What's up, my dear readers! This time, I introduce you to the most intriguing, the most action-packed, the most lengthy, the romance-filled, the bombastic, fantastic chapter so far! I went crazy with this one by unleashing my entire imagination into the fray, and honestly, I can't say that I regret it. But worry not, this chapter is just an exception for being quite lengthy. Therefore, my dear readers, I highly recommend you bookmark it just like reading a book and bookmarking a certain part, so you don't drain yourselves by reading everything in one go.
This chapter is also what many of the curious ones have been waiting for when it came to the "Lemons" if you catch my drift ;)
My story is now also available on ArchiveOfOurOwn. (AO3) And I got an announcement to make. A couple of people left me the names of EldarXHuman stories in the review sections, and I have yet to read all of them (Which I will of course) but I managed to read one very incredibly written, very well detailed and just one hell of an amazing story out there. It is called "Of Rangers, Knights, and Leopards" by BillyFish1409. I highly recommend you all to go and check it out as it has left me wanting for more, and more. It is available in here, and also in AO3. Me and Billy have become battle-brothers and have been of great help for one another, so, if you want to have one of the most amazing EldarXHuman fics out there? Then his story, is something you should definitely check out! He's been of great help to me, so give it a go in the name of the Emperor!
Also I recommend checking out TheChristianPrimarch and his story "Shadows Of The Dark City". It is only beginning, but trust me, it is already awesome. Thank you all who left me recommendations to the other stories, and since this chapter is released, I will have a lot more time to read them!
I am glad that I managed to finish this chapter in June as the summer has begun. So, you will have something tasty to read for the summer, my dear readers! I am going to proceed writing Chapter 6 once I am back from a break in a couple of weeks. For now, I wish you all a happy summer, happy vacations, and all the best!
Cheers!
P.S My chapter has reached the limit of 500k characters in AO3. I separated it into 2 parts there, so you don't get confused if you see chapter 6. It's chapter 5.
Recap of the previous chapter #4: Of His Own Accord
The chapter starts off with Liriel already looking in the memories of Niko. She sees his homeworld, and witnesses his graduation of becoming the Kalevan Silver Spear. There, she sees his civil life, his parents, his first meeting with Alexis Kauno on the ship that is bound to take them to the training ground and the main base of deployment.
After Niko meets Alexis, they instantly start to get along, and just as they leave, Liriel snaps out of Niko's memories while in a state of a disarray. She, and him, are still in that same cave, with strange cyan colored particles shining, enough to remove the darkness, and the nature's baths in different places. Liriel understands that Niko is severely sick from pushing himself beyond his limit, and so, she decides to take care of him by undressing his unconscious body, and wash it, especially his face in one of the nature's baths.
After that, she still wants to know what truly drives him, and so, she decides to dwell into his memories once again, in order to find out what lurks in his past, so that she may understand why he acts like the way he does, and why he refuses to show any ounce of negativity towards her, even though she's a xeno. By placing her hand on his water-soaked temple, she proceeds with her task.
Then the event switches to the Inquisition, where Sergeant Daniel Tarn, being wounded and covered in medical stuffs, is frantically yelling how he will kill the howling banshee and the human traitor, Liriel and Niko, when he gets off of his current situation. Adrian sees that his Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos is feeling rather disappointed, but for a good reason, since Sergeant Tarn refused to obey his clear orders.
Nevertheless, Adrian asks him to reconcile and to not forget, that Tarn lost few of his men and in return broke down mentally. He listens to his acolyte, and he and Tarn have a little discussion, where Oleos gives him another chance to redeem himself. He silently nods, and Oleos leaves with his acolyte. Sergeant Tarn is still bitter, and swears to get his vengeance.
Oleos and Adrian, alongside General Urslov are in the briefing room of the military headquarters of the Merlorian Capital of Xaroi. There, Oleos seems to be a bit lost. There is nothing but silence, until he breaks it by informing them about their mutual failure that he is also taking part in. Nevertheless, he makes sure none of them feel despair, and then, he prepares a plan for them all in order to catch this mysterious duo consisting of a human and an Eldar. However, he is interrupted by a sudden message from the spaceport. Someone anonymous knows his name, and requests his presence. Ordering Urslov to handle the planning, Oleos decides to depart to the spaceport with Adrian in order to see who is paying him a visit.
Afterward, we see another big glimpse of Niko's past as Liriel is dwelling inside his mind. This one specifically shows him chained and standing in front of the Generals that are leading their own regiments. The Mordian Iron Guard, Maccabian Janissaries, and the Tallarn Desert Raiders. While suffering insults from one of the Commissars and the surrounding officers, except those of the Tallarn, he is being interrogated.
He has refused to describe the events that happened on Traxon III, a world where he fought against the Drukhari. The world where his zealotry was long buried, the world, where he lost his first love, Alexis Kauno. He refuses and swears to take the events with him to the grave. The arrogant Mordian General declares him guilty, but the aged Tallarn General does not, as he understands the meaning of honor and sacrifice, and proposes to let Niko go and return to his homeworld.
All hell breaks loose once the Maccabian General declares Niko guilty, and then, he is paraded in the town of Traxon Primus while the gathered crowd throws insults and objects at him. All this time, the Commissar is whipping him very severely. He swears to endure all this public humiliation no matter what. But once he sees the bastards vandalizing the flag of his regiment, he goes totally berserk.
He pulls the Commissar by his whip around his shackles, pulls him in and headbutts him before taking his sword and killing the guards, before rushing swiftly to the vandalizing scum, and cut them down. He takes the banner of his regiment and wraps it around himself, declaring that as long as the Kalevan banner flies high, the regiment shall live on. Tallarn General watches him carefully protect his flag, until he is tired out by pushing away those that dare to come close. Nevertheless, as he falls down, kills a soldier through unexpected circumstances, the Mordian General approaches him swiftly to kill him. But the Tallarn General finally has enough and stops him.
He scolds the Mordian General by showing how disappointment he is in his ability to lead. Maccabian General informs him that he trusted his judgement, and now, he has nothing he wants to do with him. As the Maccabian General departs, the Tallarn General takes Niko somewhere to safety, while the Mordian one weeps and cries.
After that, Liriel's vision is disrupted as she gets overwhelmed once again by seeing how he got the scars on his back, and one of his most important moments in life. She sees glimpses of many desperate moments of his life in a short amount of time, something from his life as a Guardsman and having to fight the horrors and survive many more scars of war. Then again, she needs to see more, she needs to dwell deeper to find out the truth, since there are no answers in what she has seen within his mind about his past. She falls unconscious with her fingers on his forehead, and just as Niko's consciousness barely grasps him, he sees unconscious Liriel with all the strength he can muster, and instantly gets worried about her, until falling back to unconsciousness once more.
As Liriel dwells deeper into his thoughts, she ends up in a totally mysterious place within his mind. The darkness is everywhere as the rain pours down, and she is feeling nervous while looking around. She notices an orb, and follows it. Seeing that there is no other way out but to go down into a pit where the orb went into, she hesitates to go after it. But, after noticing how some strange walls are closing in on her from all sides, she just curses and jumps into that pit.
She ends up falling into what seems to be pure paradise. Green flower fields, mountains, beautiful blue sky, and a large, beautiful cherry tree which is blossoming. She is taken aback with this, and her first reaction is to approach the beautiful cherry tree. There, as soon as she is about to touch it, a mysterious figure in the shape of Alexis Kauno appears.. She reveals herself to be Niko's spirit. Guardian of his deepest memories, and a part of him.
Liriel starts to show suspicion, knowing that this spirit is still from the warp. But it surprises her by spelling Liriel's full name, and the name of her parents. She lowers her power sword as the spirit is acting very relaxed, and she has nothing to threaten her with. After all, the spirit has the form of Alexis Kauno in a black beautiful dress, without any footwear.
The spirit and Liriel engage in a deep, meaningful conversation. Spirit explains to Liriel everything that she wants to know, but Liriel denies acknowledging it. Their conversation goes on and on as Liriel explains the reason as to why Niko is the way he is. Why he cares about her, and why he refuses to show any negativity towards her. The spirit says it simply - Liriel hears from the spirit, that Niko deeply loves her.
She is taken aback by this. She refuses to believe that this is the true reason as to why Niko is the way he is. The spirit grows tiresome of her denials, as they keep coming one after another, but the spirit does not blame her, for she explains that Liriel never felt love, but only battles and war. By this notion alone, the spirit tries to show her a proper way of what Niko thinks most of the time.
She is taken to a mysterious place that resembles the cosmos. There, Liriel finds herself surrounded by floating, huge orbs, but the spirit is nowhere to be seen. However, she hears her loud, firm voice from above, commanding her to get closer to the orbs as they begin to float all over her. There, she sees something that Niko dreams about... She sees his life with her, and her daughter in her arms, with Niko beside her.
It cracks the shell within Liriel, and the tears already start to accumulate at this unbelievable, shocking sight. And even here, as she is faltering, she regains her composure after explaining how this is impossible and how she'd fear for her possible daughter being discriminated against by her fellow Aeldari, and that love doesn't exist.
The spirit is speechless that Liriel STILL denies the truth about Niko's love towards her. She finally has had enough, and through a dare, Liriel ends up being pushed into the memory of how he gained his scar on his eye, and something else which is going to be his worst possible memory. She ends up in a total wasteland with just a single well, but as soon as she dares to come close to it, and sink her face into it, she gets pulled right into it by swift movement of demonic hands, and she blacks out completely.
In the next sentence, the scene heads out to the spaceport on Merlorian, where Oleos and Adrian await the meeting with an unknown guest. The shuttle's doors open up, and then.. Much to Oleos's horror, it is his old, hated rival who has secretly arrived to Merlorian. This man, is no one else than the Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim of the Ordo Xenos. An arrogant, prideful, content and confident aged man with a monocle and a special looking staff.
Oleos's heart sinks as he does not understand how he found out where he was, because he left no traces, and he starts to think there might be a mole somewhere within his retinue. However, he has no time to think about it at that moment. He bitterly greets the Lord Inquisitor, but reminds him that he has lost his title of a "Lord" after screwing up. Oleos roasts him in front of the Merlorian spaceport crew and his own retinue, and Kasim acts along, getting mad, irritated and scowling.
However, Oleos forgets for a split second that Kasim is a grandmaster of manipulation and twisting foolishness to his favor. He presents an order from the High command of the Inquisition which re-established his title of a Lord Inquisitor, and it is then, that Kasim turns into a cold, smirking individual, who sees the shock and fear on Oleos's face, and basically tells him to not forget who he is.
Oleos, bitter and feeling something bad about to happen, nods and addresses Kasim respectfully, much to his hidden anger. Kasim, alongside his two masked female acolytes with blades, follow Oleos to the military headquarters, where General Urslov and the high staff of the Merlorian militia await their presence.
As soon as they reach the HQ, General Urslov greets the Lord Inquisitor, and he, in exchange, decides to use his skill of manipulation to his favor by showing how he disregards their lives, and how he spits at their homeworld and their banner by tarnishing it with his boot dirt, and ash from his cigars. Merlorians see this, and cannot believe their eyes. They cannot do anything due to their fear of the Inquisition, but one brave Officer intervenes. However..
He is taken down swiftly by Kasim's bodyguards, the two masked females, and he, stands up, and coldly executes him without mercy, shocking the other Merlorian officers to the core. Urslov tries to intervene, but one of the female bodyguards hold him down against the table and force him to watch how Kasim mercilessly executes one of his Captains. Then, the officers are told by Kasim to look outside the window to see their town in disarray.
Kasim has ordered a total lockdown and repressions of the populace to clear it off from any heresy. The Merlorian officers are in pure despair, and after having the desired effect, Kasim decides to address them all. He starts off by changing his personality and treating the Merlorian banner with respect, cleaning it with water, and showing care, which confuses the Merlorians.
Julius explains to them, that he did not come to the world to show ill intent to them or their homeworld, and that the one they should blame, is no other than Inquisitor Oleos himself. Kasim tells them, that he would've already killed the traitor and the xenos because he somehow gained information about Oleos's mission on this world. He tells them, by manipulating their minds, that it is Oleos, who is to be blamed for what has happened to them. And the reason of why he showed them disrespect, was because that is how Oleos acts in front of them, as they tolerate it. As for the Captain, it was unnecessary casualty, all of it being Oleos's fault.
This manipulation works, as the Merlorian officers finally fall for this logical understanding, and turn hostile towards Oleos. All, except, General Urslov, who remains loyal to Inquisitor Oleos, because it was not only the disrespect that provoked one of the Captains, but it was also how they all refused to join him after he offered them such opportunity. They say that they are loyal to Oleos by oath, and all it takes Kasim is to manipulate them to his side after using his manipulative skills to the fullest.
Oleos and Adrian cannot do anything this time. Adrian tries once by trying to stop one of the bodyguards, and then, he truly realizes the horror that Kasim can inflict upon anyone he wishes - The bodyguard has no eyeballs. Nevertheless, not Oleos, or his acolyte, dare to intervene in all this mess. Oleos loses all his power as Kasim claims it, and also, claims the Merlorian forces and all resources available upon the world. As Merlorian officers take Kasim's side out of fear and charm, he leaves General Urslov alive as a respect of him swearing loyalty to Oleos and not breaking it. Then, he warns Oleos to not get in his way, and then, goes away after causing a total mess which ended in his favor.
Unfortunately for Kasim, not all hope is lost. Sergeant Daniel Tarn returns to his desperate Inquisitor alongside his squad, and surprises Oleos and the rest to their cores. He informs him that he is not willing to be tied to a bed and do nothing, and so, Oleos gains an ounce of hope after practically losing every sort of power he held on Merlorian. He proposes a plan of infiltration for Tarn and his squad, where they will take Merlorian uniforms and sneak into the military base that Kasim will establish, and then, infiltrate it, sabotage some important objects and keep in touch with him.
Oleos tells him that he, Urslov and Adrian, will head out to the mountain under stealth. Every man knows their task and their role in this planning, and then, as Urslov takes Tarn and his squad to get their uniforms, Oleos and Adrian decide to leave. However, Oleos tells Adrian that he knows how to distract Kasim, or let alone get him in trouble. He refuses to elaborate, and leaves Adrian baffled and only to guess what kind of trick Oleos has in his sleeve. Nevertheless, they leave the headquarters.
Then the situation goes back to Liriel. As she finds herself being pulled by daemonic hands into a well, she ends up landing on an unknown world with a huge city surrounded by mountains. In the front, there are a variety of trenches occupied by the Kalevan Silver Spears. Liriel stands up within this memory, and she realizes that she can freely walk, but every round goes through her as if she is a ghost. She is merely seeing a vision of Niko's past.
She finds Niko sitting in the trenches after his regiment alongside the artillery regiment repel a Drukhari assault. Liriel doesn't know what she is about to expect, but she knows that whatever this might be, it will be, very much dangerous and possibly terrifying beyond reckoning.
She sees him and his regiment successfully repelling a Drukhari assault, and then, Niko and Alexis engage in a little chit-chat, before a broadcasting servitor approaches in the horizon, and turns on a holographic live connection from the Archon of the Drukhari forces. He heats up the confidence of the Kalevan Silver Spears, and sees that they will not simply give up or heed his "Generous" offerings to their leader - Colonel Varos.
Next, he reveals to them their own mistake. The servitor grabs a dead Kabalite warrior, and removes its helmet. Much to their horror, it is no Dark Eldar, but one of their own Kalevan comrades that they killed unknowingly. The Drukhari used mind control to send them as cannon fodder towards the Silver Spears, prompting up their morale and confidence, and now, the Archon just crushes it into pieces while laughing maniacally.
Silver Spears feel broken, but just as the situation is becoming so desperate, General Varos rallies his warriors for their possible last stand, after ordering his right-hand man, Major Rex, to retreat to the city and evacuate it, despite him wanting to instead stay with his friend. Nevertheless, the speech of Varos gives the Silver Spears a much needed boost of confidence, and they prepare for the assault.
The assault occurs, much to Liriel's shock and horror. It is extremely brutal, as the Silver Spears hold on with everything they've got, but they are being hammered by the intense assault of the Drukhari, and they're taking extremely heavy casualties. Niko is ordered to retreat by his Sergeant Aulis, who has lost both of his legs, and just try to hold out and at least stay alive one way or another, or try calling for fire support.
He begrudgingly agrees, but he realizes that he cannot simply retreat without Alexis. He seeks for her in the midst of this horrific battle, which is now taking place through hand-to-hand combat. He finds her as she is about to be violated by Kabalite warriors. This fuels his rage, and he brutally eliminates them all, saving the shocked Alexis and pulling her to the underground tunnel from a foxhole.
Niko hears a message from Colonel Varos that he will launch a red flare into the sky that will bombard their positions with Manticore missiles, because they have lost their artillery as the Drukhari found it. Niko has no choice but to sit tight and try to survive by the orders of Varos. He keeps Alexis close to himself, but then, Niko does not hear the bombardment. He gets worried and leaves the sleeping Alexis to herself, apologizing that he has to do this.
He goes back to the foxhole's entrance, which is covered by dead bodies, and takes a peak. There, much to his shock, he sees the Archon holding General Varos in the air by gripping his throat. He realizes that the flare was not shot, and so, starts to think about what to do right now. However, his moment of thinking is disrupted as he is suddenly grabbed from the foxhole by one of the wyches, and thrown out of there.
Archon sees Niko, and starts to taunt him, insult him and mock him beyond reckoning, because for the Archon, this is like playing with cattle or plain slaves. Niko shows defiance, while Liriel is preparing to see what's going to happen next. Archon decides to punish Niko by gauging out his eyeball and by using his claw to precisely cut around the left side of his face. Liriel witnesses this torturous moment of Niko, who is screaming in pure agony, and is barely able to contain herself.
This moment is how he received his current scars on the left side of his face, and how he lost his left eye. General Varos is about to get broken, but he sees a belt of grenades near him, and thinks about avenging his sacrificing himself. However, he is being held down by the Archon's guards, and so, cannot do so. Archon in the meanwhile, holds Niko by the throat, and is choking him to death. Niko is ready to accept his fate, while he's desperately trying to catch air while his face bleeds completely. It is all for naught as the grip tightens around his throat, and he is about to lose consciousness.
But then.. Out of nowhere, like the miracle itself, Alexis Kauno appears out of nowhere, jumps on the Archon by wrapping herself around him, and stabs him through his visor with his Leuku, puncturing his eye as she begins to twist her Kalevan blade, inflicting pain to the Archon. This forces the guards to try and shoot her, but they are afraid to do so, because they might hit their Archon, and so, just as they remove Alexis and throw her away from the Archon, General Varos manages to grab the grenade belt, and charge against the Archon with a victorious battle cry.
He pushes himself and the Archon into a pit, and a loud explosion is heard that rocks everyone in a near distance to the ground. Archon flies out of the pit, his armor broken, scarred and scorched, alongside his burnt skin, but he is alive. He is alive, and fuming very intensively from allowing this to happen in the first place. While he is being distracted, Niko is lying on the floor, and then, he sees the flare gun not so far away. He crawls towards it as quickly as he can, and launches the red flare into the air, and the whistling noises commence instantly.
Archon realizes the danger that he is in, and orders an immediate retreat, just as the Manticore missiles start to pour down in their positions. Niko stares into the sky with his blurry vision, with Alexis barely conscious from being thrown to the ground, and the dirt from the explosions start to bury him and her deep under their weight. He closes his eyes, and Liriel, who is proning and holding herself from being struck, even though none of it affects her, gets pulled into a pit in the ground by the same demonic hands, to which she starts to resist. However, the spirit orders her not to resist, and she ends up being pulled back into the dark pit, before the image disappears completely.
Liriel finds herself back at that same well within Niko's mind, and she is totally speechless. The spirit tells her that this is not his worst memory, much to the horror of Liriel. She reckons and begs her to show her his worst moment, and the spirit obliges, and decides to show her what she desires.
The howling banshee notices Niko in the distance as the sun is waking up. He is carrying the wounded body of Alexis, while having a cloth wrapped around his eye. He desperately tries to reach anywhere possible, where he would find help. Alexis tells him to let go of her with her weakened voice, telling him that she won't make it. But Niko refuses, and beckons with her to hold on a little longer, but she has already lost too much blood, and she is dying, much to his shock.
He sits down and holds her, trying to comfort her as much as he can. He starts to realize that the dearest person that he has known by that point, is not going to make it. Alexis only smiles at him, and asks him to sing one of the songs that he sang at a campfire a long time ago with his squad. He passionately sings and grants her the last wish, which is to hear Niko's voice and to see his face.
Liriel watches this scene, and it completely breaks her, especially after Niko finishes his song, and weeps on the body of a smiling Alexis as her eyes close up peacefully. He curses himself, takes her Leuku to cherish it as long as he lives, and starts to dig a grave for Alexis with his bare hands. In the meanwhile, the spirit approaches Liriel who has broken down and ends up weeping. The spirit tells her that this is his worst moment in his life, and that she really has to stop hiding her feelings towards him.
As Liriel and her are engaging in a talk after Liriel finally gets enlightened, a calamity strikes the surroundings, all the way to the point that the spirit falls on her knees from pain and tells the confused Liriel, that Niko, is dying, and only she can be his savior. Without further ado, the spirit pushes Liriel through a portal, and she completely leaves Niko's mind, falling into a dark abyss of the unknown.
Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim is angry at his new Merlorian subjects that they cannot give him any results, and then, to get his needed results, he threatens one of the officers that he will pull an Exterminatus upon Merlorian if they do not double their efforts. The officer gets scared shitless and does as ordered, leaving Kasim to be in his office.
However, Sergeant Tarn is already within the base in a disguise. He starts his mission of sabotage while keeping in touch with Oleos, who remains inside a random cave, alongside Adrian and Urslov, hiding from the valkyries. There, he places a device down, and establishes a connection with his Magos within his Inquisitorial cruiser.
Oleos orders Magos Quintus to send a voice message to one specific location on the galactic map. Through pure secrecy. Magos is confused, but listens to him nevertheless, and obliges. Oleos destroys the device, leaving General Urslov and acolyte Adrian confused, but they pay it no heed as they did not hear what he was saying. At all.
Sergeant Tarn and his squad manages to place explosive charges upon a few objects within the Merlorian base. By the orders of Oleos, one of his squadmates manages to sabotage a communications tower, which results in the valkyries and the patrols to return to the base. Tarn feels confident and tells his squad to continue their mission. Unbeknownst to them... A mysterious figure is watching them through the shadows, and this figure, reports to Kasim personally. He orders the figure to keep watching them, and to not do anything. Kasim realizes who is behind all of this, and prepares an unexpected plan.
With no one watching the mountains, Oleos and his small squad track the traces of the last whereabouts of Niko and Liriel. They come up to an entrance, which Oleos finds out leads to a deep cave, and possibly, this is where they may have taken shelter in. He and Adrian engage in digging the huge pile of snow away from the entrance. After the entrance is clear, Urslov is ordered to stay on watch and make sure to alert them in case of anything.
As Adrian and Oleos go inside the cave, Urslov remains on his spot, watching over the horizon where Kasim's base is. He uses binoculars, and then, much to his horror, sees a few very familiar figures, with one of them being Sergeant Tarn himself. He sees him cuffed and dragged somewhere, and realizing that something is about to go horribly wrong, tries to contact Oleos. But the signal does not reach them for some reason. He curses, and then hopes that Oleos returns quickly, as Urslov cannot break his orders of staying on watch.
Liriel awakens within the same cave, and within the same spot. She sees how Niko's temperature has skyrocketed, and his life is leaving him slowly and agonizingly. Throwing all their differences aside, Liriel kisses Niko in the efforts of using her psychic powers to keep him alive. She undresses, wraps herself around him, and keeps him in a tight embrace, removing his shivers by the warmth of her body. This intimate moment does not bother her.. Yet, as she must save him, to establish the first step of their souls connecting.
The results are very much desired, as Niko's breathing stabilizes, and his temperature begins to come back to the normal terms. However, she only now realizes what kind of line she has crossed. She is happy that she saved him, but her mind is still fighting her, and so, she decides to leave and wander inside the cave as Niko recovers.
Niko awakens after an hour, confused as to what the hell just happened, and how he is alive from having a near-death experience. He sees Akila, still unconscious, and he manages to awaken him, much to his own joy. However, his vivid memories start to play a game with him, forcing him to think of those intimate moments that Liriel gave him, as being nothing but daydreaming and just dreams in general. He shakes his head, and quickly rushes forward to find Liriel, because he simply cannot find her anywhere, and it makes him have a slight panic.
Liriel stops at a certain spot within the depths of the cave, and the thoughts are killing her from the inside out. To force them to go away and find any amount of relief, she decides to hurt herself with Niko's own Leuku that she took from his unconscious body. She is about to do it, not being able to handle these emotions that she is experiencing... But then, Niko manages to find her, and that in return, stops her from attempting self-harm.
He charges towards her and takes her in a tight embrace of his arms, weeping and scolding her for trying to hurt herself. This has a massive effect on Liriel, as she forgets about everything negative, forgets about her mind trying to fight her, and just, feels that sweet taste of peace. She calms Niko down, and reassures him, to which their lovely moment almost ends up with them kissing each other.
However, they are interrupted by a sudden arrival of Oleos and Adrian, who manage to find them through an Auspex device. There, Niko and Liriel are in a defensive mode, wielding their formidable weapons. Oleos decides to do the talking, and they exchange a few deep conversations, and they truly shock Oleos and his acolyte to the core.
He sees that a human and an Aeldari care for each other. It disgusts him from seeing such heresy, but he tries to remain reasonable. Everyone is surprised when Oleos starts to speak in Aeldari lexicon, and confront Liriel. Adrian is doing his best to just not unleash his entire salvo of his sidearms at them both for how much they disgust him. Oleos, however, keeps him in his spot. Oleos is just beyond surprised at what the hell he is witnessing, but nevertheless, he tries to plead with them, and he asks Liriel to tell him the truth about what he is doing here, and if she has charmed Niko to her side.
They both remain confident and defiant in their own words. Oleos sees that this is not going anywhere, and so, he warns them that someone far more dangerous than him, is looking for them just as they speak.. Liriel and Niko exchange looks, even Akila is confused as his growling stops. This one second of distraction is enough for Oleos to commence his next plan.
Yelling a command to Adrian, both him and his Inquisitor unleash a bolt of tasers at both individuals, including Akila, and stun them all the way to them becoming numb and grunting weakly. Oleos has managed to fool them, and so, after a successful catch, he and his acolyte start to drag them all out of the cave. They reach the entrance, but the sight that awaits them there, is far away from being welcoming..
Inquisitor Kasim stands there awaiting them. Oleos is shocked and cannot believe his own eyes, and demands an answer as to how he managed to find him. But the most horrific image, is of the General Urslov, who is badly beaten, bleeding, and weakly looking at him while being held down to the ground. He simply tells Oleos to not allow Kasim to slaughter the Merlorian soldiers, and do everything that he can to avenge them.
Kasim taunts his rival colleague that he is so stupid as to never realize how lonely he is at the moment. Oleos curses back at him by saying that he has his acolyte by his side, but Kasim proves him wrong.. Because Oleos starts to feel a taser bolt being stuck in his back, and he, falls down onto the ground while shaking and trembling.
His blurry vision returns to normal as he sees that Adrian is standing next to Oleos. It is then that he realizes the gravity of his own mistake - Adrian was a double-agent all along. He was the one who made the secret reports to Kasim, and he, was always loyal to him, and acting as a naive acolyte to gain the trust of Oleos. He is also the one that shot him in the back with a taser bolt.
Kasim, to add more pain for Oleos's misery, declares General Urslov as a traitor, and points his sidearm at his head. Oleos, knowing how hard loyalty can be found, and how loyal Urslov has been to him like a true companion and a new friend, tries to plead with Kasim, but he simply shoots Urslov to death, and Oleos begins to feel that intense pain within his heart. Because not only was he betrayed, but his loyal companion was murdered right in front of him.
Oleos does not speak a word, and only looks down at the ground as Adrian and Kasim begin to leave, side by side. Liriel and Niko are knocked out and taken away from the mountains, and what awaits them, is truly unknown.
In the meanwhile, on the Ulthwe's craftworld, Farseer Elidyr is telling Ulthran of his visions and how he is sure that Liriel is alive. Ulthran is skeptical, and they both start to feel a slight amount of doubt about all of this. However, all of that is interrupted when Farseer Eloen asks of their presence in the communications hall.
There, they receive a secret message that was sent by Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos himself, recorded specifically in thick Aeldari accent. They all hear his message, which is about how one of their warriors is alive, and that a very terrifying Lord Inquisitor is after their warrior's head. After listening to this message, Ulthran swears to aid Elidyr no matter what, and heads out with him to gather the seers in the great hall to report of this new discovery, and commence a rescue operation.
Elidyr finally feels a huge sense of relief from hearing this news. Farseer Eloen is sent to gather the trusted members of Autarch Nuvian's warhost, which includes Warlock Belanor, Exarch Sarya and Banshee Arleina. Elidyr swears by everything he has, that he will make sure, that Liriel returns home safely and without any harm.
A lot of events are about to be unfolded within the war-torn galaxy. The horrifying Lord Inquisitor has arrived and has managed to take everything away from the reasonable Inquisitor Oleos. Now, everything hangs on a thread after he manages to capture Liriel and Niko. Farseer Elidyr has a proof that Liriel is still alive, and he must do everything that he can, in order to get an approval from the Seer council to commence a rescue operation.
What will await Niko and Liriel? How will things unfold for them as they are now captured by the definition of evil itself? They are ever more united than before, especially after how Liriel handled her human partner.
Many things remain in the abyss of the unknown, but as long as they both stay united and together, nothing will be able to break their spirit. Their destinies are being paved further and further, and now, they will have to face whatever the fate has prepared for them in the upcoming events. Will they be triumphant against all the odds, and finally let their souls connect completely by achieving a massive victory at last? Or will they face another disastrous event.. All is up to their destinies. But no matter what, as long as they stay together, they shall defeat any obstacle in front of them.
Chapter 5: The Power Of Love.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
Personal chambers belonging to Arleina.
Farseer Eloen was standing in front of the door to Arleina's chambers. The news about Liriel being alive and stuck in a world controlled by the Imperium had a mixture of feelings for her. From one side, she was relieved, but from the other, the anxiety still did not leave her since she knew that Liriel was surrounded by enemies and was in dire need of help. But before she could proceed, she needed to complete her task, given by the great seer - Gather the squad. The first one she went to was Arleina.
Taking a deep sigh, she knocked on the door. "Arleina.. Are you there?" She asked, but there was no answer, nor were there any noises coming from behind the said door. She knocked once again, a bit louder this time. "Arleina! Please, listen to me.."
Behind the door, Arleina sat on her bed, leaning against the wall, with her knees lifted and her face resting on the knees with her arms wrapped around them. It has been many days of grieving for her, as she refused to get out of her personal chambers. Everybody tried to help her out, especially her Exarch Sarya, but she simply did not heed any of their calls. As Farseer Elidyr has said, Arleina was going through a very depressing time, and it would take her a lot of time to deal with the possible loss of her closest friend, who was like a sister to her that she never had.
"Go.. Away.. Please, Lady Eloen.. I.. Don't want to be bothered.." These words caused Eloen to feel very bad for Arleina. Her voice sounded utterly sad, depressed, and devoid of any positivity. She knew that, at the moment, Arleina's tears had been depleted, and she could not simply cry anymore. But Farseer Eloen, was not going to simply leave her in this state. "Child, listen to me. This is.. Concerning Liriel."
After literally hearing the name of her closest companion, Arleina, slowly got off the bed, rubbing her face, and opened the door. Eloen stood there, looking down at the howling banshee, who had obvious signs of constant crying and weeping written on her face, with the strongest state of depression and sadness. This seriously caused Farseer to feel hurt, given how much Arleina was enduring through the possible loss of the only one she deeply cared about. "Child.." She softly said, before Arleina lifted her hand and lowered it afterward. "Lady Eloen, please.."
The Farseer, closed her eyes, deeply sighed, and opened her eyes once again, holding her staff and placing her hand on Liriel's shoulder, lightly smiling. "Isha has blessed us all today, Arleina.." She told her, which confused Arleina and forced her to raise her eyebrow before Eloen spoke.
"Liriel, is alive, and she is in dire need of a rescue."
Arleina gasped and widened her eyes in an instant, freezing for a solid 10 seconds with a mixture of emotions that were striking her heart from all directions. She could not believe the words she had just heard. In a quick instance, she fell on her knees while facing the ground, which forced Eloen to kneel as well, concerned for the young one. "Child, this good news are overwhelming you, I see.. But it is true. There is a confirmation from the world itself." After hearing these specific words, Arleina lifted her head and looked straight into Eloen's eyes. "A..Alive..? My lady, where is- Where is she? We must go, and- We must save her, I must save her!" She began to frantically rant before Eloen calmed her down and got her up to her feet.
"Easy. Easy there, child. Let me explain.. Calm down, take a deep breath.. Calm." Arleina listened to her and stood silently after calming down, her left-over tears of joy accumulating once again in her eyes as she was relieved to hear this news after so many days of pain. "We have received a recording from Merlorian. The Imperial Inquisition is hunting for her as we speak. Farseer Elidyr will explain further.. I need to gather everyone in the gathering hall, where the council will be present." She said, and looked at her further. "You are a warrior of Khaine, Arleina. It is time for you to draw your sword once more and prepare for this rescue operation. Will you answer the call?" She said, and Arleina, wiping away her tears and standing tall, proclaimed.
"I thank the great mother for this opportunity, Lady Eloen.. Worry not. I will take my sword and save my battle sister Liriel in the name of Ulthwe. Through hell and back. I must do it, for she is the only person that I have left and can consider my family. Although this is so.. Overwhelming, I will push these thoughts aside and concentrate on saving her. Thank you, my lady.. For these, relieving news." She said and looked away before wiping her tears of joy. Eloen smiled further and rubbed her shoulder. "Worry not, child.. We will not leave her. Get your gear ready and proceed to the gathering hall immediately." She ordered, before letting go of her shoulder.
"Yes, my Lady." She lightly bowed. "Thank you, again.." She added. "Don't mention it, child. Let us be in a great haste to save our Liriel." Arleina nodded, and Farseer Eloen left her chambers before the doors closed. Arleina immediately got her synthetic suit on while so many thoughts crossed her mind, but she was alive, literally. After hearing that Liriel was alive, it looked like she was reborn, her warrior spirit coming back to her, ready to slay the enemies and rescue her battle sister. She was in a great haste as she proceeded to put the pieces of her armor, the loincloth, her belt with the essentials, and her shuriken pistol. Next, she attached the power sword's scabbard, with the power sword inside, and grabbed her helmet before heading out of the room and proceed to the gathering hall.
"Alive.. By the gods.." She held her helmet and was just overwhelmed, despite the positive news. It was unimaginable, but she was genuinely feeling confident and determined to save Liriel, the only person she loved and cared about as a sister. Not by blood, but by bond. "You kept your promise, Liriel.. Isha, please, I beg thee, safeguard her. We will meet once again, Liriel, I promise.. I will save you." She said, and picked up the pace of her walk, sprinting now since she was very, very eager.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
Training ground of the Howling Banshees.
"You need to be like the wind of the wilderness!" Sarya raised her voice. She was supervising the training ground with fresh recruits of the Howling Banshees, who have dedicated their lives to Khaine's path. She had to be the voice and the leader who would lead them to battle when they are physically and emotionally ready. "Unae! Keep your eyes on your opponent, not on the weapon! Tsarra! When you're being pushed back, use your mobility to get out of the approaching trap, or you'll be overwhelmed!" She commanded, and the younglings obeyed.
Exarch Sarya did not take the last mission very well. What happened on Merlorian, was something that she knew was necessary, but at what cost? Only the Council determined the scale, but she had to keep the spirit of those under her command to a high standard, and train fresh recruits for the never-ending battles of the ravaged galaxy. Still, seeing Liriel disappear into the woods was not easy for her either way. If she knew that one of her squad mates was alive, she made sure to never leave without them. This time, however, the image of Liriel disappearing into the woods made her feel bad, but she did not allow this to stop her from her tasks. It was one out of many in her lifetime, but this was the first time, where she saw her squadmate save her and stay in a hostile world.
"Curses.. Many souls were lost, but Liriel? Only Isha knows about her situation. I hope that she took her last breath before the Druchii bastards reached her. Khaine shield us from suffering that fate.." She whispered to herself, frowning and standing with her arms crossed, watching over the recruits without her helmet.
Farseer Eloen entered the training area and saw the Exarch standing on top of a wraithbone structure. She made her calm approach from the rear of Sarya, before looking up at her. "Exarch Sarya is truly a miracle for the Banshees of Ulthwe. A true hawk, leading her younger ones to battle through the air like lightning.." Eloen thought, before fixing her voice and engage in a little chit-chat. "Exarch Sarya." She said.
Sarya turned around and saw Eloen staring at her. She quickly got off the structure with a frontal flip and lightly bowed in front of her. "My lady, Farseer Eloen. What an honor to see you again." She said. "Likewise, Exarch Sarya." She said, before Sarya stood tall and looked into her eyes. "May I humbly ask the reason for such a.. Sudden appearance?" She asked, before Eloen nodded. "You may, Sarya. This is concerning Liriel.." Sarya, after hearing these words, got confused and took a few steps forward. "What.. What about her, my Lady?"
"She is alive, Sarya." Eloen said without any hint of falsehood. This forced Sarya to get even more confused. "What... How is this possible? The Druchii were everywhere in those woods, the chances were exceptionally low.." Eloen sighed. "I thought so too, Exarch. But we have a confirmation.. From someone, we never expected. Nevertheless, the Farseer ordered you to gather in the gathering hall." She told her, and Exarch Sarya, got serious. "Understood, my Lady, but.. Arleina-" Eloen pushed her hand forward and shook it left and right. "I already took care of it, Sarya. Go and see how your dedicated warrior stands proudly in the hall, with the pride shining her face and the joy that her eyes bloom from this good news." Eloen finished.
Sarya had her own senses of emotions running through her mind, but she was well-trained to keep them at bay. She listened to her orders and nodded. "As you order, my Lady. I will be there in a great haste." She said, lightly bowing. "Good spirit, Sarya. Isha has blessed us this time, let us not appear unappreciative." And afterward, she left the training ground.
Sarya climbed the obstacle once again and proclaimed loud enough. "Alright, younglings! The training will have to wait. I have been given an important task, which I have to attend to. Exarch Tiriara will handle your training sessions while I am gone. In the meantime, take a break, meditate, train your mind, and resume your training later on, so I can see your results once I am back. Understood?" They appeared to be confused, but nevertheless, they understood their assignment and replied in unison. "Yes, Exarch!" And Sarya, looked to be proud. "Good younglings. Proceed!" And after that, she grabbed her helmet and went straight to the gathering hall.
"Liriel lives.. This is.. Unexpected. But she risked her life to save mine and Arleina's. This time, we will save you, Liriel. Mark my words." She said in her own mind while heading straight to the gathering hall in a great haste.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
The dining lounge in a park, near a major restaurant.
An Aeldari craftworld was indeed enormous. It was a moving world in the seas of the galaxy, and the Aeldari, were not deprived of commodities that were common in the Imperium. Even they could live normal lives with many activities and hobbies alike.
"Oh, look at that. Autarch "Fail"uvian!" One of the passing citizens of a common folk said towards Autarch Nuvian and Warlock Belanor, who both sat at a table, and Belanor was merely staring at the table while holding his hands together, with elbows on the table, as for Autarch Nuvian? He was holding a glass of Aeldari wine and was far away from expressing any positivity. "You retrieved a necessary object for the well-being of our craftworld, Autarch.. But at what cost? The songs of lament are louder than ever, just because you could not be ever more wiser." The unhappy citizen said, before Nuvian gripped his glass a bit more tightly, that a crack appered within it.
"I already have too much responsibility on my shoulders every time we depart on a mission.. What more do you want from me?" He said and looked at the citizen, who was quite surprised at his words. "Responsibility? If you truly had such tremendous responsibility as you say, Autarch, our brethren and sisters would have returned with you safely. My brother admired you, and I told him not to pull his luck by engaging in dangerous missions. I miss him dearly, and yet, I do not know why they follow you so thoroughly.. But you already failed them." The unhappy citizen said, with many others whispering, even those sitting in the lounge, just as he chugged down an entire glass of wine and poured himself another, while staying silent.
Belanor opened his eyes and just kept staring at the table. "None of you people know what happened in that world. But at least, feel lucky that it is us who take this responsibility to ensure the well-being of our home, rather than you, who can only blame, point fingers, and shower us with your disappointment.. The majority of our people understand, but it appears to me that you do not." He said, busy with his own thoughts. "Warlock.. Nobody asked you." He said, and Belanor turned his head towards them. "What has happened.. Has already happened. There is nothing you can do about it. Others lost their family members and knew the risks it would pose. In that sense, you can blame anybody, but it will not do anything good except calm down your boiling mind." Belanor said, not caring about it.
"Belanor. He is not wrong.. It was my mission to keep them alive. I am an Autarch, I carry the responsibility." He said, probably under the effects of the alcohol. "Ease up your mind, Nuvian. You're doing everything you can to ensure success. Nothing is perfect, not even a mission.." He said, and the citizen intervened. "No matter how much you redeem yourself, Nuvian.. You will always remain, in my eyes, as the fault of my brother's death. I have nothing else to say to you." He said, much to the frustration of Nuvian, who frowned even more deeply, and then only took a few sips before the citizen grabbed the glass from Nuvian's hand and splashed the wine into Nuvian's face, which he did not react to.
Belanor stood up in an instant and looked at him with an unhappy expression. "Citizen. Move, your, way." He said, before Nuvian simply stared at the table with his face covered in wine. The citizen looked at Belanor next, frowning. "Or what? You did not lose your family members. Don't tell me how to feel, Warlock.. You cannot do anything to me. If you don't want me to report you to the-"
*SMACK*
The citizen gasped and squealed as his neck got slapped from behind, much to the confusion of the other citizens, Nuvian, and Belanor. "Who was that-" But before he could unleash his frustration, he was met by the elegant creature in the shape of Farseer Eloen, who had a very dangerous, cold-looking aura surrounding and floating around her, with her face expressing an unhappy sign. She was frowning down at the young Eldar man, who dared to direct his anger at Nuvian. Everybody present was feeling anxious and quite terrified. Eloen was known to be soft, caring and always nice, but when she was unhappy, it was a very unusual feeling. Everybody stood up and lightly bowed to her, including the citizen of a fallen brother. "My Lady, Farseer Eloen.. I.. I ask for forgiveness.." He said while bowing.
"Young man. Do not disrupt the peace in these dire times. And do not blame the Autarch for the loss of your family member. Your brother knew the risks and knew that he might fall one day, and he willingly and proudly followed Autarch Nuvian to battle.. And fell. May Isha rest his soul.. But directing your anger toward the one who holds such enormous responsibility, will not bring your brother back. In fact, it would only sadden him since he respected the Autarch, no matter what happened, and would join him once more if he were alive. So.. Be wise." She explained with a slight amount of seriousness, despite it being kind and soft. The citizen nodded. "Y..Yes, my Lady. I am deeply sorry.."
