**Author's note: Here I go combining chapters because I couldn't find a good place to split them again, so here is another extra long chapter! Just in case if this site goes down randomly, I can be found at archiveofourown under the username "Architect_of_Fate".**
After I had forced myself to relax, I started to actually pay more attention to the Harlequin performance of "Elder Brother; Little Sister," which was the show's title. Alberich informed me that I had apparently missed the announcement when I had been experiencing my terrifying visions. Settling down, I began to wonder as I watched the performance. Maybe the "Elder Brother" scenes would clear up some of the mystery behind the Emperor's transference into this universe and his past? After a short time, I realized that this performance appeared to be somewhat obtusely avant-garde in places, and not completely straightforward. This meant that while I was able to gain some insight, many of the scenes were more challenging to interpret.
Each of the Harlequin dancers wore unique emotive white masks that magically changed expression now and again. All characters were clothed in unique costumes (which were mostly lean bodysuits), and each had unique hairstyles. Of special note, there seemed to be a special energy that surrounded the "Basteen" individual, marking him as distinctly powerful. After a short time, my intuition informed me that the player behind Basteen was the Harlequin Solitaire I had met earlier, explaining his powerful aura. Basteen wore a patent gold bodysuit, and had thick long black hair that flowed behind him almost as if in a breeze. The performance had begun with this character as he painted miniatures and wrote stories on scrolls. Someone that seemed to represent Tzeentch's white-haired female humanoid avatar had appeared, and just like me at the art gallery, the Elder Brother had been given a poison, causing him to lose consciousness.
The music that played through this performance came from a small hidden orchestra. It was heavy on strings and percussion, and often drifted into a minor key, adding evocative emotion to this performance. None of the dancers onstage spoke, and only occasional narration was offered by the Shadowseer lady who stood in a small balcony to the left of the stage.
Moody distraught strings illustrated Basteen's feelings at waking up in an unfamiliar body as he gestured wildly to a mirror before him. It appeared that he had been "summoned" in a remote cave by some sort of mystical hermit, but I couldn't be sure. According to this performance (and a map of the galaxy that had been projected on the rear of the stage), the Elder Brother had been pulled over to this universe somewhere around the area of the Maelstrom, and he, like me, had arrived on a planet that was nearing the end of its life.
The stage that this performance was danced upon was unique; the entire floor rotated when a new scene was needed. Each set transition was done remarkably quickly as the stage shifted. There was apparently a very large support cast that worked tirelessly to set up each set change between scenes, and it worked flawlessly. The whole setup was very impressive to see, and a lot of work had obviously gone into this performance.
I watched as Basteen began to apparently make friends on this new planet. These new companions included someone in a bronze metal suit, a woman of great beauty and long dark hair, and a short blonde-haired younger woman with a sunny personality with a spiky pixie hair cut. The individuals that followed the Elder Brother were referenced to as "The Undying", and it had been hinted that these people were also Travelers, or at the very least, people with potent psychic souls. One particular man with tousled salt and pepper hair featured prominently in this group. Dressed in stylish Victorian clothes, and sporting a long sword cane and a clever smile on his mask, it became obvious that this dancer was special in some way. This foppish person was simply named "The Count" by the narrator, and whoever he was, I found that I enjoyed his character.
After traversing many lands with fantastical names known as "Moldymoor", "The Desert of Shattered Hopes", and "The Swamps of Sadness", our heroes finally made it to a place called "The Mountains of Destiny", where, at the very top, a gold eagle lay perched and waiting for a hero. The eagle was represented first as a distant projected shadow atop a mountain, and later, when close, two massive gold talons on the stage. Abandoned by someone known as the Spoiled Prince, the great bird was apparently their only way off that dying world as it tore itself apart. At the top of the mountain, Basteen met an individual named "Mal", who briefly fought him before conceding to the Elder Brother's strength. Mal was dressed in a plain grey robe, and held a gold staff topped with an eagle with outstretched wings. With his dour nature, Mal seemed almost like the opposite of The Count in temperament. Even though his hood shadowed his unsmiling features, I could tell that he had long greyish hair, and wore a perpetual snarl. That was probably Malcador, I noted.
As the unnamed world began to fall apart (demonstrated by large swells of music and projected bursts of color across the stage), the band of travelers appeared to flee inside the eagle. The next scene demonstrated the frightened group seemingly arguing over three gold chairs as projections of fire and magic ignited over the performance hall. Basteen, it appeared, was being instructed to sit down in one of the chairs by Mal, but the Elder Brother was hesitant in following his instruction. Eventually, Mal did something which appeared to coerce Basteen to finally sit on the center seat, which he did. The Count stood nearby, shaking his head in disapproval. Mal then sat down on Basteen's left, and The Count on his right. The scene seemed to end with their successful escape, and a large projected image of a gold eagle fleeing an explosion was displayed on the back of the stage.
Mal and The Count both appeared to be Basteen's copilots as these three men sat on three gold chairs in the center of the stage from time to time. I could tell that these men, along with the rest of The Undying, were traveling together, but aside from that, I couldn't interpret much concerning the social interactions of the crew. At the very least, in the beginning this story, the crew all seemed to happily work together, and the Elder Brother appeared to be in good spirits. Basteen was even shown sculpting and painting miniatures again with a tiny paintbrush from time to time as he sat in his center gold chair. As the performance continued, Mal and the Count seemed to develop a sort of tense rivalry as well, and appeared to argue with harsh gestures across the stage.
More crewmembers were picked up on various worlds, and now, the Elder Brother had attracted a sizeable group of followers who accompanied him on his adventures. The group swelled in numbers, and it appeared that they were now all one big happy family.
A short time later, we witnessed Basteen's visitation to what appeared to be the eponymous "Wizard" on Molech. I knew this because the Shadowseer narrator clearly identified the Wizard and the planet of Molech in a short soliloquy, stating that the Elder Brother needed to visit the Gate in order to "find his way home". Molech was a dark world, and Basteen's destination was a large black castle. The Wizard within was represented by a very tall glowing androgynous gold figure seated upon a tall black throne, and behind them, three ghostly shapes twisted like angry spirits. The Elder Brother stood before the strange figure, apparently pleading his case. The music became dramatic. Unfortunately, the Wizard appeared to reject Basteen's presence, who then even appeared to beg before the entity, who shook their head. The creature then made a series of grand gestures, as if explaining something.
