachery so investigating them is one of our main objectives.
Recently the Librarian of Ashen Claw, Cartha Foras, had ordered an exterminatus on the planet of Keplar prime, and William wants to know the reason behind such an order, we were to descend on the planet and investigate the large energy readings gathered from the planet.
"We will be under assault when we land, but that must not prevent us from completing our objective" William explained by showing large traitor PDF concentration, some of which were close to our objective
"What about the exterminatus fleet my lord?" Ishmael asked
"They won't be a problem, I already sent Avina as my ambassador, since she is most adept as a diplomat amongst my retinue" William explained, Anon and Isaac looked towards William with a shocked expression, Celliphus who didn't have much interactions with Avina for tilted her head in confusion "That is true, she is an adept as a diplomat, one of the best in fact" William confirmed
"By the emperor" Isaac muttered
'What is wrong with this galaxy?' Anon thought to himself
"We also have info on Ashen claw presence on the planet, it seems like their chapter master has sent them after hearing our arrival, we are yet to know their allegiance so be on guard" William added
"How many are we talking about bos...I mean my lord?" Isaac asked
"We believe it to be somewhere between 100-250" William said, Isaac whistled "Mission will begin in 4 hours, Sargeant major, prepare your men" hearing Inquisitor's orders the troopers saluted then left the room "As for you four, you know what to do, now go" William dismissed them by waving his hand
The group left the room went through the corridors towards their rooms, Anon used this chance to ask a question from the quiet arbite.
"You were awfully quiet Ishmael, is something bothering your mind?" Anon asked
"Huh? oh no, nothing" Ishmael answered trying to dismiss the question
"Isaac, Celliphus go ahead and prepare, we will follow you" Anon said, Celliphus disgusted by the notion of walking alone with Isaac tried to protest "No whining, move" Anon ordered them to move ahead
Hearing her master's orders, Celliphus reluctantly agreed and moved faster to avoid Isaac and went through complex corridors to lose him, Isaac simply vanished into the corridors a few seconds later, his psyche was gone so Anon was sure he wasn't close.
"You know that I can read thoughts?" Anon asked
"Damn psykers" Ishmael muttered
"I did refrain from reading your inner thoughts, but I still can sense you lying" Anon explained
"What's the difference?" Ishmael retorted
"One is unintentional while the other is not" said the masked man "Though, I'm more than able to read your inner thoughts if you don't wish to discuss it with words" he added
"No, that's not necessary" Ishmael replied "It's just that, something about this mission feels odd, the ashen claw, the chaos, the rebellion, and not to mention the Imperium as a whole" Ishmael explained "I never seen the Imperium in such state of disarray, if you know my meaning"
Anon thought for a second 'was this period of imperium history really that bad?' he questioned himself, he wasn't a loremaster so he didn't know much about imperium's history from M33 to M37 'I mean, the beasts that came from the ghoul stars were hard to deal with but it couldn't be as bad as M41' the memory of the lore went through his mind, imperium did loose 11 chapters and lost entire sectors to deal with the threat but it was still better than 13th black crusade
"I do" Anon answered "But trust me when I say this, the worst is yet to come" the masked man said with a grim aura around him
Ishmael thought of Anon's words as comfort, little did he know, it was a warning that will only reveal its truth long after his death.
(4 hours later)
The group was ready as the ship stood in the lower orbit, 40 troopers alongside William's main retinue was ready to shuttle down to the planet, Anon could feel the worries in William's mind, it wasn't about the threats they may face during the mission, but the worry on how he could replenish the number of scions he will lose.
The group will split into four smaller groups, William and Celliphus, Isaac, Ishmael, and Anon, the troopers will be split between the group leaders and sent to different locations of interest to investigate and report back their findings. Anon sent to most easter location quite far from others.
Anon's group lacked any commanding officer which left him as the only one in command, Anon's team placed themselves in two different valkyries and prepared to land, but before that Anon sent a telepathic message for his student ~Good luck~ before departing towards the planet.
(one hour later)
"Secure the perimeter, send message to the other teams about our landing" Anon barked out orders as his valkyrie landed, his shuttle quickly took off towards the ship after delivering its cargo
Anon scanned the lush jungle around him, the tropical jungle around him was filled with life forms, he could sense human concentration a few kilometers away, and lower life forms all around him. Anon felt his objective in the north though he could not sense the exact distance, the psychic energy being discharged was concealed.
"Our objective is north, move out" Anon ordered as he lead his men towards the objective
After almost an hour and a half, Anon could feel the heat taking its toll on his body, though he could ignore it since his body constantly repaired itself, he wondered how could his troopers move with their void capable carapace, his thought was cut short however when they reached a bridge.
