**Author's note: this chapter was originally slated to be attached to the next one, but I find that it works better as its own chapter.**
Dralthus Phaeron was smiling. It had been an excellent day! The "retired" Word Bearer book dealer and artifact seller gingerly picked up his interdimensional tome, and held it under an arm gloved in soft black leather as he walked to the front of his shop. He turned the sign in the window from "open" to "closed", and then, with a cautious glance outside at the Wheelers cleaning the streets of corpses, he pulled the drapes shut. There wasn't going to be much business here tonight anyway with today's earlier festivities, but that didn't matter so much.
What mattered was the absolute confirmation of the value of the book in his possession! And, the identity of the woman he had seen today!
Dralthus Phaeron, colloquially known through the Evna community as the 'Word Bear' of "The Word Bear's Bookshop of Curiosities" was an excellently "normal" specimen of the seventeenth legion. He was a little over seven feet tall, and had a leaner build than most other Astartes. Word Bear had beguiling reddish-gold amber eyes, glorious long black hair that he kept excellently maintained, and a handsome grin that would stun mortal women, if he had actual interest in such things whatsoever. His body was mostly free from mutation, with a few notable exceptions. Dralthus bled black oil instead of blood, and his upper forearms and hands had transformed into a knot of long flexible black tentacles. He could easily mask his hands by wearing special gloves, and he made it a point to never bleed in front of anyone, so no one was wiser. To everyone else in Evna, he remained a strange, but dashingly handsome giant of a man. Lady Langwidere herself had asked him on a date once, and he regrettably had to turn her down, for his first love would always be rare books, valuable antiques, and mysterious artifacts.
Word Bear was extraordinarily old, and he often supposed to himself that he himself would qualify was a rare antique considering his incredible age. Even if most of his age was actually from spending time in the time-altered space of the Eye of Terror, he decided that it "counted".
Born from a prostitute in a run down brothel in Colchis just before the coming of the Emperor, Dralthus Phaeron's life had begun with difficulty. He had become a street rat from a very young age, stealing his daily bread with other impoverished youths. The other children were often disturbed by him, as he seemed to have a strange talent for influence, and could make his marks actually give him their valuables from time to time. One night, he was struck with visions of a golden god descending from heaven, and when he woke, he had excitedly told his little urchin friends that "God" had visited Colchis. Since none of the other children had believed him, young Dralthus took it upon himself to punish one of the "heretics" of his group for his blasphemy. This so-called "heretic" was an innocent five year old boy who had always been frightened of him. Using his abilities, Dralthus had been able to influence the other street children to stone the young boy to death for doubting that God existed, but when the enchantment wore off, his friends turned on him, calling him a monster.
Shortly after his visions, and while hiding in an alley from the other vagrants, he had been found by a man in strange robes, who, after a psychic sweep of his soul, cheered with happiness that he had finally found his promised grandson. The old man had told him that he was a precious gift left behind by his bastard father as he had whored through the city, eventually apparently drinking himself to death shortly afterward. Dralthus was told that he had a glorious destiny, and that he would be transformed to become an angel under the armies of God himself!
His grandfather offered him a new name, which was eagerly accepted. He became Dralthus Phaeron, grandson of Kor Phaeron, and he was beloved by all for his gifts of visions.
Word Bear was gladly taken away by his new grandfather, who then introduced him to a giant of a man that was tall, strong, and had the warmest voice of anyone he had ever known. This giant's name was Lorgar, and Dralthus had been told that he was the "son of God" by a handful of beaming priests. His new grandfather remained secretly skeptical, but Dralthus immediately knew this was true.
One night, and very shortly afterward, Dralthus had been exploring the new spaceship he now resided within. Curious at what his intuition was drawing him to, the young boy followed his strange senses, turning down quiet metal passageways, and padding nearly soundlessly through sleeping quarters. He had discovered a wide room, and in there, two giant men were speaking. Their voices were music on his ears, perfect angelic songs of bass echoing in the glorious acoustics of this metal vessel.
He had seen the first one, named Lorgar, earlier in the week, but the man that he spoke with was even more majestic! Dralthus remembered the encounter vividly, and most unusually for his legion, even with fondness to this day.
"Come out here, boy," an incredibly strong voice echoed through him, singing through his soul and piercing his resolve. "We know you're there."