The Shadowseer's clear voice sang through the hall: "The Elder Brother was then given a task by the Wizard. To pass through the Gate, he would need to find an important piece of himself. He and his companions would be allowed to pass through the Gate after finding this item."
From what I could interpret, the group then set off on many adventures as they searched for whatever this item would be. After a tragic scene that looked suspiciously like the ruination of Nubua, Basteen developed an unusual glow about him. The way the Elder Brother's Solitaire danced from then on suggested that the lost Traveler now carried a great burden, and that slowly, his suffering was compounding. Every so often, he would grip his head as if in great pain, and all the stage lights would flicker as blood flowed from the nose on his mask. At one point, he even picked up one of his miniatures, and smashed it to the floor in great anger. His crewmembers would attempt to console him, but they would often end up roughly rebuked, leaving only Mal and The Count brave enough to speak to him.
The next planet was a world filled with what appeared to be murderous robots, and the heroic group valiantly fought behind Basteen to save the suffering humans that were frantically trying to escape. Unfortunately, this scene did not have a good ending, as an argument between Mal and The Count caused a distraction that allowed for the murderous machine force to destroy the refugees this band had been fighting so hard to protect.
After their escape from the apocalyptic robot world, Mal and The Count were then alone on the bridge without Basteen. Harsh gestures were exchanged, and then, a violent confrontation ensued between the two copilots.
It was all very theatrical, and the music somewhat reminded me of Jean Valjean's confrontation with Javert in Les Miserables as each copilot angrily circled one another. The music was melodramatic and tense, and I sensed that the audience was at the edge of their seats. The Count desperately appeared to be trying to convince Mal of something important, but Mal was not hearing it, and eventually, some sort of magical duel took place, with each copilot being telekinetically thrown around the stage and blasted with illusory flames! Many "Ooos" and "Ahhs" ignited through the audience!
Eventually, The Count was subdued by Mal, and the Elder Brother angrily appeared once again, now glowing so brightly that he lit not only the stage, but the entire performance hall. Both Mal and Basteen harshly pointed offstage, gesturing their apparent exile of the copilot. The beleaguered Count made one last attempt to appeal to Basteen, who then began to summon his own gold fire in a threat. This caused The Count to finally give up, and he left the crew, his head hung low in sadness.
The Count, as the performance continued, was not the only person to depart the crew. Many members of the Elder Brother's crew eventually began to quit the traveling group, including the happy blonde woman and the strange metal man. The bronze man even shook his head shamefully at one of Basteen's outbursts as he stepped off the stage. The dancer even walked through the audience, leaving through the doors Alberich and I had taken to get to the performance hall.
The rightmost gold chair remained empty for the remainder of this part of the performance. I found myself greatly curious on the identity of whoever The Count had been. That man must have been a tremendously powerful psyker to go toe to toe with Malcador in a magic duel. And, he had a cool sword cane!
The performance continued, and now, we were witnessing Basteen's return to the Wizard on Molech, and the Elder Brother now carried a long bright sword at his hip. I was briefly confused as to what Basteen had acquired to allow him passage through the Gate, but whatever it was, this time the Wizard seemed pleased, and one of the doors below the entity's great black throne opened. The Wizard firmly indicated that the group would need to go through this portal. The remaining crew then loyally followed Basteen through this Gate, and the stage rotated again to show a bleak red landscape, and more killer robots began to swarm from offstage. Each of the Elder Brother's crew immediately readied themselves for battle as the gate closed behind them. Had they been tricked?
After some minutes of dance-fighting the new killer robots, a long and very large silver serpent appeared from the rafters above, bounding down to the stage. It hissed angrily at Basteen. This metal monster was actually made up of a handful of Harlequin dancers animating its long body, reminding me of an agile Chinese dragon as it undulated across the stage. Green flames and lightning ignited from its body as Basteen appeared to desperately fight the creature! The music rose to a fever pitch as it became obvious that the silver serpent was absolutely impervious of any efforts to harm it. This even included strikes from the Elder Brother's gold sword!
I sensed that the audience was very much enjoying the performance, and I was too! This was intense!
During this dire fight, I noticed Basteen's remaining crew begin to succumb to the efforts of this silver monster and the machines that fought with it. At one point, one of the dancers even leapt into the audience in an attempt to escape, but the serpent was too fast, and it struck forward, devouring the dancer in a single metal chomp! The people near the front of the stage cried out in fright!
The music became low and dramatic, and the Shadowseer's voice rang through the hall. "The heroic band was nearing its destruction, and the silver plague celebrated the destruction of The Undying. It wanted to extinguish the lights of humankind before they could even burn their brightest! For without their light, there would be no future for humanity, and those of the silver plague could reign supreme, ruled beneath the might of the wicked dragon! Desperate measures had to be taken..."
Two followers of the Elder Brother appeared to intentionally distract the silver serpent, which soon resulted in their deaths. Using this moment, Basteen then unexpectedly danced into the audience, acrobatically bounding between seated partygoers and even briefly leaping off my balcony through the air! Finally, he alighted on an area high above the stage and near the ceiling which I had assumed only held the stage lights. Basteen seemed to sadly regard the battle below for a short moment, and shook his head. A bright spotlight fixed on the Elder Brother as he perched high above the stage. Something about this felt extremely sad, but I couldn't place why I felt that way. Seemingly finding his resolve, Basteen then took his sword, and held it in his trembling outstretched arms. He observed the beast and the machines killing his crewmembers below, and nodded once in resolution.
And then, something very unexpected happened. Instead of leaping off the rafters and skewering the silver beast below like I thought he would, Basteen then plunged the blade into himself! The audience gasped as his body fell limply to the stage with a sickening crunch! People cried and shouted, but the Shadowseer narrator proclaimed that this was all part of the performance.
The silver serpent, having now eaten most of Basteen's remaining crew, then began to coil around the Elder Brother's limp impaled body, laughing victoriously with the noise of broken engines and shattering glass. As it did so, the lights in the performance hall flickered once again. The beast then seemed to realize something, and began to yowl in surprise. A split second later, Basteen's body then brightened with the intensity of a dying star, and in a nova of light, his form exploded, obliterating itself from existence! This act seemed to cripple the serpent, which screamed as it writhed around the stage. All the killer machines that the crew had also been fighting instantly came apart into piles of useless metal, destroyed by the Elder Brother's explosion.