"Traitor defenses on the bridge, orders sir?" a trooper asked
Anon look towards the bridge, the large metallic bridge which was used to pass over a valley, the other side was well fortified while their side lacked any defenses, except motion sensors next to the bridge's entry, 3 bolter turrets was located above 3 concrete bunkers, a Leman Russ stood guard just outside of a bigger bunker which looked like it stored ammunition, 50 or so traitor PDF was guarding the bridge. Attacking from the front would be suicide even for stormtroopers, he didn't like to use his psychic powers so early in the mission but he didn't have another choice, he just prayed that whoever was responsible for the psychic signature, wouldn't notice him.
"I will reduce their numbers, you will deal with what remains of the heretics" Anon said as he delve into the immaterium, he couldn't use any offensive ability because they were easily noticeable by skilled psykers, so he resorted to the ones used less energy
The masked man focused his mental powers and delved into the enemy's mind, he choose the closest person to the turrets and invaded his mind making him his puppet, the weak-willed PDF couldn't resist the sheer pressure of Anon's psyche.
Anon saw a group of soldiers playing cards inside of a bunker which contained one of the bolter turrets on top, the puppets tried to move his ask help from his friends but his will was too weak to do so.
The puppet suddenly stood up from his place in the bunker causing his friends to startle "The hell man, you scared me!" one of them said looking at Anon's puppet, the puppet then moved out of the bunker in a weird walking style "You ain't gonna play?" a voice asked, "Why are you walking so weird?" asked another voice
"Leave him, he just needs to take a shit by the way he walking" a female voice answered the question
Anon ignored them since he couldn't talk through the puppet and moved towards the ammunition crate in the ammunition bunker, the guards were tried to stop them but Anon made them ignore the puppet, once, inside the bunker, he grabbed as many grenades as possible and put them in the puppet's coat, the owner of the body watched in horror as he could not do anything. Anon ignored the horror he felt from the puppet and approached the turrets and used a knife to cut electrical wires inside of each turret, though it took him a few minutes to do that since the puppet's movement was clumsy, so he needed to make them ignore the puppet for said time.
After the turrets were dealt with he moved towards the Leman Russ, two soldiers were standing beside it, they looked at the puppets as he approached them.
"Hm? can I help you" one of them asked, seeing the weird movement of the puppet, the soldier felt disgusted "What's with the walk creep?" Anon ignored the question and went behind the tank and crawled under it "OI, what the fuck are you doing?" the soldier shouted, many soldiers heard the shouting and gathered next to the scene
"What's going on here?" one of the officers asked
"I don't know sir, he just crawled under the tank" the soldier explained
Anon waited as the officer kneeled next to the tank and observed the puppet crawling under it, he then released the pin from one of the grenades and waited for 3 seconds before releasing his control over the puppet, the puppet gasped for air as the control was released but before he could do anything, the grenades exploded and took out all the soldiers around the tank, including their commanding officer.
The tank's explosion was heard by the scions as Anon gave them their new orders "Move and clear the bridge their heavy weapons are dealt with, don't let any escape" Anon ordered as he moved out of his cover
The troopers rushed out of their cover in unison and caught the enemy off guard, continues las fire shot down enemy soldiers as smoke grenades were thrown at the end of the bridge, the scions then used their helmet's thermal detector to see through the smoke. Anon used the smoke to his advantage and rushed towards the enemy lines.
"ATTAC...!" one of the enemy PDF tried to shout but his words were cut short by a lasfire
The enemy lines were in complete chaos, more than half of the soldiers died before they could process the situation. After the effects of the first shock passed, the enemy finally managed to counter the Inquisitorial forces, but their resistance was futile since most of them who were armed with lasguns were dead and autoguns were not effective against carapace.
"TURRETS, WHY WON'T TURRETS TURN ON?!" a soldier shouted
After passing through the smoke, Anon found himself in the middle of four cultists aiming at him.
The chance of being noticed by the ones causing the energy phenomenons, made the usage of offensive abilities a bad idea, since they were easily detectable, so Anon enhanced his own body. The warp energy surged through his body as he moved at inhuman speed.
Seeing this, the soldiers opened fire, they managed to only hit three times. The bullets stopped as they met with Anon's carapace.
"YOU DAMN MONSTER!" a soldier shouted as the masked man reached his friend and cut him in half before leaping towards another one like a predator
The way which Anon fought with the blade heavily resembled her master, while Avina fought as if she was dancing amidst her enemies, Anon choose a less sadistic and more practical approach, his enemies witnessed the effectiveness of such style.
A female soldier, the friend of the puppet Anon used to disable and destroy the defenses with, tried to use the bayonet of her rife to strike him, Anon simply dashed behind her while drawing his blade across her face, causing her to die in a few seconds 'A merciful death' Anon thought himself.