"Leave this place, and think about what you did, young one.." The citizen gritted his teeth as he looked at the ground, lifted his head, turned around, and left the lounge alongside his pack of friends. As soon as Eloen sat down at the table with Nuvian and Belanor, everybody else continued to do whatever they wanted since Eloen already dealt with the trouble. "Farseer Eloen." Belanor said as he sat down and looked at her. "You never really visit this place.. Anything you have to tell us?" She nodded, then looked at Nuvian, before using a cloth to wipe his face clean. "More or less, Belanor. This is about Liriel." They both looked into each other's eyes before simultaneously turning their heads to Eloen. She simply leaned her staff against the table and looked at them both.
"Apparently, and thank Isha for this.. Liriel is alive and stuck on Merlorian." This news was unexpected. Belanor and Nuvian exchanged looks, as if telling each other: "How the hell is this possible?" Before looking back at her. "How did we get this confirmation?" Nuvian asked, the signs of intoxication disappearing in an instant, as if they never went into his head. "Through the most unexpected way.. An Inquisitor. Farseer Elidyr and Ulthran told me to gather you two, Exarch Sarya and Howling banshee Arleina in the gathering hall, where the council is present. There, he will show us all the proof. I have already heard it.. So I would not be sitting here and waste our time explaining." She said, before both of the men stood up and looked at Eloen, who also stood up with her staff. "Lead the way, Farseer." Belanor said, and she nodded, just as the citizens lightly bowed down after she stood up.
They got out of the lounge and went straight to the gathering hall without any fuss. "How in the name of Khaine is this possible.. Druchii overwhelmed us. They would definitely know that she is out there and chase her." Nuvian said, but Eloen explained her own version as she looked straight ahead. "Nuvian. It is possible that she evaded this fate somehow.. I also do not know how, since they never give up on their chase, these vile beasts.. But by the miracle of Isha, she survived. More will be heard in the hall when Elidyr and Ulthran present the proof, and the Council will have to commence a rescue operation." Belanor and Nuvian were quite intrigued. They were men who would never leave anyone behind, especially Nuvian, since he was the leader of an entire warhost. If he found out someone was alive, he would go through hell and frost just to get them back home. "Hm.. Interesting. Let us not waste time and hasten up to the hall." He said, and all of them picked up the pace of their walk.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
The gathering hall.
The entire hall was lightened up by its great size. The council members sat on their oval-shaped floating seats, while Ulthran, and Elidyr, stood at the center, talking with each other until everybody was present. Arleina and Sarya were chit-chatting as well in the meantime, as all of them waited for Autarch Nuvian and Warlock Belanor, alongside Farseer Eloen.
"I cannot believe this, Exarch.." Arleina said. Sarya was quite surprised to see how much light was shining on Arleina's face. Her face showed no emotions during these past long days, and right now, she looked like she was reborn and ready for battle. This made Sarya feel proud of her. "Neither can I, Arleina.. Liriel is alive. She saved us both, risking everything that she had, and now, how much joy should we express that it is our time to save her?" Sarya said, smiling while sinking in her thoughts. "We will express our real joy when we embrace Liriel, Exarch.. I was foolish to think that she was gone, just.." Arleina looked down, a bit saddened, but Sarya placed her hand on her shoulder, and she looked at her, smiling.
"Do not blame yourself, youngling.. We are not soulless beasts. I thought so too, but look at how Isha blessed us this day. Our grief is gone. We only have to look forward to reunite with our battle sister and return her home that she misses." Arleina smiled at her, and she nodded softly. "You're right, you're right.. Exarch. Let us not grieve any longer, but be determined and confident in our efforts to save Liriel." She told her. "Good spirit, warrior, good spirit." Sarya said, clapped her shoulder, and then stared at the center, with both of them waiting.
The doors widened up, and everyone's gazes glanced upon them. Farseer Eloen entered the hall, followed by Warlock Belanor, and Autarch Nuvian, by her side. They approached the huge circle, which was the hall itself, and lightly bowed down. Eloen spoke. "Great council. Farseer Elidyr, and Ulthran. Everybody is gathered." She said, before Warlock and Autarch went to the other side to join Arleina and Sarya, as Eloen stood by the side of Elidyr and Ulthran.
"Let the council start." One of the council seers said, and 3 Farseers stood with their staves, and looked at the seers. Elidyr was first to speak. "Great seers of the council." Elidyr took a few steps forward.
"We received a secret transmission from the world of Merlorian, where we retrieved the mysterious artefact from. Our brightest minds are still puzzled by how to use it, but that is not the point. This secret message indicates that one of our warhost members is alive and in danger. As you all know, Autarch Nuvian led the warhost, and Farseer Eloen, alongside Warlock Belanor, participated in this operation. The closest member of the warrior in danger is the howling banshee Arleina, and the warrior's Exarch, Sarya. Everybody who is willing to participate in this rescue operation is present today. As you all know, we do not leave anyone behind." Elidyr explained shortly before the seers whispered amongst each other and the one in the center of the seats spoke.
"Interesting observations, Farseer Elidyr.. I am surprised that it's not your visions that you used as proof for us. Present us this message so we can hear it before we make any judgements." The seer said, and Elidyr nodded before tapping the wraithbone device, letting the entire hall be covered in its noise. The voice came from a human, as everybody understood, since the Aeldari language had an accent and was slightly broken, but they understood everything that was said. The message was next:
"In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. This is Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos of the Ordo Xenos speaking from the Imperial world of Merlorian. Do not question as to how I know your language, but listen to me, Aeldari of Ulthwe. Your warrior from the ranks of the howling banshees is alive. I may have had bad intentions to capture her, but I assure you, I only needed to know why did you violate our Imperial space, and invade our world, especially when I found out the scattered Drukhari ranks near the mountains and in the valley, alongside your fallen warriors. But that is not my point.. I have a bigger problem."
"My rival, Puritan Lord Inquisitor, Julius Kasim, has completely destroyed my plans after arriving to Merlorian, and he has taken the grip of the world, it's militia, and resources. He will not stop at anything to finding out your warrior, and she will die a very painful death."
"You are right to not trust me as an Inquisitor. But if you value the life of your warrior, as you always did so, by treacherously causing the deaths of billions of humans in exchange for thousands of your own kinsmen, then, return to Merlorian before it is too late, if you truly value your kind, and stop this madman from doing such unimaginable things to your warrior, that I cannot fathom to think about. You are running out of time. The reason of why I am telling you this, should not be too strange. I failed to be the first, and I utterly hate my rival, for he is an extremist beyond anyone's imagination. It is up to you now, to kill the Lord Inquisitor, his retinue, and everybody that is loyal to him. Be in a great haste, Aeldari of Ulthwe.. Your warrior is in the northern mountains. I do not know where, but that is the last whereabouts. However, you know better how to find your members. May the Emperor forgive me for ever falling so low as to ask for your assistance. Inquisitor Oleos out."
Everybody in the hall was rather silent for a while. They began to whisper amongst each other, especially Sarya and Arleina, who were in pure disbelief. But the seers were rather skeptical since they understood that this message came from a human Inquisitor, who were known to be as manipulative as the Aeldari, and be rather tricky. One of the seers broke the silence. "A mon'keigh, who knows our language... Primitive beasts." The seer frowned before she continued. "How can we assure the trust and reliability of this message, fellow seers?" She asked her colleagues before the one in the center looked at her.
"Knowing the Mon'keigh Inquisitors, they can all be tricky and use manipulation to suit their own needs. But he mentioned his rival, a Puritan.. Does anybody know what this word is supposed to represent?" He asked his colleagues, but they were all shaking their heads until Ulthran intervened, which pulled their glances at him since he was the most experienced with humanity and Imperium as a whole.
"The Inquisition has its flaws, but the puritans are basically, the most extremist of the mon'keigh agents. They do not want change, no matter what benefits it brings. They want their rotting Empire to remain in the state that it is in right now. Shortly.. If they find anyone that does not look like them, they will either torture them to death or kill them in an instant, even if they appear to be reasonable." He told them.
"Most Inquisitors who are not puritans will gladly work with many different species, presumably us, the Aeldari, if it benefits them. Puritans, however.. They will never listen, or heed our words, and they will kill us on sight. This "Oleos" sounds sincere and very desperate. He appears to have lost his authoritarian power since his rival has taken it from him. I can safely say that this is more than enough. No Inquisitor would be willing to consort with someone they consider an alien vermin.. Unless they truly lost the battle between each other. Great seers. In this sense, we cannot just remain idle and leave our kin sister in trouble. It is not the way of Ulthwe." He said, and continued.
"I directed the leader of the Orkz, Ghazkhull Thraka, towards the mon'keigh world of Armageddon in order to save our people. The mon'keigh breed like rabbits, while our numbers constantly deplete. What are billions of human souls in exchange for thousands of our own? You know very well that I do not leave anyone behind. And I ask you today to allow us to commence a rescue operation. An operation, which I will personally lead. Exarch Sarya, Banshee Arleina, Autarch Nuvian and Belanor will join us. I need and require their skills.." He explained.
The seers were battling with each other's verdicts. Some wanted to strictly say no, while the others were all up for approving this endeavor. Their fragile alliance with humanity was not far from being broken, especially after the Ynnari revived the Emperor's son, Roboute Guilliman. They had to do everything in secrecy, and they understood that their presence in an Imperial controlled world was exposed. But nevertheless, they could not leave anyone behind.
Sarya and Arleina were feeling anxious at this very moment. They had serious faces, but deep down in their hearts, they were begging Isha to allow the council to commence this operation. "Seers. It is time for a verdict." He said after ten minutes of arguing with each other. There were 11 seers in total, with the one in the center having the highest position. So, there were 10 in total who would vote. "Those who are in favor of a rescue operation, lift the tip of your staves. Those who are against it, lower it." He said, and after one minute passed, 5 seers approved, but at the same time, 5 seers, were in denial. This meant one thing - the Main seer, who was making the judgement, had to make his final decision to support one of the two parties. Sarya and Arleina sighed in relief, but they still knew that the main seer looked rather frowny, since he hated making this kind of decisions.
"Eldrad. Leave the hall with everybody you have gathered. I need to make the decision based on what my colleagues think. Go. The gates will open once I have the answer ready for you." Ulthran nodded, and everyone who joined this rescue operation left the hall, waiting outside the huge gates.
"My.. My Lady. What if he says no?" Arleina asked Eloen, who was busy thinking what to do in case they were seriously denied. "I do not know, child.. I am only hoping that he finds reason within it." She answered, and Sarya intervened. "My Lady. Liriel is alive. This should have been enough to convince all of them.." Sarya said, frowning unhappily. "The seers, who are against it do not want to risk an operation like this, knowing how much enemy activity this kind of world has." Warlock Belanor told them while holding his chin. "Warlock Belanor, can't you somehow convince them..?" Arleina asked him, to which he shook his head. "Negative, young one.. I cannot intervene." Arleina gritted her teeth and punched the gate with the side of her fist, frowning and anxiously waiting.
"The fate lies in such a tiny string.." Elidyr said as he sat down on a chair and held his staff while facing the ground. Eldrad stood next to him. "Do not fall into despair, my old friend.. We always find a solution to any problem we might face. Be Stoic." He said, but Elidyr did not react. "It's the fate of my niece we are discussing, Ulthran.. She is the only one I have left." He told him. "I can understand the pain and anxiety that you experience, Elidyr. But we must not falter or pull ourselves down.. I told you, no matter what happens, I will help you. Let's just wait for this verdict for now." Elidyr nodded without speaking much and anxiously waited.
"Exarch, even if they say no, I will not stand idle here while Liriel is in danger.. We must help her, even if they say no, one way or another." Arleina said, in quite an irritated tone. Sarya tried to make sure that she remained composed. "Do not be foolish, Arly.. That will not help anyone, and even if you go there alone, you're bound to fall. Be wise.." She said, but Arleina shook her head. "If I must go there alone, I will do it.." Arleina told herself within her own mind and just frowned while sitting on the ground, anxiously waiting for the answer.
"If Liriel lives, there is no way that I will leave anyone under my command behind.. If they say no, I will make sure to think of something." Nuvian explained to Belanor while they both crossed their arms and just looked at the ground. "You are one crazy Aeldari, Nuvian.. Did the wine strike your eye too much?" Belanor chuckled slightly before Nuvian looked at him. "Hey.. Don't say that. It is my responsibility to make sure that everybody returns home alive and well. Too many fall and die, Belanor. Liriel is in danger, and it is my job, as an Autarch, to make sure she returns home." He detested and explained. "Uh huh, of course.. Definitely not feeling the thirst for redemption through this rescue operation." Belanor was teasing him, until Nuvian rolled his eyes and looked away. "Oh shut up, Warlock.." Belanor laughed silently.
The entire group waited and waited. 30 minutes passed by, then an entire hour, before the gates opened widely but slowly, and everybody stood at the entrance, especially Arleina who got up from the ground, and all of them entered the gathering hall while the seers sat on their seats. Elidyr went straight forward, taking 3 steps from the rest of his squad. "Seers. Your verdict?" He asked, and the entire hall was silent, just as the main seer stood up and made his decision loud and clear.
"Approved."
His words were like balsam on the soul. The huge sigh of relief from everybody, especially Arleina, was obviously visible, but nevertheless, she was happy with the verdict. Elidyr allowed himself to smile lightly while looking at Ulthran. "Told you, my friend." He said, and Elidyr nodded once, before the seer walked down the stairs and approached the 2 great farseers. "However." This one word alone caused everyone's gaze to stare directly at him.
The seer looked at the entire group. "You will be completely on your own. One small shuttle.. There might be other ships in the system of that world, since far greater enemy has appeared there. Due to this, we cannot risk our craftworld being seen in an Imperial-controlled system and have it damaged or boarded. Therefore, all you can take is one small shuttle with an invisibility filters. Once you are done, Farseer Ulthran will contact us. The craftworld will arrive and will be invisible, but temporarily. The craftworld will commence the teleportation to the system in an hour by using invisibility filters. I will warn you.. You will have limited time to board your shuttle into the craftworld once you retrieve Liriel, before the invisibility systems run out and our craftworld will be exposed. Once the filter is close to being fully depleted, we will leave. With, or without you." The seer warned them, and this surely, made the entire group frown, but they knew that this was the only way they could endeavor with this operation.
"Understood, seer. Thank you." The seer nodded. "For the well-being of Ulthwe, and our future, Farseer." He turned around. "Seers. I declare the council closed. You are free to go." He was about to depart himself just as his colleagues went away, but he just turned around for one last time. "Good luck. To all of you." Then he left the hall, leaving the group hanging with their plans. Ulthran turned around and faced the group. "Well, fellow kinsmen? You know what to do. To the docking bay we go, if you are well-prepared?" He asked, to which Sarya, and Arleina, put their helmets on, followed by Nuvian and Belanor.
"Good." Ulthran said, nodding. "Meet me at the docks. I need to have a little chit-chat with Farseer Eloen and Elidyr." He told them. "As you wish, Farseer." They turned around calmly and proceeded to go to the docks. Ulthran faced Elidyr and Eloen, while looking into their eyes. "Farseers. If this fails, you have to understand that we will have to abandon this operation. The people of Ulthwe are my responsibility as much as they are yours. If we cannot find her.." Elidyr placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ulthran. We believe in your success as much as we believe in the rest.. Just, do your best to save my niece." He told him sincerely, to which Eldrad nodded.
"I will do my best, Elidyr. For you, and for our craftworld." Then, they shook hands, and he looked at Eloen. "Lady Eloen. My friend here will need your support. Keep an eye on him, will you?" She nodded with a light smile. "As always, Eldrad. As always.. Good luck in your endeavor, and may Isha bless all of you." Eldrad nodded before putting his own helmet on his head and walk out of the hall, leaving only Eloen and Elidyr in the entire area.
"The fate is so brutal.. Then there are gems like Eldrad willing to fight it." Eloen said, while standing next to Elidyr, who looked at the ground. "When there is no destiny in your life, fate decides everything for you.. None of us should ever allow that." Elidyr replied, while Eloen placed her hand on his back. "Elidyr. Be brave.." She said, before comforting Elidyr, whose single, shiny, crystal-like tear, dropped on the floor beneath their feet. He was overwhelmed with this news, and he held himself back from expressing them. Despite being a Farseer, the fate of his only family member, the one who he grew with his own hands, rested on a tiny rope. He trusted Eldrad and the rest of the group to get his niece home alive and well, and he knew that he needed to be strong, even in these dire moments.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
The docks. In front of a tiny shuttle.
Eldrad was approaching the group consisting of Autarch Nuvian, Warlock Belanor, Exarch Sarya, and Banshee Arleina. He made his calm approach with his staff and helmet on, and the group lightly bowed after seeing him approach. "Farseer Ulthran. Let us discuss the plan, shall we?" Nuvian said as he and the rest lifted their heads. He nodded once. "With great haste, Autarch. Let us hear what you have planned." Autarch nodded, then looked at the entire group with his eyes through his helmet's visors.
"So. Ulthran will be our eyes. We will use his psychic abilities to seek out Liriel and her whereabouts. The northern mountains, as the Mon'keigh mentioned, might be heavily surrounded by his so-called rival's armies. This can pose a huge threat. In that sense, we have to do this silently. No going loud, unless it is extremely necessary." Nuvian explained before holding his chin. Everybody, including Ulthran, listened after nodding. Eldrad trusted Nuvian, since he was the tactician and the strategist.
"Warlock Belanor. You will be our shield. Ulthran cannot concentrate on too many tasks at once, therefore, if you sense danger, we will be well-prepared to fight against it.. And your psychic powers will come in handy." Belanor understood and nodded.
Next, he looked at Arleina, and Sarya. "Exarch Sarya. You and the youngling will be our spearheads and scouts. You are swifter and more agile through your sheer mobility. Furthermore, you will scout areas like ghosts if you need to and avoid being seen by the enemy. And make the deadly strike whenever we may need it. Plus, if anything goes critical? We will hold off the enemy in order to buy time for you to take Liriel under your protection once you find her. More or less, this only depends on what will happen on the Merlorian surface." He explained, and they nodded.
"I will be the leader and stay at the front of our squad. The rest, I will be able to calculate on the surface. Everybody understands their assignments. If so, let us step forward in this endeavor and return triumphant. Mark my words. We will get our Ulthwe sister back home, no matter what. May Isha bless us all, and may Khaine guide our blades. Let's go." After that, he boarded the shuttle alongside the rest of the members. There were only two pilots in the cockpit, who made sure that everyone was on board. "Is there anyone else, Autarch?" He shook his head. "Negative, guardian. In about five minutes, the craftworld will be teleported to the system of our destination, right at the farthest edge of it. We do not know how crowded the system is with the Mon'keigh activity. Be prepared to fly out of the craftworld as quickly as possible.. The craftworld will have to teleport back here after we are done." The guardian listened carefully and nodded. "Understood, Autarch. With Isha's help." He said.
Autarch sat down next to Belanor, and they had a little chit-chat, while Eldrad was meditating and preparing for this endeavor. Exarch Sarya, and Arleina, allowed themselves to remove their helmets and look at each other. "Did you weep behind your helmet, Arleina?" That forced Arleina to widen her eyes and quickly rub her eyes, making Sarya smile and gently laugh. "N-No it was- I swear, I did not!" Sarya laughed a bit more before rubbing Arleina's head. "What a falcon you are, Arleina. Overwhelmed with joy?" She said, and Arleina finally gave up.
She pouted, but then looked at the ground afterward. "I feel like.. I received a completely new life, Exarch. Hearing that Liriel is alive.. It was overwhelming, as you said. This excruciating pain disappeared when Lady Eloen told me. I could not break down in front of her, but I am sure that she already knew how I felt.. But, yeah.. Exarch." She looked back at her, smiling through accumulating tears. "I.. Am just, happy that I will see my aspect sister again. I know that she will survive and that we will get to her, hopefully.. She trained herself very well. Imagine.. Surviving against all odds while so many dangers loom around you. Only Liriel would be capable of that. To survive for so long in a hostile world, all alone.. I can only fathom how lonely she is.. There is no one who would comfort her." As Arleina began to weep silently, Sarya pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Shhh.. Easy there, little falcon. Easy.. I am glad to see you shine brightly once more, and your spirit is fiery once again. But be brave and full of confidence, Arly. You need to be strong in order to save your aspect sister.. Liriel saved us both from imminent death. So let us do the same for her and get her back home. Let us not allow the mon'keigh to hunt her down.. Got it?" As Arleina wept against her shoulder, Sarya placed her hands on Arleina's cheeks, and wiped her tears with her thumbs, before she nodded with a smile. "Y..Yes, Exarch.. You are correct." Sarya rubbed her head and placed her helmet back on her head. "Good falcon, Arly. Let your spirit be guided by Khaine's bloody hand. For now? Let us meditate to ease our minds for the upcoming challenges ahead." Arleina nodded to her proposal before they both began to meditate
Warlock and Autarch had their own helmets removed as they sat next to each other. "Nuvian. You're very eager to complete this operation, are you not?" Warlock asked his companion while cleaning his sword. Nuvian was checking his shuriken pistols. "Why would I not be? Despite the backlash that I get from the family members of those who fell under my command.. I do not leave anyone behind if I can. I do what I can to ensure that all of us return. Liriel is a part of my warhost. She is under the shadow of my wings, and I will do everything I can to get her back home. It is my duty." He told Belanor, who laughed silently for a second. "What's so funny?"
"It's the fact that you spoke like a total diplomat. But worry not. I already understood your point, loud and clear. We will save her, Nuvian. Rest assured about that.. In the meanwhile?" Warlock pulled out a small pack of Aeldari cards shaped like an " X " each with some thickness, and raised his eyebrow. "Seriously.. Belanor. You need to stop pulling my desire for card games every so often." Belanor smirked at him, seeing how nervous he was. "Did the Cegorach pull your wings so hard that you yelped like a mon'keigh spawn?" Autarch frowned, falling for provocation. "Of course not! Set them up.." Belanor laughed and decided to play the Aeldari version of Poker with his buddy.
"What are the bets?" Nuvian asked while taking his own cards, as Belanor took his. "The loser must pay for everything the winner wants for a full day." These words were about to be detested by Nuvian, but he knew that this meant chickening out and showing weakness. He gritted his teeth, looked away, and then looked back at his cards. "Hmph.. Tsk.. So be it. I will not lose this one." He confidently said, while Belanor smirked. "This will be rather easy for me.. It's okay, I might share the foods with you." He said. "We'll see about that, Belanor. You cheeky grox.." They started to play just as the craftworld got in motion and prepared to jump through the webway to reach the Merlorian system.
The shuttle shook slightly, which annoyed all the members in the shuttle, except Ulthran, who was frozen like a statue and sat at the ground cross-legged, with his staff on his lap. "Sit back down, children.. Do not distract my concentration." Ulthran ordered, which prompted the rest of the group to look at him rather dimly. "Tss, Ulthran.. Always strict." Arleina said while trying to meditate. "He is a gem of our craftworld. The things he has seen in ten millenia.. I cannot fathom any of that." Exarch said, before continuing. "Nevertheless, concentrate, Arleina.." They both continued their meditation as the craftworld made its jump to the Merlorian system.
They arrived rather quickly than expected, and the guardians, piloting the shuttle, received a transmission instantly. "Shuttle "Iron talons", disengage immediately. Invisibility filters to the fullest!" They got the needed command. "Roger that, Command center. Disengaging now!" The shuttle disengaged in an instant after enabling the invisibility filters, and then proceeded to head towards Merlorian in great haste. As this happened, from the windows at the top of Ulthwe, the two Farseers, Eloen and Elidyr stood together, and watched the entire group embark on this journey of rescuing Liriel.
"May Isha protect them all from any dangers.." Eloen said, worried about the end results of this operation. "All we can do right now is hope for everything to go well.." Elidyr said, before looking at Eloen. "If you excuse me, Eloen.. I need to rest." He told her. Eloen merely nodded, understandingly. "Of course, Elidyr, do not worry.. Ease your mind and rest very well." Elidyr nodded. "Thank you, Eloen." Then he simply left her alone and headed to his personal chambers. Eloen turned her gaze upon the tiny dot far away in this system. The dot, being the world of Merlorian, alongside its moon.
"This operation is a dangerous one.. Only a tiny group against the mon'keigh armies. I can only wish them good luck. They are going to need it.." Eloen told herself before turning around and go straight to her own chambers. The only thing they could all do was wait.
"Autarch. We will be there in approximately an hour. Luckily, our filters are fully charged. It will take at least a day for them to recharge, so we will have to find a very well-hidden spot." One of the pilots said after getting up from his seat. As they played the cards, Autarch looked at him. "Understood, Guardian. Put on the autopilot and rest. You will need it." The guardian was surprised at how relaxed the Autarch was, but even these pilots required relaxation and were happy to accept it. "My appreciation, Autarch. Understood." He nodded and went back to his seat, telling his comrade that they're allowed to rest after switching on the autopilot.
Ulthran was still meditating. As for Exarch and Sarya, they were meditating too. "An hour, huh.. I assume that it will take a while, so to speak, don't you think, Arly?" Exarch asked her, but Arleina did not respond. This forced Sarya to open her eyes. Just as she turned her head to look at Arleina, she felt a bump on her shoulder. Arleina apparently fell asleep, and now she was resting her head against Sarya's shoulder. It forced Sarya to be surprised and let out a soft, silent giggle, since this was quite a cute moment. "By Isha.. Must be tired from constant days of depression. Receives good news, brightens up, and the fatigue kicks in.. Poor child." Sarya stopped her meditation and then placed Arleina's head on her lap, gently massaging her, ensuring that she rested very well. She sank into her thoughts and whispered to herself.
"You will meet your battle sister once again, Arly.. I pray that we get to her before they do.. But I am so eager to ask her how she survived. Nevertheless.. Liriel.. Where are you, and what are you doing, I wonder?"
The world of Merlorian.
The military base at the northern mountainous region belonging to Merlorian militia, controlled by the Puritan Lord Inquisitor, Julius Kasim.
Two prison cages outside in an open field, behind a few tents.
The Merlorian militia was celebrating. They managed to capture the two enemies that messed them up to the highest extent, and catch those who the Lord Inquisitor manipulatively declared as the enemies of the Imperium. Inquisitor Oleos, Niko, and Liriel, were stuffed into one cage with the length and width of 2 meters each, while the second cage, was far larger, where Sergeant Tarn and his men were being held in. The Merlorians were drinking and busy with their own lives in their service, while the captives were looking rather dim and anxious to what will happen next. Their silence proved this, especially when many of the Merlorian soldiers mocked, insulted, and taunted them all with laughter and total irritation.
Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos was the one who looked like a dead man walking. He was beyond depressed, staring down at the ground while unable to do anything, since he was betrayed by Adrian, who he always believed, was loyal, and was like a son to him. Little did he know, that all this time, he was just a double agent sent from his younger years by Kasim to keep an eye on him and his activities. He lost his power, his loyal acolyte was revealed to be an agent who betrayed him, and General Urslov, who Oleos considered as a reliable companion, and a friend, was shot dead in front of his eyes. He practically had nothing left, especially seeing how even his battle hardened Sergeant Tarn, alongside his men, were captured, and beaten pretty badly. They refused to give in, and tell them whatever they needed to hear. They remained loyal to Oleos, but he, still, was hurt by the betrayal.
Liriel was still unconscious, while Niko was already awake, with a slight cut on the right side of his head, where the shovel struck him at. They were stripped of their belongings, and even Liriel's helmet. Niko had her head placed on his lap, and he was doing everything he could, to keep her warm and cared for, while not speaking anything, and just remaining silent.
Sergeant Tarn and his men were also not willing to say anything, yet at least, because his plan got intercepted, and he failed to complete his task thoroughly. He found out what happened to Oleos, and that Adrian betrayed him. Even he felt backstabbed. For Tarn and Adrian fought back to back in many battles, and once upon a time, Adrian saved Tarn from a projectile, which he greatly appreciated, despite the fact, that Adrian was badly hurt during those old times. Nevertheless, he felt betrayed as much as Oleos. And he was captured, and stripped of his belongings, just like the rest of his men. In short, everybody was in a dire situation of hopelessness.
Kasim walked out of his tent, and approached the cages with his two bodyguards, and even Adrian, who stood by his side with utmost loyalty to his Lord Inquisitor. The Lord Inquisitor grinned. "Do not be so upset.. You got a long way to go, Kaidan. You should have heeded my warning.. Adrian would have still served you, had you listened." He mockingly said, laughing. Tarn clenched his teeth, and raised his head to look at Adrian, who looked back at him. "You.. Treacherous.. Snake.. You were like a brother to me, Adrian. This is the thanks we get for loyalty?" He said, to which Adrian, without any emotions, replied. "I never cared about any of you. I cared about obeying the orders of the Lord Inquisitor, as I was tasked for. Therefor, whatever you say, will fall on deaf ears." Tarn slowly got up, and approached the cage's adamantium bars, before frowning deeply at him.
"Do not think that you will be able to walk freely after this, you backstabbing bastard.. Someone will eventually hunt you down." Adrian approached him, and just as he did, Tarn spat on his face. "Get away from my sight, scumbag.." Tarn retreated to his men afterward, while Adrian wiped away his spit. "You are a weak and pitiful excuse for a Tempestus Scion. You disobeyed your Inquisitor once, and whether you like it or not, you would disobey him once again. It is not up for me to judge. You belong in this cage for not doing your job properly. Blame yourself for your mess-up." Adrian said, before Kasim joined in.
"My teachings right there. Was it so hard to heed my words, Sergeant? Do not worry.. You will taste my wrath, just as your Inquisitor did. Guards! Put one of his men in the torture chamber." Tarn immediately got up and gripped the bars, staring at him. "You will not touch my brethre-" Kasim swung his cane and struck Tarn so hard, that he was lying on the ground and bleeding from his head. Under the barrels of the Merlorian guns, one of his men got pulled out, but even he did not falter. They took him to one of the tents on the other side of the base, and Kasim, was merely grinning. "Your turn will come soon.. Worry not, Sergeant." He laughed maniacally and disappeared from sight, heading back into his tent to do his business.
Tarn leaned against the bars while sitting on the ground and held his head in frustration and anger. "Frak... Fffraaakk..." One of his men came to him. "Sarge.. We really must think of a plan on how to get out of our current situation." He told Tarn, who simply lifted his head to look at him. "Maximus.. There is nothing we can do at the moment. How do you want to get out of this hellhole, when this thing is built like a damned Leman Russ compartment?" His comrade frowned and scoffed afterward, not knowing what to do either. "I don't know.. But the longer we stay here, the closer our demise approaches. Look at how they took Cassius like cattle out of its cage. The Emperor only knows what they are doing to him as we speak.." Tarn cringed. He really did not want to imagine what's happening in that one, single tent, which was not green-colored like the rest. It was pitch black and eerie to look at. This was done on purpose as a psychological effect.
Nevertheless, Tarn leaned to the edge of the cage and looked at Oleos in the other cage while holding the bars. "Oleos.. Wake up. Kaidan..! Wake up! What the frak happened to you?" Oleos did not react. He simply remained dead inside and knew that there was nothing he could do. If only Tarn could reach him, he would slap him to the point of shaking his brains to the fullest wake-up call. Tarn's men remained pretty much the same. "Kaidan, listen to me.. Betrayal can be harsh, but it's not a reason to give up so damn easily. You have been struck. You must strike back, eye for an eye.. Wake up, you sorry bastard.." He told him, loud and clear.
Akila was in a smaller cage next to them, tied up and held by chains. There was no way for him to escape except to blink and remain tied up. Nevertheless his weakened gaze remained upon Niko and Liriel. The only people that he considered his humanoid friends. The Merlorian wolf was feeling despair, but he could not do anything.
Tarn kept trying to get Oleos back to his senses, but every attempt was futile. He was simply too dead inside to heed anyone's call. "It's.. Pointless.. I am defeated." He told himself within his mind while staring at the ground. "The only thing that keeps me alive at this moment is the hope that the code has reached its destination.. If not, Emperor preserve us from the madness of Kasim." He thought before lifting his head and look at Tarn, who immediately tried to talk to him. "Oleos! Listen.. Stop falling into the depths of despair. We have to think about how to get out of here.." Oleos shook his head slowly while blinking just once. "What's the point, Tarn.. We are defeated and betrayed. There is nothing I can do."
The Sergeant got frustrated. Oleos in his eyes, was the man who always knew how to find a way. How to find a solution, but even he was shocked to see how this betrayal and this utter defeat caused him to fall into such despair, that it was simply hard to fathom. However, Tarn was the only man in Oleos's crew who did not lose himself to despair and genuinely wanted to get out. "Frak.. Frrraaakkkhh..." He clenched his teeth, headbutted the cage, and slid down against it, before punching the ground and leaning his back against the bars while looking in the direction of Oleos.
He noticed how the Kalevan young man was awake, but there was simply nothing coming off of him. Not a single word, and so Tarn decided to seriously have a conversation with him. In order to understand his point of view. "Traitor.. I am talking to you, young man." Tarn cringed as Niko did not stop holding Liriel so closely. He simply turned his head in the direction of Tarn and frowned at him. "What do you want, Inquisitorial lapdog?" Tarn frowned deeply at himself, not willing to take an insult from him. "Your tongue will be your worst enemy, traitor.. What in the name of the Emperor, are you doing? Why in the name of the Tempesta, you are consorting with the xenos.. Did you get brainwashed by that filthy Eldar whore, that you betrayed your oath and your people?"
Niko calmly looked at him before frowning slowly afterward. "Ironic.. You are the Inquisitor's whore yourself. Me? I am free. She? She is free. You call me a traitor? You had a snake by your side for Emperor knows how long. Look at the results. I know how it feels, since I was betrayed myself.. So do not talk to me about treachery when you yourself have experienced it. And from someone that you trusted and spent time fighting with. Side by side.. I do not have to explain my actions to anyone, for it does not concern you or anyone else in this matter. What I am doing is of my own free will. You? You follow orders like a bitch. So bugger off and leave us alone. You got yourself in this groxshite thanks to your own stupidity, and you pulled us into the same bucket." Niko told him, before spitting to the ground between the two cages, symbolizing to Tarn that he can basically go fuck himself.
This was a very bizarre situation for Tarn. He simply could not process this one, single thought, that a human would be willingly working with a xeno, and show such tremendous care. Surely, he heard of cases where humans consorted with xenos, but none of them were caring for the alien or showing any affection, except now, this young man. He cringed and tried not to vomit from the sight of how he was caring for Liriel since in his eyes, this was like caring for a vermin who only deserved extermination and nothing else. "Disgusting and vile beyond any measures.. You spit at your race, you kill your fellow comrades, and-" Niko cut him straight in his talking. "They tried to kill me. Are you stupid?" Niko raised his eyebrow. "No matter who it is, if your fellow human is threatening you, you will protect yourself, one way or another. We kill each other with every passing second and on a daily basis. You do not know anything about me, Stormtrooper. So bugger off.."
Tarn was in a total state of shock. "You.. Are beyond redemption. You know very well that you betrayed the Imperium, traitor. Therefore, by their hands, or by mine, I will not know peace until you and that parasite are dead." Tarn told him with pure hatred and anger in his voice, but Niko simply made a mocking gesture with his hand. "Bla bla bla.. Shut the feck up. You are deep in the same shite as all of us. Preserve your hatred for the traitor that stabbed you and your Inquisitor in the back." Niko said and closed his eye to relax afterward, while trying to think about what to do next.
The Sergeant gripped the cell bars tighter and continued to stare at him like a wild tiger who wanted to leap and tear Niko apart. But despite this, he knew that Niko spoke the truth. Adrian was the one who betrayed him, and despite the mess that he got into, his main personal target needs to be him. Nobody else at this very moment. "Disgusting xeno shagger.." Maximus, one of Tarn's men, said. "How do her holes feel like, traitor? Did your pecker fall off because you realized that you shagged a literal vile beast?" These comments forced Niko's eye to open up, before he turned his gaze in the man's direction.
Tarn's squadmate kept trying to provoke him. "I am starting to think that the cultists of Slaanesh would be totally jealous.. It all happened in that cave, did it not? And-" His talking stopped as soon as his head got struck with a small rock. Niko managed to swiftly pick one up from near his sitting position and throw it straight at the head of Maximus. He gasped, yelped, and held his head with a small, bleeding cut, grunting in pain and clenching his teeth.
Niko deeply scoffed at such insults, and leaned back against the cell bars with his eye closed, while Tarn got irritated, but he knew he could do nothing by mere threats. As Maximus got pissed off, the rest of the men could do nothing else but laugh. Maximus turned his head toward them. "What is so funny?!" He asked them. "You got literally owned by a traitor, Max. And you won't even retaliate.. Did your fire of a Stormtrooper disappear?" Maximus scowled at this presumption. "Frak off, all of you.. You just wait until I get my hands on him." Despite the desperate situation, Tarn allowed himself to calm down by seeing his men having a jestful moment like this. But he still kept frowning, since he did not know what to do any further.
The Merlorian guardsman on guard duty approached the cage and smacked the cell bars with his shovel. "Silence you bastards!" He said, while holding a pot of food. He opened the tiny hatch, threw the contents of the food on the ground, treating them like dogs, and then smirked. "Food is served for the dogs.." He said, standing there, and watching the frustrated gazes of Tarn and his men. Their stomachs growled since they hadn't eaten in a while, and seeing the food on the ground was pretty seductive. The guard frowned. "You will be deprived of food completely if you do not eat it.. Kneel down, and dig in."
They all got nervous. They were surely trained to withstand hunger, but being deprived of food for so long would certainly weaken them. The men looked at each other, and then Tarn simply kneeled in front of the pile and used his metallic fingers to eat in silence. He was willing to be humiliated first and foremost, just so his men would join him and not starve. This caused the guard to feel a slight amount of respect for the Sergeant. "Your leader is admirable.. Not bad." He said, just as he saw the rest of Tarn's men joining in and eating the porridge-like food with their fingers. "Sarge.." One of his men said, but he shook his head. "Eat. We need every ounce of energy to resist weakness. Do not speak, just eat.. All of you." They all nodded and kept dining, just as the guard went to the cell of Niko, Liriel and Oleos.
He knocked on the bars with his shovel. This caused no reaction from Oleos, but Niko got awakened from his slumber before looking up at the guard. "Traitorous scumbag.. I am disgusted to be forced to feed you and that xenos sack of shite.." Niko remained calm and collected, since he felt no despair as long as Liriel was okay. He only cared about her. He removed his long-sleeve shirt and turned it into a makeshift pillow, laying Liriel's head on it while remaining in a tank top himself, before standing up and looking at the guard. "Feeling hungry?" He asked and snored before collecting his spit and spitting straight into the pot.
Tarn and his men were eating whatever was left on the ground and they all watched the guard and Niko exchanging some very bitter looks. Just as the guard was about to throw the disgusting-looking contents through a small hatch, Niko gripped the ceiling bars of the cage and sent his right foot flying against the hatch. This resulted in the pot flipping over and sending the boiling contents flying straight at the guard's face, as he yelled in pain and held his face while frantically running around. Niko let go of the cell bars at the ceiling and simply leaned his back against the cell bars, sitting next to the resting Liriel while looking at the ground in silence.
Sergeant Tarn and his men were literally amused by the sight. Despite Niko being their enemy and a traitor, he was still resisting. "Frakkin traitor.. What is pushing him?" Maximus said, and Tarn answered while sighing deeply, leaning back against the cell bars after eating his small portion. "For a scum, he is a tough scum.. Do not be blinded. He is a traitor and deserves nothing but death." The men nodded. "Undoubtedly, Sarge.. But, let's be honest. What he did was awesome." They finished eating the pile and wiped their fingers and mouths clean with whatever they could use. "Remain brave and strong, men.. We do not know what Cassius is going through at the moment."
They all forgot about positivity after Tarn mentioned their brother, and just frowned, and felt depressed while staring down at the ground without speaking. "Let us pray, men.." Tarn said and closed his eyes, with the rest of his men doing the same and whispering the litanies of the Emperor, while the guard frantically ran around and his comrades tried to help him out, before Kasim walked out to see what was happening. "Hm.. What do we have here?" One of the Merlorian soldiers approached him. "My Lord Inquisitor. The traitor.. He-" Kasim lifted his hand. "Understood. No need to explain. Get lost." He obeyed and frakked off, before Kasim, with his 2 bodyguards, approached the cell where Oleos, Niko and Liriel were being held.
He looked down at the young man, who simply showed no emotions or reactions to his appearance. He was busy moving his lips and just speaking with his own mind. "Stand up, scum." Kasim ordered, but Niko did not react. He simply remained without a flinch. Kasim's eyes diverted to Liriel, who was still in deep slumber. Then, he slowly pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at Liriel. In a swift motion, Niko covered Liriel with his body while standing on one knee and staring straight into Kasim's eyes while frowning deeply at him. The Lord Inquisitor grinned. "Aha.. So eagerly protecting the xeno scum? Disgusting.. Stand up, I said." Niko obliged after Kasim realized what was triggering his nerves. He shoved his sidearm in his holster and pointed his cane at Niko.
"Do you even realize the amount of travesty and treachery you have bestowed upon your people, traitor named Niko?" Niko approached the cell bars and held them tightly until his fists went pale. "What do you want from us.. Inquisitor?" He asked before one of his guards pulled Niko against the cell bars by the shirt. Quite harshly.
"Lord Inquisitor, traitor."
Kasim was amused, but pulled his bodyguard back. "Easy with our young guest.." She let go of Niko, who rubbed his chest and continued to stare into his eyes. "Keep your whores on a tight leash, Lord Inquisitor.." Kasim heard him and reacted with a calm facial expression. Then he approached the cell and struck Niko's stomach with the butt of his cane before Niko was forced to bow down and gasp for air. "Gargh!" He grunted. "Watch.. Your.. Tone... Boy." Kasim spoke with a deep, eerie voice before resuming his normal one. "You are in no position of power. I will force you to speak, one way or another.." He turned his gaze toward the guard. "Open the door." The guard nodded and opened the cell door before Kasim's bodyguards pulled Niko by his arms and dropped him out of the cell, straight at Kasim's feet as he was in a prostrated position. As he tried to lift himself off the ground, Kasim placed his boot on top of Niko's head and forced it against the muddy ground, while Niko grunted.
"You are under the mercy of the holy Inquisition, filthy, traitorous scum.. So extend your chances of survival. If you do not break willingly, I will break you myself." He said, and removed his boot from the ground before his bodyguards harshly lifted him off the ground while his face was covered in mud, and they made sure that his torso remained lowered and facing the ground. "To the interrogation tent." He ordered, and they obliged.
As Niko was being taken to the eerie-looking, black tent, he could only pray in his own mind. "Frakking.. Hell.. Emperor, protect, and preserve.. We need to get out of here before it's too late.. Liriel.. Please, do not let them break you."
The world of Merlorian.
Landing site near the northern mountainous region, covered by thick trees.
"We have landed, Autarch." The guardian pilot informed him before the shuttle gates opened up, and the invisibility filters turned off, needing a full recharge. Everybody stood up, but Autarch had a task for the guardian pilots. "Well done, guardians. Now.. A very important task. Use the bushes and trees to cover and hide the craft. This seems to be the only spot that nobody will ever find, hopefully. In that sense, remain in the craft and keep the communications on with only a single channel." Autarch told them both, and they nodded. "As you wish, Autarch."