The lights then dimmed, and the music began to swell. Some people the audience had even been moved to tears!
Small globes of hot gold light the size of my fist then appeared out of thin air like ghostly torches, and the orbs sang with a tone that was almost celestial. These orbs multiplied until they filled the entire space of the performance hall, each singing a song of power! The air was now charged with energy!
"And this was not the end for the brave Elder Brother, for the name of the Traveler is blessed, and will not be subdued by something as mundane as death!" the Shadowseer narrator informed us.
The globes of strange power were then all drawn to the area where Basteen's body had been, and converged. I watched in awe as a new body was impossibly sculpted out of energy, and then, Basteen once again stood tall! His sword was now supernaturally tempered as it burned with a hot blue fire, and he held it aloft in a heroic pose in two hands before pointing it toward the weakened monster, who now recoiled from him. The Elder Brother's eyes blazed with vengeance, and Basteen began to fight with renewed resolve!
The beast wailed in a panic as it lunged madly with its metal fanged mouth, but Basteen, now wreathed in powerful holy light, fought with new fearsome purpose!
"Death had again rejected the Elder Brother, and he now fought for the future of humanity!" the Shadowseer sang out with the swelling of heroic music!
The Elder Brother fought madly, lunging at the beast, skewering its formerly impenetrable metal hide. It screamed in pain and fear, and tried to get away. Incredibly, the dragon then actually charged into the audience! Each Harlequin that moved it gracefully stepped off chair backs and armrests with perfect precision. Basteen, now ablaze with power, chased it, and harried the creature with savage strikes of his holy sword, easily jumping away with each desperate attack the serpent made. This performance was absolutely insane! As the monster fled back on stage, Basteen then vaulted all the way up to my balcony once again! The Solitaire's mask winked cheekily at me as he quickly turned around, and rushed furiously through the air at the serpent, his sword outstretched. With that final heavy great strike, the Elder Brother plunged his blazing sword into the head of the dragon, which caused it to break apart with a piercing scream. Each of the dancers that had animated it separated themselves from the main body in segments, which then drifted offstage. He had killed it!
"The dragon had been shattered, broken, and its pieces set to rest in different places across time and space. Basteen's heroic sacrifice had empowered his nature further, and as Travelers bend fate, so fate did bow in submission of the Elder Brother!"
The lights dimmed for a few moments as the audience caught their breath, whispering in amazement at this performance. We now saw the reborn Basteen once again as he returned to the Wizard, but now, he appeared in great distress. Blood covered his body, and while he still held this supernatural glow, it appeared that he was now greatly weakened. He was limping and weeping as he gestured to the Wizard. I noted disturbingly that nearly all of the remaining dancers that had followed the Elder Brother through the door were now presumably dead from that battle. Only Mal and two others remained.
Mal then helped Basteen stand before the Wizard, and this time, the mysterious androgynous entity nodded in approval. With a gesture of the Wizard's clawed hand, Basteen then began to levitate before the entity, and gold fire ignited around his body, causing gasps of wonder to echo through the audience. In a burst of illusory light, Basteen was now a fiery gold figure of great height, and all blood and filth had been cleaned from his body. In his right hand, his sword glowed again with a pale blue fury, and the shadow he cast against the rest of the stage was now somehow much taller than the dancer was; it hung like a threatening cloud over the entire performance hall. The Elder Brother then turned to observe the audience, and I could see that a gold laurel wreath had appeared upon his head!
The Emperor! I heard a few people think in awe. That's the God-Emperor!
After briefly observing the audience with what actually felt like scorn, Basteen turned around to presumably speak to the gold Wizard entity. The Wizard then seemed to motion to the Elder Brother to make a choice between two doors as they opened on opposite ends of the stage. Mal then appeared again, and whispered something in Basteen's ear, who then sighed heavily. The Elder Brother paced back and forth until finally choosing the rightmost door, which caused the left to burst into flames, forever lost. Passing through his chosen door, the Elder Brother briefly turned around again as if regretting his choice with sad eyes, but then continued on his way. The door closed with the sound of a heavy lock engaging, and the lights began to dim.
The Shadowseer's voice sang out musically through the darkening theater hall. "And so, the Elder Brother made his choice, and because of his choice, humanity survived against the silver plague, and even went on to thrive against galactic adversity! Basteen would go on to unite all under his banner of power, domination, and unwavering ruthless brutality! No foul shadow could hope to rest under the light of the great gold eagle, for it sees all infinitely and always! Over time, the Elder Brother became lost in his fate, but soon a new eagle would rise, and a new dawn would summon the strength of humanity once again to a glorious rebirth! Join us soon to see that rebirth, Mon-keigh!"
The curtain fell, and a grand projection of a mechanical gold eagle then appeared across the stage, signaling the end of the first act. Applause roared through the audience!
"Holy shit!" I said, amazed at what I had seen as I stood up to cheer. "That was amazing!"
"I'm not certain I fully understood it," Alberich wondered as he also applauded, following my lead. He then turned to me, and did a double take. "But, artistically, it was very well done!"
"It was an interpretation of some of what the last pilot of the Divine Retribution went through, I think. Basteen was and is the Emperor. Those other people were his crewmembers," I informed the beastman. "The next performance should be interesting. It sounds like it might be about us!" I replied with excitement as I clapped. Watching this incredible performance had blessedly distracted me from my existential terror, and I was grateful for that.
Alberich continued to look at me curiously as we both continued to applaud the performance. "What?" I asked.
Your hair, Alberich spoke to me telepathically this time. It changed again. It is more white now.
"What, really?" I asked as I instantly stopped applauding. I quickly glanced around this balcony booth, looking for a reflective surface. Not finding anything, I then reached inside my cloak for Word Bear's mirror compact, and quickly opened it.
Sure enough, a new portion of my hair had turned white. My entire head was now one third white, all the way to the root. I truly had no idea what was specifically causing this, but my best guess now was that it seemed to be connected to especially traumatic psychic visions. Why was my hair changing when most other Inheritors, including the Emperor, retained their natural hair color? I then recalled that some Inheritors, including Spoiled Prince, possessed white hair, and I made a mental note to speak to Null and to view his recording of the Inheritor mural in Nubua.