Dralthus felt himself walking into the room, even though he did not want to. Lorgar wore sumptuous robes of finely embroidered fabrics of many colors, and his smile was warm and inviting. The stranger that sat next to him wore pale robes of gold and silver, and he was somehow even larger than the glorious form of Lorgar!
His hair was perfect, long, and black, spilling in rivers of night over his shoulders, and he wore a crown of warm gold laurels, marking him as someone who was very important. To this day, Word Bear fastidiously groomed his own hair in mimicry of what he had seen then. The figure's eyes were brilliant luminous gold, and his features felt too perfected to be on any sort of humanoid figure, looking as if he had been carved rather than grown naturally. The gold titan wore a small amused smile as he watched young Dralthus, who was too stunned to respond at all, frozen in place.
"Where are your manners, my boy?" he remembered Lorgar lightly scolding him, a playful tone in his voice. "My Emperor, I would like for you to meet Kor Phaeron's new ward and grandson, Dralthus. He is quite talented, and will be an excellent addition to the legion."
Approach me, a command was given to him in mind, and Dralthus approached the larger figure, unable to do anything else. As he walked to the Emperor, time almost seemed to slow down. The boy remembered the warmth of his Corona, and the distinctive psychic light the incredible being before him put out. He still remembered its shade and strength, and he would remember it forever.
He had instinctively kept his eyes down, unable to look the titan in the eye. Immediately, he knew then what Lorgar also knew. He was in the presence of God.
"Not quite, my boy," the Emperor chuckled indulgently as he had effortlessly read his mind. "You will become a strong warrior, I can already see. Your gifts are as bright as stars, and you will work tirelessly to benefit mankind."
The Emperor reached forward with a hand that had to have been bigger than his entire rib cage, and gently touched Dralthus' chin, angling his face upward so that he looked at him.
To this day, Dralthus did not know why he said what he had said, but the words left his lips in a strangled whisper regardless as the Emperor looked him in the eye.
"Weeping... King..."
The Emperor's expression abruptly fell, and he withdrew his hand. Lorgar immediately spoke up, and offered to have the boy beaten for his apparent insult. The Emperor insisted that no harm come to him, and simply sent him away. A man came down to his bunk later and beat him anyway.
Word Bear grinned as he gripped his precious book. And now, he understood. "Weeping King" was actually one of the Emperor's secret names. It said so right in this amazing book!
Dralthus had acquired his amazing magic book, "The Wizard of Molech" nearly a century ago while exploring the remote area of space around Levant with a small group of Chaos-worshipping human pirates. As he had always had inclinations toward prophecy, Word Bear's intuition had told him that there would be great treasure to be found in that region. A psychically tortured Inquisitor from the Inquisition's Ordo Chronos confirmed this, and more! The Inquisitor's mind held incredible secrets, and each were flayed from their secret places by Word Bear's powerful will. Dralthus learned that the Imperium had a covert eye on the area of Levant, and he discovered that time was beginning to weaken in that region. Objects (and maybe even beings!) from alternate realities were snapping into existence around Levant. This absolutely fascinated Word Bear. It was a pity that the ship the Inquisitor had ridden on had been destroyed, and that none of the artifacts the unfortunate individual had collected had survived, with the exception of the peculiar book of wonders Dralthus now held in his hands.
The book was blank when Word Bear had found it, and so, he was easily able to argue that he should have it. An inner voice told him that it was pricelessly valuable, and to keep an eye on it. His inner voice had never led him astray!
Traipsing around the region, Dralthus and his pirate crew collected a small treasure trove of various items before heading back to their base of operations, a cave outside of the capitol city of Evna on Tar Vigaz. As the small group of malcontents celebrated their priceless haul, Dralthus decided that he didn't actually like these pirates anymore, and set about killing all eight of them one evening after working with them for over ten years in an offering to the Chaos Gods. He then took the valuable blank book, his artifacts, and all the wealth the pirates held, and ventured into Evna, where he bought a small property and began to sell the artifacts that they had discovered on their adventures.
He became quickly wealthy, and after a time, he chartered other flights out to Levant so that he could hunt for more interdimensional treasures using his profound intuition. He would then sell his intriguing artifacts to the wealthy of Evna, who had an appetite for such exotic things. It amused him greatly that more than one of his clients was actually fully Imperium-aligned, but money was money, anyway.