After seeing the death of their comrades, the remaining two soldiers screamed in fear as they tried to run away, Anon threw his blade towards one of them which pierced his back and made him fall down bleeding, the other one paid no mind and kept running, the masked man unholstered his plasma pistol and aimed at the soldier, then he started counting.
1
2
3
As the count was over a hissing sound shrieked through the air, a blue light bulb of plasma energy hit its target, melting him down in mere seconds.
Anon looked around, the sudden chaos has completely stopped, no more sound was heard, the scions had already dealt with remaining hostiles and the bridge was finally clear.
"All hostiles are dealt with sir, no casualties except minor injuries, orders?" a trooper approached him
"Change the program within the cogitators and repair the wires of the turrets, make it so it will target anyone other than us" Anon ordered "We will continue once the turrets are fixed"
"As you wish sir" the trooper replied
-Planet: Keplar prime -Year: 930.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, Askellon Sector -POV: Exarch Mahin'tas
The seer council was in full concentration to complete the ritual, so far the Warhost has not faced any major problems that could not be dealt with, though the sudden appearance of mon-keigh space marines was worrying.
These corrupted space marines have caused quite a problem for the craftworld, so much so that the council deemed it necessary to stop their plan, the enemy's plan must not be allowed to be completed, otherwise, their craftworld would be caught in a warp storm. Their ritual will at least prevent the Ashen claws from summoning a warp storm for a long time.
Mahin'tas was looking down at the council above a wall around them, their position was quite secured, so no harm will fall on them. The only problem was the runes stones around the seer council, they were shining as if they were bright lights, they could only hope that no one will take notice of them since they could do little to hide it.
"Exarch, there is a trouble in the air" a voice called his title, Mahin'tas looked back to face the warlock addressing him
"Has space marines learned of our location?" asked the young Exarch
"I fear it is something entirely different" Warlock informed "A battle host of mon-keigh different from common soldiers we have faced before"
"Who are they? what are they doing?" Mahin'tas asked
"Their intentions are unclear, a group of scorpions has informed me of their arrival, their numbers appear to be little more than 40 though they are heavily armed, it seems that their armor bears the symbol of Imperial inquisition" Warlock informed
"Inquisition? the seekers of mon-keigh? that is concerning, where are they at the moment?"
"Four groups of equal number approaching on four sites, one of them are currently approaching our location, they don't seem to be aware of us, what shall we do?" the warlock asked
"Though I dread losing my warriors before we could face the space marines, we have no other choice, we will strike at the group closest to our position, leave the other groups alone, the illusions will cause them to come in conflict with the space marines soon enough" Exarch said
"Very well, shall I inform the autarch and the farseer?" Warlock asked
"No, we can deal with them on our own, there is no need for farseer to be distracted" Exarch said, Warlock, looked at him with doubt
Mahin'tas knew that look, the warlock doubted abilities since he was younger than his fellow exarchs. All these old people were just jealous of his talents, that they couldn't reach such rank at such a young age. Mahin'tas will prove them wrong, by killing the elite mon-keigh unite, he will show his ability to command.
"I was giving command and liberty to choose a course of action if I deemed necessary, we will move now Warlock" Exarch ordered
Warlock looked at him for a moment before speaking "As you command Exarch"
(A few hours later -POV: Anon)
The group pushed through the green jungle cutting down the leaves as they went, they were closing their distance from their target, the elite scions were always on the ready while Anon used his power to sense the beings around him, so far no one was there, and now that night time came, the thermal detectors of the troopers were put to good use.
"Distance from the target, 2.7 kilometers" a Scion reported
The surrounding was difficult to see thanks to the thick jungle, it almost looked like jungles of Vietnam 'I just hope trees won't start speaking Vietnamese' Anon smiled at the thought, the memories of the old earth was a blur in his mind, he could barely remember the faces of his family 'What did they look like again?' Anon asked himself, before he could find an answer, he felt something
Suddenly he was taken out of his thoughts as he sensed figures approaching their position, they were moving with great speed that was impossible for normal humans.
"AMBUSH!" Anon shouted, hearing this, the troopers tried to take cover and search for the enemy when suddenly a bullet hit one of the troopers, he died before he could process the situation
That was not the only bullet fired, the fire continued as troopers took cover, another Scion went down as a bullet pierced her neck, suddenly her neck was shredded from the inside. Another shot injured one of the troopers, fortunately, he lost only two fingers.
Another one of the hostiles aimed at Anon and fired a single shot, seeing he could not avoid the shot, Anon brought his left hand to block the shot, it shredded his left palm in a gory mess as it made contact. Anon could feel the heat from his left hand as it bled, but the pain was manageable.