He returned to his squad members, and they were all ready for this journey, having their helmets on, the gear ready, and completely prepared. "Farseer Ulthran?" He looked at him, and he shook his head. "No signs of the mon'keigh nearby. We are safe to embark." Autarch nodded before putting his helmet on and briefing them once more. "As I explained, everybody understood their assignments.. We have only one shot at this. Farseer Ulthran? We will need you to find our aspect sister and her whereabouts with the best accuracy as possible. I will lead from the front, as usual. Exarch? You and Arleina will be our scouts. Belanor, our shield."
"Understood, Autarch." Exarch said, and Belanor joined Autarch by his side. "May Isha bless our journey, and Khaine fuel our hearts with the fires of battle." He said, and Autarch, was the first one to walk out. It was a shiny day, and the environment was fully covered by nature's blessing. Plants bloomed, and animals ran around, but even then, Autarch sighed at the sight of this world. He knelt down and touched his lips before touching the ground and frowning behind his helmet, just as the rest of the crew got out of the shuttle and guardians began to cover and camouflage the craft. "My warriors fell in this world's soil.. May Isha have mercy on their souls." He told in a whisper before standing up and looking back at his crew, who were in full readiness.
"Belanor. Stand at the rear. Farseer, in the center. Sarya, Arleina, you two stand near the Farseer." They nodded at this assignment, and then he looked at Eldrad. "Farseer.. If you may?" Eldrad nodded once and knelt down to touch the ground to do his job, messing with his psychic abilities. He stood up after a minute and pointed to the farthest mountain with his staff. "I sense a deep mon'keigh activity somewhere in the direction of that mountain.. We must go through the woods to avoid any patrols. The Inquisitor of the mon'keigh mentioned the mountains, but we must investigate their main base of operation to know their strength before seeking for Liriel.. So let us be in great haste." He explained, and this surely caused Arleina to feel slightly nervous, but she pushed it aside.
Autarch nodded and then turned around as the leading figure and embarked on a journey, staying in the depths of the thick forest while heading towards the farthest mountain that was visible to their eyes. Everybody was concentrated on their surroundings, ready for battle, not daring to relax. "Exarch.. Returning to this world, is.. A bit overwhelming." She told her, to which Exarch nodded. "I know.. How many of our avengers and our sisters fell in this soil.. Not even being able to retrieve their soulstones. Unfortunately, we cannot go back to that area to retrieve the soulstones.. Our main priority is to save the only one who survived - Liriel. We must hurry." She told while taking a deep sigh.
Arleina was looking around and trying not to think of the worst possible outcomes. She had to hope and believe in just this one, single chance of success, because they could not afford another one. "Exarch.. We will save her. I am sure of it. We have a chance. I know we do." She said, trying to reassure herself. But, as much as Exarch Sarya wanted to agree with her, the situation was still unknown, so the skepticism was kicking in. She swiftly pushed it aside and had to trust the message that Inquisitor sent them all. "First, we must find her. Only then we can all sigh in relief." She added. Arleina understood what she meant, since she was an Exarch, and already had the experience when losing someone or trying to find a certain someone. However, she would give it all to find Liriel.
"If the great mother smiles upon us, we will be triumphant. Let us follow this notion and save our aspect sister." Arleina added, while Exarch checked her glaive, assured of its deadly sharpness, and shoved it to her belt after closing the blades, while Arleina concentrated on her own task.
"Anybody who stands in our path will feel the bitterness of death alone.. Any mon'keigh in my way will taste my glaive. May Khaine guide my strikes."
Back at the main base of Merlorian militia under the command of the Puritan Lord Inquisitor, Julius Kasim.
Liriel could hear a faint noise of human activity. The stench of mud, grass and dirt filled her nostrils as she found herself staring at the adamantine cell bars while her head was laid on something soft. "Where am I.. Where.. Niko..?" That was the first thought that crossed her mind as she was regaining consciousness. She blinked a few times as her vision got back to normal and looked at her hands after lifting them. She was alive, but looking around her, she was not so satisfied. "What in Isha's name.." She slowly leaned up with a slight headache and noticed a depressed-looking figure near her. It was the Inquisitor, who, as she processed in her mind, was in deep sorrow. "What in Khaine's bloody hand.. A cage?" She looked around herself before more figures met to her gaze.
Sergeant Tarn and his men were resting in the other cage, unaware that she had woken up. She looked to the other side and saw a tiny cage where tied and chained Akila was sitting at. But worst of all, as Liriel processed it, was the fact that Niko was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Niko.. Where is he?" She held the cell bars, and looked around once again, trying to find any clues as to what these mon'keigh did to him.
"Bloody mon'keigh of this world are a curse.. Caged like a wild animal.. Niko.. I must find him." She told herself, before picking up the long-sleeve shirt that belonged to him. She lifted it off carefully, wiped the dirt away from it, and simply held it to herself while lightly smiling and leaning her back against the edge of the cell. "This journey has been so arduous.. How I, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe, went from wanting to kill him to falling for him.. The spirit.. The thoughts of what the warp creature told me.. I still cannot comprehend it. But.. Niko lives. That is all that matters right now, but I have a lot to think about." She spoke within her own mind and tried to think about what to do at this very moment, due to how she was literally caged and deprived of her freedom.
"Xenos.." Tarn said from the nearby cage, since they were literally just 2 meters apart from each other. The Sergeant held the bars and was looking in Liriel's direction, like a wild predator looking at its prey with fiery hatred and xenophobia. "Do not think I have forgotten what happened in our fight. Sooner or later, we will resume it." He said, and spat at the ground before Liriel frowned and raised her eyebrow afterward, making gestures with her hands as if mocking him. "I have no need to trouble myself with a barbarian, mon'keigh." She said in her own language. Tarn and two of his men stared at her after this with the same bitterness and hatred. "You killed our brothers. Do not think that you will be able to get out of this so easily, Xeno bitch.." The first one said, before the second one threw a rock at her, forcing her to dodge and get quite irritated with an annoyed facial expression. Even then, none of them understood each other's languages.
This scene looked like apes grabbing things from the ground and throwing them at the other side of the cage. But these Stormtroopers witnessed the deaths of their comrades at the hands of this Eldar woman, and they were using whatever they could to bring her any method of harm. "Cursed mon'keigh primitives.." Liriel whispered while turning around, and she let her armored back take the strikes from the rocks. More of the men joined in, while Tarn watched. Liriel stared down at the ground while hugging Niko's long-sleeve shirt, with her knees against her chest. "Isha.. Preserve." This kept going and going, and the guards who passed by simply grinned at the sight, which, to them, looked like a wild way of entertainment.
Suddenly, the cell where Liriel and Oleos were held clanked with a loud thump, and Tarn's men shuddered. "Enough." It was nobody else than the depressed Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos, who continued to stare down at the ground, with his fist pushing against the cell bars that he slammed. "Inquisitor, you're awake!" Tarn's men felt relieved. Their Inquisitor finally came back to his senses, or at least, they thought he did. "My Lord.. The xenos deserves everything that it get-" Oleos lifted his face, and they all saw the sleep-deprived Inquisitor with purple eye sacks and reddened eyes.
It seems that the stress, depression and unwillingness to sleep had their own effects. Liriel allowed herself to lift her head and stare at him. He, in exchange, took a strict gaze at Tarn's men. "I said.. Enough. Keep your hatred for those who deserve it. Right now, you're merely an entertainment for the Merlorians.. Have some self-respect, idiots." The Inquisitor spoke in a rough tone, while the men were totally confused and puzzled while holding the rocks.
"Stand down, men.. You heard your Inquisitor." Tarn said, slightly disappointed that his men were not allowed to unleash some frustration, but Sergeant Tarn, no matter what, was still loyal to his Inquisitor, despite the fact that he had his own breakdown in the forest, in a fight with Liriel, he still wanted to redeem himself for this mistake, which ended up disappointing Oleos. The men simply dropped the rocks from their hands, frowned frustratingly, and retreated back to their corners, while Oleos lowered his gaze back at the ground. "What is... Wrong with this mon'keigh Inquisitor?" Liriel thought to herself. She noticed that whatever he said, it forced Tarn's men to stop throwing rocks at her, and she was safe to lean back against her own corner while staring at the Inquisitor in curiosity. However, she was still keeping the accumulated resentment due to how they got into all of this mess thanks to him to begin with.
Oleos lowered his gaze and placed his arms on his kneecaps, indulging in any thoughts his mind could process at the moment. Tarn kept his eyes on his Inquisitor, and wanted to make sure, that he returns to his senses as soon as possible. "Kaidan.. Listen to me." Tarn said, directly addressing him by his name. Oleos did not react, while Tarn held onto the cell bars. "We have to get out of here.. We have to avoid whatever the fate Kasim has prepared for us. We need to let go of this mission and get out of this system as soon as possible." He told him, while Liriel looked at him, then back at Oleos, analyzing the way these two behave. "It seems to me that to the mon'keigh, this.. Inquisitor, is like an Autarch, and he, is an Exarch. This can be.. Useful." She thought, while also looking around her environment and surroundings. She had few important tasks at hand - Find Niko, free Akila, and escape. No matter to what direction, just escape. The capital would have to wait, since it was not safe either.
The Inquisitor was silent for over a minute, before replying in his own manner. "I am not abandoning this mission, Tarn. End.. Of.. Story." Oleos said while expressing an unhappy facial expression. Tarn clenched his teeth and raised his voice just a bit. "My.. Lord. Why do you not heed my words? We are in a desperate situation, and they have Cassius! Kasim will break each and every one of us until there's nothing we have left to fight for.. We need to concentrate on getting out of here before it is too la-" A Merlorian guard approached Tarn's cell and struck it with the butt of his lasgun. "Shut your yap, bastard! Raise your voice again, and I'll nail it shut." He warned and walked away, before Tarn, feeling irritated, lowered the tone of his voice. "Inquisitor.. Please. We have to get the frak out of here. You know this better than I do." He told him, while Liriel continued to observe these two individuals.
Oleos looked down at the ground, and Tarn could see his lips widening in a smirky grin. "Do I..? Do I, Daniel?" He looked at him by slowly lifting his head and staring right into Tarn's eye. "I am already hopeless for anything, Daniel. However.. With enough patience, there is one.. Small hope. We just have to wait, endure, survive, and see it unfold." Oleos told him. Tarn, however, got even more confused by how Oleos was blabbering his words. "Huh.. What are you talking about, Kaidan? What "Hope" do we have?" He asked him, and Oleos, simply shook his head.
"Be patient, all of you.. And with God-Emperor's miracle, it will happen. If not.. Then there is nothing we can do. However, I did something.. I won't tell you what, but just wait. That's all I have to offer." He told him. Tarn wanted to seriously slap him until he stopped speaking in riddles, but feeling that Oleos was trying to reassure Tarn and not even answering his questions directly, he simply sighed deeply and gave up. "This is insane.. Wait and hope, seriously? Trapped like cattle and helpless.. Uugghhh.." He facepalmed and just held his hand on his forehead while feeling bitter, frustrated and angered by such a desperate, helpless situation. Kaidan lowered his gaze once more and mumbled something under his lips.
Liriel, in the meanwhile, saw that the Inquisitor was ignoring her. She decided to have a little chit-chat with him since he knew the Aeldari language, even though he had a bad accent. "Mon'keigh." She asked. "What do you want, Eldar?" He said, still with his gaze directed to the ground. Liriel swallowed her accumulated saliva and kept talking. "Where is he, where did they take him?" She asked, since she knew that he was awake all this time. Oleos replied without any problem. "They took him.. To the interrogation tent."
The howling banshee gasped silently after hearing these words, realizing that Niko would have to undergo some torturous methods and endure the incoming pain. She was in high alarm and was not willing to leave her human partner in such times of need, but she was locked in a cage without any way of breaking out. "What.. They will torture him?" She dared to ask him, to which he simply nodded. Liriel, in exchange, wrapped the long-sleeve shirt around her waist and held the cell bars while trying to think of a plan of escape. This time, Oleos grew curious as well. "Holy Emperor.. What is it with you and him, xeno? Tell me, why is he on your side? What did you do to him to make sure that he trusts you more than he trusts himself?" Oleos asked, and Liriel, clenched the cell bars and looked down at the ground. "That.. Is none of your business, Inquisitor." She said, and resumed her gaze to the lock of the cage, inspecting it every time the guard turned his gaze away from staring at the cell.
The Inquisitor was not done with questions. He wanted some answers, since there was nothing else he could do but talk with the only one in her cage. "None of my business, huh.. Never have my eyes seen something so vile. He held you so intimately, as if the horrors were not enough. A young, human man, takes care of an unconscious xeno, and does not want to leave her. This is something that will never happen, and yet it did.. In this world alone. This is even crazier than I could have imagined. This young man is destroying every belief that the Imperium stands upon. I wonder, what did he do to you to make you treat him as an equal?" Oleos asked her, while Liriel let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze back at him.
"That is between me and him. I do not have to present myself to you, mon'keigh. You, and your rotting carcass of a god, and your bloated empire can all burn in the depths of the warp for all I care. Do not ask a howling banshee personal questions." She told him. Oleos looked at her with even more interest. "Fascinating.. Personal? Did you and him get so personal? Because you made a clear threat against me, that you would kill me with your bare hands alone. This indicates that there is more between you two than just camaraderie.. Wait.." Oleos began to silently laugh to himself, as if trying not to lose himself to madness, which he refused to believe in. Liriel turned her eyes towards him and raised her eyebrow with an unhappy frown before Oleos looked at her with a tired smile.
"You.. An Aeldari, has fallen to the depths of feelings for a human? And a human has done the same for an Aeldari.. I cannot believe this insanity, am I dreaming?" Oleos was in a total state of unbelievable situation. "Like, for God-Emperor's sakes, what is this? What, in the bloody inferno, is this? He must have done something really deep in order to cause an Aeldari warrior to fall for him. And yet, do you really think, that I do not know what you want?" Liriel got slightly nervous, but she held her composure. "What do you know, mon'keigh? Enlighten me." She said, and he answered.
"You miss your home, but at the same time, you miss your partner even more. I can see it in your fiery eyes, Aeldari.. I can see the nervousness. The anxiousness, the fear for him, the worries about him.. I see all of it in your orbs. Do you not fear the reaction of your kinsmen, who are as hateful as us towards anything non-human? Do you not fear how they will react to the news that a member of their species has feelings for what you refer to as "mon'keigh" as you all call us?" He asked her, but she remained silent and just stared at him, frowning ever further. Oleos allowed himself to slowly smirk. "Aha, I see... You love him, don't you?"
Liriel, in a swift motion at a lightning speed, pushed the Inquisitor against the cell bars while holding her arm and elbow against his throat and neck, looking down at him with bitter hatred and hidden anger through her frowning facial expression. "Hey! Let go of him!" Tarn said, and his men got into full alert, preparing to throw rocks. However, Oleos raised his hand towards them, ordering them to stand down, to which Tarn reluctantly obliged. "... Stand.. Down, men." Tarn ordered as his men sat down with angry gazes at Liriel, but Tarn, however, remained standing, watching over Liriel.
"Hahahah.. What is the matter.. Aeldari? Do you feel anger? Disgust? Insult?" Oleos asked, speaking the Aeldari lexicon. The guards of the cages were simply standing with their arms crossed and watched the scene unfold from the distance, not daring to intervene. "What I feel for him.. Does not concern you or anybody else, Inquisitor. Do not speak of my people, as if they are at equal levels as the likes of your brainwashed masses." She said, frowning and continuing.
"Niko has nothing to do with you or your messed-up populace that follows your hateful path. I know exactly what you are feeling in your heart, Inquisitor of the mon'keigh. You feel disgusted? You feel hatred? Anger? Fold all of it into one big pile and choke on it. You already got more harm done to you by your own people, especially that lapdog, who all this time was just an agent under your nose, and you naively trusted him.. Look where that trust got you. Do not look at Niko from above, mon'keigh. And stay away from us. I will not reveal to you anything that you desire to hear.. And again, I will warn you for the last time."
She tightened her elbow against his throat, forcing him to hold his breath and clench his eyes slightly. "Have any malicious intents against him... And I will personally destroy you and everything that is dear to you. Completely."
Oleos would not admit it, but those last words intrigued him to the point of having shivers run down his spine, due to how much fury those words carried within Liriel's voice, which now sounded like that of a truly fiery warrior woman, dedicated to keeping her partner in safe hands. "Understood?" She asked, to which he, looking into her fire-fueled eyes, nodded once. She let go of him and allowed him to drop to his knees while coughing and holding his throat before retreating to her corner and thinking of how to escape.
"You.. Do not understand.. Aeldari." He told her before lifting his head and looking at her once again, while she, in exchange, just ignored him. "He will not die by my hands.. He will not die by the hands of my rival, nor by the hands of my men, or any of these Merlorian sods. He won't die from any of us. But? Have you not thought about this little detail that you missed?" This time, however, Liriel's interest grew and she frowned even deeper. She still did not look at him, but Oleos was not going to talk to her like this. He wanted eye contact. Despite being an Inquisitor, tasked with hunting aliens, he knew when to appear as a useful individual, and this time was no different.
"I have no power, but Kasim will not let him die, for he has his own plans for him at the very moment.. On the scale of his treachery against the Imperium, there are many horrible punishments that await him. But know this, Aeldari.. While he might not die from our hands, do not think that he will be safer around your own people if you ever get home by some Emperor's miracle.. He might just die at the hands of your own kinsmen. How will you stop them?"
Liriel's eyes widened for a second, and she allowed herself to slowly look at him by turning her head. Oleos kept on pushing his luck, despite knowing what this tall, well-built Aeldari warrior woman was capable of doing to him in terms of shutting him up once and for all. "You may have thought about that, but then you may have forgotten about it.. How unfortunate. Don't you think? Imagine.. Returning to your craftworld, you try to explain everything to your kinsmen, and they do not even bother to listen, no matter how close you might be to them, and then you see his last gaze upon you as he's lying on the ground with an Aeldari boot on his head, about to be executed.. So, think about it, Aeldari. Do you truly believe, that you will find a safe haven in this galaxy when you have a human next to you?" Liriel clenched her teeth, and now Oleos was having the moment that he wanted. She knew that he was speaking facts that were quite forcing her to think and get concerned for his safety.
"I was so curious to learn how all of this happened.. How is it possible for two members of different species to fall in love despite the rivalry and bitter hatred we share for each other? It is, truly fascinating... If you think about it. But this is something that none of our factions would accept, and you know it better than I do, Aeldari. So do tell me, please. How will you keep him safe when you have nowhere to go, let alone find safety? You remain in your craftworld? Good, well protected.. But your own people look at you as if you have gone mad.. As an outsider.. Stay outside the craftworld? Not so good. The Imperium will never allow this to keep going. For this kind of heresy is so tremendous that the Inquisition will send entire fleets after you, just to kill you and him. You know you cannot run forever.. Therefore, what will you do?" Oleos asked with a calm stare, curious for her answer.
Liriel began to process his words in her head. She did not think too deeply about this kind of continuation. "Isha's tears.. If I shut him up, I will only make a fool out of myself, and his words will not be contradicted.." She thought while looking down at the ground before lifting her head and answering in an instant.
"We will prevail.. We escaped such horrific moments through unity alone. I will not allow fate to decide our lives for us, for it is extremely harsh and unfair. I told you. Do not compare your stupid masses to my people. They can still listen to reason if given a proper explanation. You? You just have one policy - Shoot in the head, and it stays dead." She told him. "Nothing you will do or say will convince me to change my destiny. We escaped the grasps of death, and not once. And we will escape it again. Until our time has come.. So, do me a favor. Do not get in between me and him." She told him, trying not to fill her head with these thoughts, for at the moment, they did not matter. She had to find a way to escape this cage and save Niko and Akila.
Oleos frowned in disappointment, realizing that nothing would break this stubborn Aeldari's barriers, and simply sighed deeply before getting back to his own corner. "Naive, but understandable.. Such a stubborn spirit. Very well, then. Aeldari?" Oleos stood up and walked to her as she was sitting on the ground. She raised her eyebrow at him, and he simply remained calm, not afraid of her. "We are both stuck in a situation of despair. But I want to make a proposition.." He told her. Liriel did not trust him, for he had already fooled her and Niko in that cave, but she had to listen since there was nothing she could do alone. "Let me hear it then, mon'keigh." She told him, clearly not even wanting to talk to him, as Oleos understood, that she hated his guts. And rightfully so.
"I propose an alliance. A little one, so to speak." He said, and Liriel scowled slightly. "Khaine curse you for even thinking about such a proposition. You already tricked us in that cave. What makes you think that I need someone like you as an ally?" Oleos laughed. "Because you and I are in the same boat? And as I told you, I only needed information and knowledge.. I had nothing else on my mind.. Maybe a bit of interrogation, but that does not matter anymore." He sighed and continued.
"We have to work together in order to get out of this situation. I am fascinated by you, because this feels like the weirdest dream I have ever experienced.. We have a mutual enemy who wants to see our heads on a pike. Therefore, if we work together, we have higher chances of getting out of this situation. But as soon as the cage is open? You and he, are on your own.. Then? We part our ways.. Unless any of us.. Gets the thought of stabbing the other one in the back when the alliance has served its purpose. Do you see the facts?" Oleos asked, while Liriel, was reluctant.
She did not want this alliance. She wanted to just strangle the Inquisitor, but knew that it served no purpose. She was a warrior, not a murderer. She only killed those who were threatening her or standing in her path. Inquisitor did not have malicious intents, as she noticed. He, just as much as her, wanted to get out of this mess, and so she had to find this reasonable. Liriel remained silent for a few minutes, thinking all her options, before lifting her head and looking up at him, before standing up on her feet and looking into his eyes. "So be it.."
Oleos smiled, clapped a few times, and slowly, but surely, was getting out of his depressive state. Tarn, just like his men, did not know what they were talking about between each other. But as Tarn noticed, the Inquisitor made sure that the xenos listened to him. "Good! In that case.." He leaned his hand forward, and Liriel looked at it. She remembered the time when Niko offered her a handshake, which was a common human gesture of friendliness. She was reluctant, but closed her eyes and opened them after 3 seconds before leaning her hand towards him. Oleos looked into her eyes and prepared for the handshake... Which never came.
*...wwwHHOOSH "PUNCH"*
Liriel retrieved her hand with lightning speed as he prepared to shake it, and then simply clenched it into a fist, leaned her arm back, and punched the Inquisitor straight on the face between the nose and the temple, forcing him to crash his back against the cell bars and drop while holding his temple, much to the joy and entertainment of Liriel, who finally allowed herself to unleash some steam. "We have a deal, mon'keigh."
Tarn was about to throw a rock right at her head, as she was in a perfect position, but he noticed that Oleos, was laughing. "What... The..?" He thought to himself while seeing Oleos slowly stand up while holding his forehead. "I..Inquisitor?" Tarn was confused as to why he was laughing after getting punched so harshly by a xenos. "Ahahah! Haaah.. Tarn, guess what? We made a little alliance! And I guess this is her way of handshake.." He said, while calming his laugh down. Liriel's punch surely pulled him out of his depressive state, shaking his brain to work properly again. Tarn, however, was not happy or feeling any positivity with this.
"Inquisitor.. You are out of your mind. An alliance with a xenos, who murdered my men?!" He punched the cell bars with his augmetic arm and was about to seriously protest it. However, Oleos's cold gaze told him to clearly obey his order. ".. Fine.. But I do not trust her, Inquisitor.. And I will not. Don't even think about it. I only follow your orders, but trusting this bitch, I will not." Oleos smiled at him. "I do not expect you to trust her, Sarge. But understand. We are in the deepest pile of groxshite that I can imagine.. If we do not work together, Kasim will probably have my head on the tip of his cane. Therefore, here is the plan.." He approached the cell bars to get in the distance of whispering.
"When the night comes and the guard passes by? I will try to distract him.. You, in the meanwhile? Throw a rock at him after pretending that you're sleeping. After the hit, I will retrieve the keys, and then we slip out of here.. In silence. We do not need trouble, as we are heavily outnumbered. Plus, I hope that Garan and the rest of our crew have returned to the ship.. Anyway. That is the only way I can think of getting out of here." Tarn listened carefully to the escape plan of his Inquisitor, and could not help but feel satisfied with his clever thinking. "My Lord. I have to say.. That is indeed very clever, but what about the bitch?" He scoffed after even mentioning her, showing dissatisfaction, much to the understanding of Oleos. "She is the master of stealth and hit-and-run tactics. We will.. Need her for distraction if our stealth goes loud. Because trust me. She is thinking of doing the same in that case.." Oleos said and frowned slightly.
Tarn was quite honestly annoyed. "Does this "thing" really care about that traitorous bastard so much? I hope that Kasim deals with him before my hands do, Inquisitor. It is because of him, that I have become a black, Inquisitorial cyclops.. They got more frakking stormtroopers beyond the great rift than they got the likes of me... Anyway. Good plan, Inquisitor.. But again. That, "thing", will definitely run for that one eyed fool. I am sure of it.. Since these two are so close." Tarn had to swallow his bile from these disgusting thoughts. But Oleos, merely shrugged off his words. "Daniel, you really are a pain in the arse sometimes.." Oleos said, and rolled his eyes, before turning his gaze to Liriel, who was doing nothing else than stare at that dark, eerie looking tent. "She really knows no break from wanting to save him, it seems.. Hmm."
Liriel was just staring, and staring like a daydream. She was frowning, but her eyes screamed alarm, since she was worried. She simply could only imagine what Niko was going through at the moment, but she really did not want to imagine him in such a bloody state. "Niko.." She whispered while leaning against the cell bars, and clenching her teeth, cursing at her lack of luck. "I am supposed to be there, not him.." Oleos stared at her, and despite not wanting to stick his nose into her business, he simply, could not help it. "Lady Valdan." Oleos addressed her politely, something that took her by a bit of surprise. She looked at him after getting out of her worried trance, and raised her eyebrow in silence, while Oleos spoke to her, in her own language.
"As I see it, you really want to save him.. Don't you?" He asked, to which she simply stared at him, frowning bit by bit. Oleos, however, knew her answer just from how she reacted. "It seems that you do. This is fascinating.. How an alien woman has feelings for a human man." He said, something that forced Liriel to grip the cell bars ever tighter. The Inquisitor was seriously getting on her nerves, but he, in fact, enjoyed it. This was his job, to pull information. To pull the knowledge. To gain it, master it, and enhance it. Therefore, his depression slowly began to vanish. Replaced by curiosity. Liriel wanted to hide her feelings, but it was hard. She only shared her feelings in his presence, but in front of others, she had to remain a sturdy warrior of Ulthwe. "No need.. I understand what love is. I just never would have imagined something like this in my wildest dreams.. But hey. You have to understand why I am judging you." He said, while Tarn was busy sharing the Inquisitor's plan with his men through whispers.
"You are seriously getting on my nerves, Inquisitor.. I am not a sculpture of an artisan for you to judge me. Was that punch not enough?" She said and walked over to him, forcing him to retreat as she was now towering over him with a seriously pissed-off gaze. Oleos smirked and just lifted his hands to his shoulders. "Ooooo.. So scary.." But then he frowned at her.
"You call yourself a warrior, Lady Valdan. But at the same time, you allow your feelings to cloud your judgement. Concentrate on the task at hand. Put aside your worries and think about how to save that young man. Not on what's happening to him. The more you think about it, the more you will tremble and eventually shatter.." He said, taking Liriel by surprise at how he resisted her attempt to corner him. "You are definitely clever for a mon'keigh, Inquisitor. However.." She gripped him by the coat and pulled him towards herself. "I do not need advice from someone who got betrayed by his own right-hand man. So I would suggest that you share whatever you told that brute in the other cage." She said, and let go of him before he fixed his coat and sighed deeply.
"Your stubborn attitude is even greater than I would have thought.. But so be it. The plan is simple. We need to wait for the night. Tarn is going to pretend to be sleeping while I distract a guard by forcing him to come close.. Then, he will simply knock him out with a rock. We take the keys and make our escape." He explained while looking around. Liriel, however, was not too impressed. "Primitive plan from a primitive human.. High probability of being caught. And I am not leaving without Niko. Let alone without my gear. A warrior, without a weapon is not a warrior." She replied, while Oleos facepalmed and just sighed in annoyance. "Aaagh.. This will be an extraordinary attempt to escape the grasps of death. But so be it, warrior of Khaine.." He silently retreated to his corner and left Liriel to contemplate and sink into her thoughts all alone.
She turned her head back to the eerie tent, leaned against the cell bars, and, worryingly whispered. "What are they going to do to him.. Niko, hang on. I will not leave you to the mercy of fate.."
The "Interrogation" tent. Military base under Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim.
Niko was shoved into a chair with his hands tied up behind him. The bodyguards of Kasim simply shoved him into the chair and then stood beside him while he was intensively confused as to what they were waiting for. "Fraggin funny.. Two Inquisitorial whores are offering me the "VIP" service.." He said, laughing to himself at his unlucky situation, before lifting his head and looking at the bodyguard on his left side. "Lass. Does he force you to lick that cane of his, or do you prefer his own personal "cane" that I bet he feeds you with?"
The bodyguard was genuinely confused, but the one, on the right side simply smacked the backside of his head. "Ooof.. I guess I truly deserved that." Niko said. This was a rather interesting sight to see. Here he was, trying to show no worries, no fear, and no nervousness. Whenever he was in the presence of his enemies, he remained stoic. Whenever he was in the presence of Liriel, he was soft and relaxed. The way Niko felt near her surely made him forget all his scars and only feel genuine joy. But right now, he had to act tough. Otherwise, he would be broken without showing any resistance. "Hey, lassie, I feel uncomfortable down there in my groin.. Your hand would greatly help." He snickered, and just as the bodyguard was about to smack him for the second time, he dodged it and then, mockingly, looked at the fuming and flustered bodyguard. "Missed me!" And then laughed.
"What do you find so funny in your situation, young man?"
The sudden, cold voice of the Lord Inquisitor was heard behind Niko. His laughing instantly stopped, and now he was rather serious and trying his best not to show any signs of fear or nervousness. He looked down at the ground and simply remained silent. The loud footsteps of Kasim, only got louder and louder as he approached Niko from behind. It forced him to swallow his saliva and gasp in an instant after seeing him in front of him and holding his backpack. "What do we have here.." Kasim said as he dropped the contents on the table and threw the backpack aside. He checked out every object that came out of it, and Niko was staring. "Frakking.. Hell.." Is all he had to whisper. "Ahhaaaa.. What is this?" Niko's eye widened in an instant.
Kasim was holding the banner of his regiment, the 64th Line infantry regiment of the Kalevan Silver Spears. He examined it thoroughly, and he definitely saw the nervousness in Niko's single eye. "I assume this is something that is very, veeeeryy dear to you, young man.." He fixed his monocle and flipped his cane before grinning. "A former guardsman! And here, I thought you were just a lonely citizen of this world.. This, makes things even more.. Interesting. Hm-hm-hm.. Perfection." The Lord Inquisitor seriously looked like a mad and psychopathic scientist who enjoyed playing with his experiments.
Niko, however, was definitely starting to sweat from his forehead. He frowned and nervously stared at him. "These banners are only issued to the members of the Astra Militarum of our holy Emperor. The fact that you carry this banner while consorting with a filthy xenos, is the greatest shame you could bring to your homeworld." He told him while handling a few very dangerous-looking tools on the desk. In the next moment, a tech-priest completely covered in cables and other augmetics, especially a long red robe, entered the tent. He was a member of Kasim's retinue, as Niko thought while looking at him and cringing at how abominable they truly looked from such a close distance. "Tech-priest. Observation." Kasim said, and after one single minute, the tech-priest of Kasim's retinue scanned the banner.
"Blessed be the Omnissiah, Lord Inquisitor. Observation commenced. Code 15-W2-ZE9-540. Scanning complete. Confirming the origins: Kaleva. An Imperial world. Industrialized, but partially in a feudal state. Population - Unknown. Mostly snowy, but has warm conditions. Segmentum: Pacificus. Sector Sciras, Kalevan star system. Has a moon. The world supplies the Astra Militarum with their formidable regiments, named "Kalevan Silver Spears". This banner is the 64th line infantry regiment, my Lord Inquisitor." Tech-priest finished, and stepped aside, while the satisfied Lord Inquisitor nodded. "Great work, Tech-priest." Then he looked at Niko, who appeared to be even more nervous.
"I wonder.. How would your homeworld, and your proud regiments feel about this, young man?" He asked and circled around him while Niko was looking at the ground with a very disturbed face, since he only had to guess what kind of torment he prepared for him. "How would you feel.. When the name of your regiment and the name of your world be tarnished by this heresy? Never has there been such a travesty and such a disgusting act of treachery from an Imperial guardsman. Have you forgotten what your oath and duty expected from you?" He asked.
"You do not know me or what my regiment went through, Lord Inquisitor.." Niko said, with his gaze completely facing the floor of the tent. "Do I not know a traitor when I see one? Do you really think that an agent of the God-Emperor needs to know anything about the traitor except the betrayal, which is enough for the Inquisitor to understand who the traitor is? You seriously are not making this easy for yourself, Niko.. If anything about a traitor is known, then anything else does not matter. Only their death is what matters. If you become a traitor, then only your death is what we seek. But I am very interested to know the reason behind your treachery.. For I, have my patience and time in excess. Enlighten me." Kasim's twisted words only made Niko more lost in trying to concentrate and not break.
Niko slowly lifted his head towards the Lord Inquisitor, who stood two meters away from him, right up front. "Go to hell.. You old bastard." He spat at his boots and looked at him straight in the eyes. Kasim slowly frowned and became dissatisfied. "You don't want an easy way, huh? Delightful, very, delightful.. I expected something like this from you." He snapped his fingers, and then Kasim's bodyguards ripped off his tank top before exposing his torso, and especially his scar-covered back. Niko remained silent and only stared into the eyes of the Lord Inquisitor. "Stubbornness will not help you. You are not going to get out of this easily."
The Tech-priest began to examine him by circling around him completely. "Old scars. Tissue has been well healed. Origin of the damage: Flogging from a whip. Other than that, in perfect healthy condition. Body type, in between lean and muscular, but closer to being well-built. Lifestyle suggests the youth being spent in farming, hunting and other forms of labor in a thriving village. Very exotic specimen of human species." The tech-priest said, and then retreated to the desk to meddle with some of the tools.
"Tell me the truth.. And your death will be easy. Or, you will serve the Emperor through the servitor program. Do not take my mercy for nothing." Niko heard him, but he already guessed that he was a pure madman and did not fall for his hidden manipulations. If he had to witness death, he would do it with his courage, pride and determination, and, with his love for Liriel.
"Fine, fine.. Lord Inquisitor." Niko said, having a depressive-looking face. Kasim was surprised at how easily he presumably conviced Niko to give up. Kasim clapped two times, swimming in arrogance and defiant of his power. "See? It is that easy. I am listening." Niko lifted his head and gazed at him once more. "I feel so awful, and I deserve to be punished, for I have betrayed the Imperium.. And our God-Emperor. The reason is very secretive, and I have to whisper it to you because this involves the xenos and their plans. I was told to never say it.. And that I would die. So, I trust you, and you alone to stop them. Please heed my call, and I will die with redemption.." Niko said, and it almost looked like he was going to break down. This caught Kasim by surprise, but he was very tempted.
"By the God-Emperor, you are not so lost after all." He approached Niko and leaned his ear to him before Niko slowly leaned his lips to his ear and then decided to whisper... To whisper "something" so to speak.
"The reason... Is... That your mother served in the Kalevan brothels, and your father left to get a pack of grox milk, and never came back."
And then, simply, headbutted the Lord Inquisitor so badly, that his monocle broke, and he was forced to retreat after a quick, loud gasp, while holding his temple. Niko grinned and almost had a laugh, but the two bodyguards simply grabbed him by the hair and lowered his head after striking him in the stomach and forcing him to gasp for air. "Argh! You little vile whelp!" Kasim said and threw the broken monocle away before pulling out a few glass pieces while his face bled. The Lord Inquisitor seriously thought that Niko quickly gave up, and he meant every word that he said. Little did he know that this was Niko's way of showing him that he will resist with whatever methods he can think of and that he, no matter what, will not give in, or give up.
It was obvious that Kasim's arrogance played a tough game with him. Through decades of service and countless interrogations, he always managed to make every one of his victims confess in a short amount of time. But Niko was different. For the first time, Kasim's pride was hurt, and he would not tolerate it. "You... Little... Bastard." He said, fuming in hidden anger. But nevertheless, even through this surprising act of defiance, he would not let Niko have his time. "You really think you are smart and able to resist me? Do you truly think, that I will only beat or cut you? You're used to it.. Oh no. I have other ways.. Tech-Priest. Bring out the "Truth serum". Mix it with a high content of nerve stims." He ordered. "By the will of the Omnissiah, Lord Inquisitor."
Niko was heavily breathing as his saliva dripped from his mouth. This was going to be a total wreck for him, as he thought. But thinking about Liriel helped him to push away every ounce of nervousness, anxiety, and fear. "Liri.. I will not yield.. I will not falter.. I will not give.. In.." He whispered while spitting his saliva away, not knowing what was prepared for him. The tech-priest came up to Niko, gripped his hair, shoved a syringe straight into his neck as he gasped in pain, clenched his teeth and eye and then stepped back from him. Niko's vision began to slowly but surely turn to a wide range of blurriness, and then he began to breathe even louder.
Kasim was observing the process while Niko began to grunt and unleash painful moans as his body began to tremble and shake. The truth serum, that the tech-priest injected came with a mixture of drugs that caused the victim's nerves to be negatively affected. In short, Niko felt as if he was slowly being electrocuted and burned at the same time. His mind was constantly trying to black out, but the chemicals blocked this ability within Niko's brain, and kept his mind fully active and sober. The only thing he could do right now was breathe and unleash grunts, yelps and painful moans. "Tell me the truth, Kalevan!" Kasim demanded, but Niko kept resisting.
"FFF..FFRAAK.. YY-YYOUU..!" He was able to utter these words in the state that he was in at the moment. The frowning Lord Inquisitor simply took a gaze at the tech-priest, and he nodded in response. The bodyguards tightly held Niko's head, and the tech-priest injected more of the nasty-looking dark-green liquid into his veins. The intense pain that Niko felt at the moment only increased and became worse. His shell was already cracking, but he nevertheless held firmly against it. In the next moment, Niko began to hallucinate. His near-death situations while serving in the Imperial Guard flashed in front of him. They looked so real, that he felt like he was back in those situations, and he utterly hated them. The vision in his eyes constantly switched from the present situation to the past situations every 10 seconds. Not only was his body tormented, but so was his mental health.
Niko's green eye was already red from all the pressure. He was bleeding from his nostrils, his eye patch, his only eyeball and from his mouth. Kasim tried once again. "This will only get worse. Yield for the Emperor's mercy, traitor!" He raised his voice, and Niko, eventually, gave in after 10 minutes of torment. "FF..FF..I..W.W...ILL..SP..SSPEAK...MAKE ITT STOPP.. PLEASEE..!" He yelled while continuing his painful screams. Kasim pointed at Niko, and the tech-priest, injected him with another serum, which was, in fact an antidote. The effects that Niko experienced slowly dissipated away, and his painful moans stopped as he began to pant heavily, trying to catch his breath, and spit the blood on the floor while gazing at the floor, with blood droplets dropping on the floor as well.
Kasim approached him, and the bodyguards pulled Niko by his hair, forcing him to gaze into the Lord Inquisitor's face. He simply stood there, 1 meter away from him, and stared down at him with a facial expression of literally wanting to tear him to pieces. Niko, in the meanwhile, continued to stare. Kasim finally wanted to believe that this was the moment of truth and the moment of his pride being redeemed. This was the moment of Niko giving in... Or, he thought so.
*SPIT!*
The bloody saliva from Niko's mouth landed directly at the Inquisitor's face while Niko clenched his teeth, and through all the anger that he could muster from this bastard causing him such severe pain, he proclaimed. "I will.. Not... YIELD.. To you, Inquisitorial bastard.." These words came out of Niko's mouth with the utmost hatred for the Lord Inquisitor. And, Kasim, has finally had enough of this young man's stubborn attitude. He merely struck his face with his cane and retreated back to the table. Niko was once again bleeding from his mouth, and no matter what, he remained silent and stubborn, much to the frustration of the Lord Inquisitor, who frowned and stared down at Niko's banner before sighing deeply and giving out his next order.
"Bring me the xenos. Now."
However, these words seriously caused Niko to be alarmed, and take a look at the Lord Inquisitor, who was already staring deep into Niko's single eye. "I see you are as stubborn as Adamantium. Let's see what truly drives you.. Kalevan Silver Spear." Kasim whispered before laughing in a low tone with his maniacal thinking. Niko swallowed his saliva and got increasingly worried. Kasim noticed this and knew that there was something dearer for Niko, than anything else he could think of. After all, he was the master manipulator of mysterious ways. The bodyguards left the tent and went for Liriel. The only person that Niko truly and deeply cared about. Kasim had to experiment and find out what was dearer to him in the face of imminent death.
Merlorian mountains in the northern region. Near Kasim's base, a ridge with some trees and tall grass.
Eldrad Ulthran stood in the shadows of two trees while staring down at the human-controlled military base from a mountain ridge, just as his crew followed him from behind. "Mon'keigh base straight ahead. Heavily guarded.." He said. The crew approached him, and Autarch Nuvian crouched down while using his helmet's visors to zoom in. "Hm.. Some vehicles and a lot of human soldiers armed to the teeth. Their primitive tents have much to be desired. Although infiltration seems possible." He concluded, while Belanor tapped Nuvian on the shoulder.
"Nuvian. Try to find any clues about our mission. See if there is some heavy activity, or let alone just anything that might help us find Elidyr's niece." Nuvian looked at him and nodded before resuming his observation. Exarch Sarya and Banshee Arleina stood side by side, crouching, and observing the military base itself. "It does not look like an ordinary camp to me, Exarch. Definitely their base of operation." She said, while Exarch examined the base itself and anyone who was sheltered within it. "Good observations, Arly. However.. We are outnumbered. And no, do not fill your mind with the thoughts of our mighty Farseer Ulthran here, deciding to wipe out this base from the face of this planet. It is not what he has in mind." She concluded, and Arleina looked at her Exarch with a slight surprise.
"How did.. You know?" She asked, and Exarch merely snickered while looking back at her. "I know what a warrior wants to see or feel, Arly. He will not crash the entire sky upon these mon'keigh apes. He requires information. Let alone if this is the facility where Liriel might be kept, he will rather take a bolter round to the chest than to think about harming his friend's niece. Therefore, we might just have to infiltrate the base and gather some information, or find Liriel and escape." Exarch explained, while Arleina tilted her head, and nodded once. "You are definitely correct on that matter, Exarch Sarya." She said, and Exarch continued to observe the base, with Arleina doing the same.
"Farseer." Belanor was now standing next to him. "Yes, Warlock?" Ulthran said while staring at the base without flinching once. "Do you feel it?" Ulthran frowned after his question behind his helmet and nodded once. "The great disturbance.. There is a very dangerous and unstable individual somewhere in this base." Belanor was definitely concerned. Through their psychic abilities, the Warlock and the Farseer definitely felt the eerie aura radiating off of this base to begin with. They only had to guess who this madman truly was. But they got distracted by the sudden voice of Autarch Nuvian.
"I see something!" He said. Everybody looked at him. "What do you see, Nuvian?" Ulthran asked him. Autarch zoomed in further, and to his eyes, he saw 3 cages. One very small, one medium sized, and the third one large and wide. He determined that the largest one held some mon'keigh members, who all sat together and mumbled something. But the most intriguing part happened to be the medium-sized one, where a figure stood against the cell bars. Nuvian could not get a proper zoom in, but the figure, clad in black armor, and with red hair looked relatively familiar.