As I stood observing my hair, I felt a psychic eye pass over me from the black mirror of the compact. Word Bear's voice then spoke to me, Checking our makeup are we? I must say that I enjoyed that performance! It was most educational, and I do hope you are enjoying my gift! I'll be out in the sun room if you wish to meet. There will be a twenty minute intermission.
I didn't respond and closed the compact.
Sure enough, a short intermission was called, and I got up to stretch my legs with Alberich in tow. I walked to the sun room to enjoy the nice atmosphere next to the fountain. As soon as I entered the hall, I saw the distinctive bulky form of Word Bear making his way toward me. Along with his human skin scarecrow costume, he was wearing a big smile. Beside him, Rasputin was also grinning.
"You two are friends?" I asked quickly as I sat down, looking away from them both and not really in the mood for conversation. I could feel Alberich bristle, again not enjoying being around Word Bear.
"Acquaintances, really," Rasputin explained in his distinctive Russian accent as someone complimented him on his Malcador costume. "Word Bear is quite a collector, and I enjoy his finds. He's told me so much about you!"
"And Grigori is quite a remarkable individual. A Traveler as well, just like you. How about that?" Word Bear pleasantly rumbled. I looked back up at the polite Chaos Marine, and saw that he was studying me with a critical eye. I still could not get over just how uncomfortable it was to be around this man. My soul objected to his presence once again, finding him dangerous and unnatural. After examining me for a few moments, he then asked, "Has your hair changed, Empress?"
"Yeah, my hair changes sometimes," I replied, not really in the mood to explain that I had just experienced a stream of terrifying visions a short time ago. I began to lightly tremble again, recalling my recent trauma. With great reluctance, I admitted to myself that I should probably at least try to tell someone what I had seen. After witnessing that terrifying future, the fear of committing a social faux pas seemed less important. Even if it meant these rich people getting angry at me for causing drama, I felt like I needed to tell someone. It was the right thing to do.
Resigned, I turned to Grigori. Maybe he would listen? "So, I feel like I have to tell this to someone. I just had some serious visions a short time ago. Not good at all. This world is in big trouble, and worse than I thought. I'm sick of being secretive about this, but do you know that Family of Liberty group? The Slaanesh cult?"
Word Bear's soul blazed with surprise when he heard me speak this aloud. Forgive me, but that's truly something you should not voi-
I immediately interrupted the Chaos Marine's telepathic message, and slightly raised my voice. "I don't care about getting into trouble, and I don't care who overhears it. It won't matter soon anyway if no one does anything. This world going to be completely fucked very soon. Raula White, the head of the Family of Liberty, will soon attempt some kind of Slaaneshi Chaos revolt on this world. I saw the Wheelers going crazy and killing people on the street! I saw people being lined up and sacrificed to the Statue of Libertine! People were screaming and being hunted by daemons! And, that's not the only thing," I said, pushing a slight lick of power behind my voice, and feeling my Corona glow warmly about me. Heads turned to see what was happening. Maybe if I made a bit of a scene, the governor would come and find me too? Bonus, if so!
I waited for Rasputin and Word Bear to admonish me for speaking like this so loudly, but instead, they simply waited for me to continue.
"There's also a fleet of Necrons on their way here," I said as I stood up. "I saw them skinning people alive!"
Why does that woman make trouble? I heard a random thought originate from somewhere around me. Causing drama at Langwidere's party? Trash!
"Oh, fuck off, you spoiled rich brats! I am not trash!" I snapped, feeling my halo brighten again. My anger was beginning to rise with my frustration. Admittedly, I did feel a little unhinged, especially after my earlier visions, but I really felt like I had to say something. "I'm trying to warn you people!"
Most of the people in the hall were now nervously watching me, and I straightened up. I waved my lightning claw around in a wide gesture. "Look, if you want to save yourselves, you'll listen to me! Maybe on some level, you recognize me for who I am, and I'm trying to warn you! Either get ready to fight back or get off this world!"
I felt Alberich's hand on my shoulder as I watched people shake their heads at me, obviously thinking that I was either mentally unstable or just causing drama. One person wearing an Evian black military outfit was approaching us from an open doorway though, and I stood tall, ready for a confrontation.
It actually appeared that this person was here for Word Bear, and the man gave the Chaos Marine a small sealed envelope. Word Bear appeared surprised as I listened to Alberich attempt to calm me down.
These people will never listen, I am afraid, Rasputin then spoke to me sadly in mind, shaking his head. The gentry of Evna live in a fugue of willful ignorance most of the time, especially during their high society parties. You could be witnessing the literal destruction of this city, and their complacency will overwhelm their ability to do anything. Like me, you should be considering an exit strategy if it presents itself. Tar Vigaz is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here forever, Rasputin grinned at me with a creepy wide smile. I was still not quite over that I was standing next to this crazy infamous monk from history. Who was I going to run into next? Elvis?
Suddenly, I felt Word Bear's soul emanate mild shock, and I turned to the Chaos Marine, who was now reading the letter. The military man who had delivered the message then produced a flat rectangular device the size of a deck of cards in his hand. Word Bear saw this and nodded. He then reached with his right hand pulled open a thin zipper along the length of his left thumb, revealing some kind of shiny black appendage under his glove. The Chaos Marine then quickly nipped what appeared to be a tentacle with his teeth, causing a spot of inky black blood to appear on his lip, which he (revoltingly) quickly licked up with a black tongue. Quickly, Word Bear placed his bloody "thumb" on the device, which beeped twice at his touch. The military man bowed to the Chaos Marine, who nodded in turn with a large sigh as he zipped his glove back up again. Well, that was pretty fucking gross, but mutations like that were par for the course for Chaos Marines.
"What was all that?" I dared to ask. At my side, I noticed that Rasputin had wandered a short distance away to flirt with yet another attractive woman.
Six of my Brothers are in system and en route here in a mercenary ship, and have requested a Writ of Confidentiality. I just confirmed the authenticity of their code, and paid their fee.
What, really? I telepathically asked. So now this world is getting fucking Chaos Marines too?!
Word Bear shook his head, and then shrugged. His normally blaise demeanor was now very serious, and he wrung his gloved hands. Did this guy even have hands, or did he just have tentacles? I did not summon them here, and I would have been informed if they had decided to forge an alliance with the Family of Liberty, which they probably would not have done anyway, considering they are all strict adherents of Chaos Undivided, so I do not know why these Brothers are here. I have received no warning of this visit, not even through telepathy. But, their code was cleared, and the note held the correct phrase for an emergency visit.