One night after a time, representatives of his grandfather decided to visit him, confused as to why Dralthus had not spoken to him in some time, nor visited his personal domicile in Sicarus in centuries. It did not go well. By then, Dralthus had begun experiencing more visions of another figure of gold coming down from heaven, and he knew, deep within his heart once again, that an avatar of God would come. Communicating remotely through a representative, the Black Cardinal scoffed at Word Bear's visions, and informed his prodigal grandson that he was simply experiencing visions of the cursed "Star-Child", a hated Warp entity that came from the pious worship of the false Emperor. Dralthus was told to plead to the Four Powers for forgiveness for his insolence. Word Bear then greatly upset his grandfather by sniping back that maybe they had been wrong to turn away from such an entity, and that one day, a new avatar of God would rise, and they should welcome this new incarnation. God's direction was infallible while Kor Phaeron was definitely fallible, on the other hand.
Grandfather did not take this well, and informed him that his personal tower back home would be destroyed, and that he was not welcome on Sicarus until he had come to his senses. And, that was fine. He liked treasure hunting in the Ghoul Stars and selling his wares in Evna better than hanging around in the Eye singing hymns all day and being mindlessly "evil" like other Chaos Marines. Like Lorgar, all he ever wanted was the truth. Was that so wrong?
No, you're right! the helpful voice in his head offered.
A few months ago, Word Bear experienced yet another vision of the gold figure descending from heaven, and when he came back to reality, Dralthus felt himself drawn to the mysterious blank book. Incredibly, this book now had a name emblazoned on its cover, and it was titled "The Wizard of Molech". Soon after, the book began to write itself. It was not complete, as some passages were scrambled, and others out of order. Fascinated, he read it. It was a story about how a woman had been pulled from another dimension by the manipulations of the God of Fate. It spoke of mysterious interdimensional beings known as Travelers, and the incredible Divine Retribution chariot they rode upon.
The most important thing the book seemed to claim was that this woman was the same sort of being the Emperor himself was, or at least an in utero version of that entity. Instead of finding it blasphemous, Word Bear found it utterly enthralling.
It read like a fiction book, but something in Word Bear knew that what it was communicating was true. As soon as he had become addicted to reading it, the book began to demand gifts of sacrifice devoted to Tzeentch himself, which he initially readily offered. Recently, he had to slow this down, as he had felt his soul drifting away from the worship of the Four Powers undivided, and into the exclusive domain of Tzeentch. The Lord of Change knew this artifact was addictive, and he must have known of Word Bear's insatiable curiosity for hidden knowledge would keep him coming back to it.
Dralthus caressed the cover of the book again, and fought the urge to offer his current guest to the book. At this stage, would the book really be writing about him? Was he in the story now too?
Feed me, Dralthus Phaeron. Feed me and see and know all things, it almost seemed to sing to him.
"No, not right now, my hungry little beastie. I will feed you later. I need the soul in the back room for something else," he replied to the supernatural tome, and in turn, he even received a sense that it was disappointed in him. Word Bear smiled as he began turning off the lights in the main area of his bookshop, and making his way to the back room, where the faint screams of his guest sang musically to him. Guarding his sacrificial soul, Dralthus currently had a dominated human servant named Veeya watching over the Acquisition. It was always good to be cautious.
Word Bear's caution was why he had decided to further test the Plane Walker, and to see if she could truly devour souls as the book claimed she could. After "randomly" running into the Inheritor outside of his shop earlier today (and feeding the five Family of Liberty souls to his crozius), Dralthus was nearly convinced of her identity, but he needed to confirm it to be absolutely sure. He had immediately sent Veeya out with a device that would scramble the programming of Wheelers, upping their threat sensors, and briefly controlling them. Word Bear wanted to see her devour a soul, and grow stronger. A convenient local maddened waif was lured to wander near the suspected Inheritor, and with a swift remote command of a passing Wheeler servitor, Dralthus had his confirmation!
Word Bear had been able to easily remotely view the Inheritor's consumption of the soul of the troubled girl. Through his keen mystical senses, he had seen, through Veeya's eyes, the unfortunate waif's soul torn away and devoured like a delicious snack by the unassuming Inheritor woman. With his visions, the book, and now this, Dralthus now had 100% certainty on who (and what) she was!