As Anon took cover behind a tree he saw some of the hostiles approach the group 'How did they close the distance so fast?' Anon thought to himself as he erected a barrier around the group, stopping further gunfire from coming their way, he then took his saber in his right hand and focused on healing his left palm
The troopers aimed at the position where shots came from and unleashed a furious ray of laser fire towards them, Anon didn't see if they hit or not.
Seconds later a green armored figure appeared behind a trooper and pierced his chest with a chain sword, the sudden violent explosion caused one of the troopers to aim at the green figure, the trooper shot three times, one hit the neck while the other two caused and small explosion on figures chest. Unfortunately, that was not the end, more and more of them appeared and forced the group into CQC.
Anon felt a figure behind him, a blade was about to cut his head off, he quickly turned and parried the blade with his saber, when he finally took a glimpse at his adversary, he recognized it, A banshee!
The banshee was shocked momentarily to see her opponent block her attack, Anon used her momentary weakness to counter-attack his opponent, the banshee's blade was in the air as Anon brought down his blade, the saber was spewing psychic energy as it cut down its target, a clean slice could be seen on banshee's chest as she fell to the ground.
Seeing their comrades demise, a banshee and a scorpion dashed towards Anon, the banshee howled a terrible scream which caused Anon's brain to take damage and his ears to bleed, he could feel the pain throughout his body. Seeing the effect of the psychic shriek, the duo moved to eliminate him.
Anon quickly regained his standing as the two approached him, they were almost a blur image, if not for psychic strengthening, Anon couldn't hope to survive this far. It was the scorpion who stroke first, then came the banshee, Anon was barely able to parry their attacks, each two-strike he parries opened his guard for the third one to injure him, the masked man soon realized that he could not hope to defeat them so he decided to take action.
The entire group was stunned when psychic energy manifested itself as a shock wave which caused the Eldar in close quarters to fly away, many of them hit the trees around them, some of them were injured and the two who attacked Anon were dead as they hit the trees around them with such a great force that it shattered their spines.
"RETREAT, I WILL HOLD THEM BACK!" Anon screamed the remaining troopers to fall back, only four were alive, two of them being injured, the dead Eldar numbered in single-digit
Anon focused on healing his body, using both his perpetual nature and biomancy, the small cuts and wound healed quickly but his major injuries required more time to heal.
(-POV: Mahin'tas)
The Exarch watched as the nearsighted mon-keigh stood between them and his few remaining soldiers who were retreating, 'An admirable trait' Mahin thought to himself
He had made an error by attacking the mon-keigh group without putting much thought into his plan, he had killed many humans before, they were easy prey when caught off guard, but these ones have somehow managed to fight back in equal terms.
'I have to answer to the Autarch now' Mahin'tas thought to himself as he began his move
Exarch dashed towards the masked man with inhuman speed, far faster than normal scorpions, the masked mon-keigh seemed to take notice of this and unleashed a wave of lighting towards him, he dodge many of them, 'The masked mon-keigh had no chance of victory' he thought to himself with a grin, his grin turned into shock as he saw a lighting bolt coming his way, he was in the middle of the air, he could not dodge it, fortunately for him, the lighting bolt disappeared before making contact with him
"Allow me to aid you exarch!" the Warlock revealed himself and came out from the trees, he was the one who stopped the lighting
The two struck at the masked figure at once, however, the figure reacted with inhuman reflexes, the exarch's chain sword was blocked by his saber, and warlock's sword was blocked by his injured left hand of all things, though his hand was pierced by warlock's blade, it was surprisingly resilient.
"He is using biomancy Exarch, he is strengthing his flesh" Warlock informed the exarch
Seeing this Exarch tried to use his power claw on his left hand to punch through his defenseless body, the figure seems to take notice of this and tried to retreat but the warlock's blade was still inside his left palm, Exarch watched in shock as the figure violently retreated, tearing down his own left arm in the process, his left hand's grim was now on warlock's sword. The human then jumped back to get away from the two.
The masked mon-keigh's retreat backward was not gone unanswered as both warlock and exarch shot their shuriken weapons at him, exarch used the one on his claw while exarch had a shuriken pistol. Most of the shots were blocked by his armor but the ones who managed to pass his armor, caused the human to feel pain.
Mahin'tas watched as plasteel crystals tore down mon-keigh's flesh from inside, the human growled in pain as he unleashed another volley of warp lighting, warlock managed to dodge and block most of them but one of them hit Mahin'tas and caused internal bleeding.
'Curses' Mahin growled under his breath
The human watched as the warriors who were thrown away by the shockwave returned to the fray, they saw the warlock and exarch dueling the mon-keigh leader, now the tides of battle were in their favor even greater than before, only 5 humans were alive while the Eldar outnumbered them, it was a shame that they had lost 7 Eldar warriors to the humans, but they were an elite force with an exceptional nearsighted mon-keigh as their leader, so this much was expected.