"What is happening?" Alberich asked, looking between Word Bear and I. I telepathically informed Alberich of the situation, and even though he was covered in gold paint, I swear I could see him pale in response.
"More shady stuff," I then said audibly, observing Word Bear's perturbation.
Worry not, Empress, Word Bear telepathically reassured me. I will speak to my Brothers. They will not move against you. These are men devoted to divine truth, and they will listen to me. They could simply be representatives of my grandfather, once again seeking to pester me into being a model grandson. Do not trouble yourself with this concern.
"Well, I'm sure everything will be just fine," I bitterly spat as I held my hand to my temple. Great, now this world was getting a visit by a bunch of fucking Word Bearers, and everyone was apparently just too self-possessed to listen to any warning! None of these people were going to pay attention to me unless I psychically forced them to listen, so maybe when I was done with Langwidere, I could pull an Emperor and assault the minds of this entire party? Could I do that yet? I guess I could find out later, I angrily thought, observing all the complacent dummies milling around. To distract myself, I watched as Rasputin spoke animatedly with another small group of cooing nobles nearby. One of them pointed toward his eagle staff with a big smile, and another made a gesture toward me, causing all of them to briefly glance my way. I heard the name "Malcador" spoken a few times. I didn't know what the history books in this universe described, but last I checked, Malcador didn't have a messy beard like Rasputin.
As we stood uncomfortably, a servitor announced to the room that it was time to return to the performance hall. People whispered nasty things about me as we filed in again for the second half of the show, the "Little Sister" part. Well, maybe I would get some respect after this, I thought with a growl.
A strange warm psychic shiver passed through me once again, and I recognized the whispery polyphonic voice of the Divine Retribution. Reaching through me, it offered strange calm once again. Do not trouble yourselves with the current ignorance of your humans. In time, they will bow. In time, they will see and know. They are yours to direct as you see fit.
I was entirely unwilling to deal with more telepathic eldritch bullshit anymore right now as I was led back to my balcony with Alberich, who was watching me with both quiet concern and veiled fear. I found Tzeentch's bourbon beside my seat and poured myself another cup as I sat down. Fuck, this day has been insane!
After a short time, the lights began to dim in the performance hall once again, and cheers began to rise. I could now tell that the audience was now definitely primed for more Harlequin dance action, considering how amazing the last performance was.
The curtain rose, and the music softly began to sing.
Before us, the Shadowseer was now in the show as a dancer, and it appeared that the Solitaire was now voicing the narration this time around.
"Welcome again, Mon-keigh friends! Our story begins anew as fate repeats itself. The Elder Brother is now lost in his fate, but now, the Little Sister rises as the wheel of time turns once again!" the Solitaire's strange voice projected to the performance hall.
The first scene was of a woman with long dark hair and a dark dress standing in an art gallery appearing despondent. Seeing this, I allowed myself a bit of a chuckle. I stopped my laughter when a writhing indigo blue shadow was projected above the stage, apparently representing a certain looming Chaos power. Why was Tzeentch hanging around my home dimension anyway, I suddenly wondered. And, how had he gotten there in the first place? I didn't feel like worrying about that right now, so I just continued to watch the performance.
The writhing tentacle shadow then descended and focused on a familiar blond-haired stylish man who had stepped into the gallery.
"We take you all now to the story of Rikka, the Little Sister. Much like the Elder Brother Basteen, the Little Sister Rikka had humble beginnings, and much like the Elder Brother, both were exceedingly ignorant of the machinations of the Architect of Fate on their foreign souls! The reach of the God of Fate spans across many dimensions, as all he seeks for all of reality to be his playground!" the Solitaire's uncannily creepy voice rang out into the hall.
I watched as "Rikka" was approached by a dark dancer in a black hat and a long coat. The man offered her a drink, and I cringed when she took it. Before she could take a second sip, the blond stylish man then body checked the dark dancer, causing him to stumble into Rikka, who then dropped her drink. The Little Sister then swayed on her feet, and fell to her knees. That wasn't exactly how it went, but whatever.
The scene then quickly changed to the Shadowseer playing the part of a witch in a blue robe, calling lightning from the sky from inside a magic circle. This was probably supposed to be Evanora, I concluded. A bolt of energy struck the calling figure, and she crumpled to the floor.
The Solitaire narrator explained that the Little Sister's soul, like the Elder Brother's, had been stolen from her home reality, and called into a new body. Waking up in her new dimension, Rikka appeared upset, and like Basteen, she enjoyed a few minutes of interpretive dance displaying her confusion. As the Little Sister danced, I noticed that the blue robe the witch had worn was now a gold bodysuit, similar to the one the Elder Brother had worn. Her hair was long, dark, and full with a streak of white, similar to mine. The sound of someone barking like a dog echoed, and the voice of the Solitaire narrator was heard once again.
"Attracted by the energy of her transition into this universe, an astral hound visited the Little Sister as she wept, and offered her comfort! His name was Toto, and from then on, the Warp beast devoted himself to his mistress!"
Adorably, I saw what appeared to be either a child or a very short Harlequin appear on stage dressed as a black dog! I saw that Alberich had turned to me, and wore a big smile on his beak. Ah! That's Wolfie! Alberich recognized, and I nodded. I missed my little Warp dog buddy, and I was looking forward to getting away from this world so that I could see him again. At least Wolfie had learned to stay away when told after showing up unwelcomely on Kolch and almost getting sliced by Lian.
A dancer dressed as a daemon in a pink dress materialized out of nowhere. I assumed this was "Glinda" (or, more accurately, the Changeling) and she led the Little Sister outside. The stage rotated again, and then, Rikka was standing in confusion at the base of a massive gold statue. Flowers were placed on the Little Sister's head by gaudily maddened dressed villagers who appeared to celebrate her arrival. After a short and joyous dance number, these psychotic villagers then all committed suicide, each slicing their throats in religious glee, all dying with grins on their masks. The audience gasped in surprise and horror!
"A warning to you all, Mon-keigh! She-Who-Thirsts does not only thirst for Aeldari souls. The Prince of Pleasure will hunger for all experiences, including those of your race! Be warned of corruption in your own houses, especially here in the city of Evna! The Little Sister was intended to be a meal for a very powerful creature lurking just outside her host body's manor, a powerful daemon of She-Who-Thirsts!"