".. I found her."
These words attracted the attention of everyone who was present, especially Arleina, who frantically tried to zoom in with her helmet's visors. "What- Where? Location?" The howling banshee was relatively ecstatic. Finally, hope! She thought. But it was too early to celebrate. "Straight ahead, south of that mon'keigh tower of communication. Near two large tents, where smoke is coming from the furnace.. Khaine almighty. She is captive, and there is a mon'keigh next to her. What in Isha's name is going on here? Why are these mon'keigh captured? I can understand if they captured Liriel, but.. Who are these people?" He thought, but Arleina did not care.
"We must save her, Autarch! What are we waiting for?!" She demanded a proper explanation. Liriel was in trouble, and Arleina, was the only one who genuinely wanted to set her free, but Exarch intervened. "Youngling. Calm your temper." Arleina looked at her. "Exarch.. She is in trouble. We thought she died, for Isha's sake! We must act.. Don't you understand.." Arleina suffered through days of constant mental pain from thinking that Liriel had died. Now, on Merlorian, seeing how she was not far away from her, alive, and trapped in a cage of the mon'keigh brutes, her spirit of a warrior was aroused and fuming for action and bloodshed. She wanted to give her the tightest hug she could ever think of, but Exarch disciplined her more seriously.
"Youngling. I said, stand, down. Do you want her to die because you could not hold back your frustration and anger and your desire to reach for her?" She told her, and Arleina, remained silent before looking back at the base. "That's what I thought.. Be patient. We must ensure a safe rescue, Arly. Do not disappoint me with your emotions.." She said, and looked back at the base, while Arleina sighed in disappointment.
Autarch Nuvian had no time for their chit-chat. He was too concentrated. Ulthran unleashed a sigh of irritation but nevertheless kept his vigor stable. Belanor simply shook his head. "These children can be pain, Farseer.." He told Ulthran. "Do not play with your words on your tongue, Warlock. We all were young as them, acted like them, fought like them, and were as naive.. As them. Let us not judge that child's thirst for vengeance and for wanting to save the one with whom they share a deep sisterly bond." Warlock had a little silent laugh after his words. "By Isha's grace, Ulthran.. Your and Elidyr's wisdom knows no limit." He added, but Ulthran shrugged him off. "Wisdom is what our race deeply needs. I do not plan to use it for naught. There is one thing that disturbs me about this world, Belanor." His head turned to face Belanor, who looked back at him.
"Have you noticed that there is no pull of she-who-thirsts? And how our souls feel more.. Free? Do you not find that strange?" He asked, but the Warlock merely shrugged. "I thought I was the only one, Farseer. But I think, that it all has to do with the fact that this world was once inhabited by our exodite kin. Let alone, we retrieved a device against our greatest enemy. One way or another, this world may as well be a spirit world. That might explain how our soulstones feel.. Nothing. They're just empty shells without any pulling. Do you agree with me?" Ulthran raised his eyebrow behind his helmet and, more or less, had to nod.
"This makes our mission relatively easier, Belanor. I do agree with you.. But it is a strange phenomenon that even I have never seen or witnessed before. This also might explain how our young ones here have a burst of emotions. This is.. Fascinating, but this galaxy is full of surprises. But I do not recommend staying here for too long. This effect might make us lose our focus and discipline, even without us noticing it." He said.
"Therefore, let's just concentrate for now. We do not have time to meddle with these mysteries. We came here to save Elidyr's niece, and that is the only thing that should matter at the moment. We know that she is there.. But even with all my might, I cannot do this primitive base any harm. I would have fried it with massive lightning strikes or let the fire swallow them. But someone in there will definitely realize what we came here for.. And they might kill her or, let alone, force us to retreat or give up. We cannot afford such failure." He explained, and Belanor crossed his arms while taking a look at the base. "Great explanation, Farseer. So be it.. Let our Autarch give his own strategy."
Autarch Nuvian, more or less, was keeping his eyes on the cages where Liriel was held. Exarch Sarya and Banshee Arleina were doing the same. After a few minutes, Autarch Nuvian looked back at the Warlock and the Farseer. "Great seers. I must say that this task might be more difficult than I thought, but there is a chance of doing this as carefully as possible." Ulthran nodded. "We are listening, Autarch." Nuvian stood up and held the hilt of his power sword. "Night infiltration. The mon'keigh are the weakest when it gets dark. Exarch Sarya and Banshee Arleina will be the ghosts of the night. They will go in and set Liriel free before making an escape. I will be the observer and mark any enemies that are too close to them. Warlock Belanor? I require you to stay outside the perimeter and distract the guards with your psychic mind control. Mon'keigh minds are easy to hypnotize and control. As for you, great seer Ulthran?" He approached him, but Ulthran already had an answer.
"I will be the last resort." Nuvian nodded to him. "Correct. You will stay in the shadows and be ready for anything urgent. If we get exposed, you know what to do to stop the mon'keigh. Warlock will be our shield nevertheless." Ulthran understood this task perfectly well and, simply nodded. "Perfect planning, Autarch. Now, I suggest we wait until the night arrives and then move in. Our visors enable us to see at night, while the mon'keigh are blind without sources of light. Let us co-" Suddenly, they all got their gazes directed to Arleina after she alarmed them with a few words.
"They.. They are taking her!"
Autarch Nuvian immediately crouched and zoomed straight to the base. Warlock and Farseer stood by his side and observed the base as well, while Exarch looked at her. "Arly, what is the matter?" She zoomed in as well, but Arleina already told them what they needed to hear. "Two mon'keigh, strange attire in black, and weird masks.. They are.. They are bringing her to that black tent. Great seers, what is this? I beg you, share your knowledge." She pleaded, her hands shaking in anticipation of where they were taking her, with anxiety filling her mind.
Ulthran saw Liriel being held with the two female bodyguards while she tried to resist, but they made sure to disable her from the attempts, and then they took her into an eerie-looking black tent. He seriously had to frown. "Not good.. It seems to be an interrogation unit, judging by the colors that look familiar. The message told us that this, Lord Inquisitor, was a madman, and judging by the looks.. That must be the Inquisition doing its dirty job. This is not good. But as dire as this is, we.. We cannot do much until it is nighttime. Liriel will have to survive this interrogation, I am afraid." Ulthran hated this. He wanted to save her, just as he saved thousands of Aeldari and in exchange, billions of humans on the world of Armageddon died for it, but he only cared for his race. Nothing more.
Banshee Arleina punched a boulder until a tiny crack was formed on it and just held her head while Exarch tried to calm her down. "Child. Do not fall to temper.." She told her, but Arleina looked at her. "They are.. Going to hurt her, Exarch! Torture her and break her.. How can we remain idle.. How.." Nuvian stood next to Belanor, and could not do much but look down at the floor. They were helpless and could not do anything, since they knew that the nighttime, was going to be their only way of saving her. If they went in right now, Liriel would Die. They avoided that at all costs. Ulthran, however, knelt down and lifted Arleina's chin.
"Young one. Do not underestimate the strength of Elidyr's niece. She is tougher than you might think. For she walks in the path of Khaine, just like you. Cling to this hope, for the visions, no matter how foggy they can be, have determined that Liriel's soul is as hard as a wraithbone. Do not falter in the face of doom.. Instead, fight it. Defeat it. Close it.. If you truly want to save your aspect sister? Remain stoic. As soon as the nighttime approaches, we move immediately. But right now, believe in Liriel's strength.. Give her this hope. For Farseer Eloen told me that you two are inseparable. She may have given you a promise, I can feel it. Know that she will keep her word. And resist anything that comes in her way.. Be strong. Do not let the weakness grip your soul, child." Ulthran was a father figure to every Aeldari of Ulthwe. They all knew how much he cared about his people and how he would do anything to save them.
Arleina carefully listened, and through the sound of her voice, she has finally calmed down, and her tremors stopped after Eldrad finished his little speech of encouragement. "Farseer Ulthran.. I.. I thank you for your encouragement." She said, before Ulthran stood up. "Don't mention it, child. I care for my people.." He said, and faced the base. "Wait until the night approaches. We save Liriel, and get her out of here as soon as possible. Arleina, Sarya, watch the base and report anything interesting." The two Aeldari women nodded and stood as the watch guards.
Ulthran gathered Nuvian and Warlock around himself as he sat on a fallen tree log while holding his staff and meddled with his Aeldari runes floating above his hand. "Seers. It looks like we only have one shot at this.. How much more disturbing and alarming events shall we meet? It is just a question of time." He said, just as he took his canteen and took a few sips of water. "My runes are not relatively stable at showing me any other paths, Nuvian. This is the only path that assures Liriel's safety. However, there is something that I do not understand.." Ulthran admitted. Nuvian and Belanor exchanged glances and then looked straight at Eldrad. "What do you mean, Farseer?"
"What I mean is just a question of mystery and overthinking, but I am genuinely curious to know how Elidyr's niece survived for this long. It's been almost a week or more.. And there are no signs of Chaos corruption in this world, nor is there any other disturbance known to me. But let's not forget. Liriel was facing the local mon'keigh militia and the Inquisition all alone.. Something tells me that there is more to this than our eyes can see, or our words can muster. Like a missing puzzle piece.. I feel it. I feel that the picture is blurry. I just cannot find that last piece. This is a strange feeling. Because there is simply no way that a single banshee was able to escape death so accurately in an unknown world, and possibly so many times. She could have taken all 4 directions, but decided to take a route in the opposite direction, which was mostly blocked by the mon'keigh." He said, and stared at his runes while Warlock and Autarch listened.
"What can we determine from this? If she ended up facing the mon'keigh army and the Inquisition, it means that she knew exactly where she had to go in order to escape this world. The observation in our craftworld indicated where the spaceport of this world was located - In the capital. With this, I can only guess how she knew where she had to travel. Even the mon'keigh were somehow aware of this. This is something that makes me think.. Did somebody give her some information? Did she find any clues? Did she know by instinct where she needed to go? Too many questions, yet few answers.."
Frankly speaking, this puzzled both Warlock and Autarch as well. Right now, even they had to guess and theorize how exactly Liriel managed to survive for so long and avoid the grasps of death. But they all had to seriously concentrate on their task at hand and pray that Liriel would survive the interrogation.
"Exarch. Please keep our rear safe and protected. I will watch the mon'keigh base myself.. I must. You understand it, and I humbly ask you to let me take this post. Please accept this proposal.." Arleina told her Exarch. Her gaze turned directly at her young banshee, and then she simply placed her hand on her shoulder. "Worry not, Arleina.. Don't plead. Just ask. I am your Exarch, not your mistress.. I teach you, but I am your companion. Watch over the base, and alert us if you find anything." Arleina finally allowed herself to lightly smile behind her helmet and nodded. "Thank you, Exarch." Sarya nodded and went to the pathway located at their rear, making sure nobody intruded on their tiny camping position.
Arleina resumed her zooming vision of the eerie black tent, and she literally kept her gaze on it like a frozen statue. She stared at it without a blink and simply did not dare to take her gaze away from it. She even had thoughts of saving her all alone, but those quickly disappeared after realizing how stupid that action would be and the great risk of Liriel's death. Right now, she only had to pray and hope that she remains sturdy, stoic, and tough in the face of interrogation.
"Liri.. Hang on. Just hang on for dear life. Just a little bit more, a little bit of time... We will save you.."
The interrogation tent. Merlorian military base under the command of Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim.
The tent's covers got quickly separated from each other, just as the two bodyguards brought a calmly walking, almost 2 meters tall Aeldari warrior into the tent, clad in black wraithbone armor, her red hair freely hanging on her shoulders, and with a calm facial expression. Julius Kasim, and the tech-priest, awaited her. The Lord Inquisitor, carrying much knowledge about xenos species, was fluent in an Aeldari lexicon. It was a rarity, but with his experience, he knew how to speak it. "Well well well." He said and stared at her loincloth. "Warrior of Ulthwe.. How delightful." He said while tapping fingers on the handle of his cane.
Liriel remained calm, but then, with the corner of her eye, she saw him. She saw Niko. She wanted to run and hug him, to heal him, and to comfort him, but she was in a situation where she had to numb her emotions and feelings as best she could. However, her heart was racing rapidly, indicating the amount of distress she was in at the moment. But she was surrounded by enemies and had to remain as a warrior. Niko presumably understood this, since he had turned his head towards her and through his bleeding lips.. He smiled. Just from seeing her. Forgetting his unfortunate situation and bad luck.
"Niko.. I am.. So sorry that I cannot help you right now.." She whispered inside her own head and felt relieved when he showed her that fabulous smile, which gave her a deep sigh of purest relief. Niko did not speak, nor did Liriel as she was forced to sit down on a chair with her hands tied behind the chair itself. She was sitting opposite of him, and through his only single eye that was red from the pressure his body felt, he continued to stare at her and did not even think of diverting her gaze from him. He even felt somewhat flattered when he saw his long-sleeve shirt wrapped around her waist. It forced him to smile even more, but then he slowly frowned, trying to think of what the bloody Lord Inquisitor had in his mind.
Kasim pulled out a third chair and then sat down in the corner, staring at Niko and Liriel from his comfortable position. "Now." He said. "Let's start, shall we? I am Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim of the holy Imperial Inquisition, the branch of Ordo Xenos. Now, Xeno. Your name and the purpose of you being here." He simply asked while playing with his cane. The howling banshee simply stared forward, as if looking into nothingness, and replied. "Liriel Valdan of the craftworld Ulthwe. The purpose of me being here does not concern a primitive ape like you, Lord Inquisitor." Liriel simply replied, and Niko saw the proud grin on Kasim's face turn into an irritated frown before trying his best not to laugh.
"Insulting an agent of the Emperor can have dire consequences for you, Aeldari.." He tapped his boot on the ground repeatedly. "What are you filthy beasts doing on Imperial soil? Your death will be painless if you tell me what I want to hear." Kasim declared. He was going to execute them both sooner or later, but he was a manipulator, a very big manipulator, and he enjoyed this ability that he had. It brought him joy when his enemies suffered, and it was truly a miracle as to how he has been able to do his job without any dark records. But the Inquisition was filled with enough of the likes of Kasim as it is. He simply did not care.
"Go.. Burn.. In the warp.. Mon'keigh.." She replied, while Kasim stroked his moustache. It was then that he decided to pull another person into the fray. He tapped the communications button on his ear and whispered. "Adrian. Come here." After that, not even 30 seconds passed by as Adrian walked into the tent, ever so fanatically loyal to the Lord Inquisitor, and then bowed lightly. "My Lord. Your agent has arrived." Kasim smirked. "Good, Adrian. Very good.. What can you tell me about these individuals?" Adrian took a gaze directly at Liriel, and then at Niko. He snarled and cringed at them both.
"From what I can tell.. They work together, my Lord. The reason remains unknown. But analyzing the traitor's actions, I want to say one thing for sure.. They seem to be more than just comrades." These words intrigued the Lord Inquisitor to the highest degree. He held his chin and diverted his gaze to Niko, who now looked even more or less disturbed while facing the floor. "Ooohh.. Are you telling me that he willingly consorts with the filthy xenos?" Adrian nodded. "Yes, my Lord. I have no doubt about it.." After that, Kasim, in silence, walked in circles around them both, holding his chin as the entire tent had a deadly silence. Literally speaking, the tent was specifically built to suppress every noise from being heard outside, so the only thing that Liriel and Niko heard was nothing else but the Lord Inquisitor's footsteps. It was rather obvious as to what kind of malevolent plans he had in mind.
Liriel and Niko looked at each other, as if telling each other "It's okay. Be brave." or something similar, but they knew the situation they were in. Niko was showing his human emotions in his current situation. Liriel, in exchange, showed her alien emotions, remaining steely in front of her enemies. Niko slowly began to realize this and did not detest it. How could he, anyway? They were both under the mercy of the mad, psychopathic old man who held the power of this entire world in his hands. Let alone the entire system if he desired to. But despite his arrogance, he was cunning, even though being a manipulator gave him advantages in how he manipulated the Merlorians to rebel against Inquisitor Oleos and his retinue and take his side.
"Delightful.. Very delightful. I am surprised, xenos named Liriel Valdan. Is there something that truly drives you? Let alone him? You do not have to answer. Judging by what my agent had to tell me, I think I am starting to guess what is happening thoroughly. How.. Tasty. Hm-hm-hm.. But worry not. I will make sure to break you." He said, and Liriel swallowed her saliva while frowning deeply and staring at the ground afterward. Kasim approached Niko, who held his gaze at the ground, and then simply pulled him by the hair before snapping his fingers. The bodyguards immediately stepped towards him and then pulled him off the chair, before chaining his arms to the ceiling and forcing him to stand still, with his arms raised high above his head, held by the chains.
The howling banshee took one gaze at him, but Niko, through all his might, shook his head, as if telling her "Do.. Not.. Look." And then she tried to keep her gaze on the ground, only seeing his feet. "Adrian, if you may.." The agent who betrayed Oleos nodded and then grabbed a whip. Niko's heart sank immediately as his PTSD began to kick in. The Flogging. It was something that enabled his past scars to bring him tremendous amounts of mental torture, and right now, Kasim was surely enjoying this anticipated moment. "Your back has a history with this tool of torment, traitor.. You will scream until you cannot scream anymore, and through your screams, you will ask God-Emperor for forgiveness.. Let the game begin."
Adrian tapped a button on the hilt of the whip, and it sprung into an electric current with a loud buzz. Adrian, ever so emotionless, swung the whip straight at the scarred back of Niko, and he unleashed a deep grunt of agonizing pain.
Kasim stood behind Liriel with his arms behind his back and grinned widely at this "beautiful" show, commencing right in front of his eyes. Liriel clenched her eyes and tried her best to shut her ears, since she heard how Niko was struggling to not scream. He knew exactly what the Lord Inquisitor was trying to do. His knowledge was not so low, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to break Liriel. He was trying to find out what truly drove her vigor and what pushed her in her destiny, while denying the fate's ever-so-hungry grasp. The blood dripped down to the floor, and the splatter was heard thoroughly, while Niko felt a deep burning sensation on his old scars. For him, it truly felt like he was being flogged for the first time, just like in the past.
Nevertheless, Niko held on firmly. But he would not hold his screams for too long. The burning sensation only got worse as the flesh on his back was scarred and sliced with the harsh strikes of the electrical whip, and then, after about 5 minutes, he finally began to moan in pain, and Liriel, simply, had no way to shut her sensitive ears to stop hearing them. "Emperor... You see the injustice.. The brutality of your children.. Where are you.." His mind spoke to him as he was trying his best not to moan and scream from the unimaginable pain.
Kasim, ever so sadistic and one vile individual, gave out his next order. "You two. Get to it." His bodyguards joined Adrian, and then they took special whips for themselves with spiky tips on the ends and then began to strike Niko from his frontal corners, from left and right. Every strike caused him agonizing pain since the spiky tips would get stuck into his flesh and then get pulled out, leaving marks on his chest and front shoulders, even at the stomach. Niko's body was built pretty neatly, and this helped him to withstand the pain, but the screams and moans of pain he simply could not. He refused to say anything. He only stared down at Liriel, and made sure she did not watch.
The Lord Inquisitor, seeing how this is slowly, but surely, working in the efforts of breaking the xenos warrior, approached her and pulled her by the hair, forcing her to watch, but her eyes were closed. He forced them open forcefully, and she witnessed Niko getting tortured right in front of her. Kasim was grinning, and Liriel was shocked to the core at how much Niko was enduring.. Just for her.
But Niko, with his bloody tears, trembling and shivering, shook his head left and right in constant motion. "Isha.. Oh great mother, save him.. I beg thee, save him!" Liriel prayed, and prayed, and kept praying. She was tied. She was helpless. She witnessed the one she loved, the one she truly cared about, get tormented right in front of her eyes. The alien emotions of the Aeldari were intense, way more intense than those of a human, and she was fighting them. But the tears were obvious in her amber eyes, and this is exactly what Kasim wanted to see.
"Ahhaaa... You CARE for him?! Hahah!" He laughed maniacally after truly realizing what was going on. "If you so much care for him that you decide to shame your people by consorting with a human, then what will be dearer to you? Your pride? Or a simple traitor who betrayed his people, and someone that you learned to truly care about.. What will it be? Watch him slowly get tormented, and that will be your answer. If not.. Tell me the purpose of your presence. What did you find and retrieve?"
Liriel's eyes were full of tears, and her ears were fully experiencing Niko's painful moans as he was being tormented in front of her. She refused to say anything since the price was too big. But Kasim knew how to torture her as well. He knew how strong the emotions of the Aeldari were. He studied them and knew how to use these skills to his advantage. He was truly a sadistic bastard who would go to any lengths to achieve what he desired.
She noticed Niko's eye slowly becoming weaker, alongside his screams turning into whimpers, with the pain causing him to shed tears as his blurry vision forced him to look at the ground as his body was bleeding from so many directions. Liriel's shell was cracking as Kasim forced her to watch while the tech-priest was making notes. "L..Lirrriel.. Don't.. Tell them anything! Do not-" He got struck by one of the bodyguards and instantly got disoriented. Kasim slowly leaned his lips against Liriel's ear and whispered, speaking her own language. "I told you, I would break you.. It's in your best interest to tell me what I want to hear." He whispered.
The howling banshee finally had enough after half an hour of this torment and finally gave in, with so many emotions running through her mind right now as she grunted in pain at her hair being pulled so harshly. "Stop... STOP...!" She yelled, but Kasim did not budge. They simply continued to strike him as his PTSD kicked in, and the images of his traumas flashed in front of his weakened eye. "I did not hear you clear enough.." Kasim said, with coldness in his voice. "I will confess.. I WILL.. Confess, just stop this, stop hurting him, mon'keigh.. Enough, ENOUGH..!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and only then did Kasim feel confident enough, and then he pushed his hand forward. "Halt!"
The bodyguards and Adrian instantly stopped the whipping process while Niko's blood leaked down from their whips. He was in a bloody mess, with the blood leaking from his lips, and he was shivering and taking his time panting heavily. Kasim pulled the anxious banshee by her hair and placed his smaller blade against her throat before Adrian pulled Niko by his hair and forced him to stare at Liriel, who was trying her best not to shed any tears. She had to remain stoic, but she was not a robot. She was a creature with emotions, just like Niko, and this was already enough torture.
But Niko? By the God-Emperor, the moment he saw the edge of the blade against Liriel's throat, his adrenaline rush instantly began to fill his heart, and his eye widened up completely until the anger took him over, and he began to struggle from the chains while swallowing his own bloody saliva. "L...Let.. GO... Of her, you feck!" He said, despite the bleeding he endured. But Kasim, was simply playing with his victims at the moment. He loved this. This kind of torment was his favorite. Kasim had no reason to torture the Aeldari. He knew that physical pain to them was nothing. But the mental pain? That was the icing on the cake. He simply looked at Niko with a calm, fake smile that only got wider. "Is this what drives you, traitor? Are you telling me you have feelings for a xeno?"
Everybody present, from bodyguards to Adrian and to tech-priest, felt beyond disgusted and cringing beyond their own imagination. The tech-priest had to cover his mech-parts with sacred oils, and the bodyguards made Aquila signs on their chests while Adrian swallowed back the bile that came up to his throat. "Let... Go... Of her... You bloody arsehole.. Do whatever you want to me! Let her go!" Kasim truly frowned after this and pointed his knife at him while lowering Liriel's head. "What do I do.. Great mother, What.. Do I do, what am I supposed to.. Do.." She thought while breathing heavily.
Kasim, in the meanwhile, could not believe what he was hearing. "Disgusting. You have crossed all boundaries set up for our mighty species, traitor.. You have fallen into a heresy that the galaxy has never seen before. What is this? A human is protecting a xeno? Do you not see her as an enemy who would gladly cut down your brothers and sisters in arms without merely flinching from her task? How low have you fallen? Love.. Love is a fake concept. It does not exist! Let alone with a filthy vermin that contaminates this galaxy. You have consorted with an enemy of our race, and you dare to utter the words of protection towards this vermin.. Beyond, disgusting. Beyond redemption.. You are lost and damned forever." Kasim shared his own opinion, and then, to disorient Liriel even further, he raised her head by pulling her hair once again and forced her to look at Niko, who tried his best to get to her despite his chained position.
Liriel's eyes went into panic mode as soon as Adrian stepped aside and pointed his special sidearm at Niko's head while keeping his gaze on his Lord Inquisitor, as if waiting for his approval. "Last chance, xeno.. Tell. Me. Everything." Kasim ordered, while telling Adrian to prepare. The howling banshee and the Kalevan young man exchanged glances, and Niko, through his weakened body only running by the adrenaline rush, lightly smiled at his soulmate, as if trying to assure her that everything was going to be okay. But Liriel.. She could not witness this any longer.
"We.. Were looking for an artefact.." She weakly said, battling with her rushing emotions because of her love for Niko. She really cared for him, despite the fact that she held the responsibility not to share any information. She knew she had no choice. If she was to die, she would die with Niko holding her, and vice versa, but she tried to make sure not to tell him the full truth. Kasim smirked slowly and surely. "Go on.." He ordered. "We tried to get the artefact.. S..Successfully.. But the Druchi arrived and almost killed us.. We managed to escape, but the artefact is still somewhere on that mountain.. We only came here to get it back. I do not know what is the purpose of it.." Julius, however, frowned, and then she heard the hammer of Adrian's sidearm unleashing a "Clank" noise, as if preparing to fire, and that forced her to stare in even more anxiety. "Tell me the truth. I will not repeat myself any further, alien filth.." She quickly clenched her teeth and said her next words.
"It is.. It is a protective barrier.. We.. We snatched it..!" She screamed, and Niko, seeing this, intervened in the smirking Kasim's discussion with Liriel. "Lis.. Listen.. to me, Lord.. Inquisitor.. She has nothing.. To do with this.. It.. is all my planni-" He pushed his hand towards him, as if telling him to shut up, and simply looked at Liriel for further explanation. He knew perfectly well that the banshee had no warmask on her, therefore, the emotions that she experienced were overwhelming her, but she tried her best to hold firmly in the face of danger. However, no matter how hard, it was very difficult and it was out of her power to do anything about it. Niko was terrified. He had to be, for he was only a young man without any upgrades, but even when a gun was pointed at the side of his head, he showed vigor and determination, clenching his teeth and trying to get Kasim's attention. Because as long as Liriel was breathing, he did not care about anything else at this very moment.
"I..." Liriel stuttered, her warrior spirit dimming more and more, approaching the stage of completely fading away. "We.. It is all, I know.. It acts.. Like a sh.. Shield.." Kasim's grin became wider and wider. "Yeeeess?" He was a total fucking maniac. A complete psychopath with the purest form of sadism. Liriel hated him, and she wanted to gut him alive, but she knew that she couldn't do anything but endure this mental torment and do her best to keep Niko alive.
"Hey! Psychopathic.. Feckin.. Douchebag, look.. At me!" Kasim instantly frowned and looked at Niko with a clear sign of the deepest form of irritation, as his eye was twitching. He approached Niko and struck him in the stomach with his cane, silencing him with coughs and gasps for air. "Niko!" Liriel yelled before being slapped across the face by the Lord Inquisitor, something that Niko saw and forced him to struggle against the chains. "Let go of her, you fraggin knobhead!" Niko yelled, until Kasim pointed his own sidearm at Liriel's head. Niko gasped in anxiety and instantly went silent, not wanting his Aeldari companion to be harmed, while Liriel simply closed her eyes and was mumbling something.
"The irritation from you is unbearable, traitor.. You really care about this xenos woman, don't you?" He pulled the hammer of his handgun back and looked at Niko straight in his single, terrified, nervous and fury-filled, green emeraldish eye. "Tell me the truth. Why did you consort with the xenos? I find it hard to believe that you fell so low and to such disgusting levels of heresy without a very, very strong and enormous reason. I expect any betrayal from the people, but something like this? Give me a break. You are beyond redemption at this point, but do you not realize it? They have no war masks on. Their emotions are a dozen times stronger, and this is hurting her way more than you, traitorous vermin.. Your turn to talk, now.. Or else." Kasim warned him loud and clear, with his cold gaze piercing his soul. Niko spat some blood away from his mouth and looked at Liriel.
"Liri.. Listen to me." She quickly lifted her head and looked at the lightly smiling, but weakened Niko's face. He was an absolute mess, but he did not care. Even though he had to endure not to moan, seeing how it inflicted a lot of mental pain for Liriel. His assumptions were right. Not only was it her instinct to react to him being hurt, but it was also her own mental thinking and psyche, which would get worse the more Niko got tortured. He was barely hanging by a thread, but Liriel was the only one keeping him going, no matter what.
Niko, while exchanging glances with his xeno partner, nodded, telling her that he would have to do what they asked for his and her sakes. "I am.. S..Sorry but.. I cannot see you in pain.." Everybody snarled and cringed in disgust. "Showing affection.. To a xeno? Really?" Adrian smacked him across the head pretty harshly, enough to make him grunt from a throbbing headache. But Niko only frowned, clenched his teeth, and looked back at her face, which was at the peak of breaking down. He nodded to her 3 times and really prayed for the psychopathic Inquisitor to lower his handgun that was aiming at her head.
"Say one more.. One more good thing towards her, in my presence, and I will give you such a show that you will desire death more than anything. You will be unharmed, but she? Oohhoh.. Basically, you understood my task, perfectly.. Well.. Hm-hm. Talk now, will you? Former guardsman.. Before I make you talk through her. You do not want that." The last words from Kasim sounded exceptionally terrifying. It made Niko shudder and swallow his saliva mixed with his own blood. He tried his best not to fall into an anxious attack, since the PTSD images were still flashing in his eyes occasionally. But he had to make sure that if this was truly the last game of fate, he would not go down without Liriel by his side, let alone in his arms.
"I saved.. Her.. From the Drukhari.. They tried.. To violate her.. I do not know myself.. Why they.. Are here. I saw a living being in trouble and jumped to action.. Then-" Kasim stopped him, and then, after 10 seconds, he burst out laughing at this unbelievable beginning of his tale. "Thahahah! What?! You became a shiny knight with silver armor and a white steed, just to save this xenos whore?" Niko frowned at the last word and cringed at him, tightening his hanging hands into fists. "I did what I believed was right, you.. ff..ffecking.. scum.." Kasim was interested. He retrieved the weapon, much to the deep amusement of the Lord Inquisitor, who ordered Adrian to stand down. He reluctantly agreed, and then, after snapping his fingers, the tech-priest injected Niko with stim serum, increasing his blood clotting and letting his wounds stop the bleeding and slowly heal him up.
Liriel was relieved after witnessing this weird behavior from the Lord Inquisitor, and even Niko did not understand what the bloody hell was going on. But Kasim made his intentions clear. Niko, however, already knew that he was a psychopath, loving to play with his victims through his sadistic behavior. "You vile, disgusting, heretic.." Kasim said, switching from his positive mood to an exceptionally negative one in a split second. He was mad and rather furious while staring into Niko's single eye. "You have fallen beyond the lowest point, Silver Spear.. You brought shame on your people, you betrayed your beliefs, and most importantly, humanity, for one xenos. They are beyond manipulating and will stab you in the back the first moment they get. You do not know much about her kin, do you?" Niko looked at him, even more confused.
"Obviously, you do not.. Who would? It is our job. But they are known to have great acting skills in exchange for getting what they want. They are xenos, and you, are.. Were, a human. Now, you're nothing more than a disgusting heretic who deserves to be hanged for your treason." He said, and then retreated a few steps back, switching back to his smile, awaiting Niko's reaction. ".. I do not believe any word from such a vile, disgusting man as you, Lord Inquisitor.. You did what you had to do. If you plan to execute me, do it. Just do not touch her." Kasim frowned after his words and gripped him by his hair. "Making demands now, are you? To the Lord Inquisitor? I will execute you, oh yes, I will.. But not before I force you to watch how her fate unfolds." Niko widened his eye in pure terror after hearing those words. Kasim slowly retreated while grinning maniacally and with pure evilness. He knew exactly what he had in mind for her, and Niko only dared to guess.
"Tomorrow morning.. We move out to Xaroi. The populace that I have a steely grip on awaits for those that have caused them trouble. The weeds have been sliced from the soil." He said. This artefact was something that attracted the Lord Inquisitor's attention. And as he thought, having such a device in the hands of xenos was very much a big problem. But he got what he wanted after two hours, ever since this entire interrogation began. Out of the blue, he snapped his fingers and pointed at Niko. The bodyguards simply unchained him and allowed him to fall down. But before his body felt the cold, blood-covered floor, he was caught in the hands of Liriel, who instantly rushed to him as soon as Adrian was ordered to untie her. She caught him in her arms and checked on him, much to the disbelief of others present. Even Kasim, was more or less, through all his arrogance, surprised.
"Niko..? Niko.." She shook him while wiping away his blood with a piece of her loincloth. Niko's wounds were slowly, but surely, getting healed, but he was still feeling sick as he coughed a few times while facing the ground. He grunted, and Liriel, while seeing Niko smiling at her, sighed in the deepest amounts of relief and lifted him up from the ground, hanging his arm around her neck. "Take them to the cage.. The show will start tomorrow at 8' o'clock in the morning. Execution is reserved." He said, just as the bodyguards pushed them both harshly to the cage, with Kasim being satisfied.
"My.. Lord?" Adrian had a lot of questions to ask. "He.. Defiled you by hitting you. He showed strong resistance and a clear sign of betrayal that he did not deny.. Why did you not use more.. Open methods that you prefer?" Kasim merely smirked further while staring at the two, and the bodyguards left his tent. "I am a master manipulator, Adrian.. You seem to have missed a tiny detail. I do not feel pain.. This was all an act." Adrian looked at him, confused. "An.. Act?" Kasim grinned while taking a new piece of monocle and place it at his eye. "Yes, my agent. An act.. You see.. This young man? I wanted him to resist. I wanted him to show his strength. I waited for him to show me pure defiance.. Before I eventually crushed it under the might of my power. I am an agent of the God-Emperor. I quickly realized what drives them both.. And used it against them. The xenos already told me more than enough. The traitor? I would have already had him executed.. Had the xenos filth remained unresponsive."
Adrian, even though he was a hardcore double agent, was quite impressed with the man who had literally raised him since he was a little child. He molded him into a perfect agent of his own, someone who he could trust, even if it was just a little bit. "By the Emperor.. My Lord Inquisitor." Kasim waved him away with a mad laugh. "Hah, don't flatter me.. I used the traitor to frce the xenos to speak, and she did. Remember, Adrian. You can manipulate anything in this galaxy for your own cause. Puritanian spirit requires such qualities in order to reach our goals. For now, I have to write down a few things." Adrian still had to ask just as Kasim turned around towards the tech-priest, asking him for dataslates.
"My Lord.. You healed him. You- You let them go, literally.. When they should have been punished more severely. Forgive me. I do not dare to question your methods. I simply want to understand why are they let go so easily.." Kasim turned his head towards him and frowned slightly. "I will forgive you.. This time. For questioning my methods. But to give you a simple answer? I do not want him to die or feel weakened." He told him before continuing.
"I want him to watch how we deal with his xenos bitch. How we break her in front of the people of this world, and especially him, before the execution. Even though the militia members are just my pawns.. They are useful. As a simple yet satisfying reward? I want them to have the glory to punish them both accordingly. However, I want them to break her, defile her, and do anything a human mind can come up with, Adrian. You have to understand the human mind.. When you fill the minds of the masses with resentment and rage, they will forget about any morals or boundaries set up for them by the fierce laws or rules and will indulge in something that I consider primal but effective." Adrian was slightly catching his Lord Inquisitor's drift, but then felt slightly disturbed.
"Are you telling me that.." Kasim smirked even further. "She will be ravaged." He laughed silently. "The populace will literally tear her apart, from inside and out, and I want the traitorous parasite to see all of it and beg. The heretics deserve no mercy, no quarter, but I want to see them suffer.. I have the power over this world and my word, will be the law, under the jurisdiction of the God-Emperor of Mankind. This bastard has fallen to the charms and seduction of a xenos vermin, Adrian.. This is beyond any level of Imperial tolerance. That is why.. I want, him, to suffer. Suffer greatly."
Kasim literally stretched out his hands and widened his eyes in a crazed grimace before clenching his fists. Adrian literally felt slightly disturbed. The truth was, as he thought, that Kasim was not always so.. Mad. He was a stoic man when he grew up under his watch. But slowly and surely, he began to lose his mind. Only his harsh effectiveness against the xenos forces allowed him to retain his power. Right now, however, he was totally acting like a lunatic and a sadistic psychopath, but Adrian was nevertheless loyal to him. He had to be. "What kind of pleasure does a member of the Imperium desire more, than to see the heretic scream, beg, and plead?" He looked at his agent before grabbing his shoulders. "None other than that, Adrian." And then he let go of him quickly before going back to the table, grinning with malevolence. "Our mission here will be done when the show is over. After the populace gets rid of them.. I will commence the Exterminatus."
Adrian was yet again showing slight concern, and Kasim noticed it from his facial expression. Adrian was his loyal agent, but he was still stable in the head. "Hah. What? Did you honestly think that I would let these people walk freely after I am done? No, Adrian.. There is no such thing as innocence. Only degrees of guilt. Under their fatal errors, they allowed a xenos to walk in their territory for so long, alongside a traitor, let alone allowed two xenos factions to fight on the Imperial soil without intervention. Let alone how this world has been tainted by xenos artefacts, indicating an ancient alien presence that might still be lurking in the depths of this planet. This world is entirely tainted." He told him, in all seriousness in his voice.
"I am using them as mere pawns, before they deplete their usage. They follow me, through fear, which is exactly how they should follow me, mind you. But as I said, this world is tainted by filthy xenos. I will grant these people the Emperor's mercy, and put them under his holy majesty's judgement. Such is my decree as the Lord Inquisitor of the Puritanian circle. Go, for now. I will call you when I need you." He said, and Adrian bowed lightly. "As you wish, my Lord."
And so, Adrian left the interrogation tent, before the tech-priest called in a few cleaning servitors to get rid of all that bloody mess on the floor. The covers, when they moved, indicated a clear sign of the late evening coming by, the night approaching the Merlorian land, as was decreed by the nature. Kasim simply held his fingers against each other, and stared directly forward, grinning ever so arrogantly while trying to think and imagine the torment of the two individuals.
"As was decreed.. The holy Lectitio teaches us to be harsh. And there is no limit to my harshness.. Nobody, is innocent.. Tomorrow, I shall sail to the great counseling of the Puritanian circle, and tell them of what I found out. They will learn, to fear me.. The Emperor protects."
Merlorian northern mountains. Tiny camp occupied by the Ulthwe's rescue group. Night time approaching.
Banshee Arleina kept her visage completely closed on the single dark tent straight ahead at the Merlorian base. She had to only guess what was going on in there, but nevertheless, nothing truly was occurring. The mon'keigh were walking there and here, doing their duties as they were ordered to. The cage was still empty, nevertheless. "Curses be upon these bloody mon'keigh.." She uttered out, just as Exarch Sarya returned to her position, kneeling down at a pack of stones that gave them a good cover. "What did you manage to see, Arly?"
"So far, nothing, Exarch.. Liriel is.. Still in there." She said, and then both of them got startled by a sudden voice from behind, which came from nobody else but Farseer Ulthran himself. "She is under a tremendous amount of stress.. I feel it. I feel her despair even from here, but.. It is not physical." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Both of them looked at each other and then looked up at him. "Great Farseer. What do you mean.. Not physically? The mon'keigh are known to interrogate through that way of means." Arleina told him, to which Ulthran shook his head while staring directly towards that exact tent.
"No.. The mon'keigh are also good at causing mental pain. What I feel is something else.. I do not understand. I cannot grip it. She is not experiencing the type of pain that is directed to strictly hurt someone's soul. Her emotions are being reflected on.. Someone. Who? I cannot determine." The great seer said.
Frankly speaking, Arleina and Sarya looked to be more confused than ever. The Warlock and the Autarch were resting, so it was just 3 of them. Nevertheless, they did not understand what Ulthran meant by that. Farseers were known to speak in great riddles, there and here. "Farseer.. What are you saying? What do you mean, someone? What is the meaning behind this puzzle?" Exarch asked him this time, while Arleina listened but nevertheless kept her gaze on the tent. "Child, I do not know myself.. It is like a barrier in front of me. Liriel is experiencing a feeling that is utterly alien to us, warriors. I do not truly know what is going on, but all I can say is.. Sadness. Sorrow. Pain in the heart. So many emotions are coming out of that cursed tent." Ulthran said, whispering to himself now as he concentrated his gaze on the tent. Exarch ignored him and also looked straight ahead.
Ulthran sat down and was trying to access his runes. After about 10 more minutes, Exarch was gazing at many groups of the mon'keigh, thinking about slicing them to pieces as her bloodlust was pulsating within her, but then, suddenly..
"There she is!"
The voice from Arleina startled both Farseer and Exarch. Ulthran already stood behind the young banshee, and Exarch was crouching next to her. "What, what do you see, Arleina?" The response did not come, not even in ten seconds, as Arleina herself appeared to be confused behind her own helmet. It was night, and she saw the two female bodyguards escorting Liriel back to her cage. She appeared to be unharmed, but.. Her pose.. It was odd, as if she was carrying someone. Someone shorter, but Arleina could not determine who or even what it was.
"Child. Speak." Ulthran demanded, and Arleina got out of her trance. "Forgive me, Exarch, Farseer.. I.. Liriel. She got out unharmed, and I do not see any physical damage. She is in a cage, but.. She did not get out of that tent.. alone."
Even the greatest seer in the galaxy was now completely lost, let alone the Exarch. "She... She carried somebody, Farseer. I do not know who.. It is. It is too dark to determine, even our visors are not accurate enough when we zoom in to such great distances." Farseer nodded. "Understood." Arleina looked at Ulthran and had to ask. "What is she feeling, Farseer?" Ulthran looked at her, then back at the cage where she was sitting, and then answered. "... Calmness. Worries. Nervousness, but for the most part, calmness.. Elidyr, your niece is beyond strange." He said and shook his head. Arleina was relieved by this answer. It was satisfying enough, at least for her.
"We cannot waste any more time. The night has already approached.. We need at least two hours to reach that base safely and save Elidyr's niece. We are moving out. Prepare to depart, all of you." Ulthran said, and both of Ulthwe's daughters, a banshee and her exarch, simultaneously bowed lightly. "Yes, Farseer." Ulthran went out to immediately wake up the Warlock and the Autarch. "Wake up, men." He said, and they all stood up in just 5 seconds. "Eldrad. What's the situation?" Warlock asked. "Any news?" Asked Autarch. He nodded. "Liriel remains unharmed, for now.. She got out in one piece. But there is a strange puzzle. She did not come out of that tent.. Alone." Warlock and Autarch blinked a few times as they almost put their helmets on and simply looked at him as if he was acting strange.
Ulthran sighed. "Look. I do not know what happened there. I can only feel the aura and the signals.. But we cannot lose time with questions and answers. She is in the cage, and whatever malevolence resides in that camp? It will bring her destruction quicker than we can comprehend. Therefore, we need to quickly move out and save her. No questions. We need to move. Now." Eldrad was being quite a reasonable one here. Warlock and Autarch obliged and put their helmets on before the Autarch went straight ahead and decided to lead this small group to rescue Liriel.