Seeing how the Eldar warriors outnumber his group, the masked human noticed their certain doom if they were to fight, so he tried to find a way to retreat, but they won't allow them, not after killing so many Eldar warriors. However, before they could attack, a voice interrupted them.
"Stop this unnecessary bloodshed at once!" the arcane voice spoked, it was farseer Tathra
The group including the humans looked at the figure approaching, though many of the warriors didn't seem to understand him since he spoke in high gothic, Warlock translated his words in their own tongue.
"The great enemy is threatening to doom us all, yet we are bleeding each other dry before we could face it" farseer said "Exarch you will stop this at once" farseer ordered
"But farseer, the humans need to die, they are a threat to our encampments!" Exarch argued in their own language
"Stop Exarch, do not allow your emotions to take control over your mask!" this time it was another voice that scolded the young exarch "Your rash decisions are bringing harm to the war host, Mahin'tas" the autarch spoked
"But..." Exarch tried to protest but was interrupted
"You will do as I order you Exarch! stand down, you too warlock, you will face punishment for your rash decisions once we return to the craftworld" Autarch said, Exarch reluctantly backed down
The humans were on high alert, they simply watched as the Eldar warriors argued in their own tongue, looks like the human leader had ordered his men to stand down, for now.
The farseer was momentarily shocked as he looked at the masked human as if recognizing something "You are...no, no matter" farseer wanted to say something but didn't, he then slowly approached the masked mon-keigh who was clutching his sword with a stronger grip, it seems like he wished to save his men if possible
"My name is Farseer Tathra Menshakal of Craftwolrd Il-kaithe, I hail you, agent of the inquisition" Farseer said as he stood before the masked human as a sign of peace
"What is that you want after attacking us?" the nearsighted mon-keigh asked
"I wish only peace human, I apologize for our earlier actions, it appears that our young have made a rash decision" farseer spoke in a polite tone
"An apology does not bring my man back from dead Xenos" the human hissed
"So does ours, we should forget the mistakes of the past, for a great peril threatens us both" Tathra spoke "You may continue your meaningless bloodshed until our enemy comes to destroy us both, or you can aid us and save the lives of billions" Farseer offered, the human looked at him, he had an aura of doubt surrounding him
"It's quite odd don't you think? the notion that an Eldar will lay down his life to save humans" the nearsighted humans spoke "What is your motive, Xenos?" the human ask
Tathra smiled briefly before it was replaced with a cold face, was he happy that mon-keigh was listing to his offer? "The warp storms caused by the fallen human will danger to our craftworld as well. By preventing Cartha Foras from completing his ritual, we can save billions of lives, both Eldar and human" the farseer answered "My offer still stands, will you aid us or choose your pride our the lives of billions?" Tathra asked
"Doesn't your kind possess the webway? the tunnels underneath the warp and reality, I know that warp storms are of no concern to your race, so stop your vail of lies and answer me with truth" the human asked an unexpected question, few amongst his kind know of webway's nature, even farseer seemed to notice this
Tathra looked hesitant to answer at first but he continued nonetheless "We have faced some problems... it is not possible to travel by using the webway" Farseer told the truth which shocked the autarch
"Why did you reveal them such information? what do you think will happen if imperium learns of a craftworld that is unable to move? it will doom us all!" Autarch criticized Tathra in their own tongue
"We will face our ruin either way, better that we die by the hands of humans than be claimed by the dark gods" Farseer argued "I understand your concern, but this is the only way!"
The masked human looked as if he was lost in his thoughts, he was thinking about something, it seems that farseer's words were convincing enough that he considered his options.
(-POV: Anon)
Anon stood there as the Eldar were arguing in their own language, the damned Eldar has attacked his group, killed half of his men, and now, they were asking for co-operation. Anon knew that the ambush was a mistake, by seeing the Exarch responsible for the attack being scolded, though he didn't understood their words, he was sure it was a scolding.
The offer given by the farseer sounded very appealing. They were against an entire traitor chapter and were short on manpower thanks to imperium's civil war, they could use the help of a craftworld but would William accept it? there were instances of imperium making Allies with Xenos in order to deal with a greater mutual enemy, but those instances were rare and frowned upon, No, he didn't have a choice, even with upcoming reinforcements of grey knights, they can't defeat the Ashen claws, still, a question bothered his mind.