After all the villagers fell to the ground, a dancer dressed as a four-armed monstrous daemon materialized before Rikka, and proceeded to attempt to choke her. This was, I assumed, Amnaich (or later, Am'Erika). The Little Sister was able to break the choke, and then, a loud buzzing noise sounded through the performance hall. Offstage on a separate dais, and in shadow before being illuminated with a spotlight, I saw a dancer in a red robe and a silver mask flipping a switch. The four-armed dancer then fell to the ground, along with Toto and Glinda. When everyone was dead, the Little Sister appeared to sigh in resignation, and began to walk down a long road, away from the scene of mass death.
Alberich became very excited when he saw a crucified male Harlequin dancer in a blue bodysuit wearing a beaked mask. The Littler Sister cut this dancer off from the cross, and he bowed to her gratefully. The projected background moved, giving the illusion that both Rikka and the new dancer were walking down a road.
"Upon her path, Rikka had come across a scared crow, crucified to look like a scarecrow! In her mercy, she cut the scarecrow down, and he followed her as they ventured to the tower in the distance, for they knew that the man in the red robe would be there, and he had promised to answer their questions."
A few individuals in the hall here began to make the association between the blue bird dancer and the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, their thoughts whispering through my mind.
Rikka and the "Scarecrow" were then standing before a tower, and a figure in a red robe and a metal mask welcomed them. He was called (of course) the "Tin Man", and he led the group to where the gold eagle was now hidden. Thoughts of intrigued recognition echoed through the audience as people correctly connected the vehicle of the Elder Brother with this construct.
Elder Brother; Little Sister? I heard someone think loudly in the audience. The Emperor has a sister?
After a switch was flipped, the stage rotated to the very same three chairs I had seen with Basteen and his crew. The Tin Man appeared to be imploring Rikka to sit down, which she eventually did, but only after some kind of argument with the Scarecrow. Sadly, the whole situation with the possessed Statue of Liberty wasn't shown here. As the crew escaped together, the projected background on the rear of the stage displayed a familiar image of the gold eagle flying away from another explosion. This image was actually the same recycled scene from Basteen's Elder Brother story. He had escaped a Warp Rift soon after his arrival, just like me. Travelers really did seem to have a habit of messing reality up around them, and I briefly wondered if his coming had actually caused the Maelstrom to happen?
Rikka, Toto, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow then found themselves in a dangerous new scenario on a new world. Dancers dressed as monsters stalked them as they stalked through what looked like an ancient haunted temple. The group came across a very tall dancer dressed as an armored anthropomorphic lion, and I smiled in recognition at who this probably was. After saving the lion from some sort of monster that looked like a reptilian bear, the group decided to rest. As the group slumbered, the Tin Man decided to sneak away and explore deeper into the temple, where he stole a glowing green crystal from a pedestal. This set off an innumerable series of traps and alarms as the ancient temple guardians (which were, of course, metal skeletons) came alive.
Running out of the temple, the group (which now included a "Cowardly Lion") made it to the great eagle, only to see a group of metal skeleton dancers led by a mighty wizard guarding it. Another metal skeleton then appeared behind the group, and laughed at the situation. The Little Sister and her friends appeared trapped!
"The vile undead Collector had found the group," the Solitaire narrator elucidated, describing what had to be Trazyn. "He had longed to take the great eagle as his own ornament, and in a battle of wits and riddles, he dueled for ownership of the eagle with the Diviner, who now stood before him. Confident in his abilities, the Collector did not anticipate losing, but the Diviner was wittier still, and tricked the Collector into taking into his body a cursed belt, which caused his circuits to malfunction!"
I began to laugh. This performance was definitely not what had actually happened, but it was a lot of fun to see. The Harlequins had not shown Lian's initial rudeness and aggression toward me, nor the furious battle with the Screamer. Alberich and I both had a nice laugh as the dancer representing Trazyn became upset, sensing that he had been beaten. Soon after, the Diviner bowed deeply toward the group, and both metal skeletons vanished.
"The Diviner had found the Little Sister intriguing, and in his prophecies, he had foreseen that Rikka could offer the galaxy a great benefit if saved from the machinations of the Collector. Because of this, he had decided to help her," the Solitaire narrator explained.
As the Collector dematerialized, he had also left behind a staff and a belt. Rikka and the Scarecrow turned to walk offstage, but when their backs were turned, the Tin Man secretly snatched the belt off the stage floor, and rushed to follow the rest of the crew. Well, that definitely happened at least, I thought, shaking my head at Null's earlier trouble.
As Rikka and her band cheerfully settled back within the great gold eagle, a cry of rage echoed from offstage. We then saw a short scene where another metal skeleton, this one named "The Mad King", paced and raved. The narrator then explained that it was this particular king that had ultimately been the victim in this situation, and that it was actually he who had been stolen from by both the Collector and Rikka's group.
"The Mad King vowed vengeance for the theft of his sacred artifacts, but the Little Sister departed this world without a second thought, not even noticing that she had recklessly destroyed the Mad King's planet in her haste to escape!"
Alberich and I glanced at each other. Maybe I was just having difficulty in the misinterpretation of some vagueness in this artistic performance, but did I just hear that Kolch had been destroyed?
I did not know that world had broken, Alberich spoke to me telepathically, his beak open in surprise.
I didn't know either, I answered as I shook my head. I got a sense that something broke when we transitioned to Warp, but not like, the entire planet! Well, let's just hope that that crazy Nome King Necron doesn't find us, because- Shocked, I paused, feeling my blood run cold.
Oh no, I thought in a terrible revelation. Now I understood! Oh no!
"Holy shit, he knows we're here! The Nome King has been chasing us!" I audibly said in a choked whisper. "That's why I had that vision of the Necrons attacking this world. In my visions, I saw him! I remember his crown, his cape of rubies, and his staff! The Nome King and his fleet, they're on their way here! They're coming after us!"
That can't be, Alberich replied in mind, continuing to shake his head. Kolch was thousands of light years away! Space is huge! How would he be able to track us like that?
"I think Trazyn put a virus in Null, if I remember right. Either that, or it's that weird belt that he wears," I hissed my revelation in horror as my intuition put two and two together. "Shit. Whatever it is, we have to fix this as soon as possible when we get back to the ship!"
