New chapter. As always, the next two chapters are up on my P-a-t-r-e-o-n, here: h*t*t*p*s :/ w*w*w . p*a*t*r*e*o*n user - ? - u = 52718582 (remove the spaces and stars)
The Emperor had seen Isha in many moods. He had seen her angry, sorrowful, compassionate, amused, defiant, fearful…but not like this.
Never like this.
The bone-deep fear, the stricken expression and the way she shifted anxiously in both the Materium and its poisoned mirror, this was something he had never seen before.
He could not blame her, admittedly. The Emperor himself was shaken by the presence of one of the Four so close to Terra. In the end, it meant little, of course. Nurgle's greed had overcome him and all he had succeeded in accomplishing was expending energy and years of influence just to speak briefly to Isha.
Nevertheless, the ominous weight of one of those cancerous leviathans pressing against his defences had been…unnerving. This was not the first time he had dealt with such a thing, and it would not be the last, but still.
Nevertheless, there were some positives to be found. Revelation now had proof that his metaphysical claim on Terra was firm enough to resist even the direct attention of a Chaos God. It was not complete, not yet, but once it was, not even the weakest daemon would be able to manifest upon his world's surface.
It was one of the reasons he had styled himself as he had, had conquered Terra as a shining golden king rather than being the power behind the throne as he had once favoured. Establishing Terra as his domain, his conquest, would provide the planet with stronger protection from the predations of Chaos than merely supporting a convenient puppet.
It was not the only reason, not even the most important, but making his homeworld safe was certainly something he held dear to his heart.
And Nurgle's ability to project influence into the real world would be weakened for years or even decades if they were lucky.
Yes, this incident had been unexpected but not without its benefits.
Now, if only he could stir Isha from her strange mood. She had gotten to the work of cleansing the city and healing its people. The stench of Chaos was fading, far less potent than it had been a mere ten minutes ago, and he could feel her power seeping into the earth, purifying Nurgle's influence and quietly bolstering the health of the poor masses of the city.
But it was without her usual enthusiasm when working on such projects. She seemed drained and sad, going through the motions, almost…guilty. Now, that was an unfamiliar emotion. Isha had expressed remorse and regret for her actions during the War in Heaven, especially her failure to save the Krork, but this was different somehow.
What in the world had Nurgle said to her?
Taking to the skies, the Emperor rose to float next to Isha, where she was hovering over the city, working to make it a better place.
She said nothing as he stood next to her, and the Emperor hesitated as he floundered for the words to say. He would have known exactly what to say once upon a time, what comforting words and platitudes to spout, to coax a saddened friend to speak to him.
But that man was dead, and Isha was not his friend, was she? They were allies of necessity, bound together in a mutual agreement to avoid destruction.
A friendship between them was impossible. He was human, she was Eldar, and there would always be an insurmountable gap between them.
Yet, he found himself trying to find words that would make her feel better, that would soothe her distress and make her not look so utterly defeated.
The words were on the tip of his tongue, to ask what Nurgle had said to evoke such emotions in her, but his courage faltered at the last minute.
"We are making good progress," He said instead. "The factory and the automatons were not as much of a threat as I thought. The Ethnarchy does not wish to share its most potent soldiers with anyone else."
Isha gave a hum of agreement but said nothing else.
"I was thinking of bringing Horus along to the next battlefield, give him his first taste of combat in controlled conditions." The Emperor continued.
"If that is your wish, Your Majesty," Isha said. Her voice was tired, and there was no pursing of her lips, no quirk of her eyebrow or spark in her eyes to suggest that she might disagree with him even if she did not feel comfortable voicing her concerns.
It was genuinely discomfiting. Isha had not been this downcast and quiet since her earliest days on Terra, since before the first Thunder Warrior had been healed.
"Furthermore, I have been thinking. Once the Ethnarchy is dealt with, we should launch a direct assault on Luna itself. The remaining warlords can be dealt with by my subordinates or left for later if needed, but Luna has made it clear they wish to be my enemies."
This finally sparked some emotion from Isha, as she turned to him in surprise even as she continued her work.
"We?" She repeated. "Your wish for me to accompany you?"
"Yes," The Emperor nodded. "I wish to see more of what you are capable of. There will be restrictions, of course, but it should be a good testing ground."
"...of course," Isha agreed a little dubiously, her eyes searching his face as she wondered if he had any ulterior motives.
An awkward silence descended as the Emperor tried to think of something else to say. But before he could, Isha suddenly spoke up herself, a thoughtful frown on her face.
"On the matter of your enemies and the Mechanicum…I do not wish to be overly paranoid, but do you suppose the shard of Mag'ladroth on Mars may be influencing them? If there is any creature other than Four that could blind you, it would be that thing."
The Emperor stiffened. Isha had mentioned before that she and her family had seen his battle with the Dragon, but this was the first time she had spoken of the creature itself.
He turned his words over in her mind. "It should not be," He said finally. "I fully repaired its prison when I defeated it, and I checked upon it not two centuries ago. And I am far stronger and more skilled than I was when I confronted it the first time."
"That is good," Isha said quietly. "That is good."
Her question about the Dragon, unexpected as it was, finally gave him an idea for what to ask her.
"I must ask…" He said slowly. "But was the Dragon's prison constructed by the Old Ones, or by one of your family or children? I was never quite sure." He had studied the prison extensively over the aeons, fascinated by its ability to contain a C'tan, and how it could repair and strengthen itself with an infusion of psychic energy. He had poured power into it many times over the ages, and had never found a limit to its ability to absorb power and grow stronger.
But he had never been able to determine who had built it either. It certainly bore a strong resemblance to various Eldar artifacts he had examined, but it was also…different. Far and beyond the craftsmanship of any other Eldar work he had seen, but also simply different in design and nature. Crystalline and biological, yes, but at the same time, there was a mechanical, practical edge to the design absent ordinary Eldar technology.
It had always left him unsure of exactly who had crafted it.
Isha's eyes tightened at his question and she did not respond immediately. The silence stretched between them for so long that the Emperor wondered if he should have said anything at all, before she answered at last.
"My brother Vaul constructed the Dragon's prison many millions of years ago, yes. Long before Asuryan's Edict." She said, her voice full of sorrow and guilt, her eyes glittering with unshed tears.
The Emperor floundered, completely lost. Despite her most famous myths, this was the first time he had actually seen Isha on the verge of tears. And though he wanted to ask her more questions, he also absolutely did not want her to start crying.
Fortunately, the Emperor was saved from his dilemma when they both felt his airship nearing them, almost to the city.
"Ah, I believe we should return to the vessel to check in on its status." Isha said, her tears vanishing in a subtle flare of biomancy, though she was clearly still in distress.
Unsure of what to say, and even less sure of what to do, the Emperor could do nothing but agree.
"Father!" Horus ran towards him excitedly, for a moment acting like a child despite his almost adult appearance. "How did it go?"
"It went well, my son," The Emperor said, noticing Isha slipping away out of the corner of his eye. She was merely making her way towards her chambers, but still. "And for the next battle…you will be coming with me."
The boy's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Really," The Emperor agreed with a chuckle, deciding to put Isha out of his mind for now. He would have to think of some way to speak to her later. "We will need to prepare you, of course, and arm you in properly. But it is time, I think."
Horus beamed and threw his arms around his father, and after a moment of hesitation, the Emperor hugged him back.
And though it felt good to embrace his child once again, the Emperor could not ignore Isha in her chambers, as she sat upon her bed and began to weep.