"I understand our situation Xenos, but tell me this, why haven't discussed this matter with the Inquisitor if you already know his location?" Anon asked
The farseer faced away from Autarch in heavy armor, Autarch's wings were quite distractive for Anon "Two reasons, one, you were fighting with our forces, which threatened the ceasefire offer I gave you now, two, I divined that a nearsighted human can understand us better, since we both share the same gift" farseer answered
"I see..." Anon said as he considered the offer, he didn't understand the Eldar, but they seemed genuine with their offer, they even offered the truth even if it threatened their craftworld, or perhaps they were lying to him in order to manipulate him, regardless of the truth, he couldn't accept it, it was William who can make the decision, so he decided to pass the responsibility to him "I will inform the inquisitor of this, the responsibility of decision lies with him so don't expect him to accept your proposal" Anon said
"That is all I ask" Farseer replied
Anon sheathed his saber and moved towards one of the dead troopers, he grabbed his vox unite and turned it on "Inquisitor, I have found the cause of the energy reading, I require you presents" Anon said to the vox unit
"This is Inquisitor, report" William's voice came out from the vox
"It is the aeldari, my lord, they wish to speak with you" the vox was silent for an awkward minute before it came back to life
"Elaborate" only one word was heard through the vox
Anon glanced towards the farseer and his warhost "They wish for a ceasefire, I believe you will find their information quite interesting"
"Location?" William asked, Anon gave his coordinates "Let's see what these Xenos can offer" William said before cutting the link of the vox
Anon put the small vox in his coat's pocket before standing up, he turned to face the Eldar, some of them were gathering the soul stones of their dead while Xenos witch seer was talking with their Autarch.
"It is done" Anon informed
"So it seems, let's hope your Inquisitor is as reasonable as you are" Farseer said, Anon didn't know if he should take it as a compliment to himself or an insult to his race
Now the time came for the awkward wait, it is especially awkward if you are waiting alongside people whom you were just fighting with. In the first few minutes, Anon realized his injuries, he was quickly losing blood thanks to his left arm, he looked around and saw the warlock who was seemed distracted with their dead kin, his arm was still on his sword, Anon sighed as he approached him.
All the Eldar and remaining humans looked at him as he closed his distance with the warlock, the farseer, and the autarch was looking at him as well, only when he stood behind him did the warlock notice his presence and turned to face the short human, Anon looked up, he was over 1.80cm(6ft) yet still had to look up when talking.
The two, faced each other then Anon broke the staredown and pointed towards Warlock's sword "My arm, give it back" Anon said, the warlock finally noticed Anon's left hand on his sword and used his telekinesis to give it back to the masked human, Anon placed the arm back where it suppose to go and used biomancy to reattach it, it was still weak and damaged, but he could heal it over time. Anon then left towards his men who were waiting for him.
(A few hours later)
Anon was sitting on a crate beside an Aquila transport, cleaning his saber as William was talking to the farseers, the air was quite tense on both sides as the two talked with each other, both parties didn't show it but Anon could feel it, he could also feel some hatred from the Eldar, probably the friends of those lost during the ambush, Anon ignored their glares, he was hated by most people in the imperium, he didn't care if some Xenos were also added to that list.
'Attacking my group then hating me for the casualties huh?' Anon thought to himself
The Xenos he had faced today was a great lesson on humility, they were not daemons moving through instincts, they were not dumb orks, they were not poorly trained militia, they were warriors who were trained for centuries, Anon barely managed to kill one of them in melee, and that was only because she was shocked momentarily. Anon did hold himself against an Exarch and a warlock at the same time, but had the fight gone a little longer, he would be in process of reviving right now. He was utterly weak against them, he could use all of his psychic power to overwhelm them, but that would only invite daemons.
He was truly outmatched in terms of CQC and more than matched in terms of psychic abilities, hell, he barely noticed the aspect warriors ambushing them, they were cloaked by Warlock's powers and he wasn't even the best of Eldar army.
'Guess I need more training' Anon sighed, his saber was finally clean of blood 'Can I defeat a farseer with sheer skill? or do they have that much of an advantage when it comes to psychic powers?' Anon contemplated the questions in his mind, he was fairly sure that he could defeat them by overwhelming them by sheer raw power, but that would weaken his shield, causing daemons to possess him 'Can daemons even possess perpetuals?' he asked to himself, though he was not willing to test it
During William's talk with the farseer(which consisted of some minor insults on each other), Anon noticed that craftworld's seers and warlocks were looking at him while talking something in their alien language, he didn't know the reason for their constant eyeing but he shrugged off 'So long as they don't know who I am, I'm fine' he thought to himself, he hasn't given them his name nor his face, so they won't be able to find him easily in the future, if he makes an enemy out of them that is
"You are quite skilled, human" a voice spoke, it was the warlock without his helmet, he looked quite young maybe 300 years old, his white hair was loose across his face, his features were perfect, so much so that it was uncanny
"I do not wish to speak" Anon tried to shake off the Eldar Warlock, the last thing he wanted was being seen talking casually with an alien
"Perhaps you are still offended by our first encounter?" he asked
"You have killed my men, I have killed your warriors, and equal trade" Anon answered
"True enough" the warlock said with a calm tone but Anon could feel anger and sadness beneath his mask "I have attempted to break into your mind before we battled each other" warlock revealed
'I don't remember asking for it, elf' Anon complained inside his head as the warlock continued
"I was unable to do it, my psyche was faced with a barrier. I am used to conquering the minds of humans, most of your kind has weak minds Afterall" Warlock explained
'Can you please shut up? I don't want to hear about your superiority complex' Anon thought
"Yet you have repelled my invasion without effort" Warlock said he then looked down at the sitting human "Care to explain how?" he asked
"No" Anon answered as he stood up and moved away from him, warlock simply watched him get away, then went towards a group of Eldar warriors
The remaining of the talk went "Well", William agreed to a truce until he could find solid proof of Ashen Claw's treachery to present to the inquisition.