A few heads below us turned upward, angry that I was being rude by talking in the theater. I silenced myself, and continued to watch the show. Hopefully, this wasn't exactly accurate.
We were now watching a scene where the group was now landing on a blasted desert world, which I assumed was Nubua. The Little Sister's merry band of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion were then shown walking through the desert to a pyramid.
"Insatiably hungry for all technology, the Tin Man sought to uncover the mystery of the white pyramid. Instead, he found other timeless treasures within!"
The stage rotated again, and now, we were looking inside a gallery. Within, many paintings hung, but they did not interest our heroes. The band ventured further inside the pyramid, and discovered two women with metal masks, and an ancient priest.
"Locked in time, they had been waiting for the Little Sister's arrival for many thousands of years. They spoke of a powerful curse that had destroyed all life on their world eons ago, and pleaded for Rikka's magic to undo the ancient malediction that had obliterated their civilization."
I watched as Rikka then began a complex dance routine, likely meant to illustrate some kind of ritual. Fiery illusory lights were then projected in the rear of the stage, and the group (which now included the two new metal masked women) then ran to escape the crumbling world, dashing away from the pyramid!
"Ah, but the daemon of the Little Sister's past was not to be ignored, and had sent obscene servants to destroy the woman who had humiliated her, following her to this dead world! They stood waiting for them outside, ready to feast on the Little Sister's flesh and spirit!"
A battle then ensued, and I watched the Scarecrow, Toto, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man dance fight outside the eagle. Illusory magic lightning alighted through the theater. A short time later, a thunderclap boomed through the theater, and with it, a large centaur-like creature made up of three dancers who moved together under a single costume appeared. This must be a representation of Grikk'ahn, I decided. Beside the monstrous amalgamation, two dancers representing what appeared to be daemonettes also threatened Rikka and her crew.
While definitely not as cool as the dancing metal dragon costume from the first half, this representation of a Space Marine Daemon Prince was still pretty cool. Two dancers under a white leathery cloth made up the legs and lower body of the centaur daemon beast, and another dancer stood on the stooped shoulders of the center person, acting as its head and upper body. Four arms (two of which were fake) held long pink swords, and tentacles that sprouted from the creature's back were moved using some kind of puppetry by one of the dancers moving the centaur's lower body.
The audience watched in rapt attention once again as magic was thrown across the performance hall. Rikka looked a lot cooler than I did as she twirled her gold staff and threatened the creature with a long silver dagger. With a motion of her hand, a breeze began to pick up in the performance hall, and then, an illusory (and harmless) tornado blew through the audience, striking the daemonettes and dispatching them easily. Driving that tornado around and killing all those Chaos Marines was definitely a great memory, I thought with a smile.
The Cowardly Lion eventually summoned his courage, and pulled a brilliant longsword from his back. Together, as the Daemon Prince weakened, the Cowardly Lion and the Little Sister sliced and diced Grikk'ahn to death. The monster was finally defeated by a stab to the heart by Rikka's dagger, and the Daemon Prince exploded into pink flames before burning away. Victorious, the band of adventurers departed this world.
I was a little disappointed to not see the whirlwind of white ghosts that had dragged souls out of Grikk'ahn's body, but this was still amazing to see! Beside me, I heard the beastman sigh in annoyance. They did not show my disk, or my pink horror! Alberich actually complained.
The lights then dimmed as the group escaped on the eagle, and now, we were looking at a strange scene. A single spotlight fell upon Rikka as she sat on the central chair, and in silence, it fixed its light upon her as she apparently concentrated. No other dancers were on stage with her now.
Another spotlight was then pointed somewhere near the ceiling on the opposite side of the hall, forcing the audience to turn around to observe the rear of the theater. There, the Solitaire was once again dressed as Basteen, and he stood hovering in a lotus position near the ceiling in a ball of light. I gasped as I saw the Elder Brother reach forward and point at the Little Sister. As he did that, a beam of light shot from his hand and onto her heart.
Quickly, and again with perfect agility, Basteen then deftly bounded and leapt between chair backs, rafters, and even balconies as he advanced to the stage once again. This time, his features were not so defined, and he was so bright that I could barely focus on his body.
The Little Sister then stood up from her chair as the Elder Brother landed beside her. Each seemed to watch the other, and the Elder Brother stalked around her, observing Rikka critically. She appeared to be (justifiably) afraid of this bright shade, but after watching her for a short time, Basteen then nodded once, and quickly stepped close to her.
Abruptly, the Elder Brother then embraced the Little Sister before she could duck away. His touch caused parts of the Little Sister's gold bodysuit to catch fire, along with her hair for a brief moment. Basteen then seemed to vanish into a smear of light, and the scene dimmed once again as Rikka remained standing, wisps of smoke wafting up from her form. I also noticed now that more of the Little Sister's hair had changed to white.
The voice of the Solitaire narrator rang sadly in the darkened hall. "The Little Sister had finally met her legendary Elder Brother, and he had shared pieces of his wisdom and the power of his brutal light with her. He told her many things, and from then on, she knew who she was, and her place in this universe."
Rikka sat on her chair again, and we watched as she held her hands up to her masked face, and began to weep. "The weight of ages fell upon her, and behind the confident light of the stars, tears of rain fell. The name of the Traveler is blessed, but now, the Little Sister carries the burden of her terrible destiny, even as she now shines with light divine, so that all may know her," the Solitaire spoke with a soft, melancholy voice.
The light in this hall began to dim further until all that could be seen was the radiance of the shining gold halo surrounding the Little Sister as she continued to bitterly weep, her shoulders shaking. The music slowed as it began to fade out, and it ended on a sad, depressive key. As this happened, I found that I had also begun to cry, my tears hot as they flowed down my cheeks. Seeing the dancer that was clearly meant to represent me suffer alone and frightened out on stage really set me off.
I never asked for this, I thought again with bitterness as I remembered Sebastian's sad face in my visions, and the faintest realization of his terrifying fate. He had started out as a normal guy trying to do the right thing, and everything had gone so horribly wrong. How do you even confront your future when you see your humanity flaying away, piece by piece, in shards of gold light? How does someone even begin to manage a burden like this?