"You know the plan, my Ulthwe siblings. May Isha bless us in the shadows, and may Khaine guide our blades to the hearts of our enemies. We move from the forest below.. Cursed be the mon'keigh at how far their base is. Let's go." Autarch literally jumped down, and then Sarya and Arleina followed him before The Warlock took a gaze at Ulthran. "Eldrad, are you coming or-"
"I can float, you dumb fool." Ulthran told his colleague while floating next to him. Warlock shared a little laugh and, without saying a word, made a backflip and went down to the forest below before Ulthran facepalmed himself. "Isha preserve me from the day when I will have to carry this fool on my back..."
Back in the cages...
The howling banshee was shaking. Niko was hurt and aching entirely. The amount of damage he withstood was painful enough. He grunted while Liriel held him in her arms, with his head on her lap and her back facing the curious Inquisitor Oleos, who wanted to take a closer look, but even he knew that at this moment, it was best not to disturb the Howling Banshee, for she was fully concentrated on the young man that she held in her embrace. "Ffffeeckkingg... Heellll.. Hurtss... Everywhere.." He whispered while panting. The stim serum that the tech-priest gave him did have its desired effects at increasing blood clotting to patch his wounds up, but it still left marks on his body, and he felt every inch of pain radiating through his body.
Liriel tried to keep her composure, but under the circumstances that she found herself in, it was relatively difficult and arduous, with her hands shivering and trembling. The rush of emotions that she experienced impacted her more than enough. The stressful situation for both individuals was as obvious as the eye could see, but right now, the banshee had to focus on helping out her human partner. She did not wish to speak at the moment, being too concentrated on taking care of Niko. The torturous procedure that they both went through was exhausting, and she could hear the irritation in Niko's voice as he caught his breath step by step. He was angry. But not because he received harsh treatment from the Lord Inquisitor. Absolutely not. He was angry because he saw Liriel genuinely hurt.
He hated it. It was the last thing he wanted her to see, because even if he did not fully believe it, he knew that even the smallest feelings that he had for her, she felt the same in return. And yet, Liriel thought his irritation was coming from the physical pain he received. Silly Liriel, Niko thought, while opening his eye and reassuring her with that fabulous smile on his face, which was literally a painkiller for the aspect warrior. "I am fine.. Liri.. I am okay.." He said, much to the relief of the howling banshee, who closed her eyes and took a deep sigh. "Great mother, thank you.." She said, while Niko placed his hand on her cheek and rubbed it. She finally allowed her mask of anxiety to slip and be replaced with a warm, welcoming smile in return for Niko. She held his hand and laid her cheek against it, relieved that he was not ill or wounded severely. In truth, Niko was indeed in a lot of pain.. But seeing Liriel's warm smile forced him to forget about all the pain his body was feeling at the moment.
They looked at each other, ensuring that they were fully safe as long as they were together, and then Niko closed his eye and held Liriel's hands to his left cheek, sleeping peacefully on it with her head on his lap. She remained sitting on her knees and mumbled something under her lips. "Khaine.. Fuel my rage against that mon'keigh monstrosity and ensure that my blade will pierce his heart. Khaine, our god of war.. Hear me, heed my call, and aid your warrior.. I had no choice.. He would have killed him.. So many times have we looked into the eyes of death.. When will it end? When will we have a moment of peace? These emotions are overwhelming me. Even though the spirit in his soul told me of the bonding, I never would have realized, that, how.. Strong, and painful, these emotions and feelings could be." Liriel talked with herself, as she really had nothing else to do at the moment.
"My warrior spirit.. I could not handle the power of attraction toward him. It is.. Strange. How the simple thing that one cannot understand can have so much power over something that we understand very well.. I am a warrior. I am a daughter of Ulthwe. Niece of one of the greatest and one of the most powerful powerful seers in the galaxy. So many centuries of training, battles, and endless wars, interrogations.. And here, in this mysterious world, I.. faltered for the first time.. All because of.. Love.." She told herself, while Niko peacefully slept on her hands underneath his head, which was lying on her lap.
She had a lot to think about, just as the Merlorian moon lit up in the sky and shined the surface with dim light. Most of the guardsmen were already in their barracks and sleeping quarters, with sentries, watchtowers, and patrols and the cell guards doing their duty as told. Oleos inspected this fact and came to the realization that they had to plan their escape in a short amount of time. "Bloody hell.." He said, while staring at Liriel, whose back was facing him. He did not understand what she was truly saying in her whispers, since they were way too silent, but even he could feel the depressive aura radiating off of her. This time, he had to intervene.
While slowly standing up to his feet, he walked towards her. He did not see what truly happened to Niko as he was busy sinking in his thoughts, but right now, he wanted to see what Kasim did to him. He slowly frowned as soon as he saw the results of his rival's sadistic games on him and swallowed his saliva. "By the Emperor.." He whispered. The amount of cuts, flogging marks, and healing scars that his body was covered in, slowly healing bit by bit, were visible to his eye. Even Oleos thought that this was truly fucked up. Oleos, as an Inquisitor, had his own limits. Even he knew when he had to stop, but Kasim did not care.
The Inquisitor inspected his body more cautiously with his eyes. Niko remained in simply green camo pants, and his military boots, while his torso, was naked, since Kasim's guards ripped off his tank top. He really questioned himself, as to how in the Emperor's holy name, this young man, was capable of overcoming so many obstacles. Was it the fact that he truly fell in love with a xenos woman, who, as he thought, may have charmed or brainwashed him? Was it something else? Oleos did not know, but he knew, that whatever it was, it forced this young man's mindset to always show resistance, and to spit in the face of death, while hurling insults at its face as well.
It made Oleos admire him, just a tiny bit. After all, he was a young man who, as he thought, may have had a life he never wished to speak about. The way how Liriel treated him made his doubts slowly start to vanish away as he slowly began to realize that an Aeldari warrior from the craftworld of Ulthwe, a howling banshee for Emperor's sakes, was experiencing Love. Something that Oleos knew the Aeldari would never experience. But he realized that it was simply not true. And so, he seriously had to start being reasonable.
"Stop. Staring. Mon'keigh." Liriel's rough voice forced Oleos to get out of his daydreaming trance, shake his head quickly, and rub his neck while looking down at her back, which was facing him. "I only wanted to see what he did to him." He told her before hearing a hint of annoyance from her through her teeth. "Tss.. What does it matter to you if you see him or not? That cursed parasite belongs to your organization, Inquisitor. Therefore, tell me. What would it matter to you when all of you are in the same boat?" She told him, still not turning her head to look at him as she got busy applying her psychic essence to speed up his healing. Oleos slowly frowned in disapproval after hearing her words. "Do not compare me to that monster, Lady Valdan." They exchanged conversation in the Aeldari lexicon and tried their best not to be loud in order not to attract the attention of the cell guard.. Yet.
Oleos began to notice something strange. Whenever she was facing the young Kalevan man, she appeared to be softer and kinder. However, as soon as she had to confront someone else of the same race as Niko? She was serious, more stoic and tougher. "You truly are one of a kind in this galaxy, Lady Valdan.. Of Ulthwe. I do not mean you any harm right now. I do not dare to ask what occurred in that tent.. I shudder to imagine what you felt. I know your people, Lady Valdan.." He said, and sat down near her while facing the sky.
Liriel turned her head slightly in his direction and raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you know of my people, Inquisitor? That we are nightmares that you should fear, and that we deserve extermination?" Kaidan merely laughed in silence after her words, but Liriel was having none of it. She frowned and demanded an answer through her face of pure irritation. "That is what we are all taught.. But I know better. Humanity, ever since the dawn of time, has had to fight side by your people. The events that happen in the galaxy today prove it, especially after the Indomitus Crusade commenced. The son of the Emperor would not have been leading us had it not been for your new faction, Ynnari. I was well-informed.." He saw that Liriel was staring right into his soul, and she was truly lost by what he was trying to say.
"And? So what? My people took what was a very necessary action. The darkness of Chaos loomed over us, and we had to do something reluctant but necessary in order to avoid its jaws biting and ravaging us from in-and-out. Very little knowledge you wield, Inquisitor, but your curiosity will eventually kill you. What am I saying.. Had it not happened already? You were betrayed. Therefore, get to the point." Oleos frowned, sighed and did not want to indulge in the disbelief of having been betrayed by Adrian. He just refused to believe that this was truly the case. Nevertheless, he continued.
"I know that you are to suppress your feelings, your emotions, and, to practically put it? Never experience or show them in order to avoid that disgusting hedonistic chaos god, that makes even the most perverse criminals look like canine puppies.. You are a warrior. Those who follow the path of a warrior should never indulge in the things I mentioned. The warmask is there for a reason.. But you? You contradict this belief. If my eye has caught something, Lady Valdan, it remains inside my head, forever.. Don't you feel it? Can't you feel the pressure inside your chest, that weird, bizarre, ever-so-deep, alien feeling, whenever you are with this trait- young man?" He asked, and she only remained silent before looking down at the ground. Oleos lightly smiled.
"What you are experiencing is love.. Xeno. A feeling so utterly strange to you, especially for a warrior. While I find it truly.. How to put it.. Revolting, I would rather keep my opinion to myself. We humans tend to fall in love since it is not a strange feeling for us. But for you? It is completely, and utterly, alien.. Is it not? I know how your people work with a human ally.." He approached her from behind and whispered. "You wanted to kill him.. Admit it." Liriel's eyes widened before she had a desire to simply elbow his face and knock his teeth out. But she realized that it would only prove his point.
She wanted to detest. "That.. That was before all of-" Oleos interrupted. "Yes. I know. You wanted to kill him and get to your main goal, which I can only guess.. But it seems that he has done one, or many things, to catch your attention. Frankly speaking, I have to say he is a lucky boy. It is truly fascinating how a human, a former guardsman, a warrior of the Imperium, just finds the source of his joy, even possibly the meaning of his life, in something as bizarre as an alien being, in this case you. I just cannot believe it, but I am afraid that I have to.. There is no doubt in what I see." Oleos said and retreated back. Liriel was slightly baffled at how the Inquisitor was chit-chatting with her as if they had known each other for a long time.
She stared at Niko, slowly taking one hand from underneath his head, gently rubbing his hair, and run her thumb across his cheek. He was lying peacefully on his side, his head on Liriel's lap, and continued to rest from the fatigue that overtook him and, possibly, the withdrawal effects of the serums he was injected with. "Had you truly seen what he has witnessed? I doubt you would ever say he is lucky... Mon'keigh." She said, frowning with some sadness. Oleos, however, shook his head. "I know the weight of his past life. I do not know how it was.. But believe me, Lady Valdan. I do grasp what he has suffered through. Let alone, I am grasping the image of what you felt in that interrogator's tent.. But that is not what I meant. What I meant was.. That he is lucky to have you."
The aspect warrior's knife-ears perked up, and Oleos could have sworn that her cheeks were probably brighter than usual at this very moment. "S..Shut it." Kaidan smirked and then silently laughed. "Hah.. My bad. But, seriously. I am no stranger to these things. I am an Inquisitor, who chases knowledge. Without crossing the line, of course.. But I value knowledge and information. That is why I know enough about your people. The reason why I was acting a bit extreme when I met you was solely to appear as an example to my acolyte.. Who, unfortunately, was a double-agent." He scoffed. "I do not like to work with xenos. But betrayals are worse. I simply could not believe the fact that you two were not bothered by being literally a few feet from each other. It.. Was shocking. But now, after my analyzation, I can see a clearer picture. I am genuinely revolted, for this is beyond normal for the Imperium. But right now, I realize that it does not even matter." Oleos talked, and talked, and freaking talked..
"Shut. Your. Mouth. Inquisitor." She said, each word was rougher than the previous. He shut up in an instant, and she turned her head completely towards him. "What do you truly want? And what do you really want to say? Say it straight ahead. Your constant mumbling irritates my ears." She said. Oleos, a good Inquisitor as he was, got quickly surprised by the kind of effect she had on him. He sighed out deeply, closed his eyes, and opened them to stare into her fiery, amber orbs. "I see you are well-prepared to face the fate, or follow your destiny. Your people, just like mine, will not accept this.. At least at ease. But? I am always hopeful. You are truly a very special Aeldari, let me tell you. How you overcame this burden, this blockade that is a curse to your race, it is.. An achievement. And it can truly make things develop to such an extent, that I cannot even fathom thinking about the open possibilities between our races. Ahh.. The power of love. It can truly bloom."
Oleos simply chuckled at the unimaginable words he was saying. It truly felt like he was just being an ordinary man from his homeworld. But it was him being very serious about what he meant. Liriel, on the other hand, was quite honestly impressed. "He is not as foolish as I thought he was.. Smart mon'keigh. His words, however.. Leave much to be desired. Although he is not wrong.. He is as naive as any mon'keigh can be." She thought while shaking her head and staring back at her partner. "Oh this feels like a wild dream that I never thought I would witness or see.. But it is the reality. An Aeldari, found her mate. Except that mate is a human. A young one.. To be precise. I know how long you knife-eared sods live. Let me guess.. Young ones are your type, huh?" Oleos smirked.
Liriel, at lightning speed, turned her head slightly, and Oleos almost got jumpscared to death after seeing her predatory eye staring directly into his soul with a death stare, as if warning him not to cross the line or she'd rip his tongue off. "... Uh... I did not say anything, okay?" He said with his hands lifted near his shoulders before Liriel frowned at him and turned her head back to Niko. "Emperor almighty.. Guardsman Niko, you lucky fraggin traitorous bastard. I'd execute you on the spot if I learned that you possibly shagg..ed... Nope, never mind, I ain't going to say things that are way beyond my acceptance. Man.. General Urslov was truly a good companion.. I must make his death not be in vain. Kasim, will pay for his crime.. Emperor protect me from misfortune. " Oleos shook his head while holding his cheeks and tried not to think of anything.
"You are not as foolish as I thought you were, mon'keigh Inquisitor.. Just stupid." Liriel said softly, after a minute of silence. "You are still my enemy. And I am your enemy. But at the end of the day.. We are in the same boat. Yes. I fell in love with a human. Yes, I love him. Who are you to judge me? This is my matter. Not yours." Liriel finally had enough and just said it straight in his face with a deep, frustrated frown. Oleos blinked a few times, as if in pure disbelief that she did not try to resist that urge further than he expected.
"Did you just.. Admit-" She threw a piece of dirt from the cage's ground straight at him, in frustration, as he blocked it. "Not only stupid, but a deaf mon'keigh too, it seems.." Oleos was quite honestly amused by this spectacle. He shook his head with a smile and calmly stared at her. "Emperor preserve my mind.. I guess no matter what I say, nothing would change your mind?" He asked her before she shook her head, firmly stating her answer for him. "Then I have no reason to judge you. You choose, and follow your destiny. I cannot intervene.. For you have avoided fate many times, as I believe it, before you began to develop feelings for him." He said, just as she let out a deep sigh.
"Do me a little favor, Inquisitor.. Tell your lapdog to stop staring with pure resentment. He and his men threatened us. I did what I had to do." She told him before Oleos got confused and then looked to his right. He saw Sergeant Tarn, deeply frowning, holding the cell bars tightly with his augmetic arms, and just as always, his face was full of resentment. "Uughh.. God-Emperor, what did I do to get into this mess?" He approached the side of the cell and frowned at his veteran Sergeant. "Daniel. Stand down. You're not making things any easier." He told him.
"That.. Bitch, killed my men. It is not something you can forget or forgive." Oleos was feeling irritation gripping him by the throat. Literally. "Daniel. For heaven's sake.. We are constantly at war. You and I have already lost enough. Right now, I need you to concentrate. Remember our plan.. We cannot escape if we do not work together." Tarn seriously gritted his teeth, closed his eye, and unleashed a deep, irritated sigh. "Fragging- Fine.. Once we are in the safe distance, I am hoping for another duel. The Aeldari are too arrogant to deny such a challenge anyway.. But I know the plan." He said, while rubbing his chin strap beard and leaning back slightly. "We do have an issue.. The traitor. What do we do with him? He is a liability. All of my men are alive.. And Cassius has not returned. Emperor rest his soul.. I can already guess what happened to him." He said, with a slight amount of sadness. He was, after all, a human at the end of the day, despite his tough training, both physical and mental.
Oleos shook his head and looked at him. "He will not be an issue. But listen to me, Daniel. Your sacrifices will not be in vain when Julius gets what he deserves. From us or from somebody else. Even if the xenos had not killed your men, Kasim, would get rid of your brethren one by one, like he did with Cassius at the moment. You know better than I do how his patience can be extremely deep in one go and extremely lacking in the other. Therefore, blame him for the most part.. I am not saying you should not blame the xenos, but had we left her alone, she would've not killed them. At the end of the day, Kasim is our main problem. He is our true enemy, and we should resist him.. Please, Daniel. Heed. My. Call, for help." Oleos told him, more personally, like a friend, to a friend.
Daniel frowned at him, but deep down, even he knew that it was his fault not to retreat and try to rely on his skills and the skills of his brethren. At the end, it backfired, even though he was close to victory by killing Liriel. But now, Kasim was the one who was planning to get rid of them all. He already proved it, and Tarn, realizing that there was simply no point in being resentful towards the xenos in this dire situation, pushed his avenging thoughts aside and decided to listen to his Inquisitor. "As.. You say, my Lord. Following your word is my duty.. I will still not trust her. Order me, and I will obey anything. But as I said again, trust her, I will not." Oleos sighed in relief and looked at him. "And as I have said, I do not expect you to.. I expect you to follow me if we are to get out of here. We will talk about Adrian later, as I know how much he is burdening your mind, just like mine.. But now, we need to get out of here."
"How in the bloody hell do we do that when the guard is constantly keeping his distance and you might startle the rest of these bastards if you decide to be too loud? They will come to see the commotion and see an unconscious soldier with a blood-covered rock near him. That will earn us a very bad fortune.. What do we do?" Oleos thought about Tarn's observations and then deeply frowned. He did not think about this, as he thought that the guard would be closer and not get too far away from them in order to attract him.
"I will be honest. I did not.. Think about it." Tarn froze, blinking a few times, then facepalmed pretty hard. "Uuuuggghh.. Feck-sakes.. We need to hurry up. The night will not last forever, my Lord. Think.." And so, Oleos nodded, and they both began to think while they held the cell bars, and they were directly staring at each other from their own sides.
In the meanwhile, as Liriel kept her guard and composure on Niko, the Kalevan young man grunted once again as he got out of his slumber. "Isha preserve him, protect him, and.. Huh?" She heard his grunts and opened her eyes, her prayers having a little break. She held him firmly on her lap while his eye opened up, returning to its green, emerald-like color. But it was weakened, and she knew it. "Ni..Ko? Is he okay..?" She thought while staring at him with slight distress. He looked back at her, and after 5 seconds of staring into each other's eyes, he held his mouth and vomited to the corner of the cage, with Liriel increasingly worried. "Niko!" She clapped his back as he unleashed the contents of his stomach straight at the floor, before he grunted once again and placed his hands on the ground.
"His body is experiencing the withdrawal of whatever they injected him with.. I can clearly see the needle marks on his neck." Oleos told her, in Aeldari lexicon. She turned her head, and spoke with an annoyed frown. "Mind your own business, mon'keigh.." She said, with bitterness in her voice, and then, continued to give aid to Niko, who came back from his fatigue. Oleos sighed and left her be for now. Niko wiped his mouth as he faced the ground while sitting on his knees. He blinked a few times and turned around to face his worried xeno partner, who had a face of concern clearly written. "Liriel.." He softly said, lighting up with his smile once again, while they both sat on their knees.
Liriel looked into his eye, and her concern disappeared just as he lifted her hand to his chest, and held it against it. She smiled through the struggle of keeping her tears in her eyes from this overwhelming moment, and then, while towering over him, gave him a very tight hug, which he, as surprised as he was, with how tight her hug came to be, returned the embrace, and hugged her back. "I thought, I.. Would lose you, in that tent.." She said in a whisper before he reassured her. "Shhhh..Sh-shh.. Calm.. Calm, down.. I am still breathing, am I not? Calm down, lassie.. Calm, down. Emperor almighty, don't suffocate me between your bosoms now, even though they're quite big.." She tightened the hug, almost suffocating him, as he silently giggled.
"He is telling you to calm down, that he still breathes.. And.. That.." Oleos finished the full translation as he intervened and attracted her attention with lightning speed, while Niko raised his eyebrow. "What the feck did you just mumble, Inquisitor.." Oleos looked at him. "I know her language, you moron.. Remember the cave? I just told her what you said. Including your last words."
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
Niko saw that freaking grin on Oleos's face before he swallowed his saliva loudly and then turned his nervous, sweating face in the direction of Liriel, who had her arms wrapped around him. He felt that her arms were becoming tighter around him, and.. He really wanted to strangle the Inquisitor after seeing Liriel's flustered face. She was literally pouting, her cheeks bright like cherries, and she had the eyes of a lioness who had caught her prey in her grasp. "Niko." She uttered his name, and he, gulping once again, nodded.
Then she gripped her loincloth, twisted it around, and literally smacked him across the face with it, as if bitch-slapping him until his head turned from the strike. "Perverted mon'keigh!" And after that, Oleos, who shut his mouth with his hand, literally laughed in a deep, muffled tone, enjoying this spectacle. "I.. I did deserve that one, not gonna lie.. I'm so- What the feck are you laughing at?!" Niko pouted at the Inquisitor, who just could not believe what he had just experienced.
"You- You two are definitely like a married couple, oh God-Emperor, Thahahah!" Liriel crossed her arms, raised her eyebrow, and looked at Niko next, who had a mark of her loincloth slapping against his cheek, but on his other cheek, he was blushing and growing furious as he clenched his teeth. "What did you say, mon'keigh?" She demanded an answer from Oleos. "Oh- Nothing important. Just complimenting you two, hah. Seriously, it is amazing how quickly you, Aeldari, can change your moods when you have free will.. In a moment, you are feeling hurt, depressed or sad, but after just one wrong word? You forget about all of it and get all serious, tough, heated.. It is beyond fascinating, but hilarious." Liriel rolled her eyes, growing irritated with him.
"Speak low gothic, so I can understand whatever you're saying to her, dumbass." Niko demanded while crossing his own arms. They impatiently waited 30 more seconds for Oleos to calm down, while Tarn remained with a facepalm, knowing how jestful and joking Oleos can be in his personal moments. But this was quite embarrassing for him to even endure. Oleos finally stopped and resumed his serious expression. "First of all, we have a problem." He had to now speak both low gothic and Aeldari lexicon so they could both understand him.
"The guard is not getting any closer to us as he keeps going around with that fragging notebook.. We need him to come closer so that my subordinate can knock him out with a rock. Then, we get his keys and get out of here unnoticed.. But he is not budging." He frowned and sighed. Liriel and Niko exchanged the looks, and it was then that Niko had an idea. "Inquisitor. Frankly speaking, I hate you and all of your subordinates. You caused us enough harm as it is.. And you got your arse betrayed. Do you feel that pain that I felt in my past?" He asked him before sitting next to him. Oleos looked at him but did not dare to answer that. He looked at the ground, frowned and closed his eyes. "That's what it is like. That is what those bastards did to me.. And I found my way out, one way or another. You can do it too, but you have a bigger problem in front of you. That freak of a Lord Inquisitor must die. You must leave us alone and concentrate on him." He told him.
"I know that without you mentioning it, former guardsman.." He said, with sadness. "I already lost a loyal comrade with his hand.. And a young man, whom I thought was like a son to me, appeared to be a double agent, and a pawn of Kasim. Look, I already understood what has happened.. But while you were gone, me and.. Your xeno partner made a little proposal. A temporary alliance. We need to work together to get out of here. Do not worry about my Sergeant. He has calmed his cool.. For now." Niko was surprised at hearing this news. "What.. When did you two manage?" Oleos, looked to his left, then to his right, and leaned forward. "When a xenos like her punches you, you'll either accept it or get knocked out.. I did not get the latter." Oleos told him, and Niko grinned.
"That's my Liriel.." He thought before leaning back. "So be it. Very well then. I have an idea... Someone will not like it, however, but I am freaking tired of running. It is time to strike back. Tell Liriel.. To stand.. With her rear against the cell door. And push her back against it." Oleos wanted to say something as he got increasingly concerned, but Niko shut him up with his hand shoved forward. "Inquisitor. You won't say fecking nothing. Just do as I said. Tell her to do it.. And prepare your lapdog for his task." Oleos was now in a very difficult situation. He had realized what Niko was trying to do in order to get the guard closer, but he knew that only he could convince Liriel, to listen to him.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and awaited the translation. He sighed deeply. "Emperor, kill me.." And then, looked at her, gulping. "You won't like this, lady Valdan, but.. Niko asked me to tell you the next words.."
Some time later...
"Fecking perfect. From cooking in the mess hall to fraggin guarding the cells of heretics and xenos, let alone doing a check-up. My stress definitely knows no limits.." The guard said as he was busy walking with a flashlight in his hand and holding the strap of his lasgun in the other, armed with 2 cell mags, and just dissatisfied at his unfortunate position. After that, he attached the flashlight to the side of his helmet and took out his notebook and a pen from his waist belt. He checked the fuel storage where the fuel barrels were located and tapped his notebook with a pen. "Check." Then he went to the vehicles, counted them, and tapped his notebook again. "Check."
Next, he zoomed in to the watchtowers, where the spotlights were slowly observing the areas outside the base with steel fences, and some of them were observing the internal structure of the base. In total, there were 4. "Check.." Then he walked over the barracks that were set up, and seeing that they each had a guard on the post guarding the barracks, he tapped his notebook again. "Check.. I fecking hate this."
And then, it was the time to check on the cells. He had to do this once every 30 minutes and found it to be very irritating. He was approaching the cells, keeping a fair distance from them all, and checking the cage with Tarn and his men. They were all sleeping. "Check.. Bloody bastards." Then he took a gaze at the cage of Akila. He was breathing, but apparently sleeping. "Check. How they got a famed Merlorian wolf to follow them remains a mystery.. Oh well."
He only had one cell remaining, and so he prepared his ration pack as he sat on a boulder not so far away from them. "Let's take a look at the last one, then, I can feast and hope to be relieved of this hell and go back to Xaroi. Brothels will be packed.. Once we are back." He whispered to himself and fixed the luminosity on his flashlight, making it tinier, in order for it to reach farther distances. "Let's see, the bastard of an Inquisitor.. Sleeping. The traitorous scum, sleeping.. The xenos-" As soon as he diverted his gaze towards the Aeldari woman, he dropped his ration pack on the floor and widened his lustful eyes.
The perfect, succulent, juicy and athletic rear of Liriel fell upon his eyesight as he oriented his flashlight towards her. He was frozen, on the spot, and just stared without blinking. He could not believe what he was seeing. The sight was perfect, way more perfect than any woman of Xaroi that the guard had ever witnessed. But despite realizing and knowing how much heresy he was committing, his body and his brain just could not deny it.. But he felt the blood rushing to his nether regions, giving him quite a "hard" time to comprehend his situation.
"W..Woah.. This is the xenos, who has this kind of perfection..?" He got out of his frozen trance and swallowed his saliva before realizing that the xenos was also in a sleeping mode. He felt the sudden urge and the temptation rising, and he was not willing to resist it after how much stress his body experienced in just a single day. He was literally hypnotized by this sight, looking hungrily at her exquisite thighs and that heart-shaped xenos rear, and, knowing that he had the power of his position over the prisoners, decided to think of something very heretical. Very, very heretical indeed.
Looking around to himself and noticing that nobody saw him, he stood up and silently approached the cell, while already unzipping.. His khakis.. So to speak. Liriel held herself against the cells, and the guard just thought this was how the xenos slept, but his temptation only thought about getting to that perfect rear. He moved his hands forward, already drooling at the sight due to how pent-up he was, and his hands were within reach of doing very naughty things to the howling banshee.. But then, all hell went loose for him.
Something very hard struck him straight in the head, and he forgot about the heresy he was about to commit. He stumbled forward from the strike after the rock struck him on the side of his head, and Liriel, turned around at lightning speed and quickly grabbed him by the shirt to pull him towards herself before shutting his mouth as he began to struggle and claw at her armored hands, while her face radiated a very, very angry and furious face, filled with wrath. She used her other arm to choke him while keeping his mouth shut, while Tarn was telling the rest of his men to wake up and be prepared for anything.
Oleos and Niko already had their eyes open after they faked their sleep, like Tarn and his men. The guard was bleeding from his head and was in a total state of fear and panic, but it all got silenced as soon as Niko and Oleos, heard a crack, and the guard's struggles stopped in an instant. He got dropped to the floor after Liriel released him, and they both just realized that she broke his neck like a piece of paper. "Good job, Liriel.. Very good jo-" Niko, unfortunately, received a slap across his face, and he saw a pouting and frowning Liriel pointing at him. "Niko. Bad.. Not do, again, ever." She spoke whatever low gothic she could muster, while Oleos was busy searching for the keys. "Uhh.. Sorry but, we had no other way." He said, as he rubbed his cheek and got near Oleos, before he pulled out an entire chain of keys. "Heureka.. We got them." He said, silently trying to open the door. After about 3 attempts, the door budged and opened up.
"Bingo, finally.." Niko whispered, as they all had to be silent, and despite the injuries and aching he was still experiencing, he decided that it would be better to feel uncomfortable than to feel dead. And so she quickly went to free Akila, while Liriel dragged the perverted idiot into the cage. "Aki.. Aki, waky waky my good boy.." He said and untied the ropes and chains with locks from him. He began to slowly wake up, feeling his maw and limbs free, and saw his smiling owner holding his maw. "Heh, greetings, my boy.. Missed me?"
Akila reacted in an instant. He widened his eyes with excitement and instantly began to lick his face, while Niko held the urge to laugh. "Oohoh hey, easy, easy there my boy, easy.. I missed you too. Listen to me." He placed his paws on Niko's hands as he pushed them forward. "We will attempt an escape. A silent one.. And you? You follow me and stay silent, only doing what is necessary when we have no other way.. Got it?" Luckily for Niko, he knew how to talk to his furred companion. Akila stuck his tongue out, tilted his head, and licked him again before he silently giggled. "I take that as a yes, come, come now.. We stay together."
Niko stood up, but Akila froze on the spot as he saw Oleos, let alone Tarn being liberated. He frowned and silently began to growl before Niko shut his maw in an instant. "No..! Aki, they are our friends, for now.. Don't. They are on our side, you listening?" He asked before Akila's eyes went down, as if apologizing. Niko sighed but smiled nevertheless. "Listen, it is nothing to be concerned about. They are in the same trouble as us. Do not trust them, but do not hurt them.. Just follow me, got it?" Aki's eyes perked up after Niko reassured him, and he, thinking that he finally got him to act properly, smiled wider, but then pouted afterward, because Akila, instantly ran towards Liriel and began to rub his back against her legs.
"Our white-furred companion. How fortunate I am to witness you walking free among us, with Isha's blessings.." She kneeled down to pet him as he gave her a few licks, which she did not resist. This was a cute moment, even for the annoyed Niko, who began to smile once again. "Unimaginable painting.. But there is no time for affection. We need to get out." He thought and approached Oleos while taking the lasgun and the two mags with a strap and mag pouches from the dead guard, turning off his flashlight in order to not attract unneeded attention.
"Inquisitor. You all would require a weapon.." Oleos looked at him and was baffled. Not because of his words, but because he noticed, that.. His body had no more wounds or scars from the torture. "Young man.. Look at yourself." He said, and Niko looked at his body. "Wha... Huh, where are my.. Wounds?" He asked, while Oleos looked at him with a smile. "It seems your xenos partner used her psychic abilities to heal you up while you were sleeping.. Explains why she did not want to be bothered." Niko was honestly flattered by this as he turned his head to gaze at Liriel, who was petting Akila while they were far away from being caught in this pitch-black darkness.
"How did she even.. I only have my old scars but, wow.." Niko appeared to be lost, but then thought of something. "Whatever she did, it healed me up just as much in that cave and now, even here.. Their abilities are formidable." He thought before turning around and having the deadly gaze of Sergeant Tarn staring at him like a wild animal angrily looking at its prey. Niko felt intimidated by Tarn's serious gaze. His bionic eye was visible through and through in the darkness, but so was his single remaining eye, which stared at him like it was something personal. "You think I forgot, traitor? You think I forgot how you pummeled me on the ground?" He said, just as Oleos looked at him. "Tarn. Stand down, moron.. We have to get out of here. No time for your own beef with the trai- Young man." He said, but Tarn only frowned while frozen on the spot. He nevertheless spat on the ground while his men became curious about the intentions of their Sergeant, but did not dare to intervene.
"Seriously, Inquisitor. Kasim may be responsible for the majority of the problems we suffer from.. But you cannot possibly tell me that they are seriously free to go. I only want to warn that young man. Please, allow me.. My Lord." He looked at him with a frown, but from his facial expression, he was pleading to his Inquisitor, while the men crouched and looked around the perimeter, keeping their eyes on any watch towers they could see and on any spare Merlorian soldiers going by. "What seems to be the problem here?" Niko asked before Tarn clenched his teeth and looked at him. Tarn was a big man. He was a muscular, 6'8 feet tall, dark-skinned Veteran, who wished to obey his Inquisitor loyally but was not willing to take shit from anyone. Niko was still confused. He knew very well how he smashed the living shit out of this big Sergeant under rage and adrenaline, but at the moment, he wanted to intimidate Niko.
Just as he was making his approach.. Liriel appeared right between him and Niko. "What the-" Tarn and even Niko got startled. From just one simultaneous blinking of their eyes, Liriel literally came at a lightning speed in between them, and she had her hands clenched into fists, and she stood in front of Niko, as if warning the tall, bulky Sergeant that if he dares to approach him closer than he may think, he will have a very, very bad problem. "Back. Off. From him. Mon'keigh." She said, coldly, in her own language, before Tarn felt irritated and quite pissed off. Niko, in the meanwhile, was blinking a few times, not sure how to react to what was happening. "She is telling you to back off from him, Daniel.. If I was you, I would not dare to piss her off. Even though she has killed your men in self-defense." Oleos said. Daniel denied the moment to resume and fix his pride, angrily scoffed, and backed down in an instant after swallowing his pride.
"Excuse my Sergeant. He is not happy that he suffered an embarrassing beating from this young man.." He told Liriel, who was not impressed. "Mon'keigh. All talk, no action.." Niko looked at them all, confused as to what the hell they were blabbering, but nevertheless, he was thankful to Liriel, although he was very surprised at how protective she had gotten towards him. Liriel stood beside Niko, and he looked at her, very, very surprised. "Liriel, you.. Stood up, for me?" He asked, and Liriel merely returned a smirky smile. "Nobody will touch you as long as I breathe, Niko Armanen.. From Kaleva." He told him before Niko, not understanding what she said, gave her a smile back. "I assume that is a yes, heh.."
Oleos looked at both parties. He looked at Liriel and Niko, who were sharing a moment that only couples could, and from the other side, he saw a party of battle-hardened warriors, their Sergeant still trying to resume his pride while explaining a few things to his men, who were quite concerned for him. "God-Emperor almighty. What kind of group am I supposed to unite to get out of this hellhole before they end up finding us out here.. Fraggin hell." He facepalmed himself while the nighttime remained, and it had only been 5 minutes. He could not waste any more time. "Enough, all of you..!" He ordered, and all of their gazes stared at him. "Listen up, all of you.. Here is the plan." He said, making sure first that they were concentrated on him. After confirming that they were, he gestured them to crouch, which they did.
"Tarn. I understand what you are feeling.. But to make you forget about all of this crap? I will give you a mission. Go fetch your stuff by sneaking, and set charges on the weak points of this base. Kasim might be busy or snoring, and he does not believe that we are so bold as to try and escape. I know his arrogance when I smell it.. Order your men to do the same. Detonate on my order. We will not have any comm devices, as we are deprived of them, but our weapons and blades? They should be in their storage tents. Find it, arm yourselves, and set the charges. Bring me my handgun and my sword, if you find some.. Got it?" He told Tarn, who instantly brightened up at the idea of blowing some shit up, and for a swift moment, he forgot about any resentment towards the two individuals. Oleos, knew exactly how to handle Tarn's "gears" and how to turn them smoothly.
The Sergeant grinned at this idea and nodded with a smirk, as if his resentment never even existed in the first place. "My favorite hobby - Demolition.. I will gladly do as you say, my Lord." Oleos smirked and gave him a thumbs up. "Excellent. Now.." He looked at Niko, Akila and Liriel. "Niko. You, Lady Valdan, and your beast, stick together, and try to find the main gates out of here. This steel fence, without explosives, is impenetrable. So, the main gates are our only option. Find it, and try to open it." He said, while Niko nodded. "Never would I believe that I'd work side by side with an Inquisitor, especially after how much headbutting we suffered from.." He said, while Oleos laughed silently.
"Don't mention it. We must know when to keep our petty squabbles aside when the moment is so dire and desperate. We already have one common enemy that we must escape from, and luckily, we can take care of this problem in general. Therefore, only think about getting the hell out of here.. I do admit it. I hate your guts. You are a traitor. I would never forgive you, and I would recommend you to pray that once we are out, you don't remain in my eyesight.. But right now, you are in the same boat." Niko rolled his eye and pouted. "Seriously, feck off, Inquisitor.." Oleos shrugged with a smile before becoming serious as he addressed the Howling banshee.
"Lady Valdan. You and Niko, alongside your beast?" He addressed her in her own language, as she simply stared at him without even a single blink. "You will stick together and find the main gates, as I explained to Niko. It is our only way out of here.. Try to find some blades or a weapon for yourself. Because if all hell breaks loose, we will have to go down with resistance. Not on our knees." Liriel nodded. "The gates. Got it. Just so you know.. Once the gates are open, you are all on your own. Our alliance ends as soon as those gates are broken. After that, you are an enemy in my sights if you dare to stand in our path." She warned him, something that he took with a grain of salt.
"I understand. Just know that the same is said for you two.. Now." He addressed the rest in low gothic. "Remember, men.. If all hell breaks loose? Fight until we take our last breath. This is our only attempt, I assure you. If we succeed.. Kasim's arrogance will backfire and bite his ass harder than a leopard on a wild chase. Now, do what you are told. The gates can only be opened if you destroy the generator supplying it with power. It will create a huge explosion and blast the gates to kingdom cum. When I hear that loud boom, our path to freedom will be open. We will distract them first and disorient them when I give an order for Tarn to detonate the charges. Be swift to do your task when we blow a chunk of this base to smithereens. As for me, I will stick together with Tarn and his men. I must be the solution maker to a problem we may face, therefore, we are two groups with one task for each. Let's do this, shall we?" He said this and also translated it into the Aeldari lexicon.
Everybody understood their tasks and what they had to do. There were no questions, of course, but there was one thing that Niko wanted to tell him. "Inquisitor?" Oleos turned his head. "What is it?"
"Sorry to slightly crack your plan.. But we aren't leaving without our belongings. Take it as a little compromise that we are doing." Niko grinned at him, winking with his one eye, before Oleos widened his eyes. "Wait- You are not seriously-" But to no avail. He was already running off with the banshee and the white-furred wolf.
"No time. See ya, Inquisitorial knobhead!" Oleos literally facepalmed beyond belief, and for a slight moment, he saw Tarn literally being amazed by how straightforward this young man was, especially how he spat at any risks that would endanger him and his little group. "I swore to kill them when I awoke in the medicae halls.. I'd crush his skull in a split second if we were in a different situation, but you have to admit, my Lord.. The kid has balls. Even though I hate him and that fragging whore with their beast, a respectable enemy is hard to find these days. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Tarn.. For Emperor's sakes, shut the feck up and MOVE your arse!"
Southern side of the Merlorian Military base..
"Two watch towers blocking our path, in total 4. Two are ahead of us, and the other two are far away in the north. There are guards outside the perimeter." Autarch Nuvian reported through the comms. "Got it, Nuvian. Exarch, Banshee, prepare for my signal to move in. Autarch, make sure to remove the sentries on the two watch towers as soon as I pull the guards to myself. Make sure that the spotlights continue to circle, lest we cause them suspicion." Farseer Ulthran said while keeping his eye on the guards, about 5 of them patrolling the outside perimeter of the base on the southern side. Ulthran patted his colleague on the shoulder and nodded. "Your move, Belanor. The Warlock gave him an Aeldari hand gesture that indicated appreciation, and he slowly moved out of the bushes, pushing his hand forward while holding the hilt of his sword with the other hand, just in case of emergency.
The Warlock, being so skilled in the arts of mind-control, forced those 5 guards to stand still, which they did. Next, he used his psychic powers to force them all under his will, sort of hypnotization, and then, pull them towards himself. They all obeyed. "Primitives mammals.." Warlock whispered. He was doing this only when the spotlights were not circling around the perimeter, and he succeeded perfectly at this. Warlock retreated, slowly and slowly, before the 5 guards all got deeper into the woods. Belanor, in all his fashion, clenched his hand into a fist, and the 5 mon'keighs dropped to the ground in a hibernating state.
"Good work, Belanor." The Warlock nodded after Ulthran gave his compliments. Right now, however, it was time to act. "Autarch. Your move." Nuvian stood at the far left side of Ulthran, and swung his wings highly before lifting himself off the ground, completely sealing himself in his black armor, and appearing like an invisible ghost in the sky. Next, he flew directly to the first watchtower at high speed, and silently sliced the sentry through the backside of his head before he completely dropped. "First one down." He reported before adjusting the spotlight to a slow but steady circling motion. Next, he flew to the second watch tower and did the same as the first one. "Second one down.. Move in. I will observe from here. The cages are behind those two large tents, as far as I can tell, 200 meters." Autarch said, reporting his success.
"Perfect. Arleina, Sarya, your turn.. Head for the cages. Get Liriel out of there, but kill the rest. We do not need to be exposed to their sudden screeching. You know what to do." Eldrad informed the Exarch and her Banshee. They stood on the far right side and waited for the word from Ulthran to move in, and now they had received it. "Roger, Farseer." Sarya said, and then looked at Arleina. "Are you ready for this?" Arleina was already staring back at her, anxiously waiting and in the state of just spearheading the base like lightning. "More than ever, Exarch." Sarya nodded, confident in Arleina's abilities. After that, she and Arleina sprinted directly to the fences that were completely unguarded. Now it was their time to act, and act they would.
With a sudden haste, Arleina and Sarya, executed their plans immediately. They leaped over the steel fence and hid in the shadows of objects and trees alike, moving, jumping and swiftly sliding into cover to avoid the gazes of the guards that stood at the entrance of the barracks, patrolling the internal structure of the base, and avoiding the spotlights as well. "Exarch. Two mon'keigh coming your way." She said through her comms. "Got it." Sarya replied. She was hiding behind a truck when she heard footsteps approaching her position from the right side.
By quickly sliding under the truck, she waited until the guards passed by. "Remember that lass from the bar? Those were a nice pack o' knockers!" The guard laughed before the second one shook his head. "You literally got yourself knocked the feck out by her. Should have not gone for them, but what can I honestly say? Give you an extra drink, and you go fragging insane, ye cunt!" The first guard pouted. "Come on now, Rob! It was nothing personal.. I was just-" The guard's vision instantly went blurry before he fell to the ground. "WHA-" And the second one went down as well. Sarya literally knocked them both out in an instant and then slid them under the truck while they were still unconscious, with their weapons included. "Moving out, Arly." She reported. "Affirmative, Exarch. Few more blocks.."