The Eldar of Il-kaithe, wished to perform a ritual in order to set back Cartha Foras's plan. So the Ashen Claw's chapter master has sent a detachment of marines to eliminate them, it seems that Cartha already knew of the important position of Keplar prime for conducting psychic rituals, so he ordered an exterminatus on the planet before anyone could interrupt his work, but the sudden arrival of the Eldar forced him to send forces to stop them instead of waiting for an exterminatus(It has already been stopped by Avina).
So was the story Eldar gave to William, Anon was quite astonished by their honesty, he had expected them to act like 'We both are facing certain doom but we won't tell you of it because you are a monkey and we are Eldar' but instead, they have given them all the information they needed. Perhaps the Eldar were different from the lore
'Looks like not everything is like the lore' Anon thought to himself, the sight of Eldar still bothered him, the sheer amount of inhumanity he could feel from them bothered him to no end, how could a race so similar to humans feel so alien?
"What made you think I will allow this Xenos?" Anon heard Inquisitor's question "Your kind has a history for a reason, what proof do you have of your honesty?"
"I have told you, again and again, Inquisitor, why would I deceive you when we're both in danger" Farseer answered, Anon could feel the frustration in his voice, upon seeing the silver masked human, Tathra's face light up momentarily, Anon could feel happiness of all things from the farseer "Nearsighted one, please make your lord understand the importance of our ritual" Farseer said to Anon
'Why do you see the need to get me involved in this?' Anon asked himself as William's gaze focused on him 'Great' he thought before answering to farseer's request "I too suggest you accept their proposal, my lord, we cannot afford to waste time, the detachment of Ashen claws will soon be upon us" Anon said
"Do you really trust their words? even after what they have done to the troops I gave you?" William questioned, Anon could feel doubt in his mind, Anon knew that William will trust his judgment
Anon looked towards the farseer then back at William "I think we should trust them, they have nothing to gain by lying"
William weighed Anon's words, it seems he really didn't trust the Eldar "Are you willing to accept the responsibility of those words?" William said with a grim look, Anon nodded "Then I will trust your words" William said, he turned to face the Eldar witch seer "I will be watching your ritual as well" William said
"Do as you wish Inquisitor, so long as you do not interfere" Farseer said, Anon finally saw the Eldar the way they were in lore, insulting without intention, or maybe he said it while knowing he just insulted an inquisitor
William walked towards the transports he stopped briefly beside Anon "Do you recognize that I'm putting my career in line for this?" William asked
"Do not worry inquisitor, they are not lying, they may be underhanded most of the time, but not now, not when the fate of their craftworld is at stakes" Anon answered
"That is more of a reason for them to act deceitful, don't you think?" William argued
"Not this time my lord, they cannot save their craftworld without us, and we have a very little chance of defeating the Ashen claws without them"
"The truth of their words and the weight I am putting on your advice, will soon reveal themselves, let us hope we made the right decision, No, let us hope I made the right decision" William said as he went towards the transport
Anon sighed as he watched William go away, in all his years of service, he had never felt tired, but for some reason, he wanted to rest. His clothes were bloody thanks to the Eldar, his armor was filled with holes, and he still could feel the plasteel crystal shards inside his body. Fortunately, his wounds has healed, and his arm was complete, the only thing he had to do was to repair his armor later.
Anon breathed in the fresh air. Natural air will be exceedingly rare to come by from now on, he wanted to enjoy it as much as he can before he left for another hive world polluted with radiation. The jungle around him was beautiful from where he stood, the night sky was filled with stars shining like an emerald.
The people of this world were ungrateful for rebelling against the imperium, they didn't even know how blessed they were, or perhaps they did know and wanted to preserve it from the imperium, who exploited every natural resource on the planet until it turned into another hive filled with radiation and dark clouds in the atmosphere.