You do what must be done, and you follow your imperative, the creepy voice of the Divine Retribution unwelcomely spoke to me as I continued to weep, its voice unusually strong. There was a strange presence over me, and I found it oppressive. You are the vessel of the waters of life, the font of infinity, the hope of your species.
"No, no," I rasped in a tiny voice as I shook my head, my tears spilling. "Stop it. Go Away! I don't want this. I just want to go home. There's no place like home..." I felt my Corona begin to surround me with a harsher radiance. Distantly, recognized that this was probably making me very visible in this dark hall...
You will do as you must, and- the Divine Retribution's authoritarian voice then mysteriously quieted, and I felt another, softer voice speak to me as if from a vast distance.
...you still have free will. Remember, the name of the Traveler is...
"...blessed," I whispered aloud as I opened my damp eyes. I caught my breath, feeling slightly dizzy as my light surrounded me in a warm cocoon. The comforting latter presence then gently departed, and I almost felt him smile. Okay, relax, I can do this. One foot at a time. Get your shit together, you sorry excuse for a figurehead. Worry about all this existential nonsense later. Right now, people are counting on me to help them out of a bad situation in Evna. This world was in big trouble, but there wasn't an army of daemons running through the streets or vengeful Necrons raining down from the sky just yet. I needed to be strong, and I needed to help these people!
As I came back to myself, I realized that I had become extremely visible in this dark room, and I felt many eyes observing me. Quickly, I withdrew my radiance as I breathed deeply. I realized that I now felt somewhat relieved, as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I quickly wiped my tears away with a finger. Whatever had caused that interlude had really helped to center me, and I now felt much better.
Slowly, the lights then began to rise, and the stage was now bare. The Solitaire's voice called through the hall once again in a warm tone that felt strange after the somewhat depressing ending. "And now, dear friends, we come to the end of what we can dance, but fear not! You are now all a part of the next act, and the story continues! Rejoice as all of you are integral players in this grand performance, and so, history will remember you! Rikka, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion are somewhere very close, somewhere very near! Perhaps you have even seen them in your journeys?" the Solitaire purred with an almost sadistic growl. He even briefly glanced upward to me, his mask in a large comical grin.
Confused whispers began to filter through the gathered audience, and I felt more than a few people glance up at me. That's right, motherfuckers; I'm amazing, I thought smugly. Yeah, I definitely felt better. I experienced a pleasant shiver as I sensed both fear and deference from a few of the more psychic individuals. A soft murmur of applause then began to swell from the audience as the players in this performance began to walk to the front of the stage. Alberich and I began to clap.
My brief reverie was interrupted by feeling a sharp psychic eye fall upon me. I felt the attention of a vicious woman as she gazed at me, her soul incandescent with hate. Following my intuition, I searched the performance hall, and discovered that the governor had been seated across from me in her own balcony on the opposite side of the theater. She made brief eye contact with me, and curled her lip. Oh, whatever, lady. After a few minutes in my proximity, I'll make sure you change your attitude concerning both me and all the Chaos bullshit you're allowing to occur here. I don't care who you know in the Imperium. Cross me, and I will fuck you up!
As Langwidere and I exchanged dirty looks, I heard another psychic whisper from Word Bear, who was sitting out of physical view of my balcony. Just overheard a discussion from the governor and the Sinclair brothers. Langwidere has had enough of you and wishes to speak to you alone. She said that she wishes to "put you in your place". I could somehow tell that Word Bear was now chuckling. Enjoy yourself, Little Sister! Or, should I say, holy God-Empress of Mankind!
On stage, the Solitaire extended his arms as he watched his troupe gather beside and behind him. "With this, we of the Masque of the Veiled Path end our public role in this grand dance this evening with a warning to you, Mon-keigh. The grand gold eagle flies as a force of retribution against the wicked, and justice follows the Little Sister across the stars to her destiny. Just as the Elder Brother slaughtered those who would seek to subdue him, so will the Little Sister against those who would subdue her! Cross Rikka, and your life may find itself crossed out, and your entire planet destroyed!"
Confused murmuring was briefly heard though the applause. One particularly huffy psyker in the audience decided to be a Karen, and thought, What is it with aliens and these indecipherable degenerate performances, always seeking to shock and confuse? What is wrong with good, moral, straightforward art? I do not enjoy this abstract work! This xenos reeks of pretention!
There's always one of these bitches at every art event, I thought snarkily. Even in the future I can't get away from these fucking people!
After the Solitaire had finished speaking, all the Harlequins of this troupe were now onstage. It appeared that there had been well over a dozen dancers, and one of which had been a child, and she was still in her (extremely adorable) "Toto" costume. The music began to swell as the curtain fell behind the dancers, and recognizing that the show had definitively ended, louder applause began to rush through the audience. As I watched the Harlequins lock hands and bow, I definitely sensed that more than a few people were left feeling unsatisfied, as this part of the show had not concluded with a definitive and satisfying end. The majority of the people here had enjoyed it for what it was, and a small minority were now attempting to put together what the Solitaire had said as a genuine warning. I sensed some people quietly speaking with worry, wondering if the gold eagle they had seen on the news was the same bird this performance illustrated.
With satisfaction, I now noticed more than a few faces turning upward to me as they continued to applaud this performance, their souls registering curious fear. That woman, someone thought. That Empress woman in the balcony. Her streak of white hair! A real God-Empress? I had a dream about a gold eagle! I dreamed of her!
The Emperor's sister! Is it true? Another person thought.
Was she telling the truth near the fountain? Are we in danger? A psyker wondered loudly. They were all getting easier and easier to hear and perceive, I realized.
I crossed my arms, and straightened my back, basking in the thoughts of my humans.
My self-indulgent beaming was cut short when a knock at the side of my balcony entryway caught my attention. I turned around.
Two security guards in black military uniforms had appeared. I smiled, now refreshed and ready to bust heads again if needed. I had almost descended into having a full blown existential crisis just a short time ago, but whatever that unusual whispery calming presence had been, it had greatly helped me; I felt strong and confident once again. Beside me, I felt Alberich's soul shine in fear as he noticed these guards. "My leader...?" he began nervously.
"You boys taking me to governor Langwidere now?" I asked fearlessly as I finished off my glass of bourbon. The two men appeared embarrassed, and one of them nodded. "Alright then, lead the way," I replied.
...And far, far away, deep within the labyrinthine simulation inside his mind, Sebastian allowed himself a smile as he turned the channel on his television set.