They both got together and used the darkness to their advantage. Most of these guards were clumsy and exhausted. The fatigue forced their eyes to blink a lot in order to not fall asleep while on guard duty. One particular guard, who stood at the entrance of one of the barracks, quickly jumped up from his sleep, widening his eyes and rubbing them rapidly. "H-Huh?! I could have sworn that I saw a shadow.. Oh well, I must be seeing things.." He said disappointingly, rubbing his eyes and trying to keep himself awake. "That was a close one, Exarch." Arleina said, sheathing her throwing knife that she was ready to use against the guard if he had noticed Sarya passing by. "Clumsy and stupid mon'keigh. Nothing surprising.. Come on, we are close." Arleina nodded, and they both immediately continued their mission. They passed two more barracks and were very close to the cages, which were behind two huge tents in their vicinity.
"Halt.." They both heard it and immediately hid behind a pile of boxes. Their Autarch made sure to warn them of any dangers, and this was no exception. After about 10 seconds, they heard the sound of an engine approaching them and some bright headlights. Exarch and Banshee remained frozen behind the pile of boxes, just as a truck passed by them, and they were free to proceed further. "Primitive mon'keigh vehicles.. You are free to proceed." Nuvian told them. "Much appreciated, Autarch. Come on, Arleina.." The banshee nodded towards her Exarch, and then they both started to sneak behind the huge tents, where the cells were supposed to be. "Almost.. We are almost here, Liri.." Arleina whispered to herself while feeling excited about finally meeting her aspect sister once more. Exarch remained stoic, but even she was looking forward to meeting one of her fighters and saving her. This, as they thought, was the moment of reunion.
Except, it was not.
"Arleina, Sarya, come in. Why have you stopped?" Nuvian demanded answers. He saw no reports coming from them for over a minute, and this really, worried him. "Exarch.. Report. Do you hear me-" Unfortunately, Exarch interrupted Nuvian rather swiftly. "She.. Is not here." Autarch became slightly nervous after hearing these words. "What do you mean she is not there? Report..!" He commanded once more.
The hopes of Arleina and Sarya were instantly lost at the sight that was bestowed upon them. The cages.. Were empty. And this was rather dire. "They are empty. We found one of the local soldiers with his neck broken. Autarch.. She has escaped. She might be in this base, somewhere.. We must instantly proceed to find her before the guards sound the alarm after noticing that a few of them are already missing." Arleina said, kneeling in front of the soldier, whose neck was broken completely. Arleina was anxious and was constantly looking around. "By Isha.. Liri, where did you go- Where.. Where are you..!?" Arleina said to herself. Her mind was in a state of pure despair. Here they were, trying to rescue their aspect sister, and just as they thought that their efforts were not in vain, it all got lost in a split second at this grim discovery, which they did not expect. "Autarch. Your orders?"
"Hold on.." Nuvian replied. He really had to report this to the two seers. Tapping the comms on his helmet, he contacted the Farseer, and told him of their discovery. "Farseer Ulthran, Warlock Belanor.. We have a problem. The cages are empty. One dead mon'keigh guard. Presumably, she may have escaped, alongside with those who were in the bigger cell. I quickly need your word, Farseer Ulthran. Where is she? Do you feel her presence?" Ulthran listened closely, and behind his helmet, he was frowning and looking rather grim.
"Curses.." Ulthran uttered out between his teeth, due to how their plans had a sudden halt, and they were forced into a severe stop. "She is not emitting any strong emotions. The psyche is too weak for me to determine her whereabouts. Quickly order the Exarch and the Banshee to return. We cannot overwhelm ourselves with greater risks.." He said, but Belanor had to intervene. "Eldrad.. Are you sure about this? If we pull out now and Liriel fails with her escape, everything will already be lost. There will be no element of surprise, nor a second planning, once the mon'keigh are on high alert. Are you sure about this?" Belanor explained, but Ulthran shook his head immediately.
"I am not taking any chances, Belanor." Ulthran refused to do it. They already breached the base, knocked out the guards, and killed a few on the watch towers. It was already too late to push forward without Ulthran himself razing the entire base to the ground. But knowing that Liriel was in a state of escaping this enormous base, it would be something that Eldrad totally refused to do. Belanor nodded once, not detesting the decision of Ulthran, and trusting his judgement. "Autarch. Order them to return." He simply stated, once again. ".. Understood." Nuvian replied with a slight hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Exarch. Return. Ulthran's orders.. Do not stay in the haven of the enemy. Get out of there.." He ordered, but Exarch and even Arleina were not appreciative of this. "What- What do you mean, return..?!" Exarch said, and Arleina quickly diverted her gaze towards her Exarch, with an expression behind her helmet indicating pure disbelief. "We came this far, just to retreat without our aspect sister? Autarch, we can find her..!" Arleina said. Nuvian did not like this either. He himself wanted to push forward, but he had to trust Eldrad's judgement. "Warriors. Listen. I do not like this either.. But we must heed the Farseer's judgement." Autarch said, looking around from the watch tower for a sign of any mon'keigh coming their way.
Truth be told? Liriel, and Arleina were outraged. They were literally forced to abandon Liriel for the second time, and Sarya, was definitely clenching her teeth at the moment behind her helmet. As for Arleina? She was feeling frustrated and her blood was boiling. "To abandon her for the second time..?!" She thought while punching the dirt on the ground. "Exarch. I am not going anywhere. I will tell you this straight away.. I am not leaving without Liriel." She told the Exarch, and rather strictly. Sarya would not admit it, but she was rather baffled by how much strength her last statement had. It totally impressed her, and seeing how her warrior, the one she taught, was unwilling to back down from this? Arleina earned her Exarch's respect. "I truly admire your dedication, Arleina of Ulthwe.. But underst-" Arleina, however, interrupted her.
"I am not running, Exarch.. We did not come this far, just to be told to go back." She said, and stood up slowly. Sarya, being the priestess of Khaine, had an urge to agree with her. She wanted to spill the blood of her enemies. She wanted a battle. But unfortunately, this order, being dissatisfying, was a necessary course of action. They were deep in the enemy's territory, so to speak, and it was two against hundreds, if not a thousand human soldiers who would overwhelm them. Let alone the fact that the hostile Inquisitor, was somewhere in this base. The danger was just too big. "Arly. I understand.. But I ask you. Can we afford to disobey and risk Liriel getting killed? Think about it.. We cannot do this while being lost. We are blinded and do not know where to go." She told her, standing up on her feet.
Arleina was stubborn, and unwilling to obey Farseer's orders. "Exarch.. Our aspect sister is on the loose. We can save her if we just stay here a bit longer and seek for her.. I must find her. Understand, for Isha's sake." She told her while having the voice of despair, which Exarch noticed, but she had to act as the leading figure for Arleina, and so she got a tad serious after seeing her stubborn, impenetrable walls. "Arleina. Stand down.. I understand you very clearly. But we run the risk of failing this operation. Now, cool off your fury, in the name of Khaine, and obey what I tell you. We are open targets here as it is!"
The howling banshee frowned behind her helmet, seeing that her Exarch was not willing to stay and aid her. It was a situation where Arleina finally had a chance to save her aspect sister. To see her, to hug her, to embrace her, just.. To touch her, since Liriel for her, was a sister she never had. The Exarch and her banshee had a staring contest, and then Arleina, simply turned around, with her back facing the Exarch. "I can only imagine how Liriel would feel, knowing that we abandoned her, left her for these savages, and that the only one vouching for her was I.. And not you, Sarya."
After hearing such harsh words from the howling banshee, the Exarch, was more than unhappy. She tightened her hands into fists, ever so gripping the hilt of her power glaive tighter, and looked at her straight in the visors as Arleina turned around to face her Exarch. "You are way too naive, child.. Do not force me to drag you out of here, Arleina. Do not, do this. Stop letting your emotions ahead of your martial prowess and discipline." Arleina slowly shook her head. "Exarch! I ordered you to get out of there.. What are you waiting for..?!" The Autarch was confused as to why they were not returning.
Exarch simply ignored the buzzing sound of Nuvian, and just concentrated on pulling out Arleina from this mon'keigh lair. "I am not going to lose another member of my squad, Arleina.. You will come with me. We need to be wise in saving our aspect sister, not bold and take a fast route, which can lead us to disaster!" Exarch explained, the air around the two individuals getting quite heated up, and in preparation for some brawling.
Arleina and Sarya were stuck in a staring contest. The Exarch wanted a safer but slower approach. Arleina, in the meanwhile, wanted a bold, risky, but fast approach to saving Liriel. The despair gripped her soul, as she did not want to leave this place without Liriel. However, Arleina, not willing to raise her sword at her own Exarch, simply gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath. "Ulthwe's tears.. Curses.. Upon curses..!" She uttered out, and at the end, she just lowered her sword to her side completely. The Exarch, seeing Arleina finally listening to reason, eased the grip on her glaive, and grabbed Arleina by her arm as she felt the defeat, after calculating the risks and placing Liriel's safety first and foremost before anything.
Sarya sighed in the deepest sense of relief and tapped her comms. "A little commotion, Autarch, nothing serious.. We are returning." The Autarch, being confused by what she meant, simply shook his head and replied. "For Isha's holy light with you two.. Return already." He annoyingly said, and then Sarya grabbed Arleina's arm and began to sneak away from the spot. "Exarch.. We are leaving her.." The defeated voice of Arleina came through the helmet, but Sarya, had to ignore it for a while. "We will save her.. But at the moment, staying here is too dangerous. Farseer probably has a plan on this matter." She lifted her head, about to say something to her Exarch, but then decided not to, closing her mouth behind her helmet.
"I beg you, Arly.. Stop falling into despair. I understand how much you love Liriel, and want to save her.. But understand our situation. We have to be wiser." Arleina looked at her after Exarch told her the words that finally got through her stubborn attitude. "I.. Know.. I know. Just.. It's hard." She replied in a saddened whisper. "I know, child.. I kno-"
*Sudden flash of light.. TTHUMMPPPP*
The horrifying noise of a spotlight.. It literally caused the entire group to gasp and divert their gazes towards it. Ulthran, Belanor, Nuvian, Sarya and Arleina, all stared in shock as the spotlight directly brightened the area, with two xenos warriors frozen on the spot. The atmosphere was dire, and the most terrible of all disasters were now looming straight above Sarya and Arleina, as the bright flashlight directly pointed at their position, revealing them and exposing them completely to the watch towers of the northern side, where the gates were kept.
"FREEZE! Xenos intruders spotted!" The guard yelled while holding a heavy bolter on the watch tower, aiming it directly at the two warriors, before a second spotlight went straight ahead and lightened up the positions of the two Aeldari warriors. Now, the second one had their heavy bolter directed towards the two. And then, the worst of all, occurred and took all of them by surprise. It was a true amount of despair that sneaked straight into their souls.. The alarms went off.
*BRRRRRRRRTT! BRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRT!*
As soon as the alarms went off, every Merlorian soldier was awake in their barracks. The entire base lit up brightly, and the loud noises of human activity kicked in, in less than a freaking minute. The militia was on high alert, and a lot of them flocked directly towards the position of the cages, where Arleina and Sarya were now located at with a lot of guns pointing at them. But the Lord Inquisitor, or any of his retinue, was nowhere to be seen. Only the soldiers.
A man who seemed to be a Colonel approached the position. He saw two surrounded xenos in a battle stance, ready for anything unexpected. "Filthy xenos! Drop your blades and give up in the name of the God-Emperor!" He yelled while aiming his plasma pistol at them both. Exarch and Arleina looked around themselves while their backs were held against one another. "By the great mother.. What do we do, Exarch.." Arleina said, trying to remain as stoic as possible. "Curses be upon this world.. Exarch, listen to me. Ulthran is on his way.. Do what they say in the meanwhile, Exarch.. I cannot reveal myself yet." Nuvian told Sarya in a very serious, but silent, whispering voice, since he was relatively angry with this chain of events.
Exarch, bitter at their situation, dropped her glaive immediately before lifting her hands into the air and standing still. Arleina followed her example and lifted her hands as well. "Stand your ground, Arleina.. Do not make any sudden movements." Exarch had literally no time or any proper plans to get out of this encirclement. The time went by for almost eternity as the entire Merlorian army gathered around the two xenos that they caught. Then, the Merlorian colonel arrived as the last man on the scene and gave out a plain and simple order. "Arrest these vile beasts! And shove them into.." The Colonel, with the corner of his eye, noticed that the cages were empty. His eyes widened in an instant at this realization. "The prisoners! They have escaped! Quickly search the base and report back to-"
*...bbbhhh... BBBOOOOOOOOOMMMM!*
A sudden, huge, massive explosion at 6 different places took place within the enormous base, rocking everybody on the ground and disorienting them completely. The ground shook in a massive shockwave, and a huge chunk of the base was literally ripped to shreds, coating everything around them in a total inferno.
However, these massive blasts.. Were not the doings of Farseer Ulthran, or any other member of his group.
A little bit earlier...
The Inquisitor and his retinue were on a high speed. With their last shot to escape from this hellhole, they were rather arduous on their tasks. "Is the task understood?." Tarn asked his Corporal, who instantly nodded. "Ay ay, Sarge. Watch my back." The Corporal sneaked by two guards by crawling towards the promethium-filled-barrels, placing a charge right in the center before getting out of there and joining his group. "Excellent job. Garrick, your turn." He told his next subordinate, and he nodded in response, before heading out to the power generators, placing two charges, and returning. "Charges set, Sarge." Tarn nodded before looking at Oleos. "Inquisitor.. He's already dead. What the hell are you doing?"
"Huh? Ah. Yes." Oleos freed his arms from the chokehold of a guard, who was already deceased and was not struggling or showing any signs of life. He moved up close and crouched in front of Tarn. "Charges are set, but this is not enough to distract these fools. Urslov would be disappointed with such a lack of security.." Oleos said, frowning. He was still saddened by the death of his loyal comrade, who was murdered by Kasim, right in front of him after a severe betrayal. "No matter.. We need to blow up their vehicles. Move out and set the charges by spreading out. How many we got left?" Tarn checked his backpack while they were holding ordinary lasguns, and Oleos, an ordinary laspistol. "About 4 charges, my Lord." The Sergeant reported, resulting in Oleos gritting his teeth and sighing deeply.
"Just beautiful.. Either way, we will use what we have. Set up charges at those 2 Leman Russes, One at their artillery shell storage and one at the communications tower, so they do not call for reinforcements.. We will leave them crippled and unable to have the required resources." Oleos explained, and Tarn simply nodded. "Will do, my Lord. Men.. Four of you, spread out." He ordered them, and they all nodded in unison, spreading out through the entire base to do their tasks. Tarn looked over to his Inquisitor, who was holding his chin and staring at the ground, daydreaming, so to speak. "My Lord. Stay awake." Oleos shook his head and looked at him. "These nights have not been too merciful with me, Daniel.. Let's just hope that your men will be swift." Tarn nodded at his proposal. "With the Emperor's blessings, my Lord. But, where do we hide?" The Inquisitor merely chuckled before getting serious. "Alright. Hear me out..."
"Liriel.. Are you sure you're doing this right?" The words came from behind the howling banshee, full of concern and concentration. "He never shuts up, does he?" Liriel thought before showing off her martial arts by making a high jump and knocking out two guards at the entrance to the black interrogation tent with a spinning kick while staying in the air. Saying that Niko had his jaw completely dropped would be an understatement. "Emperor's holy balls.. That was something indeed. Anyway.. Niko, wake up." The young Kalevan man told himself before going next to Liriel, and then stand at the sides of the entrance. They both looked at each other, nodded, and peaked their heads simultaneously. It was empty.
"Thank the Emperor.." Niko said. "Isha watches us." Liriel said as well, before Niko looked at Akila, who sat on his paws next to both individuals. "Aki. Stay here as our guard.. When you see someone approach? Run inside. Got it?" He told and asked his Merlorian pet. The wolf simply licked Niko's chin and blinked a few times in understanding. Niko's smile was well deserved as he petted him and turned his attention to Liriel, who waited for him.
Now, they both slowly sneaked forward inside the tent, but they felt relative unease at being in this hellish place for the second time. Chills ran down their spines, while they kept looking around while slowly approaching the table straight ahead of them, and then made sure not to fall for any traps or security mechanisms that the tent may have been set up with. Luckily for them, nothing happened, just as they reached the table itself, where their gear was neatly placed. Nobody was allowed to enter this tent except the Inquisitor and his most trusted individuals, so no one would dare steal what he examined.
Liriel thanked Isha that her helmet and her blade were neatly intact, and then retrieved them all. She sheathed her sword and shoved the helmet on her head, wearing it with pride once more as the beautiful red mane covered the top of it in a blissful manner. However, Niko remained unsatisfied, frowny, and relatively angry within his frowning facial expression. "Thank the great mot.. Niko?" She looked at him and saw that he was staring straight at the ground.
On the ground, laid the Kalevan banner that once belonged to Niko's regiment. He clenched his hands into fists, knelt down, and picked up the banner, before wrapping it around his neck and using it as a cloak, kissing the eagle that was on the banner itself, before packing a few retrieved things back into his backpack, holstering his laspistol, grabbing his crossbow with the quiver, and most importantly, his beloved Leuku, whom he hugged to his chest and placed on his belt, before Liriel looked at him, as she was slightly confused at why he was so silent.
"That bastard.. Stomping on my banner. Symbol of my home, of my fallen brothers and sisters, of my pride.." Niko said in his own mind before picking up the backpack, putting it on his back, and looking at Liriel's visors, as her head was slightly tilted. She removed her helmet and looked at him with concern. This forced his frown to disappear as he lightly smiled at her. "Don't worry.. Just, past memories. This banner means a lot to me, and he dared to stomp on it.. Fecking dickhead." He spat at the floor but shook his head afterward. "No matter. We retrieved what was ours. Now, let's try getting out of here, shall we?" He grinned, resuming his cheerful and lovely attitude.
Liriel placed her helmet back on and sighed in relief after seeing him in his ordinary, cheerful manner and not experiencing another strike of PTSD. "I sure hope, that he is okay.." Liriel whispered to herself before pointing at the entrance of the tent. Niko nodded while grabbing his laspistol from his holster, and then they both simultaneously walked to the entrance of the tent in order to commence their plan. "Now. We move closer to the gates and find the generator powering them. Then? We wait for Oleos. I sure hope you understood that one at least, ay?" He smirked at her, to which she simply tilted her head, forcing Niko to blink a few times and just sigh out deeply. "Actually never mind. He probably told you what to do already.." The young man noticed. They were ready to move out, of course. But before they could do that, a calamity struck them both as soon as they tried stepping out.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRT!*
The alarm. The cursed sound of a freaking alarm. It was loud and clear, with the entire base waking the hell up from the sudden noise of their security being breached. "Oh for Emperor's sakes!" Niko said, bitter and frustrated at their sheer lack of luck. Liriel frowned behind her helmet and closed her eyes. "Khaine's bloody hand.. Why now, just, why now?!" She cursed with so much streams of lacking luck with a deep, irritated punch against a box, which she made a hole through. This startled Niko for a second, who looked at her being pissed off and swallowed his saliva. "Kalevan devils.. I am lucky to be on her side." Niko thought to himself while they both stood aside simultaneously, just as Akila went inside the tent, rushing in and facing the entrance in a defensive stance. "Aki! Emperor's throne, just how many of them are out there?" The young man asked, taken aback with the alarming expression on Akila's face.
He moved to the entrance and slightly peaked through the covers. There, he saw dozens, if not hundreds of Merlorian militia members running there and here while being completely startled, screaming orders and commands, and gathering behind the huge tents, where the cages were originally settled. Little did Niko know that there were strangers amongst them all. He simply thought that they were all facing empty cages in shock, but in reality, the uninvited guests were there, but he, of course, did not know, nor did Liriel, who appeared behind him, and being a towering figure, peaked as well. "Many mon'keigh are in shock at our discovery. Although.." Liriel thought for a second. "They found our escape rather too fast.." She thought, contemplating this situation, which appeared to be very bad.
Nevertheless, Niko had to act. He looked at Liriel, and lowered her head by grabbing her chin softly. "Liri." The banshee was slightly flustered at how easily he touched her chin and lowered her head. "Eh? Niko what are you.." But Niko shook his head and placed his index finger on the amplifiers of her helmet, specifically known as the mouth part, and spoke. "Shush.. Don't make any noise. Listen to me." He said, while straightening his eye patch. "We have to sneak out of here as soon as the explosion occurs. If it does not? Then, we sneak to the gates against all the risks that are looming above us. Just follow me, got it?" He explained to her, to which she simply tilted her head and shook her head.
Niko was yet again gritting his teeth. He hated the language barrier and how it was hard to communicate through it. He moved out of the entrance and made gestures to explain what he just said, while Akila stood by his side. Liriel nodded two times after he finished, and then stared at the entrance once more. "A very bold plan for a human, but I admire his bravery.." The Aeldari woman said, gazing at him, trying to silently move a few boxes near the table in order for them to find cover in case they get exposed. "Facing all the risks, he fights on.." She thought about the spirit.
Was it truly right about Niko? About how he pushes himself to the limit, beyond any normal human capabilities? She could have sworn that the spirit might have been bluffing, but she knew that it truly was right about its master. Niko was a man of his word, a man of dedication, and a man of sheer fragging will. Much like Liriel herself, she noticed a few of her own qualities within him, which only made her attraction to the young man ever stronger. Liriel got busy herself at the entrance, watching the outside, for at least a few minutes straight.
But then, something strange occurred inside the tent. Liriel noticed, that Akila, began to growl. She looked behind herself, and saw him staring at the table where Niko was placing a few things at. Niko simply stood with a calm facial expression, and even Liriel, by this situation, was taken aback at how.. Weird the aura got inside the tent itself. "Why is he.. Growling?" Liriel thought after taking her gaze off of Niko, before she looked at him again, with a raised eyebrow behind her helmet. "Strange.. Essence." She told herself, while inspecting him even further.
The strange sensation was blooming all over the place. It was very bizarre because Liriel, having to have partially connected her soul with Niko, could sense him from a specific distance. However, this time, there was an anomaly that she noticed. His distance was close, but it was not at the exact place where Niko was presumably standing. This made her fully alarmed, and she, sensing that Akila's growls are never in vain, began to feel suspicious. "Niko." She pointed at him while gripping the hilt of her power sword tightly, and then slowly came closer to him. He retained his stare at her visors, and then, after she approached, the two spent 10 seconds staring into each other's eyes.
*HHLLNNCCHH*
Liriel quickly retrieved her sword from the scabbard, just as Niko literally pulled a huge-looking blade glowing green out of nowhere and almost struck her in the neck, but Liriel's reflexes and suspicion awarded her very well. She made a backflip and landed with ease before staring directly at "Niko", who stood with a grim yet calm-looking face, before his form slowly began to dissipate. "You are not Niko!" She spoke in her language towards the mysterious stranger. Niko's form began to literally change right in front of Liriel and Akila's eyes, and then it turned into a tall, well-built feminine body with a tight black suit, a long braid from the top of the head, and two scary-looking red lenses... Liriel did not know what it was, but she came into confrontation with a...
Callidus Assassin.
These assassins could take the shape of anyone they deemed fit, and it seems that one way or another, due to how mysterious the Callidus temple was, this assassin alone acquired Niko's shape. She stood in a defensive stance, and the blade that sprouted from the device on her forearm appeared to be of a Necron origin. Liriel pointed her sword at the woman in front of her and asked in Low Gothic. "Where is?! Where Niko?!" She demanded, Akila ever so growling in anger that grew within him. The assassin tilted her head and chuckled.
"It was easy spying on the one-eyed stormtrooper and his men after they stepped onto this base than it was to quickly find you after the alarm went off, xenos. Drop your weapon. Now." Liriel only understood the "Drop" and "Weapon" part, which she refused to do. She simply tightened the grip on her power sword and circled around the assassin before charging at her like a wind in the air, making a high jump and smashing the sword at her, but the assassin dodged and made few swings with her blade, due to how swift and enhanced her mobility was.
Liriel dodged the swings in her fluid movements, using her prowess as if dancing and dodging like an elegant bird, and did not dare to take her eyes off of her. Akila leaped forward and was about to bite the assassin on the foot, but she merely, in lightning speed, made a swing with her foot and kicked Akila away with a whimper to a weakened state in a beautiful 360-degree swing of her foot before blocking Liriel's strike from the left side. "Bad situation you have found yourself in, xenos.."
The assassin's visor flicked with a bright red light and disoriented Liriel for one second before the assassin jumped upwards and smacked Liriel's chin with her kneecap, forcing her to take a few steps back. But Liriel was not the Eldar who spent her training in vain. As the assassin prepared to make the lethal blow with her Necron blade, Liriel retaliated by literally sending her foot above her own head, smashing the assassin's chest with her heel, before the assassin held her chest and stood up 2 meters away from Liriel. "Good shot, Eldar. But how long will your strength reward your resistance?" Liriel did not answer. "Khaine forsaken Imperial agents.. With her gear and her outfit, I assume this is a mon'keigh assassin or a spy.." She thought, and technically speaking, she was right.
"We have no names. We are shadows. And you are our target." She told her, very calmly while the commotion outside was only getting louder. Liriel had no time for any of it. She had to concentrate on defeating this assassin and try to find where Niko was, as she sensed that he was somewhere in this massive interrogation tent, but where? And how can she seek her human partner when this dangerous assassin is blocking her way? It was obvious as to what she had to do in order to get to him.
She charged up her banshee's call in case of the purest of despair, but did not use it in order to not attract the attention of the entire army outside the tent. It was sound-proof to block the screams, and so, hopefully, no one would disrupt them. They had a small duel for a few minutes straight, and neither side was willing to give in. The assassin noticed that Liriel was occasionally looking around, and this caused her to laugh and make a little presentation to force her to get anxious. "Aha. Looking for "him", are you?" She said, and then simply used her foot to open the lid of one of the boxes, and then she took out the blindfolded, mouth-gagged and limb-tied Niko out of it. He was struggling, but the assassin placed her high heel on his back, causing him to grunt. "Shut it, dog." She said.
To say that Liriel was enraged was an understatement. Seeing how the assassin treated Niko in front of her caused even Khaine himself to feel aroused at her accumulating wrath. The assassin grinned behind her suit, the detail of her grin noticeable with the stretching fiber. "Hah. You want to save him?" She said while aiming her blade at Niko's head, who continued to struggle, although with difficulties due to the assassin's heel pressing on Niko. Akila couldn't help, for the assassin's kick was too severe, but he needed to retrieve his energy.
In the current state of the situations the assassin was tempting Liriel. "You..." She whispered. "Dare..." And she prepared her attacking stance, taking one leg slightly backwards and pushing the other one forward with her sword in both hands. The assassin got the blade closer to Niko's head, and then they both remained in their positions for half a minute as Liriel waited for a specific moment from Niko because she trusted him and knew about some of his capabilities. "Drop. Your. Weapon. Alien. The Lord Inquisitor will not be so merciful if you resist." Liriel refused to oblige the assassin, and then.. The chance came falling from the sky.
Niko managed to partially remove the gag that was in his mouth by rubbing his mouth against the tough floor, and then used all his strength to bite down onto the ankle of the assassin's other foot, biting down with all his force. This took the assassin by surprise, and even though it felt like a little mosquito bite to someone like her, it distracted her with a hiss that she unleashed, and then allowed Liriel to take the initiative.
As soon as Liriel noticed her move even by a mere inch, she charged forward beyond the capabilities of even the Adeptus Astartes. She hacked her sword deep into the shoulder of the assassin and forced her to loudly grunt before the assassin tried to retaliate with her sidearm. Liriel swung her sword from below and severed the assassin's hand completely, causing her to scream. "I will KILL you, by Khaine's bloody hand, I will destroy your very soul!" Liriel's talent and skills began to show themselves at this very moment.
She became the wind and the huntress, and, using her sheer mobility and fitness, began to slowly make dozens of cuts and slices on the Assassin's body, while the assassin regained her composure after applying stim juices into her veins, retreating constantly from Liriel's fluid, elegant and quite deadly yet precise movements with her power sword. Niko raised his head to access any amount of visibility, but 90% of his vision was overtaken by the blindfold itself, and as a result, he could only see the feet of the assassin and Liriel.
Retreating ever so backwards while her hand was cut and the other one was unable to lift itself due to the injury in the shoulder, the assassin shoved a syringe into her arm and raised her Necron blade once again, blocking a slash of Liriel's power sword, before pushing her away with a headbutt against her Aeldari helmet. Liriel felt the blunt, but ignored it, and simply made a backflip in front of the assassin, kicking her chin with her foot, before making a split in the air with her flexible legs, and then used her calves to grip the neck of the assassin and take her down the floor.
Liriel instantly sprung up, lifted her leg above her own head and smashed it so roughly that the assassin's ribs broke, and she gasped for air after a loud grunt that left the mouth part of her suit. Next, Liriel sliced the tendons on her feet with precise cuts in merely 3 seconds and left her, shortly speaking, crippled and wounded while she coughed blood from the damage done. "Drown in your own pain, mon'keigh." She said, and turned her attention towards Niko.
The banshee quickly dashed towards the struggling Niko, and removed his blindfold and the cloth from his mouth, before their eyes met up with each other. "Liriel! Thank the Emperor.. Are you hurt?" He asked with a smile, just as the banshee smiled back behind her helmet with a huge sigh of relief and shook her head, reassuring him. "I am not losing you.. My human. Worry not for me." She whispered while cutting his ties loose, before he retrieved his stuff from the box he was trapped in and turned around to face the banshee while rubbing his back, which was slightly sore from the heel of the assassin striking him there.
"We cannot stay here any longer, Liri. We need to move out immediately, for I do not know who this fragging whore is, but more or less, she is dangerous." He warned her just as he went and crouched over Akila, who stood up in his legs once more after Niko gave him the belly rubs he deserved. "You are alive, good boy, you are alive, tough bastard, hah." He wiped his forehead, then turned to Liriel after standing up. "Whoever that bitch serves.. Might come for-" Just as he was about to finish his explanation, a loud clicking and clacking noise was heard. "...For us." Said Niko, gulping and instantly turning to his right, where the entrance was.
"And where exactly do you think you are going?"
The Lord Inquisitor arrived at the scene with two of his bodyguards and his agent, Adrian. The bodyguards wielded their swords, while Adrian and Kasim, held their formidable sidearms, pointing straight at Liriel. The banshee gripped the hilt of her sword ever so tighter, and Niko was already crouching, with the hurt Akila ready for pouncing once more. It looked like he forgot about the damage that was done to him as soon as he saw enemies in front of him. Akila and Niko were truly one. Both would push pain away and face their enemies with their sheer fragging will.
Julius Kasim's eyes diverted to his left, where the assassin was lying on the ground, catching her breath. "It appears that my agent here did not manage to stop you. But she already sent me a coded message of where you were to be found, and look at that.. Look at where we are right now. You really thought that you would escape, traitor? With your xenos slut by your side?" He asked, smirking and grinning with amusement, while the assassin was lying wounded and helpless, forgotten like trash, because to Kasim, many were mere objects in his eyes and ambition.
Niko clenched his teeth and aimed his crossbow straight at Kasim's head. "By the Emperor, you are one annoying old fart! Can you feck off already, you psychopathic grox humping dung?!" Niko asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. Kasim's grin disappeared, and he resumed his cold yet deadly gaze. "Very rude of you, young man, to think of me as a feeble old man covered in such grievous insults. I have more capabilities than you might think. No more games.. You two have caused enough problems." Julius uttered with bitterness in his voice, his patience already thin.
Niko, Liriel, and even Akila, however, did not budge. "Burn in the forgotten ruins of your rotten empire, mon'keigh beast. We will not be held like cattle for your own thirst of hatred. Get out of our way, or I will grant you freedom from your pathetic existence." Liriel said, and as a result, Kasim smirked. "How rude.. You cannot resist the holy Imperial Inquisition, just as you couldn't resist my interrogation when holding your traitorous scumbag at my gun's barrel." He said in Aeldari language and snapped his fingers before the bodyguards began to get closer and closer to them all, with their blades firmly in their hands.
The little group, consisting of one human, one Eldar and one Merlorian wolf, were prepared to resist, standing on a defensive stance. Just as the two bodyguards were about to apprehend them by the orders of Kasim, who looked into Niko's eye, and he looked back at him, both of them very confident in a single shot from their weaponries, anticipating the exploding situation that was about to happen. Liriel, in the meanwhile, held her eyes constantly moving from one guard to another, ever so watching them both and towering over Niko to protect him from their vile hands. Akila, in the meanwhile, looked at Adrian, the one individual that he, out of everybody else, hated the most.
However.. Adrian, out of nowhere, began to hear a lot of commotion inside his comms device. "My Lord! We have a problem.." Everybody, the bodyguards, the banshee, even Kasim, turned their gazes at him as Adrian looked at the ground with a finger placed on his ear. "What is it? The sheep are overreacting because an entire group has escaped. Tell them to find Oleos and the rest!" He demanded, his voice very irritated, but Adrian did not budge. "That is not the problem.. We have uninvited guests in our base." Everybody who understood these words got confused, except Liriel, who did not understand Low Gothic as much as the rest. "Who dares to infiltrate us?!" Adrian said a few things to the comms and waited for the answer. Kasim noticed Adrian's eyes widening in amazement, and perhaps even from a shock, before quickly looking at his Lord Inquisitor. "My lord! The El-"
*bbb.. BBB.. BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!*
The pure, terrorizing shockwave started to spread around the entire base completely as loud explosions from all sides battered the ground with an intense tremor and earthquake, the shockwave forcing the structures to be disrupted, everything falling down, and this, included every individual, who felt the intensity of the shockwave, and fell down the ground with enough force to disorient everybody in the base. Nobody remained standing, for the shockwave was severely intense. This was the result of the promethium barrel storage and the artillery shell storage exploding into a huge inferno, and it seems like the shells included a couple of earthshaker shells, which were expensive but very powerful.
In the midst of all this rumble and chaotic situation, the strong buzzing noises in the ears were the only thing keeping everybody conscious enough, with the visions blurry beyond measure. The tent was barely intact, but everybody inside of it did not know what to expect.. The fire began to spread rapidly, and the entire base was slowly becoming like a bright beacon as the structures, tents, and vehicles began to burn, lightening up the base in a reddish-orange color. Niko laid on the ground with a huge chunk of the tent's wall torn off and he looked outside with his blurry vision. He realized that the original plan of Oleos, has already occurred, and now the path of escape was available. This was the moment that he waited for.
Regaining his strength and fixing his consciousness, he stood up to one knee and approached Akila, who lay right next to him. Due to his small size, he did not have to feel too much pressure from the shockwave, and so he remained at Niko's feet, showing his loyalty. "Ffffeckingg... Hell... Aki..?" He shook his head and slapped himself on the cheek before the buzzing noise disappeared. "Out of here.. Now!" He ordered him as the tent began to catch fire, and so Akila obliged and ran out of the tent. Then, he tried to stand up and turn around to find Liriel, but it was hard for him to do due to the numbness in his legs kicking in. He was about to fall, but Liriel, out of the blue, caught him in her arms, surprising him out of nowhere. "L..Liri?" He turned his head and looked up at her. She was intact, her black wraithbone armor was not damaged at all. He only smiled at her and pulled his arm over her neck.
She kept her arm over his neck, and then they both went out of the tent with a light sprint, the fire ever-so spreading to the tent completely. None of them expected Oleos's plan to be so.. Devastating. They expected a light explosion, and both of them cursed Inquisitor Oleos for how unpredictable he in fact was. But nevertheless, with Akila by their side, they got out of the tent intact. Liriel held her sword while Niko pulled his laspistol from the holster. They were ready to get out of here, and for a split second, Niko got curious as to what Adrian wanted to warn his Lord Inquisitor about. But seeing the situation he and his partner were in, he had no time to think about it, despite the fact that he truly wanted to know who got into this base. But with the desperate situation at hand, both of the individuals only thought about getting as far away from this place as possible. For as long as they remained here.. The death surely followed them by their tails.
As Liriel and Niko got out, the Lord Inquisitor quickly regained his own consciousness after a minute and got up with Adrian by his side. He saw his bodyguards completely knocked out but did not pay it any heed, looking around frantically for his sidearm and cane. "My Lord.. They.." He wanted to talk and inform him, but coughed instead. "They are escaping!" He said while waiting for his orders.
Kasim picked up his sidearm and his cane with a precious object at the top of it, just as his bodyguards woke up and confusedly looked around. "They are going to the gates, I am sure of it! Order these peasants to block it, and to find Oleos and his men. Shoot them on sight! I will not suffer this humiliation any further!" He yelled while being fueled in anger. Adrian quickly obliged by sending this order through the comms. "My Lord, the Eldar! They are attacking us! This is all their doing!" He told his Inquisitor, who only got more frustrated. "Bloody cursed filthy xenos scumbags! Always being the pebbles in our boots! We must not let the gates fall, as I speculate that the destination of the traitor and the xenos whore is exactly that.. Let's go! We cannot fight two enemies at once.."
Kasim was about to get out of the tent, but then he felt two hands gripping his boot. He turned his head around, and it was one of the two bodyguards who were grunting and begging him for help. He frowned angrily and kicked their faces. "Do not touch me, useless worms! Adrian, after them!" The loyal agent looked at him quickly. "But my Lord, your bodyguards-" He raised his voice in anger. "I do NOT care! I will find more pawns! Move!" He said. Grunting with tears coming out of the eyes of Kasim's bodyguards, they felt their master slipping away and leaving them to the hungry grasps of the inferno that was enveloping the tent. They heard the screams of the crippled assassin, who got swallowed by the flames and began to burn helplessly on the ground, swaying limbs around frantically and increasing the panicked and confused looks. Adrian cursed and wanted to get out, but he hesitated after hearing the whimpering call for help.
"Help... Aid..."
He heard the bodyguards say, one at a time. At the last second, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and opened them in an instant before quickly grabbing their arms over his neck and dragging them out of the burning tent, placing them far away from the burning structure. He was an agent. He was a loyal dog of Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim. He was bred for spying, infiltrating, being a double agent and loyally following his original master's orders, but it seemed like the time he spent with Tarn and Oleos, instilled within his darkened heart a tiny, shining piece of humanity, going by the name of - Aid those who are in need. And something within his mind truly told him to save them, and so he did just that. After all, they were a part of their master, the Lord Inquisitor. But Kasim simply only cared for himself, but Adrian, still did not question him, for he had been devoted to him ever since his infancy. He only followed. "Stay here.. Do not move. Do not blame your master for his reaction."
They both nodded and looked at him simultaneously. "Acolyte.. Adrian.. We are in your debt." He shook his head. "You owe it to your master. Now, stay here, and do not blindly go anywhere." He said, then stopped a Merlorian soldier in his tracks. "Soldier! Get these two out of here. Take a route directly to Xaroi, find a vehicle if you can. No excuses! If you value your life then do it, and stay alive, but get them to the capital for safety. Got it?!" The soldier, confused for a few seconds, nodded afterward. "Yes sir!" Adrian nodded and quickly sprinted away, while hearing his Inquisitor yelling in the far distance to the hundreds of confused and anxious Merlorian soldiers.
"To the gates, quickly! It's just a kilometer, you weaklings!" He was quite pissed, but nevertheless, he held his authority. "My Lord!" He looked at Adrian, who arrived at the scene. "Adrian, what took you so long?!" Adrian did not answer. "No matter.. Come with me!" He jumped down from a pile of boxes and ran towards the gates. Despite his old age, he ran like a professional athlete, and even Adrian was impressed. "By the Emperor's holy light, what kind of calamity have we gotten ourselves into..?!"
"Bloody fragging hell, Tarn!" Oleos said while coughing the dust from his lungs and wiping his forehead. "Earthshaker rounds, my Lord.. They are nasty. Although I ask you, why are we hiding in this vehicle? Couldn't we find a more proper spot to hide? Plus, the fraggin traitor and his whore should be already at the gates!" He asked and said. It was a weird situation. Oleos, Tarn, and his men were inside a Chimera, which was an Infantry Armoured Transport. He looked at him while turning the interior lights on. "Do you honestly think that the alarm went off because of us, or those two with their beast?" All the men including Tarn, got confused.
"What? My Lord, who.. Why, then?" He asked, raising his eyebrow while slowly cleaning his blood-covered blade, while a deceased Merlorian soldier driver was lying dead, his throat sliced. "You see, back on the mountain, with me, Adrian and General Urslov, I made a desperate call for help through secrecy from a potential ally.. A very heretical action, I admit." The confused got even more wild within Tarn's mind, including his men, who whispered to each other.
"My, Lord, are you telling me.." Oleos simply nodded, shrugging. "I gave the Aeldari of Ulthwe, a reason to send their forces to this planet.. Just as planned." He admitted it, holding his chin while grinning and looking down at the floor of the chimera. Tarn widened his eyes and grabbed Kaidan's shoulders. "My Lord.. You- You called, xenos, into this world?!" To say that Tarn was infuriated was surely a little joke, so to speak. He was genuinely pissed off, but Oleos shrugged him away and pushed his arms off. "Look at the brighter picture at hand, Sergeant." He said. "I pulled a distraction for Kasim. Don't you understand the meaning of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" ? We were literally going to be hanged or burned on a stake by the wild mob under the manipulation of Kasim. Do not think that the Aeldari will leave even one of their own in the hands of humans.. Calculate my plans. The Aeldari, are here. Think about it." He told him, but this resulted in Tarn being even more puzzled.
It took him a minute to realize what his intentions truly were. "My Lord.." He got a bit closer. "Did you expect Adrian to betray you?" Oleos frowned and shook his head. "No.. I admit, that was something I would have never expected to be true. It took me by surprise, but it does not matter anymore. I have to put my pain and suffering aside and get all of you out of here in one piece. I knew that Kasim was interested in the traitor and the xeno. I used them both to remove him from our tails. And so far, we are safe, are we not? The plan is working.. Now, there are Aeldari roaming around the base. It is better to distract your enemy from yourself when you are cornered, so you can escape." Tarn listened carefully, and frankly speaking, he and his men were impressed.
"Inquisitor.. While I understand that Adrian's betrayal has been a painful blow to all of us, you still did not fall and had a plan B in your pockets." He said, giving him credit. "Thank you, Tarn, but I am an Inquisitor. I carry with me the wisdom and teachings of my own Inquisitor who taught me everything I knew, including how to push away the bitter taste and wound of betrayal. Do not think that I will ever forget it. I must get all of us out. That is my concern. I will mourn later.. Now, we either wait until they destroy the gates or ram our way through force without giving up." He said and resumed his gaze at the cogitator monitors to look outside.
Tarn ordered his men to remain silent and hold onto the grip of their weapons as tight as possible. The noises outside with hundreds, if not thousands of souls and the inferno's roar were heard all over, but then they heard them.. The alien noises and the screams of men dying one by one. Being inside this machine, they only had to wait.. And wait, they would.
Exarch Sarya, and Banshee Arleina, slowly got up from their positions, and heard the sounds of battle commencing immediately. They both saw the feet of Warlock Belanor with a massive force shield at a 180 degree-angle as he stood his ground and protected Sarya and Arleina from the lasfire and autogun fire as hundreds of soldiers began to unleash their volleys. They heard Warlock yelling at them as their buzzing ears began to return to their normal state, and then they both quickly shook their heads and got off the ground. "Get up, warriors! Take cover immediately! I cannot hold this barrier for long!" He yelled.