Anon thought about humanity and how far it has fallen, in this galaxy, humanity once ruled the stars with the power of technology, they lived long happy lives in the comfort of their own making. They sought the wonders of the galaxy with unquenchable curiosity, but now, now everything has been lost, Humanity who was at the brink of ascension, has now fallen lower than it has ever been.
"Are you perhaps observing the beauty?" an Arcane voice brought him out of his thought, Anon saw the Xenos farseer who had spoken to him "Or maybe, it is the issues of the future that is occupying your mind?" Farseer Tathra asked
"The only issue I have is your kind's interest in making conversation, first the warlock now you" Anon said "What is it this time?" he asked
Farseer smiled, for some reason, his smile annoyed Anon "I simply came here to thank you human, you humans like to be appreciated do you not?" farseer said
"..." Anon stood silent
"We might have not been able to convince the inquisitor for cooperation, and it has come to my attention tha..." Farseer was interrupted by the masked human
"Please get to your point already" Anon grumbled 'I don't want to be seen with aliens, yet you persist'
"I'm afraid you have me in wrong nearsighted one, I simply wish to know you" farseer said, Anon tilted his head in confusion, it was rather hard to read Eldar's intentions since he couldn't read his thoughts
During his confrontation with the Xeno race, Anon realized the differences between humans and the Aeldari, their souls and minds were far different from humans, and since Anon was not familiar with them, he couldn't read their thoughts, only surface emotions. Though he believed he could invade their minds if given time, perhaps a few weeks for the psykers and one week for normal Eldar.
Seeing the masked human's confused face, farseer Tathra continued "That is exactly as I said nearsighted one, although not common, friendships have been forged between the members of our races, many inquisitors possess few Eldar acquaintances, I believe we to can forge a beneficial friendship" Tathra explained
'Do they?' Anon questioned himself, he couldn't remember an inquisitor with a farseer friend, he did remember some Eldar and space marines respecting each other but not friendships, perhaps the actual universe is different from what was told in the lore, but still, he wasn't and inquisitor.
"Even if what you say is true, I'm no inquisitor, I am only part of his retinue" Anon informed the farseer
Tathra's face was smug as if he saw a lie in Anon's words "Oh please, your inquisitor referred to you as his interrogator" farseer huffed "I may not be familiar with human culture but I know what that title holds. It means future power if you are deemed worthy" farseer said with a grin which caused great discomfort in Anon
'Damn you, William!' Anon cursed his lord under his breath, to be known in this galaxy was asking for trouble, he had kept himself behind a veil of shadows for almost a millennia now, only for William to ruin it. He might now be under the radar of the big fishs, he only wished that Tzeentch hadn't noticed him yet.
"That is true, but I do not wish for such friendships, your kind only brings unwanted trouble" Anon dismissed Farseer's offer
"If that is what you wish" Farseer said, Anon could feel the disappointment "I will give you the same offer after your promotion, all I seek, is that you could see the benefits of such offer then" farseer said as he left towards his council
'Too bad, I do not intend to be manipulated by you Eldar'
(-POV: Farseer Tathra)
The disappointed farseer approached the group of warlocks and seers, Autarch was also present. He stood beside an unsure Autarch.
"Have your plans beared fruit?" the Autarch asked "Is he the one in Biel-tan's prophesy?"
"Lileath does not favor us today, I have failed, the nearsighted mon-keigh refused my offer, quite stubborn" Tathra answered "But there is no doubt now that he is connected to what Biel-tan seeks" Tathra revealed
"I too can sense it, the mo-keigh is abnormal, the threads of fate around him is in a constant state of change, I cannot decipher his intent" Another farseer said
"My attempt at tempting him to reveal his nature has failed as well, the human is like the rest of his kind in that regard" the warlock said, he was the one who had combated the human interrogator
"Should we end him farseer?" Autarch asked
"No, attacking mon-keigh inquisition will have terrible consequences, we will simply observe, for now, we must prepare for the space marines, they will arrive soon and we will use the aid of the humans to minizine our casualties" Farseer Tathra order which received a nod from council members around him, the group then moved towards their tasks
'We shall see what you hold for us, nearsighted one'
Auther here:
One of the reviews in the last chapters talk about a plot hole about Necrons being encountered in M40, to that I will say:
The Necrons in the ghoul stars awakened earlier than usual thanks to the "pale wasting", the imperium holds no records of them. They thought they were just a single planet minor Xenos race in that sector, they had no chance to examine their technology because the Necrons died before they could do so. The ghoul stars will be empty of life for time being (Even the orks are dead)
So now that's done, let's get into the new subject. Leave reviews on which character in lore you want Anon to meet with, I will try to add them If they make the story more interesting. I will also answer the questions about characters, so if you want to know something about said character be sure to ask (No breast size of the female characters...unless you insist...)