Oh Gods, it was true! He had been right this whole time! Deep down, he had never once doubted his visions of God, even when his silly grandfather had continued with his tiresome sermons. Lorgar was right the first time, and he had simply misinterpreted his visions! This, of course, didn't mean that the four Chaos powers weren't gods, but Inheritors were beings from a heaven-reality, even above the jealous Chaos powers that dwelled in hell. The fact that he wasn't being fried on the spot by the gods for even entertaining this idea meant that was definitely true, right?
Word Bear shook his head, finding this all just so funny. His entire legion had made a silly mistake! They had all simply chosen the wrong avatar to worship this whole time, he began to rationalize. Maybe their visions of a golden god back during the Great Crusade weren't even of the Emperor, but of this new lady that only just now appeared? He would need to find a way to speak to Lorgar of this, somehow.
Of course, she'd need a little bit of adjustment to make her into the god they wanted this time around, but with a little bit of enterprise, that could certainly be arranged. He had a few theories on how he could "help" this Inheritor ascend to her proper role as their God-Empress. This new young god needed time and vast amounts of energy to be properly born, and Dralthus would be happy to play midwife!
It was all very exciting! Maybe there could be a second chance for all of them for all of them? Word Bear would need to speak with his Brothers again, and that would require a Rite of Communication, which needed a soul. He was somewhat estranged from most of his Brothers, but there was a group of his old friends that still hung around the local area that he could speak to. This time, maybe it would be him instead of stuffy old Kor Phaeron leading the charge for the true religion? Maybe he could even start planting the seeds for this new Inheritor's faith at Langwidere's party? That would eventually be appreciated, correct? He could worship the Four Powers, and the Inheritor, right?
Sure you can! Go for it, Dralthus, the voice in his head suggested. Excellent! The Chaos Marine let out a happy little giggle as he advanced to the locked back room, where another member of the boring Family lay inside a deep pit. This would be the soul he would use to open a channel to wherever one of his Brothers would happen to be. He would have to thank the journalist who added that there was a sixth casuality of the bloody encounter outside his shop, even though only five had met their ends through his crozius. Grigori was always so nice and involved in everyone's business, so it was probably him. Word Bear would have to send him a thank you card before this world ended up inevitably ruined. Maybe some chocolates, too? Dralthus would see Grigori at the party, and thank him in person, he decided.
I'm coming to the back room, Precious. Prepare yourself for the Rite of Communication. Destination, The Lost Boys of the Carsayon Vortex. And prepare yourself for me being in an excellent mood! Dralthus psychically explained to his manservant in the back room, who responded in an affirmative.
"The Lost Boys" was the name of Dralthus' little group of friends that he used to travel with before his treasure hunting days, and they all shared the same belief system, worshipping the Chaos Gods while also secretly receiving visions of the so-called "Star-Child". They were currently located somewhat nearby in the Carsayon Vortex, a daemon world that Word Bear visited from time to time to party. Surely the lads would greatly enjoy another fun adventure, right? He had entertained one of these friends just last week as he passed through this region, and he seemed receptive enough to the wonders of the interdimensional book, so he knew that this was a good move.
The door to the back room was a wide bronze monstrosity that was nearly the height of the entire three meter high wall, and banded with hidden Chaotic wards for security. With a quick touch, it unlocked easily, and drew back to reveal a room that was more akin to a dungeon than a bookstore. Dralthus walked inside.
This was a round room about five meters in diameter, and existed as a hidden part of the building next to his bookshop. The walls were all of a greasy black stone that offered excellent Warp shielding against any Chaotic "accidents" that might happen here. In the center of the room, there was a pit about two meters wide and three deep, and it was currently occupied with a young Family of Liberty human man who had not yet begun to completely reek of Slaaneshi corruption. To his left, many safes and tables that held treasures from other realities stood neatly organized. A handful of other communication mirrors to less savory places hung on the wall, as well as a full length mirror for simple vanity.
Dralthus stopped at one of the metal safes, and unlocked it. He carefully placed the interdimensional book within, and removed a small flat plastic disk with a metal finish from a skin pouch. On the disk, the words "GOODBYE HORSES: Q LAZZARUS" were roughly written in dark ink. This was an interdimensional music disk that he had found in his journeys around Levant, and after finding a way to listen to its contents, he found that he absolutely loved it! Atop this safe, there was a small device that could play these music disks, and Word Bear gently placed the compact disk inside the music player, and pressed the "play" button.