The banshee and the Exarch quickly reacted by taking cover behind a truck. The Warlock finally allowed himself to retaliate. He dissipated the force shield and then sent lightning bolts while running left and right and just simply frying a dozen of Merlorians with his psychic powers. Then, after the first row fell to the entire fray, came the glorious Autarch from the air, with his elegant wings beautifully flapping in the air. "Contact! The sky!" A few militiamen yelled, but Autarch Nuvian was not having any of it.
"Die, Mon'keigh!" He yelled and dashed forward with his sword, slicing multiple Merlorians in one go by swinging his sword and slicing limbs from bodies, heads from shoulders, and stabbing vital organs like a knife through butter. 8 men fell in just 4 seconds, and he continued the rampage while receiving fire from the Merlorian guns, but they merely shrugged off from his efficient armor. But even he knew that if all of them concentrated their fire on one spot, the pressure from their weaponry would make a hole through his armor, so he had to be quick. "By your side, Autarch!" Belanor said, joining his side and fighting back to back against the approaching hordes of mon'keigh units.
"On your left, Belanor!" The Warlock collected a fireball into his hands and fired it at 6 men on his left, burning them to crips instantly. "Cover me!" Autarch yelled and charged forward, firing his shuriken pistol in many directions. Belanor ran with him and protected him from superior firepower through the force shield, due to the heavy weapons squads setting in heavy weaponries, from heavy bolters to lascannons. Belanor gripped the arm of Autarch, and he went flying into the air before the Warlock dropped a spell of artificial lightning, which fell right upon the positions of the heavy weaponries. Autarch charged in and sliced away many disoriented and painfully grunting Merlorians like a blade against tree leaves, the blood already covering their armor, but the Merlorians kept coming, and now they pulled armored vehicles, about 3 chimeras that crushed tents in their path, and just rushed forward to meet them.
Now, the Autarch and Warlock had to step back from the blood-covered battlefield. They retreated just as the force shield from Belanor was getting weakened as he did everything in his power to hold it intact, but combined fire from chimeras was not something to shrug off so easily. "Our rear! Belanor, watch out!" The Warlock quickly looked behind himself and saw about 20 men approaching and about to fire their weapons, but then Sarya and Arleina came to their aid.
They came from the left and the right and began to cut them down one by one, providing cover for Autarch and Warlock to retreat into safety. Sarya, feeling the lust for battle, used her glaive to slice and dice the mon'keigh with relative ease, while Arleina was busy jumping, dodging and strafing in many directions, making slices, swings, stabs and even using her limbs as an efficient means of warfare. They fired at them both, but they were too fast to be caught by their fire. "Good job, young ones!" Nuvian said, but they were still in a desperate situation as the chimeras got joined in by 4 sentinels with lascannons, forcing the Warlock and Autarch to swiftly flip backwards behind heavy metal structures. All 4 of them got together.
"Khaine aid us! Where is Ulthran?!" Belanor said, regaining the psychic energy that he had depleted. Nuvian cursed behind his helmet and noticed the sentinels changing their lascannons, to a pack of missile launchers. His eyes widened. "Get down!"
*zzzZZZZHH-KKKNNGGHHHHMMMBB*
A massive explosion occurred just as the sentinels prepared to fire their missiles. Everybody raised their heads and dared to peek from their covers to take a look at the position of where the vehicles were approaching from. To say that they were shocked would be a severe understatement. Eldrad Ulthran stood in front of a massive, blazing inferno of burning vehicles and screaming mon'keigh pilots and soldiers while holding his staff and simply staring forward. It seems that he unleashed a massive psychic explosion right on top of these poor bastards and simply brought upon them the wrath of Ulthwe, and their own forsaken doom. Eldrad tapped the ground with his staff and turned his head slightly. "Liriel.. Her essence is radiating from the north. Sarya, Arleina, find her."
The 4 individuals were shocked at how easily the mighty Farseer dealt with so many vehicles in one go. This was a piece of cake for him, for he was an Eldar, who stabbed the arch-enemy Abaddon The Despoiler of the Black Legion. The Eldar who crushed titans with his psychic might, and the Eldar, who has lived for 10 millenia. They all felt lucky that he was one of them. "By the great mother.." The screams. They were loud and non-stopping. However, despite this grim thing that was bestowed upon them, more Merlorians got into the fray, and just came on, on, and on.
"Arleina. Let's go. Come on!" Arleina got out of her shock and blinked a few times before nodding to her Exarch, and sprinting to the gates far up ahead in the east. "After you, Exarch!" They both ran as fast as the wind. Ulthran just stood still while many Merlorians surrounded him. The Warlock and the Autarch, joined by his side and prepared their blades. "We shall handle these primitives, my friends. We have Isha's blessings upon us, and Khaine's rage fueling us. Show them no mercy, for they deserve none." Both nodded. Then, The Autarch, Warlock and the Farseer, immediately charged against the massive hordes of Merlorians with their battle cry that all of them said in unison.
"For Ulthwe and Khaine!"
"You will not take us alive!" Niko was yelling while unleashing a salvo of an Agripinaa Mark 1 Autogun that he retrieved from a fallen soldier, whom he shot from his crossbow straight to the head. His marksmanship allowed him to make precise shots while remembering his training sessions. Truly a veteran of his prime, he was determined to get out of here. Akila was watching the rear and aiding Liriel with the flanking Merlorians, who tried to remove the experienced Kalevan veteran out of existence.
The howling banshee, ever so elegant in her strength and prowess, moved her body in fluid dancing and athleticism that would make every gymnasium in the Imperium jealous. She leaped forward by making a split in the air and decapitated two soldiers in one swing of her power sword before making 3 backflips to avoid a lasfire and a blast from a plasma gun, which almost caught her armor, but she was efficient with her movements. With Akila biting onto the one wielding the plasma gun, Liriel finished him off with a quick stab into the chest, killing him in an instant. "Bloody mon'keigh!" She yelled before 3 members of the Merlorian militia charged at her with a loud roar and their bayonets.
She quickly reacted by jumping into the air and swinging her left foot across each of their faces in one go, resulting in their charge halting completely. Then, with relative ease, she made one slice with her sword and sliced their throats in one swing, finishing them off. "Akila!" She saw the Merlorian wolf about to be stabbed from behind by a soldier, who, in blood rage, was about to pierce the beast right into his back. Liriel reacted by slamming her sword down onto the grassy ground via throwing it, and then she jumped, placed her heel on the hilt of the sword, and flew like a lightning bolt towards the soldier before hitting him with her body weight and dropping him down.
The banshee proceeded to grip the disoriented soldier's throat and punch his face into a pulp with her strength alone. Her gloves were already covered in blood after beating his skull into a bloody mess before Akila bit off a chunk of throat from an unfortunate victim. Liriel went and reclaimed her sword from the ground, while the blood continued to drip off of it. "Is there no stop for them at all?!" She told herself, seeing how there were so many of them just coming from all sides. The military base was enormous, and having so many Merlorian militia members here was nothing unusual, but Liriel was getting irritated with how much they halted their push for freedom.
"You call that sniping?!" She heard Niko yelling, who already had his autogun dropped, and now he was wielding a lasgun. He shot a sniper from behind a pile of boxes, who missed him by a few inches. Liriel stared at him, and she inspected his style of fighting. "He refuses to be cornered.. To yield, and uses everything he may find as a weapon. Like a Dire Avenger of my home, fire burns within him.. Remarkable human you are, Niko Armanen." She said, lightly smiling behind her helm, before resuming her serious gaze upon the approaching Merlorians. She and Akila, covered in the blood of their enemies, dashed onward in order to protect Niko while he was busy getting rid of the nuisance in front of them.
With his rear and flanks secured, Niko only concentrated on the front that was right ahead of him. The Merlorians kept coming, and it was obvious that they were an inexperienced bunch who barely knew how to aim and fire precisely. He was more busy hiding in his cover as they unleashed their entire mags and cells upon his position, and he used that to his advantage. "Fecking hell.. I am battling with cannon fodder! Even the bloody greenskins were smarter!" He said, cursing under his lips and changing to his last battery cell for the lasgun he was wielding.
Little did Niko, or even Liriel know that 1 kilometer from their position, the Aeldari were causing havoc upon the Merlorians.. Neither did they know what, nor where precisely, Liriel, was. Neither parties had time to stop and think what has caused the explosions in the base, because even Niko felt skeptical that this the doings of Inquisitor Oleos and his crew. Either way, this was a total clusterfuck, but each individual had their own tasks that they had to complete. Niko was about to continue his firing, but then he heard a loud roar from the other side of his position. He recognized this roar with relative ease. "Bayonet charge... Feck!" He peaked and saw two entire squads charging to his position. In total, 12 men.
Niko was swift to react. Aiming down the sights with just one single eye that he had remaining, he managed to shoot about 5 of them before those that were left behind provided covering fire. "Liriel!" He yelled, but she was taking care of the Merlorians on his flanks and rear. Same with Akila. Niko cursed once again, then changed his position. He lifted his lasgun over his position and unleashed an entire salvo into all directions in the hopes of stopping the charging bayonet-wielding Merlorians. "Burn in hell, all of you!" Came out of his lips before the lasgun clanked, and he was forced to drop it after depleting it. He saw that he did manage to take down 4 of them, but 3 more were still left charging.
In a sudden motion of adrenaline that was overtaking him, he retreated behind the nearby tent to get himself away from the enemy covering fire, and saw 3 men charging at him like wild predators. He knew that he had no time to pick his laspistol, and so, quickly retrieved his Leuku instead. He blocked one charge as the bayonet and the blade clashed with a loud clinky noise, the Kalevan one-eyed man not willing to give an inch of ground for any of these bastards. He kicked the guy into his guts with that steel-toe boot of his, and dodged an attack from the other two. "You will pay for your crimes, traitorous frak!" The enraged man yelled at the top of his lungs while trying to shank him with the bayonet, but Niko had no time for their crap.
"How blind and foolish you are, Merlorians!" Niko replied while the third one got up and slowly began to circle around the lone Kalevan man. Niko dropped his backpack on the ground and kept looking around in anticipation of an attack. Meanwhile, Liriel saw by the corner of her eye that Niko was getting surrounded, but she had to hold off the approaching Merlorian soldiers, who, after depleting their guns, were charging with melees, from blades to shovels and other blunt objects. "Niko! Hang on! Cursed mon'keigh- Begone you parasites!" Liriel was frustrated. She wanted to use her banshee's call, but Niko was close, and he had no time to shut his ears, nor did Akila, whose energy was getting depleted with how much he was helping Liriel fight off against the horde.
"You decided to follow a man who despises you beyond the core! Can any of you morons see that he is using you?!" Niko hated killing his fellow human beings. The torture from Kasim left him with enough trauma, both physical and mental. He knew that they were his enemies. He knew that they wanted his head on a pike, let alone his partner's, even Akila's. But he did not want them to waste their lives for the ambitions of a psychopathic old fart, who used and manipulated them with such efficiency that they were literal zombies, following his orders and their own primal instincts. Niko, however, still tried to reason. "He does not follow the Emperor's light, yet you blindly follow him like dogs.. And you dare to say that I am the traitor?!" They did not budge, only hissed.
"Shut your mouth, filthy traitor! The Inquisitor speaks from our God-Emperor himself! He dug out you and the xenos whore from your dark pits.. You killed our brothers and sisters in arms, and you dare to try and reason with us?!" Niko gritted his teeth after blocking a charge and pushing the younger one of the 3 away, slowly trying to retreat, only to get surrounded again. He panted heavily since even his energy was not unlimited. "I do not wish to kill any of you, Merlorians! Your world has been my second home ever since I stepped onto your soil! Flee, and save your lives, for you will die for nothing if you don't!" He said, looking around constantly.
All this time, he only defended himself, alongside Liriel and Akila. These sods and the rest were the ones who wanted his death more than anything. He tried his best to avoid clashing with them, but they left him with no choice but to keep his and his partner's lives safe, alongside his pet. Niko still had humanity within him, and he saw the faces of these 3 young men. They were barely around the age of 18 to 19, young, able men who were chained by Kasim's arrogance and ambition. He was only a few years older than them, and yet he could still see their determination bright on their faces. Liriel occasionally kept her gaze on him while defending his rear, and she could not understand why he was yelling at them. "What is he doing..?! Niko, kill them before they kill you!" She yelled and kept clashing her sword with the enemy melees.
"Trust not the xenos! Trust not the traitor! Purge! Purge and only purge!" One yelled. "Execution by all means, for innocence proves nothing!" Yelled the second. "He..Heretics.. Get no m-mercy!" Yelled the third, who was the youngest of them, although the third one was rather faltering and cautiously considering what Niko said. Nevertheless, the first and the second began to close in. Niko gripped his Leuku ever tighter and got into a defensive stance. He despised this moment more than he could fathom. He only killed out of necessity and self-defense. Despite the fact that he swore to aid Liriel by all means, he still thought that he could reason with at least these young, ambitious souls without them going straight for their dooms, but it was too late. He realized that there was truly no salvation for them, and so he leaped into action.
Seeing how inexperienced and weak they were, he charged against the second one and stabbed him straight into the shoulder before the sod dropped his lasgun, and yelled in pain. Then, he silenced him with a swift slice of his throat, and then, as the first one charged to intercept him with the bayonet, Niko threw the body of the second one straight at the first one's bayonet, and this made his bayonet get stuck in the second one's abdomen while he was bleeding out from his throat, only for his blood to gush straight at the face of his comrade. The first one widened his eyes after realizing that he stabbed one of his own, and then he simply fell down in shock, especially as the second one looked into the eyes of his comrade, who just fell into a state of shock and terror.
Niko was already walking to them both, and he saw the first one on the ground, while the third one stood in shock at what was just happening. They realized that they were facing a former guardsman who spent time on a lot of battlefields, and that looks could be deceiving. He was a young man, but he had already earned his battle scars, and they spoke for themselves. As Niko approached the shocked first soldier, the second one was already on the ground with a lasgun's bayonet stuck in his guts, with blood gushing out of his throat as he slowly departed to the afterlife. The third one couldn't do much but stare into this traumatic experience. All their determination faded away after Niko gave them an example that they did not heed. He pulled out his laspistol, without saying anything and simply shot the second one straight in the face before diverting his laspistol to the third one.
The third soldier looked into Niko's single eye as the battle commenced around the base, and he saw... Sadness. He saw Niko's saddened frown, as if he was trying to hold back his tears, but he kept being stoic. His flaws were showing at this very moment. Even though he left the life of the Imperial Guard? The definition, of "You cannot escape your past." were gripping him at this very moment. The third one was confused as he dropped his lasgun, shivering and trembling to the point of peeing his damn pants, but all he did, was get down to the floor, and get into a fetal position, and weep. Weep from tasting the truth of the battlefield. Niko showed an example. He showed the third one, what an ordinary guardsman sees on the battlefield, and despite giving them a chance to run, his comrades did not listen, and they paid for it. Niko left him alone after realizing that he is already broken.
"Emperor.. Judge your servants accordingly, if you hear me." He whispered and rushed to aid Liriel after no more soldiers were coming from the front after strapping his backpack. As weird as it was, Niko had a talent to quickly change his demeanor and keep his mood balanced, this event being a good example of how he went from despair to dead-serious, from dead-serious to his usual cheerfulness.
Liriel continued to battle against the approaching Merlorians, bashing the skull of a shovel-wielding sod by raising her leg and smashing her boot straight on top of his head with a loud crack and brain matter flying in all directions. One frustrated individual almost got too close to her, but Niko reacted by shooting his laspistol straight at his chest and dropping him off. The banshee quickly diverted her gaze to the approaching young man and quickly started to retreat back. "Liriel! Akila! On me!" He yelled and ran off. "Come with me, beast!" Liriel told Akila, who finished off biting fingers from one of the officers that tried to kick him.
Liriel and Akila joined up with Niko and ran by his side. He pointed straight ahead with his sword and noticed the power generator in the distance and the gates that were protected and heavily guarded by entire squads of Merlorians with sentinels at their disposal. "Bloody Kalevan devils, it is guarded!" He said, before Liriel stopped him and pointed at a farther distance, to the other side of the base. They heard multiple noises of an entire battle coming from there, and this made even Niko curious. "What in the Emperor's name is going on out there.. It is impossible that the Inquisitor, with his small retinue, is causing so much action and firepower to be unleashed.. No matter! Liriel, listen!" He shook her by the shoulder and pulled her out of her curious stance. "We need to find a vehicle.." He said and pointed at a hangar with a symbol resembling a Chimera. She looked at it, then back at him, as he was grinning. "Bingo, look! We can look in there!"
"Is he saying we need a vehicle to get out? If that is our only choice.. So be it. But what kind of anomaly is happening on the other side..?" Liriel sink into her thoughts for a few seconds, but shrugged them off as they had to continue their task. "It doesn't matter for now." She blinked a few times and nodded, understanding his assignment. He nodded back, and then, to avoid the defensive lines at the gates, especially with how many heavy weapons there were, they rushed into what seemed like a warehouse mixed with a hangar. The fires did not reach these places yet, but they would slowly, but surely, catch on if they did not get out of the base on time.
"Contact!" One of the men standing on a platform near the gates yelled after spotting them running. The defensive line opened fire at their positions and began to give out reports to every channel of where their main targets were located, if only any of the manpower was left intact within the base.
"Watch out!" Liriel yelled and forced Niko to crouch, as the firepower from the enemies almost struck him had it not been for her fast reflexes. "Holy frak, thanks, Liri.." He said as he wiped his forehead. They were at the gates of a hangar, and so the small group went straight into this specific building to seek out something they could use to get out before more of the enemy forces would come and envelop them, not only the defensive line. "We are at disadvantage.." She whispered while hearing how some of the groups were getting closer to their positions. "Strange how they are only now fully concentrating on us.. What is that Inquisitor and his Sergeant doing?" Liriel thought while heading inside through the hangar gates that Niko managed to open up before she got in after Akila and him, and both of them shut it completely.
"Take the situation around the parameter! Why are you sitting here?!" Kasim yelled after stopping and catching his breath with Adrian by his side. The terrified and confused Sergeant looked at him. "My lord! The- The xenos! We were told where they were going, two of them were swiftly approaching! That is why we are on a defensive!" He explained with his voice loud enough amidst all this insanity. Nevertheless, Kasim wasn't impressed. He grumbled at how badly the situation had gotten and then, in a stream of frustration, aimed his pistol at the Sergeant, who widened his eyes in response.
However, Adrian stopped him by grabbing his arm. "My Lord, No! Do not.. They are doing what they have been taught.. Punish me as you see fit, for I am at your mercy, Lord Inquisitor, but he is right. If there are more of them approaching, you must understand one thing. They are presumably here to rescue that bitch! Understand that what they need right now is motivation." Kasim narrowed his eyes and appeared to be burning inside with bitterness. The Sergeant was shivering and shaking while staring into the barrel of Kasim's sidearm, and he was simply in a state of pissing himself. "And what do you propose, Adrian?" He asked in a very, VERY, irritating way.
Adrian had to show what he truly learned from Kasim. "You told me about extreme measures!" He had to raise his voice, all of them had to, because of how much noise the entire military base emitted. "Why waste resources when they can be used for proper measures when MOTIVATED? Let them take the brunt of the attack once you motivate them. You always told me to use extreme measures and that you must not waste resources for naught.. I propose you this. We do not have time as it is!" Kasim thought for a little bit, but then smacked his hand away from him. "I accept your proposal, Adrian.. But pray! That you are right about this.." He turned to face the defenders and had quite a grim expression.
"Men! You are not to disappoint me at any cost, but do not let my anger be your barrier! You are Merlorians, or wusses?! The xenos are coming, and it is up to you to hold the line and show the Imperial Guard what it means to be the defender of your homeworld!" He got to give his speech quite efficiently, like a master orator. But all he was doing was manipulating them, especially when Adrian was satisfied with the results of their facial expressions going from fear to slow confidence. "Defend your home! Hold the line! And kill the bloody xenos! What else do you need to hear from your Lord Inquisitor?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, and they all roared in response.
"Stupid peasants.." Kasim whispered and ran away, with Adrian tapping the Sergeant's shoulder. "Good luck, soldier." The Sarge nodded with a grin. How effectively Kasim removed the fear and replaced it with confidence in common folk as it was one of his precious gifts. "Worry not, sire.. We will hold them off." Adrian nodded and ran after Kasim, while the Sergeant saw two swiftly approaching Aeldari warriors in their lines. "Men! All guns, contact straight ahead, open fire!"
The line defenders unleashed their volleys at the approaching Aeldari warriors, who had to constantly dodge the lasfire and autogun fire from the front. "Arleina! Jump!" Exarch Sarya yelled. "Do it!" Arleina replied and then jumped highly into the air, before Sarya jumped as well and appeared below of Arleina. Then, she pushed her feet against Sarya's shoulders and dashed forward to the defensive lines straight ahead, going like an arrow in the air straight at the enemy positions. "Incoming! Air! Shoot the-" Sergeant yelled, but was instantly silenced after Arleina swung her sword and decapitated him completely.
She switched to the shocked and demoralized defenders and started to cut them down one by one, their blood covering her armor at the slaughter that commenced. She sliced, diced, disemboweled and decapitated the shocked individuals since they could not catch up to her dance-like, fluid movements. She was like the wind of the sea, ever so roaring independently, but Sarya, noticed that her warmask was definitely clinging to her. "Arleina... Arleina!" She raised her voice. "Snap out of it!" She ordered, just as Arleina was constantly and rapidly stabbing the body of a fallen Merlorian soldier. "Snap out of it, I said!" Sarya gripped her shoulders and shook her rapidly before staring into her visors. "You are losing yourself on your path! Do not make the mistake I did!"
Arleina blinked a few times and snapped out of her trance before looking down at the carnage and then back at her Exarch. "Exarch, I.. I don't know what- Like- I became uncontrollable. I saw the mon'keigh, and felt thirst for battle.." Sarya shook her head and gripped her shoulders further. "You are enraged by trying to desperately get to Liriel, trust me, I understand that.. But do not dare to lose yourself on your path. Or it will damage your relationship with her. I know you do not ever want that to happen, therefore, control yourself!" She ordered, and Arleina merely had to nod before concentrating. "Yes, Exarch!" Sarya smiled behind her helmet. "Good spirit, child. We are close, let's go!" And then they both continued to run to their destination - The gates.
On the other side of the base, the 3 mighty Aeldari were taking the biggest brunt of the Merlorian hammer and steel. Hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers with different weaponries, dozens of different vehicles were all hammering at their positions but with their combined might, they were able to counter them. "Begone, mon'keigh filth! Your primitive weapons are no match for Asuryan might!" Nuvian roared while tearing flesh and ripping apart multiple militia members with his fabulous sword. Belanor was busy using his psychic might to give both of his comrades and himself the protective force shield, while occasionally sending lightning bolts from his hand against the guardsmen that got fried into a crispy pile of scorched meat and flak armor.
Farseer Ulthran was handling the vehicles in the meanwhile, and he was surely not willing to give up. Using his staff, which was like a spear itself, he jumped highly to the skies and spun the staff around, creating a whirlwind from the clouds and the fire from the inferno around them before smashing it straight at the packs of vehicles, which were trying to take him down, but Belanor made sure to give Eldrad the support he needed while at the same time, through his fast reflexes, helping out Nuvian, by reflecting the lasfire and autogun fire from him through the force shields.
The vehicles got sucked into the whirlwind by the control of the great seer, who elevated them to the skies, and sent them crashing against the ground with a light speed, scattering gore of metal and blood everywhere and burning the remains, before the whirlwind disappeared, and he landed back on the ground. "There is no end to the mon'keigh ranks.. Pests! Kill one, and ten more will appear. How low has your kind fallen ever since your great war that you waged amongst yourselves!" He yelled out while avoiding massive lasfire from 5 squads of Merlorian militia.
In a swift motion, the seer now used his own force shield, which was way stronger. He slowly and malevolently, made his calm approach, his hand shoved forward to control the force shield. Then, as the Merlorians tried to retreat back after one of their officers yelled out an order, he removed the force shield and quickly ran forward, leaping straight at their rears, but not before dropping a destroyed armored personnel carrier, "Taurox", right in front of them, blocking their path.
"No escape will save you from your doom, mon'keigh beasts."
Then, the slaughter on a grand scale began. The panicked Merlorians dropped their weapons, became demoralized, and tried to run away, but to no avail. The great seer, although not taking any pleasure in killing these lesser beings, had no choice. They were a nuisance and a problem that he had to remove. He was a calculated individual and knew what to do no matter what. With the tenacity of his spear, he stabbed it and sliced with it, a lot of huge chunks of meat flying off, limbs cut, guts spilled and other horrible, lethal strikes upon the fleeing mon'keigh. Nuvian and Belanor saw what he was doing as they ran towards him, and frankly speaking, it made them both feel shivers running down their backs.
"By Khaine, what a massacre!" Nuvian said, as even he was disturbed. "The great seer sees a problem, he removes it, no matter if it tries to flee.. He has too many examples of it. Whenever he allowed a problem to flee, it backfired. He is not taking any chances." Belanor explained to him, while Ulthran stabbed a gunner who held a heavy stubber on sandbags, and with a loud, painful squeal that left the soldier, he pulled his spear-like staff out of him and turned around while holding the staff and tapping it a few times against the ground in order to force the blood to drop from the top of it.
"Good cover, Belanor. More will approach our positions, and.." The Seer suddenly held his head and grunted, while the two of his comrades quickly ran to aid him so he wouldn't fall. "Farseer! What is the matter?!" Nuvian asked, while Belanor held his silence intact. Ulthran reacted by quickly diverting his gaze to the east, straight to where the gates were. "The gates.. The- The gates!" He looked at Nuvian. "The banshee and her exarch. Are they going there?" Nuvian, confused slightly, tapped his comm buttons. "Exarch! Where are you going? To the.. The gat- The gates! Hold the line!" Ulthran immediately raised his voice. "Liriel is close to those gates, but I feel a grave danger is ahead of you, do not head straight into the fray! Do you understand?!" He gave a strict order while they took cover behind a destroyed Chimera.
"Farseer! We see the gates, but if the parameter is strictly surrounded, we will have no choice but to let them overrun the possible position of Liriel! We have to prevent that!" Exarch Sarya replied into the comms. "For Isha's sake, Exarch! Did you not hear me?!" He said, just as salvos of lasguns struck the destroyed Chimera - more of the Militia members arrived at the scene. It forced them to tighten up and stay closely together. "Farseer, we have already made our presence clear in this world, so it does not matter anymore! I abide by your orders as an Exarch, Farseer, but-" Communications suddenly got torn off with a massive explosion. Everyone became anxious.
"Exarch? Exarch! Come in! Arleina! Come in!" Nuvian yelled into the comms while Belanor and Ulthran held off the mon'keigh that tried to do bayonet charges at their positions and surround them for a deadly strike. "For Khaine's bloody hand!" The frustrated Autarch suddenly flapped his wings and flew straight to the east. "Nuvian! No! Curse be upon this misfortune..!" The Seer began to follow Nuvian by making massive jumps, leaving Belanor unaware that his comrades were nowhere near him.
"Foolish primitives! Your numbers are merely a nuisance and a plight upon this galaxy, be cleansed!" He yelled and used his psychic abilities to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy in front of him. "Nuvian! Farseer! Cove-" Belanor, literally widened his eyes behind his helmet when he noticed Nuvian in the air and Farseer Ulthran following him by jumping from one structure to another. Belanor got comically pissed off, so to speak, and then quickly ran after them while surrounding his side with the force shield that devoured any firepower that came flying his way.
"Oh for Isha's sake! Why do I have to be the last and the uninformed?!"
"Holy motherfecking shit!" yelled Niko at the top of his lungs, cheering at what he just managed to discover inside the warehouse. Liriel came running to him after slaughtering the mechanics, alongside Akila, who held a bitten chunk of someone's scalp, which he spat out, and Liriel was covered in blood with her black wraithbone armor slightly crimson. She came rushing, thinking that Niko was in trouble, but got even more confused after seeing him rubbing a huge object covered in massive covers. He already peaked and was now in anticipation of his finding, looking straight into her lenses with one hell of a wide smile. "You might not understand me, but do you even know what this is?" He asked her, grinning now, but much to his disappointment, she merely tilted her head. He sighed, and then, swiftly, in one go, he removed the covers. "What is he trying to show... Me..."
Niko stood aside and gently caressed the vehicle in front of him as it was presented in front of Liriel herself. "This, my dear xeno, is Tauros! We of the Silver Spears are fond of this vehicle. Although it is modified with a fuel engine, as I see.. Fraggin hell, no galvanic motors, which would allow us to be quiet. But still! Luckily, the Emperor hasn't abandoned us, it seems!" He said with joy.
She inspected it after being shocked at the amount of luck Isha was blessing them with at the moment. The vehicle that they found was nothing else than an all-terrain vehicle, named "Tauros." by Imperial standards. It had a heavy bolter mounted on top, a comfortable seat for the driver, and one seat for the gunner. He also found a belt of krak grenades at the seat. He instantly pulled the belt over his shoulder and saw that the ignition key was missing, which caused him to cuss. "Kalevan devils! Stay here!" He said and gestured before running to one of the offices to search for the key, while Akila quickly sat on the driver's seat, staring at the ever-confused Liriel.
"What in the name of Khaine is going on.. He is excited like a child to see this primitive vehicle on wheels?" She thought, thinking of it as quite jestful. "I admit.. He might have a plan if he is that excited" She said and admitted whilst looking around and waiting by the vehicle itself. Niko was rambling around and trying to find the correct key on a board in the office that was hanging on a wall.
"Bloody fecking hell..! Where is it?!" He began to get quite irritated, and for a good reason. But then, however.. He gasped as soon as he saw a literal hand of Liriel pointing at one key from the top, making him jumpscared. "Gaah! Liri!" He turned his head around while holding his chest and appeared to be pouting, although with a blush. Little did he know that this moment caused Liriel to grin behind her helmet. "This one, silly human." She said, and Niko looked at it before seeing a symbol of Tauros above the key itself. It was just slightly dissipated, but he nevertheless, got joyful again, smiled and grabbed it. "Yes! Good eye, Liri, good eye. Let's get out of here!" She nodded to his request.
Both of them ran back to their vehicle, but sooner or later, they once again saw Akila off from the driver's seat, standing near the vehicle, and growling towards the big gates of the hangar. This caused Liriel and Niko to look at each other, and then, as much as they hated this fact, they knew it meant only one thing after it literally presented itself on a silver platter.
*THUMP THUMP THUMP*
There was a loud banging heard behind the gates that Liriel and Niko barricaded with chains they found lying on the floor. "Bloody hand of Khaine, do they not know when to stand down?!" She cursed out before Niko did the same. "Not even the old man from Mer'Yen's pub was this stubborn.. Emperor's sakes!" He said, before quickly jumping into the driving seat, sticking the key into the ignition, and turning it on, but it did not budge. He punched the steering wheel and tried again. "Work you piece of shite! WORK!" He said, while Liriel slowly retreated to the vehicle while keeping her eyes on the gates. She would have to react if they were breached, whether they wanted it or not, and Akila was only eager to leap onto his next prey.
"Liriel!" Niko yelled, resulting in her turning her head around as he was pointing at the heavy bolter. "What- I- I have no knowledge of your primitive weaponry, Niko!" She quickly shook her head before Niko sighed in irritation, trying to ignite the darn vehicle. "Get up there, you pointy-eared lioness!" He persisted, much to her own detesting. "Fine, Fine! Khaine almighty, Niko.." She thought in her mind before making a fancy jump to the gunner's seat by jumping on the hood and then making a frontal flip to the gunner's seat. "Look, fecksakes it's not rocket science! Just push these triggers like this!" He showed her the way through hand gestures before she nodded relatively quickly. "Good.. Now, this thing definitely has enough gas in it. It's always the most important priority anyway, but it does not budge!" Niko frustratingly said while looking at Akila in a pissed-off way. "Akila! Get your furry ass over here!"
The Merlorian wolf, who was an apex predator and a serious, menacing threat to its enemies, turned into a literal pup as soon as Niko ordered him to come back. He howled in disappointment and jumped between Niko's legs on the driver's seat. Niko tried to ignite it for the 3rd time, but it still did not budge. "Piece of... Wait.." He suddenly remembered something from the Uplifting primer book. He was so isolated from technologies that he forgot about an important aspect of Imperial machinery - Machine spirit!
"Bloody hell! I almost forgot about the machine spirits.. Uhhh..." He tried to remember any litanies to appease the machine spirit, and then, without remembering much as the hangar doors were now getting banged even louder, the chains becoming weaker by every sound of what looked like a battery ram, he reached out onto his backpack that he dropped beneath his feet and pulled out the book of "The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer" and quickly went to the category about the machine spirits.
"Come on.. Come on! Where is it.. Nope, not this one.. Not that one either.. Not the-" Suddenly, he received a smack from Liriel, who was definitely irritated behind her helmet. "Niko. For the love of Isha, a gyrinx would be able to turn this bloody vehicle on quicker than you! Hurry up!" She said in her language, much to Niko's annoyed stare. "As if I'm not trying, you knife-eared redhead!" He switched his gaze back to the pages of his little book, and then, after ten more seconds of listing parts, he stumbled upon the page named "Litany of the Engine Invocation" and finally sighed deeply in relief. "Finally! Fecksakes.." He said and began to read the prayer.
~ Thus we invoke the Master of All Knowledge. ~
~ Shed your powers upon this machine. ~
~ Invest this device with your holy charge!
After finishing his prayer, he gripped the key and closed his eye. "Here we go..." And the key was turned once again.
*VVVRRRUUMMMMM*
Niko opened his eyes in quite disbelief at the amount of luck that was bestowed upon him and his little group. The engine roared out as the machine spirit was appeased, and it obeyed the command of the ignition. "Thank the Emperor! Action!" He said, and then looked back at Liriel, who appeared to be giving him a single nod of approval. "You know what to do, Liriel. You see the generator on sight? Shoot it in an instant. Now, prepare!" She still didn't understand what he meant and just held the heavy bolter by its grips while pointing it at the hangar gates, although she was already aware of what they had to do. "I got a brilliant idea.." Niko whispered.
Akila was tightly sitting between Niko's legs, sitting on his paws, and howling in anticipation of the escape. Niko pushed the brake pedal, lowered the handbrakes, shifted the gear, and then grabbed his crossbow, aiming it at chain locks that were literally about to fall off as the battering against the gates got ever more powerful. With a single release of a steel-tip arrow from Niko's crossbow, the "Pilum Imperialist", the chains broke down and fell to the ground, just as the hammering got louder. The gates broke and opened up, and then a single sentinel that was using its leg as a battering ram against the gates appeared to be on sight. Alongside it were a group of about a dozen of Merlorians that tried to access the gates, and behind the soldiers was no one else but the Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim, and his acolyte Adrian himself. "Gates breached! My Lord, your or...ders..?" Adrian was about to finish, but he noticed something strange.
The entire hall was covered in smoke, and nothing was visible to the Merlorians or the Inquisitor himself. "The gate's defensive line reported that they were here.. What trickery in the Emperor's name is this? Where are they?!" He demanded to know, but nobody spoke since the smoke was literally a fog in the entire hall. "My Lord, my auspex shows signals straight ahead." He looked at the Merlorian officer. "Then fire everything you've got, what are you waiting for?!" The officer nodded and gave orders to his men. "Men! All guns, start firing until they see the glow of our bar-" Out of nowhere, the headlights of the vehicle turned on from the smoke. Suddenly, a deafening sound of firepower came from the misty black smokey fog, and the result was quite bloody.
"Spread out!" Inquisitor yelled just as he and Adrian got out of the way, and the bolter rounds from the heavy bolter mounted on top of an Imperial vehicle began to be unleashed in a massive barrage, tearing apart the Merlorians into shreds before they took cover. The sentinel also took cover to avoid taking damage, as it was, after all, a combat walker.
"You will not find any salvation here, mon'keigh parasites. Rot beneath the soil you walk upon." Liriel whispered while pulling the triggers of the heavy weaponry and firing in all directions. "Halt!" Niko yelled, and Liriel halted immediately, stopping immediately. "Hold on tight!" He said, and pushed the pedal all the way down, the engine roaring as the vehicle went straight forward. Niko shifted the steering wheel leftward by pushing on the breaks, making a sharp left turn just as the sentinel tried to block their way. "No you don't!" said Niko, just as the right side of the Tauros struck against the sentinel's legs, forcing it to fall on the side, and at the same time, the Inquisitor got into the fray from his cover, but Liriel literally swung her right foot and kicked him straight in the face, forcing him to drop against the arms of his acolyte Adrian. "That's for hurting Niko, filth!" She yelled as the Inquisitor was left shocked to the core by this audacity.
Niko pushed the pedal once more and drove straight towards the gates, and in the meanwhile, they received some fire from their rear, but Niko was a speedy demon, so to speak, being swift in his driving skills. "Inquisitor! Are you alright?!" Adrian asked, but the Inquisitor merely pushed him off, grabbed his cane, and rushed straight ahead. "After them, you useless worms! Do not let them get through the gates! The audacity of this filthy xenos to taunt me like this.. I will flay them both!" Adrian ran after him, trying to beckon with his Inquisitor, in order to not allow his pride and arrogance to get ahead of him.
"My Lord! Wait!" Kasim turned his head and smacked his cane against Adrian's stomach, forcing him to gasp and slightly bend over before leaning back up with a frowny look. "Shut your mouth and follow my orders if you don't want to end up being on the list, fool!" He resumed his running before following him by his side. "As you will it, my Lord.." The surviving Merlorians also ran, and more squads were being pulled to the gates while the battle on the far other side of the base was getting closer and closer to them all.
Heavy panting, a blurry vision, and buzzing sounds in the ears. That is what Arleina felt as she woke up in a cover behind a few iron structures, with Exarch Sarya holding her shuriken pistol and her glaive, shooting occasionally as the Merlorians were trying to approach them. Arleina, realizing that a salvo of missiles from a sentinel knocked her out, luckily the Exarch wasn't knocked out, and Arleina was pulled to cover by her. Quickly processing the situation, she grabbed her power sword that was lying against the structure and shoved her back against it, just as Sarya realized that her banshee had woken up. "You're awake! Thank you, great mother.. No- Do not!" She pulled Arleina back as she tried to leap and go towards the gates, as they were merely 300 meters away from them, but a second defensive line forced them to be stuck and trapped.
"Are you insane?!" Arleina scoffed while looking at her Exarch. "Every second we waste here endangers Liriel's life, Exarch! We can use these structures to attack them from above!" Exarch shook her head. "We cannot! Without the aid of our seers and Autarch, we will get smashed with their heavy weaponry! Wake up to your senses.. And stay in cover until we find the momentum!" She ordered, and Arleina, although bitter, nodded. "Isha... Aaaaghhh.. We are so close... Just, so close.." Sarya wiped her lenses from the blood and looked at her. "I know.. For Isha's sake, Arleina, I know.. Words will not aid us at this moment. Only actions-"
"Fear not, children of Asuryani. The Aeldari might is upon you."
Both Exarch and Arleina jumped from getting jumpscared by the sudden arrival of Eldrad Ulthran, who crouched next to them. "F..Farseer?! How the-" Arleina wanted to finish her sentence, but Exarch interrupted her. "Great seer, where are the rest? We need them!" The Farseer pointed to the skies, and they all looked straight upwards.
They saw a magnificent figure flapping its wings, who dashed straight towards the defensive line of the Merlorians, like a wild falcon on the hunt, and began to cut them down one by one. Eldrad stood up from his position just as Warlock Belanor joined the fray, as he came tearing through a few tents with his sword and used his psychic might to disable a few vehicles. "Eldrad, now!" He said, and Ulthran leaped onto a box. "I sense her being where the gates are! Go, children! Save our craftworld's sister!" And then he charged straight ahead, overheating the vehicle engines and blowing them to smithereens.
"Arleina!" Exarch yelled just as Arleina got out of her cover and ran towards the gates in a great haste. "Khaine's mighty blade.. This naive, stubborn child!" She said it irritatingly and ran after her while avoiding the fire from the battle that Eldrad, Belanor and Nuvian were committed to. They were all removing the problem for Arleina and Sarya to go forward and save Liriel as quickly as possible. This was a dire moment of importance, and they would not wish to miss it.
And just as they ran to the gates, they saw, and even heard, a massive explosion coming from where the gates were. "Do not pay it any heed, Arly! Move as fast as the wind!" Exarch said. She was quite annoyed by how stubborn Arleina was, but she understood her desire to save her closest person in her life. Still, it did not mean that she had to be reckless and not watch over her own safety. "Khaine preserve our strength.." Sarya whispered while running as fast as she could.
Niko kept his foot pushed down against the pedal while staring at the gates, which were covered by the Merlorians, while being chased by the Inquisitor from the rear. He did not wish to take any chances and allowed himself to take this one simple risk. "There it is, shoot! SHOOT, Liriel! SHOOT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs just as Liriel saw the power generator. She held the heavy bolter tightly and pulled the triggers all the way down, unleashing an entire barrage of heavy bolter fire, just as the defensive line spotted them and unleashed their firepower. The power generator got damaged, but it was not enough. Niko steered left and right to avoid the krak launchers and sentinel missiles.
"Get me a bit closer!" Liriel ordered, and although Niko didn't know what it meant, he was well aware of what it implied. "Hang in there, it's gonna get bumpy!" He controlled the Tauros as much as his skill allowed him. After getting into a straight line, he pushed the pedal after shifting the gear to full speeds, and the engine roared its mighty noise as Niko drove forward, holding the wheel tightly and clenching his teeth. Liriel saw the generator in a closer vicinity, and then she opened fire. The result was something straight out of fiction.
A massive explosion from the generator's overreaction caused the defensive line to collapse entirely, all due to how huge the explosion was. It ripped open the gates that flew straight ahead from the pressure, but the Merlorians and their vehicles got blown in many directions. Liriel smirked behind her helmet. "Khaine smiles upon us!" Akila howled, but Niko had the biggest smirk on his face as he drove straight ahead. The gates were destroyed, and the path was open, but in the center, there was a pile of rubble that appeared to be like a hill. Liriel got slightly concerned after seeing this and looked down at Niko. "Hey- There's a pile ahead, slow down.. Niko, slow it down for Khaine's sake!" He did not listen and remained smirking.
"No- Do not dare!" She anxiously said before gripping the sides of the Tauros after realizing what he was about to do, but Niko? He literally drove the Tauros directly for the pile of rubble, and then he flew out of the military base as if making a leap on a car sports show. The Tauros flew, and Akila howled loudly in excitement, while Liriel gasped and tried not to squeal, but Niko.. Oh boy, Niko, was literally LOVING this moment!
"GERONIMUUUUUS MOTHERFECKEEEERS!"
He yelled at the top of his lungs, feeling the massive boost of excitement and dopamine rushing through his veins. The Tauros had a rough landing that was bumpy, but the vehicle was still intact. Niko already took the single road that was bestowed in front of him and was having a mad laugh of joy. Liriel blinked a few times as her eyes were widening enough from how reckless Niko himself was, and she looked down at him.
"By the great mother.. Has he gone mad?!" She shook her head and wiped her forehead, thinking of how dangerous, yet.. Entertaining, this leap was. "Although.." She slowly smiled behind her helmet, removing it and taking in the fresh air of freedom at last, but then got slightly annoyed by Niko's laugh, and so shook his head a little bit. "Eh?" He looked back at her helmetless face and slightly blushed while driving the Tauros. "We are free, Niko." She said, just as he was about to turn his head back, but he stared for a few seconds and made his fabulous smile noticeable on his face before turning his head back on the road. "I don't know what that means, but I will say yes, hah. We did it, Akila." The wolf howled happily.