Word Bear began to smile widely as the first notes began to lash at his ears like a lover's touch. Good music always made everything better!
The Acquisition in the pit began to plead again, now understanding that someone else was in this room. "Mister! Please mister! You have to let me out! They know I'm missing! My father will pay you! No sir! This is wrong!"
"Ah, songs from heaven," Dralthus smiled at the music as he began to disrobe, carefully folding his fine grey robes and placing them in a drawer so they wouldn't get messy. He then reached up behind his wrist on each hand, and pulled a hidden zipper, which opened his black gloves, revealing that each of his hands were actually five black finger-sized tentacles all in a knot. Dralthus sighed, as it felt good to get his "hands" free from those constraints. He bent and coiled his tentacle fingers in relief. Out of all the mutations he could receive, this one wasn't so bad at all. At least he didn't have tentacle genitals, or something crazy like that. Word Bear didn't want anyone thinking that he was a freak or something.
"...I see you come. I see you go. He say, 'All things pass. Into the night'..." the music softly sang in the background.
Dralthus turned to the full length mirror, admiring himself as he brushed his finger tentacles through his hair and flexed his corded muscular body. Lorgar had once said that he had somewhat resembled the Emperor himself, and Word Bear had never forgotten that. If only he didn't have these unsightly black carapace ports, he thought with a pout. Word Bear sadly supposed that he should get used to wearing his armor again, considering that he was going to leave Tar Vigaz soon. The Inheritor really didn't have a good track record considering the worlds she visited, leaving a trail of devastation behind her. Just like the old Emperor, Dralthus thought with a sudden merry laugh! It was a shame the Fallen had refused to let him aboard their vessel, but it didn't bother him too much. He would probably just mentally dominate some spoiled rich human at Langwidere's party into being his ride off this probably-doomed world. Who could resist his charms, anyway? Word Bear smiled at his reflection.
"...I must disagree. Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong. Oh won't you listen to me..."
Lastly, with a happy sigh, he willed the glamour covering his tattooed skin to fall, revealing runes that began to softly glow in his excitement across his entire body. "Words from heaven, gods from heaven," he cooed as he felt the marks on his face burn. "Rejoice, for I bring you glorious news. God walks among us," he softly intoned, happily knowing immediately which words upon his skin were glowing the brightest. He now knew it was finally true. God did walk among them!
"...he told me, I seen it all before. I been there. I've seen my hopes and dreams lying on the ground..."
Well, a gestating god at the present. And the Word Bearers would be there to welcome their glorious newborn divine queen when she inevitably became what she would become! Maybe she would make him the new Black Cardinal, he wondered giddily as he admired his naked body. That'll show old gramps!
Now you're thinking, Dralthus! the friendly voice in his head whispered to him. Word Bear was so happy!
"...He say: 'All things pass, into the night..."
Veeya knelt before him as he wore a black suit of dyed human skin that covered nearly every piece of his flesh. His manservant listened to him without question after a customized surgery and a magical compulsion. He was very useful. Word Bear even gave him the nickname of "Precious", and treated him like a loyal pet. Veeya drooled and gibbered before him: "The Acquisition screams a song of beauty for hours, master. Strong lungs, strong soul, a good spirit! An excellent offering for the gods!"
"Indeed," Word Bear purred like a hungry leopard as he walked to the pit. Veeya rose, and walked over to the workbench to busy himself with preparing the sacred implements for the Rite of Communication.
The Acquisition was chained to a wall inside a shallow pit in the center of the room. Word Bear walked to the edge of the stone pit, and peered over, wearing his handsome grin, and nothing else. Seeing the state of Word Bear's lurid nudity and his glowing tattooed runes, the Acquisition began screaming again. Even better music! Oh, what a wonderful day!
"Goodbye horses. I'm flying over you..." Dralthus crooned along with the song in his excellently rich voice, singing along to the heaven-music as he walked to his workbench, and selected his finest sacrificial work knife, one devoted to the four powers, and rumored to have been carved from the femur of an Imperial saint.
"Goodbye horses. I'm flying, flying, flying, flying over youuuu..." the music sang along with Word Bear as the screams of the Acquisition joined in, creating a beautiful symphony that lasted well into the night.