However, their moment of break would have to wait because they saw a valkyrie taking off in the base and a dozen Imperial motorbikes going after them in a great hasty chase with the headlights turned on. Liriel facepalmed herself, gritted her teeth, and shoved her helmet back on before shaking Niko once more. "Huh? Wha-" He already saw the problem and smacked the side of the steering wheel in frustration. "Oh for fecksakes! Do they not know how to give up?!" He pushed down on the pedal and got into a speedy mode, because now they would have to evade the followers. Liriel realized that there was no way to turn the heavy bolter backwards without occupying Niko's seat one way or another. "Oh by the Ulthwe's tears.. No choice here. Niko!" She tried to warn him first. "A bit busy here, Liri!" She rolled her eyes behind the helmet and then simply sat behind Niko, surprising him completely as he felt her entire frontal body against his back, especially... The Chest plate.
This had quite a reaction from the Kalevan young man, who quickly turned on the Tauros's lights in the interior. He widened his eye and slightly leaned his torso forward before looking back at her. "Ayo what in the Emperor's golden toile- Throne?!" He didn't wish to speak of the Emperor's name in vain, but he was keen on remembering the jokes of a very reckless member of his regiment, who avoided Commissar Artan by some Emperor-forsaken-miracle and was quite bold when speaking of anything holy of the Imperium. No one ratted him out, not even Niko. He was not a snitch. Either way, Liriel wasn't too flustered. Well, at least she thought she wasn't. "Do not.. Mention it, mon- Niko." She said, but he still didn't get why she switched seats. "Liriel, this isn't too comfortable for me to drive.. You're tall and quite bulky with your armor, mind moving a bit away-" He had to constantly switch his gaze from the road and then to her, but this time, he totally felt flustered himself.
"Oohh hooOOOOLY THRONE!" he saw Liriel's magnificent heart-shaped rear right in front of his face. He switched his gaze to the road and held his eye on it, pouting and just flustered. "What the feck is she.. Niko, not this time, not this time- Concentrate!" He talked to himself while Liriel managed to turn the bolter around and point it towards the enemies that followed her. She held the bolter's grips and waited for them to approach.
Niko, in the meantime couldn't get the image of her perfect rear out of his head. More heat was spreading to his cheeks while he tried to keep control of the vehicle, turning left on the road into an open valley. Nevertheless, he kept himself at a steady pace. After all, he already knew that she turned the bolter around perfectly. Niko, in the meanwhile, had to use the headlights to make sure he saw anything from the front. Nevertheless, he knew what to do.
"Chased by these morons in a pitch black night and the inability to look back.. Ain't that fecking perfect!"
A bit earlier before Liriel, Niko and Akila escaped through the gates.
"Wait! WAIT! LIRIEL!" Arleina yelled at the top of her lungs. She leaped straight into the air, and her gaze fell straight upon the Tauros. She did not see who was driving it, but she saw Liriel perfectly in the gunner's seat. The gates were destroyed, many mon'keigh lying dead, but Liriel was there. In the Imperial vehicle, escaping straight through the gates. It was such a misfortune moment that Liriel wasn't able to hear or sense her through all the frantic and clusterfucky events happening at the same time. Arleina landed perfectly near the running Exarch and informed her. "Exarch! I saw her!" Her gaze completely turned to Arleina. "Where is she?!" She asked. "Escaped through the gates!"
"What?! We- Khaine damn it!" She cursed and accessed her comm. "Autarch! Warlock! Farseer! Liriel escaped!" She yelled into her comm device before the reply flew back at her. "Isha preserve us.. Rendezvous at the gates, kill every one of these vile primitives to the last. We already suffered enough delay!" Autarch Nuvian ordered. "My or Belanor's word is not needed here, Exarch. Eliminate all of them. Our plan has not failed, but it is delayed, and I need everyone gathered. Khaine only knows where she is going.." He said. "Understood." She ended the comms. "Arleina, we have to-"
Unfortunately, Sarya did not see Arleina next to her. What she saw instead was her running up the front, not next to her as she told her to. Realizing that she was slowly losing herself to battle, she ran as fast as she could after her. "What are you doing?! Arleina- Stop! STOP! Arly!" Arleina was, in fact, very frustrated and pissed off. Because of these mon'keigh, she missed Liriel by mere minutes, and now, being in a vehicle, she wouldn't be able to run after her. Exarch had to stop her.
In the meanwhile, the Inquisitor was beyond frustrated. He had already executed two Merlorian officers and yelled his orders at the top of his lungs. "Move, move, move you scum! Chase them and bring them to me, dead or alive!" He said, and multiple, if not a dozen or so Merlorians on motorbikes dashed out of the base and went at full speed to chase after the escapees, including a valkyrie, which was followed by another valkyrie. In total, there were about 10 bikers and 2 valkyries going after them. "My Lord!" Adrian looked at his master. "We cannot call for reinforcements! The communications tower is destroyed! We are completely isolated.." He reported, and Kasim, was on the verge of exploding.
"Emperor forsaken, filthy, vile xenos scumbags! How did they manage to do this?!" He was enraged, but Adrian just waited until he calmed down. "No.. Matter. Order an immediate evacuation of this base and return to Xaroi, for all personnel that still breathes!" He said, and Adrian nodded. "On it, my Lord.." He tapped the comm button. "All units! Evacuate the base immediately, and rush to the capital! The xenos are menacingly preying upon us here like rabbits in a cage.. Evacuate! Immediately Evacuate!"
The Inquisitor tapped Adrian on the shoulder and pointed at one of the buildings with his cane. "That adamantium hangar has my personal valkyrie. We need to rush back to Xaroi and evacuate out of this world.. I have had enough." He said, and gritted his teeth as he addressed his acolyte. "Wait- My Lord.. You are not seriously.." The Inquisitor gripped him by his shirt, and now he seriously had to yell.
"The xenos are attacking us, Adrian! We cannot afford another loss here. Not on my Emperor's forsaken watch.. I will destroy everything in here, this entire sector if I must, and nothing will be left for the vile xenos to take! We will burn them alongside this backwards world, with its brainless population that cannot do anything right.. Mercy is abhorrent, and I will not show any. Do you understand that, Acolyte?" He said. Adrian remained without showing any emotional response, just a blank, frowny stare, and nodded once. "I am your servant, my Lord Inquisitor.." He let go of his shirt. "Very good. Now, I suggest you get on in great haste. Let's g-" The Lord Inquisitor suddenly saw a multiple of Merlorians dropping dead one by one, and so he had to divert his gaze straight into the fray.
Adrian, who got confused, also turned around and saw a line of Merlorians dropping dead, with pools of blood splattering and spilling everywhere possible. After the last Merlorian soldier was dropped, Adrian widened his eyes and saw a shadow strafing straight towards him from the front, then suddenly, from the right. "Lord Inquisitor!" He yelled as he pushed him backwards, pulling out his sword and countering the attack that the shadow tried to make on the Lord Inquisitor. Adrian blocked the attack, and two swords clashed together.. It was then that Adrian saw who he was facing, right in front of him. It was another howling banshee, Arleina herself.
It did not help the fact that she was covered in the blood of the Merlorians, and now she made sure that these two remained her target. "My Lord, the xenos are here!" Adrian yelled. Kasim slowly got up from the ground and saw Adrian battling with an Aeldari warrior one-on one, the blades clashing together as Arleina and Adrian tried to best each other in a fight that looked like some kind of magnificent duel. But little did they know, that Kasim, despite being arrogant, was not unprofessional in terms of fighting in close combat. "BEGONE, FILTH!" He screamed and used the top of his cane like a sledgehammer, striking Arleina's shoulder and sending her strafing rightwards as she kept her balance perfectly on the ground. It barely forced her to have a reaction, as she was now facing the might of a Lord Inquisitor and his acolyte.
"My Lord, you- You have to reach the valkyrie, I can hold the xenos off to buy you some time!" He said, and then looked at him. "Just what do you take me for, Adrian?! It's only one xenos.. I am not going to cower. I will take its head." He pulled out his sidearm and began shooting at Arleina, who was already charging at them both while dodging the shots.
She leaped against Adrian, but he anticipated this movement and then jumped backwards as Arleina swung her sword, but all she got in return was a strike of the Lord Inquisitor's cane straight at her back. The essence within the cane was so resilient that the wraithbone armor on her back slightly cracked from the force itself. The cane was literally like a thunder hammer, and it was Julius Kasim's personal weapon to use in melees. Arleina gasped for air, and then the Lord Inquisitor swung his cane straight at Arleina's jaw like an uppercut and sent her flying 10 meters away from them both, with the Lord Inquisitor grinning in satisfaction as he was finally having the chance to maul some xenos.
"Is that all that these filthy Eldar have to offer?!" He asked before Adrian looked at the hangar made out of adamantium, where Kasim's personal valkyrie was hidden at. "My Lord, this is our chance! Let us head for our valkyrie and get out of here.. Understand, the xenos are not alone, and the Merlorians are decimated, they're already panicking and evacuating from this base! We have LOST.. Let us be wise, My Lord, we need to get out." Adrian tried to force him to listen. He wanted to make sure he was heard and that Kasim held back his accumulated arrogance and pride, but all his words fell on deaf ears. He was already walking towards Arleina, who managed to slowly get up by holding onto her power sword.
She was helmetless and had a very stoic looking expression on her face. A face that screamed the lust for battle and blood. She appeared to be losing herself and on the verge of becoming an Exarch herself, but she was blinded by the anger of not being able to rescue Liriel, all due to these humans, these VERMIN in her eyes, stopping and slowing her down constantly. Now, she only wanted to see them dead in her path, and so, as the Inquisitor approached her, she dashed at him once again, as fast as she could, wanting to decapitate him.
The Lord Inquisitor, however, already realized what was happening to her, as he was well aware of the flaws within the Aeldari warrior society. He exploited it and used it to his advantage. "Come at me!" He dodged her strike and continued to block multiple of her sword's strikes with his unbreakable cane. After about ten seconds of constant blocking, the aged Lord Inquisitor used his sidearm to strike her on the leg, force the pressure to drop her down onto one knee, aim his sidearm at her chest, where her soulstone was. She lifted her head after gasping and saw the barrel of the Inquisitor's sidearm, the trigger being pulled.
Arleina's entire life flashed before her eyes as soon as the loud boom was heard, but then, out of nowhere, the sidearm diverted sideways, and the Lord Inquisitor was pushed back with a straight kick into his chest. He stumbled backwards and blinked a few times at this surprise. "My Lord!" Adrian helped his Inquisitor to stay on his feet, and both of them looked straight ahead at a figure that was standing in front of Arleina.
"Enemies of Ulthwe deserve nothing but death!" Exarch Sarya proclaimed, protecting Arleina, who appeared to be confused after getting her wake-up call and totally disoriented. "Another filth!?" Kasim spoke their own language, something that didn't surprise Sarya, since she was older and had experience with Inquisitors. "An Inquisitor.. So it was you who was responsible for kidnapping our aspect sister?!" Kasim merely laughed while Adrian held his dual-side arms pointed directly at Sarya, who held her power glaive, and through her swift speed, she managed to kick the Lord Inquisitor away from ending Arleina. "Kidnapped? Are you serious?! Do you even realize what your so-called sister has gotten herself into?!"
"What are you talking about?!" Exarch demanded, but Kasim laughed, smirked and fixed his monocle. "Fools.. If only you knew." He said, and laughed. He knew that, as ridiculous as it sounded, the one person they were looking for literally ran off with a human she fell in love with, but he did not wish to speak about this. It would cause a total calamity and a disruption within the ordo, especially when they would demand this one single human be given to them. Over my dead body, Kasim thought. His prey was only his to be hunted, and no one elses. "No matter, you ruined my entire plans, and for that, you will feel the wrath of the Puritan circle, xenos scum! Ohh you should have heard the cries of your xenos bitch when I tortured her mind!" He laughed, angering Sarya even more.
"Exarch.." Arleina said, standing up slowly and looking in the Inquisitor's direction, like a very enraged predator upon its prey. "Stand aside. I will personally KILL this mon'keigh parasite." Sarya shook her head and kept staring at the Inquisitor who tempted them to come, with his acolyte by his side. "Stand down, Arleina.. You are in no shape to take a fight with him. He is experienced." She said so, but Arleina did not care. She took her sword from the ground it was stabbed into and wanted to charge at him, but Exarch Sarya stopped her in the tracks, grumbling severely as Adrian unleashed a flaming shot straight past Arleina's helmetless features, almost striking her ear. "Stand DOWN, I said!"
Arleina clenched her teeth, and appeared to be enraged. "He's trying to provoke you, stand down, Arleina!" She held her back, while the Inquisitor continued to mock, taunt and provoke with that evil freaking grin. "Maybe I would have thrown her into the hungry jaws of depraved soldiery, perhaps she would find some usefulness to test the loyalty of these people.. Fear not, I would execute them all.. Just not while they would be RAVAGING that whore from inside out!" He laughed with pure malevolence once again, while Arleina was enraged even further. "Shut your filthy mouth, mon'keigh beast! Do not talk about my aspect sister as if she is your TOY!"
"Ooohh, my toy? You must be either her sister or someone who is very close, I suppose? Oh what a delightful surprise.. You come into my territory, and you expect me to show you any type of fairness? Do not make me laugh. I would have personally made her scream your name, Aeldari, to scream and weep under agonizing pain. Maybe I already did that, who knows? But at the last minute.. You did not come to save her. How does it feel, huh?" Kasim smirked further, and Arleina gasped with her eyes widening. "Do not intervene, Adrian.. If that other one tries to interrupt us? Threaten her. And shoot this bitch I am about to face if that one dares to cross the line." Kasim said as Adrian nodded, and then he prepared as he realized that his provocation and manipulative skills were working once more.
Arleina's blood began to be pumped with pure adrenaline as she pushed her Exarch away with an elbow striking her helmet and then charged straight at the Inquisitor, who blocked her every strike and sword's swings with his own skillful experience. "Is that all you have?! Pathetic!" Kasim swung himself in a 360-degree angle just as Arleina leaped on him with the sword from above, and he smashed her right side enough for a rib to be heard cracking, sending her flying off to 5 meters. Kasim stood at one spot while Exarch tried to intervene after getting up, but she realized that this would only end in vain as Adrian had his gun directed towards her. They looked at each other and prepared for any sudden outcome, while Arleina and Kasim were battling through melee.
Swiftly getting up, Arleina charged once again, using her elegance in her smooth movements to move right and left, leaping with frontal flips, and trying to wound Julius with her might, but the experienced Inquisitor was too swift, thanks to all the augmetics and drugs he pumped himself with. That cane, to him, was his own melee, and he used it efficiently to block her strikes with reflexes resembling those of a full-grown Astartes.
"I will KILL you! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU IN KHAINE'S NAME!" Arleina roared at him through accumulated emotions, while he just mockingly laughed at her attempts. "Pathetic! She may have escaped from my grasps, but even you, with your eldritch technologies and centuries of warfare experience, did not manage to overwhelm the obstacles on time and reach for her! You call yourself a warrior, yet how many times, I wonder, has that whore begged for your help, wept and cried while being stuck in this world, only for you to utterly fail in rescuing her.. Soooo saaad, isn't it?!" The anguish Kasim caused the howling banshee was severe. Many things were happening at the moment that distracted Arleina's mind. The images of Liriel, completely broken, deprived of her innocence, her honor, and dignity, the provocation of Kasim, was working.
"Arleina! Do not fall for his provocation, do not falter! He is manipulating you into falsehood!" She yelled while trying to just make a leap, but Adrian shot both of his sidearms at Sarya's feet. "Do not intervene, xenos... Filth. You will not lay a finger on my master." He pointed one sidearm towards Arleina's position, threatening her with silence, which forced Exarch to clench her teeth and stand where she was. "Bloody curses of Khaine.. If I make any movements, Arleina will be killed. I have to trust her strength to finish this.." She thought, and she simply couldn't access her comm device due to her damaged helmet, which also damaged the communications device within the helmet itself.
Nevertheless, the duel between the Lord Inquisitor and Banshee Arleina continued. Kasim was simply toying with her, while Arleina was all serious. She hacked her sword constantly against his cane, but the Lord Inquisitor did not budge. Despite the fact that he was a vile and psychopathic man, he was not incompetent to fight. However, he was still treacherous, and he would use everything he could think of to win a fight and a battle. This time was no exception. "Fear my wrath!" He yelled and tapped a button on his cane, which emitted a very bright light against Arleina and resulted in her blocking her eyesight, before Sarya yelled out. "Dodge! Arleina DODGE his atta-" It was rather too late.
The Lord Inquisitor had already smashed her chestplate to the point of cracking with a strike of his cane and sent her flying upwards before she landed on her back in a rough way. "No!" Sarya yelled and dashed forward, not wanting to stand back anymore. Adrian got distracted for a split second, and just as his gaze turned towards the Exarch, who was flying at him at lightning speed, she felt a sudden numbing pain throughout her entire body as she received an electrical shockwave across her entire body, resulting in her dropping at Adrian's feet while the Lord Inquisitor pointed at her from the taser handgun. "Woah, my Lord, that was.." He frowned and holstered his taser. "Close, wasn't it? Watch the enemy's eyes, not their blades." Adrian nodded, obeying with full content.
"K..Kkkhaaine.. Aiidd my wratthh... Against the enemy..!" Arleina trembled and shook constantly, all due to the electricity going through her body as she got tased by Kasim. Adrian saw her resisting, trying to reach for her power glaive that she dropped not so far away from her. "No you don't." He mumbled with fury and kicked her helmet with his boot, forcing her to grunt, while Arleina tried to get up, only for Kasim to place his boot on her chest, where the synthetic tight suit was already slightly ripped.
Arleina tried to reach for her power sword. Kasim laughed with pure malevolence and pressed his other boot against her arm, pressing a button on his cane. "Nooot so fast, xenos filth.. Your soul stone looks so precious, mind if I crack it a little?" He said, speaking Aeldari, forcing Arleina to panic, all due to the fact that Kasim, after pressing one of the buttons on his cane, retrieved a very sharp, scalpel-like blade from the ending tip of the cane. It was shiny and made from the finest material, and it would definitely stab her beyond. "Is...ha.. Khai..Ne.. I give my life... To your hands.. Safeguard Liriel.." These words were the only thing going through her panicked mind at the moment.
Arleina saw with a slightly blurry vision of what Kasim was about to do, while Adrian was holding her down with a knee to the spine and holding the mane of her helmet, pulling it hard and pressing his blade to her throat. He was silent and did not speak, only forced Arleina to watch her comrade about to be killed in the vilest way possible. By stabbing through the soulstone. "Ar...Arleina... Arleina! Mon'keigh beast, do not do this! Take me, not her!" She yelled before getting her helmet removed, and her face smashed against the ground, forcing her to bleed and grit her teeth. Adrian was effective at this, so to speak. Kasim looked at her with his fabulous evil grin. "Xenos deserve only the most painful extermination... You care for her? Then witness how I send her to the grasps of SLAANESH!"
He lifted his cane with the sharp scalpel-like blade at the end of the tip and kept laughing, while Adrian forced Exarch Sarya to watch the fate of Arleina unfold. They both struggled and tried to get out of their grasps, but it was all in vain. The Lord Inquisitor was too powerful, and his acolyte Adrian was following his master's steps with all his loyalty. "No... Noo! Noooo!" Sarya yelled while trying to weakly reach for Arleina.
*HhhnnnNHHNNNNGGHLLUNGGG-CHOP*
A sudden burst of lightning energy went past Kasim, and he felt blood gushing onto his coat while he was about to smash his cane down against Arleina. However, he blinked a few times while grinning, then slowly lifted his head to look at his... Arms.. And one of them was missing. It took him 3 seconds to process this thought before he had a shocking realization, that his arm was literally missing, and the cane dropped beneath his feet. "MY LORD!" Adrian yelled in pure terror before Kasim unleashed a loud, howling moan of pain and agony, holding his bleeding, severed arm. "Aaaaagghh!" He yelled and dropped to one knee after taking a few steps back while gripping his arm as tight as he could.
Adrian ran towards him, but he failed to reach him. Out of nowhere, he got struck by a lightning bolt that sent him flying 10 meters against a destroyed vehicle structure, forcing him to gasp and drop all the sidearms he was carrying. "Argh.. My fraggin shoulders.. My.. My Lord..!" He grunted in pain while clenching his teeth after getting almost fried by the bolt, but luckily it dissipated and only stunned his body for a short amount of time. Despite this, he reached for his sidearms, while Arleina continued to stare confusingly into the sky, and Exarch Sarya, was still numb from the electricity, but she was slowly crawling towards Arleina.
"F..Filthy.. Fragging... xenos.." He whispered while showing a clear sign of irritated anger and frustration at this unlucky situation. He blinked a few times as he fell onto his knees and felt his vision too blurry. However, as he blinked two times, he saw 2 figures surrounding the Inquisitor from behind. He wanted to scream and tell his master to turn around, but he couldn't, because now Autarch Nuvian was the one stepping on his head and keeping him down while pointing the tip of his sword at his head. "Do not move, filthy mon'keigh." Nuvian hissed, while Adrian tried to resist and struggle against the electricity that went like shockwaves across his body, grunting and trying to get up, but to no avail.
The shocked Lord Inquisitor felt too much pain at the moment, and just as he saw Nuvian holding Adrian down, he reached for his sidearm with his other hand, and tried to shoot Nuvian in the head. "Die, vile xeno!" He yelled while grunting in agonizing pain. Unfortunately for him, his handgun refused to fire. He found out that he couldn't pull the trigger, and in a second, he found himself unable to even move his limbs anymore because they were being controlled by the psychic mind of Warlock Belanor, who appeared on the left side of the Inquisitor with his hand shoved forward and some mysterious particles emitting from his hand. Kasim turned his eyeballs at him while gritting his teeth and holding back his urge to moan from the pain. "Nnngh..Yy...YYyoouu..."
Belanor remained silent, not speaking a word, and then Eldrad Ulthran appeared in front of him. "Belanor. Help our sisters.." Warlock nodded and then released Kasim from his control before the Inquisitor held his arm after his handgun dropped to the ground. Eldrad stared down at the Inquisitor who was kneeling, and then asked. "Do you like to anguish in the suffering of others, mon'keigh Inquisitor?" He asked, while Belanor pulled Sarya up by her arm around his neck before helping Arleina get up and aid him in helping Sarya, Nuvian still holding Adrian down.
The Lord Inquisitor slowly lifted his head and looked directly at Eldrad's visors with the most pure and unimaginable ounces of hatred a human being could muster. He spat directly at his helmet and spoke. "I do not speak... to... Alien... DOGS.. Witch." Kasim said, before Eldrad continued as Kasim's saliva dripped down from his helmet. "Your arrogance makes an average Aeldari look like a little gyrinx kitten, but for the mon'keigh, it is full of resolve.. That will not save you. You tried to stab our sister's soul stone. The audacity.. How proud you must be, in your ability to be this vile for your backwards kin?" Eldrad simply pointed two fingers at the leg that he was kneeling with and then pushed his fingers against his palm before a loud crack was heard, and his bones below the femur completely shattered into tiny particles. The loud, agonizing screams of the Lord Inquisitor were echoing across the entire base.
Adrian helplessly watched as his master fell to the ground. "No... No..!" The adrenaline of this horrible sight rewarded him with a tiny chance of intervening in this torturous process that Kasim was going through, and he managed to lift his back to the point of swinging his blade weakly against Nuvian's leg, which he reflected by jumping back a few meters with his wings. Adrian ran towards Eldrad, but then Eldrad turned his head and pointed an index finger at Adrian, who stood and froze in some psychic field. "Kneel." Adrian involuntarily knelt down on his knees. "You must be his lapdog. Tell me, mon'keigh. For ten millenia, I have watched your kin unable to change, even as reasonable as your new commander of the Ultramar might be, a huge chunk of you are unable to attend this change. I pity such primitives, for you are not gifted with the ability to accept reasoning.. Therefore, I will not make you suffer for long." He said, and frowned behind his helmet.
In a swift motion, he removed the psychic spell from Adrian and allowed Nuvian to kneel down and press his bodyweight against his back by pressing his knee against his spine, holding him down, and pulling his hair to force him to watch his master's fate unfold. "E..M..Peror... Preserve... Deliver us.. Help.. Us... If only... Your Angels.. Were here.."
Eldrad did the trick with his fingers once again, and Kasim's grunts turned into another period of screams of unimaginable pain as Farseer Ulthran literally broke two of his legs, leaving a chunk of meat and skin for his legs except ferum bones, which he left intact, so that he does not bleed to death but suffers the agony, for Eldrad saw the pure evil malevolence this man was filled with just by being near him.
"No prayers will save you this day, mon'keigh. Your corpse of a seer will not bring you any aid." Ulthran uttered it while staring at Kasim. Adrian gritted his teeth and grunted while only thinking about destroying Ulthran with everything he possessed. A formidable attempt, but all for naught since Autarch Nuvian held him, with Warlock Belanor already standing and helping Sarya, while Arleina seemed to have regained her normal consciousness with her warmask still intact.
Ulthran finally allowed himself to look at Adrian, whom Nuvian held down, and then spoke. "Your master is beyond redeemable. He packs so much evil within his soul that I am so surprised at him not falling for the dark powers.. And now, you, a man of mysteries amongst your kin, have decided to loyally follow him like a wild dog, and for what? For his selfish ambitions?" Ulthran asked him. "Curse.. You.. Witch..! Curse you, your family, and your entire craftworld that shall BURN from our fire and steel, curse and damned be your entire filthy, xenos, whore of a race! Curse you for laying a finger on my master!" The acolyte said, before Ulthran shook his head just once. "You have a fiery spirit, mon'keigh agent.. But your master dared to hurt someone who is a family member of my good friend. What happened today is beyond my tolerance." He said, while Adrian lifted his eyes up at him with the utmost hatred.
"You sullied an Imperial world with your filthy presence, witch.. And yet.. Are your prophetic visions so fragile?" He uttered it, before Eldrad, the greatest seer of Ulthwe, was genuinely curious about his words. He realized that this acolyte definitely knows something that he refuses to elaborate on and so he kneeled down, while holding his staff and looked into his eyes. "You are hiding something, mon'keigh. Elaborate immediately if you do not wish me to burn your mind until you cannot scream anymore." He warned him quite seriously, but Adrian remained with his harsh vigor and bitter hatred for the alien in front of him. He spat at his face as his saliva landed on Eldrad's helmet, and then uttered his next words.
"Burn in the womb of the warp, witch.. And suffer in the grasps of Slaanesh that you all so fiercely fear!" He said, before gritting his teeth in bloodlust of taking Eldrad's head while still struggling to get out of Nuvian's grasps. "You deem us arrogant? And yet, you will never know the real reason why we needed to catch that whore. Why my master interrogated her, even though he wanted to execute her right away. A mistake that he paid for.. Should have shot her in the head when there was a chance."
Eldrad was lucky that Arleina did not know low gothic, otherwise, one can only fathom how she would be pulled back from wanting to tear Adrian apart, but Eldrad remained calm and cold, especially after Adrian's last words. He frowned unhappily, and then spoke. "Refusing to speak, are we? Your pathetic existence is a nuisance that must be removed. Allow me to give you a little piece of my might." Eldrad swiftly shoved his hand to Adrian's forehead, and then, as Adrian gasped, he felt a surge of agonizing burning sensation going through his body, unleashing a painful scream as Eldrad was literally in the process of frying every fabric of his nerves. A mysterious aura began to float around Eldrad in blue and black colors, making him appear as a very supernatural being, and this sight alone disturbed everybody as Farseer demonstrated his might and prowess.
"By Asuryani.." Belanor said as he watched Eldrad torture the acolyte in front of him. He screamed and clawed the dirty ground with his fingernails, showing how painful the process was. "Beg for a mercy kill, mon'keigh. And I might generously grant it to you. Your Emperor will not bring you salvation. Only I will." Eldrad spoke calmly, as if his process were basically a piece of cake and something very common. He felt nothing, no pity, no anger, but only the need to give what the acolyte deserved. "G..GO... TO... HELL...!" Adrian said while his body shook, and Nuvian was already off from him as soon as Eldrad started his process.
Adrian resisted with every fabric of his being. And yet, he felt that his mind was being scorched slowly, bit by bit, since Eldrad was not feeling any merciful today and had to force himself to be cruel to the helpless mon'keigh. The entire military base was burning in inferno. The militia completely evacuated from it in a great haste of fear and panic, so there was barely anyone that would intervene or even dare to do so. Even then, how could they, after witnessing full carnage crashing down upon their comrades. They all have already fled. Except for those who went after the chase of Liriel, Niko and Akila.
"Farseer, with all due respect, and forgive me for interrupting you, but we are wasting time. There is nothing valuable about him. We must leave before more of them arrive. Our priority is rescuing Liriel who has a great chase after her. We must head back to our shuttle immediately.. Before it is too late.." Nuvian proposed while looking at his Farseer. "I agree.. Eldrad, enough. Let them die here. We do not have time for executions. Farseer Elidyr awaits, he has hopes that you will return his niece to him, well and alive. Stop... Stop! Eldrad!" Warlock raised his voice, since this act was not something the Aeldari of Ulthwe were proud of. They were not tormentors, torturers and sadists, but they failed to see that Ulthran was neither of those. He was simply a judge, enacting his judgement upon the unworthy in his eyes, especially someone involved in hurting the niece of his best and closest friend.
After another slow, agonizing minute of Adrian being burned from the inside out, Eldrad finally stopped, stood up, and looked down at the now heavily panting acolyte. "We are done here, kin. Quickly head back to the shuttle." He looked at Arleina and Sarya after a few seconds, scolding them. "I must talk with these two when we are back to explain the dangers they allowed themselves to be in. So be in a great haste." Eldrad explained and made his voice loud and clear for everyone to hear. They all grimly nodded, especially Arleina, who clenched her teeth and spat at the ground.
Ulthran left the scene, and his entire group followed him. They hastily got out of the base as it was burning to a crisp, and then took a path back to their landing zone, disappearing in the darkness of the night, even as the base was being fried from all sides.
"They left." Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos said, while watching the xenos disappear behind the fences of the military base itself. "Are you sure, my Lord? No surprises?" Sergeant Tarn intervened, and Oleos looked back at him with a shook of his head. "Negative. No surprises. The fire is spreading quickly, and I surely do not wish to be fried alive.. Turn the vehicle on, and let us get out of here through the destroyed gates." He said, and Tarn loyally nodded, turning the key from the driver they killed. The Chimera turned on perfectly, and they were ready to get out of their situation.
The Chimera took a reverse turn and drove straight towards the gates, where the path was clear, and the base evacuated. Although there are fires in their way, the Chimera acted as a perfect fireproof and bulletproof containment for him, his Sergeant and the rest of the men on board. "What of the traitor and the xenos whore, my Lord?" Tarn asked as he drove the vehicle towards the gates, sticking to the fences in order to not be taken by any surprises.
Oleos held his chin and frowned at him afterward. "They are merely a distraction, Danny. Do I look like a mind-fecking psyker to you? Thing is, I paid a heavy price. Adrian... I considered him a son to me. And nothing will remove this regret from my heart until I find out if he is truly Kasim's pawn. That's one. Second of all.. Look at the results. Look at how they ran after those two like a moth when it sees a bright light source. We were instantly forgotten. Kasim merely wanted to enjoy seeing us tortured to death. What else was on his mind is not up to me to fathom. I already know what he is capable of. I'd rather not dwell in it.." Tarn was genuinely disturbed by the words of his Inquisitor. He looked at the monitor of the Chimera and looked disappointed.
"Bloody xenos.. Eldritch beasts. Nothing good happens because of them, but we have far greater monsters among us, I must admit, my Lord. Even then, what you pulled here deserves recognition. You had a spare plan in your pocket. I feel so bad for Cassius.. He was a great warrior." Tarn held the grip of the Chimera's controls until his fists went pale from fury. Oleos finally allowed himself to be a capable leader and then placed his hand on Tarn's back. "He will be avenged, Daniel. Your frustration was justified, and I will admit that. I am glad that you kept it under control and that now you realized why I was against you taking any action. But you know better than I do that Kasim, is our main priority." Tarn nodded, but then raised his eyebrow.
"My Lord, I am grateful for your words, but Kasim is already a goner. He is dying out there, so why are you looking so disturbed? Adrian is a traitor. Do not think about him-" Oleos shoved his hand forward, shook his head and leaned his hand back. "It is not Adrian, or the fact that Kasim is lying dead, that bothers me.. You do not completely know Julius, Danny." Tarn dared to ask as the men behind him got interested. "What.. Do you mean, my lord?" Oleos looked down at the hull of the Chimera, then looked back at him. "The word "Death", and Kasim, cannot be bound together. He is not a man that so easily gives in to death. His insane, maddened behavior, his arrogance, his douchy attitude, it is all built into him like a chain of commands is built into a servitor.." Tarn still did not understand him completely. His mind was boggled by what Oleos was trying to explain.
"My Lord. I do not understand.." Oleos sighed irritatingly, and then pulled out a laspistol from the dead soldier. "Drive us to Kasim. I want to make sure that he dies by my hand.. And that Adrian receives an Emperor's mercy." He said, and Tarn was utterly, mind-bogglingly, shocked. "M..My.. Lord.. But-" Oleos swiftly struck the hull with his fist and took one of the most serious glances at his Sergeant. "Daniel.. Do as I say, please." Oleos said while looking down. Tarn merely nodded, not wishing to argue with his Inquisitor. "As.. You say, my Lord." After that, Tarn took a swift turn leftward and brought the Chimera closer to where Kasim and Adrian were lying on the ground.
"Wait here. I will do this myself." Tarn stopped his attempts to escort him after he ordered him to wait. After a brief moment, the hull of the Chimera opened up as Tarn pushed a button, and Oleos walked out into the open ground, the inferno ever-so slowly swallowing the entire military base. The fire was everywhere, the base literally was scorching brightly, and in the midst of all of this, a lone Inquisitor, menacingly walked to the 2 lying bodies on the ground that were motionless and buried under their Inquisitorial cloaks that they wore. Oleos made his approach and stood right in front of them both before turning his gaze to Kasim.
"Julius.. By the Emperor almighty, the calamity you have caused.. The fire that struck back at you, Kasim, is overwhelming. Even I pity you, for you never, ever learned how to keep your humanity. You twisted it into madness, and today, it backfired on you deeper than any wound could convey. How unfortunate it is that your fate has been determined this day by such unlucky circumstances that it brings me no pleasure in doing this, but you deserve nothing good coming your way." Oleos explained, frowning without any joy or pride. He slowly aimed the laspistol at the head part of the cloak, and then simply pulled a single trigger, unleashing a las projectile straight through Kasim's head. "Burn in the Immaterium, scum."
Then, Oleos turned his hateful gaze towards Adrian, and it was changed into, more or less, a saddened expression, as he looked down at his former acolyte. He received a lot of flashbacks of past memories of how he took him in, how he taught him, how he always told him to control his zeal, and how he was always proud of him. Oleos truly felt backstabbed, but still, he was an Inquisitor who was open-minded to many things, and remorse was not strange to him, unlike Kasim, who was his exact opposite - Mad, psychopathic, zealous, insane, power-hungry mongrel.
Kneeling down near his body, Oleos placed his hand on the back of Adrian and felt his slow but steady breathing. "You were a son to me.. But you were just a mirage all along. Impostor, hiding behind a mask of trust, but you always obeyed my orders, and you always made me proud.. Despite some exceptions, you were still an exceptional example to our Ordo. For everything deserving of honor that you have bestowed upon me, I will grant you the Emperor's mercy." Oleos finished with a calm voice, closing his eyes as the base was only burning brighter and brighter, the inferno swallowing a huge chunk of it already.
The Inquisitor pulled out his blade and began to turn Adrian over. "Emperor.. Judge your servant accordingly, not for his faults that are so keen on us. Emperor, hear me.. Forgive him for being misled, for he..." Oleos suddenly stopped praying as his eyes opened up. "Wh..What.." Oleos gasped instantly and then widened his eyes at the realization that was in front of him at the moment...
It was not Adrian.
Instead of Adrian, it was just a random member of the Merlorian militia dressed in Adrian's cloak who was unconscious and just alive. Oleos quickly crawled backwards, then stood up to his feet while unable to believe in his own eyes, let alone grasp this realization. "Emperor almighty.. What is this madness?! Where is he?!" Oleos's mind was screaming. He literally saw them both collapse after Eldrad Ulthran punished them both accordingly. "He was here.. He was.." Oleos suddenly turned his attention to Kasim.
By throwing his laspistol away in a slight panic, Oleos turned Kasim's body around, and then another grave realization struck him like lightning.
It was not Kasim either.
Instead, it was yet another huge Merlorian soldier, who had half of his face blown off with a laspistol from Oleos. He did not see Kasim in the face of this man, instead, it was a complete stranger. This time, Oleos felt truly grave. "Impossible.. How is this a possibility?!" His mind thought, as it could not process this thought. He held his hair tightly and pulled it in frustration before starting to frantically look around the base while it was being swallowed by the inferno.
Suddenly, not so far away from a little spot, Oleos heard a loud roar of aircraft engines taking place. He looked up at the sky and saw a single, damaged Valkyrie leave the base. Oleos recognized the Inquisitorial symbol on the hull of the aircraft, and then, by clenching his teeth, he pointed his finger at it and unleashed a loud, frustrating scream.
"JUUUULIIIIUUUUUUUUUUUS! EMPEROR CURSE YOOOOOOOOOUU!"
Adrian was holding back the urge to grunt while half of his body suffered from third degree burns. He controlled the Valkyrie with all his might, catching his breathing through an automatic oxygen mask as he could not breathe by himself after the lungs suffered slow, yet creeping damage. He wore the mask tightly around his face and found out that he could not speak anymore due to his vocal cords being severely damaged. In the backseat was a wounded Lord Inquisitor, holding onto his cane, panting heavily from having his bones in the lower part of his legs, literally shattered by Eldrad's psychic might into dust.
As he grunted, he crawled on his stomach towards the front seat and sat beside his agent, who looked at him, gasped, and tried to help. "I am not a weakling, hands offFFFAAAGGHH!" The pain in his legs increased as soon as he bent his spine, but Adrian ignored it and sat him next to himself on the seat, while Kasim was bleeding from his mouth and nostrils. He panted heavily and injected himself with an Adrenaline stimulant from one of the medical boxes of the Valkyrie, grunting as he injected the serum straight into his heart.
"GGggrh..Gett.. Me.. Backkkh.. To the sssppace porttt.. NOW!" He commanded, and Adrian obliged, heading straight towards the capital city of Merlorian, Xaroi. Kasim looked at the ground while his messy grey hair was even more greyish than ever. It looked like he lost all his strength by suffering such humiliation from his enemies, and he was VERY pissed off, for a good reason, and this, in return, twisted his mind into a much more maddened state that even Adrian did not dare to comprehend, but nevertheless, he followed his Lord's wishes. After all, if not for him, Adrian would have probably died a very long time ago. He had to be loyal.
With a bitter hatred fueling Kasim's puritanical heart, he looked straight ahead and proclaimed. "You all think that I will grant you a quick death by simply scorching you in this world without taking vengeance on what I suffered through day.. Oh how wrong are you." He slammed the hull with his fist and clenched his teeth.
"I will personally hunt all of you down until you beg me to kill you. Exterminatus is too merciful for all of you.. You do not deserve such luxury. Kaidan.. Niko.. Xenos beasts.. This is not the end. This is only the beginning of your inevitable, painful, agonizing and horrifying doom.." He uttered out and then opened his mouth, forced two fingers to the left side of his backside jaw, and forcefully pulled out his tooth. Adrian watched how his Lord Inquisitor was bleeding more profusely from his mouth, just as he yanked off a tooth like it was nothing. Kasim crushed the tooth, and then, when all the dust dissipated, there was a tiny, USB-like device glowing in a dim, red light.
He took his cane and tapped a few buttons on the top of its skull shape before inserting the device into it. Its light changed from red to green, and then some machinery noises began to be heard within his cane as he then leaned his blood-covered mouth to the skull that began to glow in a green color, and then he spoke out the words that forced Adrian to feel... Fear.
"Ave Imperator. Imperius Dominatus. Semper Fidelis et Inquisitorialis aeternum. This is the Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, Julius Kasim. This is an emergency, and there is no return. I request your contact as soon as you are available.. Watch Captain."
Meanwhile, far away from the base...
"BLOODY HELL!" Niko yelled out as he swiftly turned his wheel rightwards to avoid a huge boulder that fell down from a volley of missiles coming from the chasing 2 valkyries. It did not help the fact that his Tauros was being attacked by the 10 bikers as well, who were chasing him and his little squad consisting of Liriel and Akila. "Oh FRAGGIN stones!" He yelled and literally stirred the wheel rightward because a bloody missile literally exploded near his damn vehicle, which pissed him off. "Do they not know the meaning of "Feck off" at all?!" He hit the gas instantly and speeded up his vehicle, the anxiety and nervousness kicking in.
All this time, he could not look around because the first thing his eye would fall upon would be Liriel's perfect rear, which quite honestly would distract him. However, the howling banshee was pulling the triggers of the heavy bolter with all her might in order to defeat their chasers. It was hard to hit the bikes, let alone the valkyries, as she had to make precise shots in order to preserve ammo. The fact of being in a valley was the main problematic thing for them. "I must not waste ammo." Liriel thought while Niko controlled the Tauros in order to avoid their fire, especially the Valkyries. "They are too maneuverable with so much open space. I need to make sure they get closer. But first.." She told herself before turning around to crouch and avoid the incoming fire.
In an instant, she got her head closer to Niko's, and that surely, made him jumpscare a bit. "AGH! For the Emperor's sake, Liri, you're gonna give me a bloody heart attack like that! What is the issue?" He asked her while keeping his eye on the road, the sounds of autopistols hitting the hull of Tauros forcing him to feel slightly pressured, before Liriel gently placed her hands on his ones, which forced him to silently gasp, before she whispered to him. "Human. Calm.. Calm. You, calm. No.. Fear." She spoke low gothic even better than before, but it was her calming, charming aura that forced Niko to close his eye, take a deep breathe and concentrate completely on driving the vehicle.
"I.. Heard you, Liriel. Thank you.." Akila looked curiously at what these two were doing and couldn't help but be fascinated by how this alien woman managed to keep her human partner stable in times of great pressure or nervousness. Niko grinned instantly, and his breathing stabilized as the tremors of anxiety stopped as well. Liriel smiled at her success. "He truly has a good spirit.." Then, she made a few gestures, indicating that he slow his vehicle down. Niko tried to detest her as he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instantly, nodding at her. "I will not question what you have in mind, Liri, but Emperor damn me if I'll protest your ideas." He laughed a little bit and just slowed down the vehicle, willing to listen to her.
Liriel immediately turned around, kept her head lowewer but her hands ready at the heavy bolter triggers, and prepared for her planning. The bikers noticed the slowing-down Tauros a bit too late, however. "Steadily.. Precisely.. Exceptionally.. Khaine, guide my aim!" And then locked and loaded it before pressing on the triggers. "You have come for your doom! Now feel its bitter taste!" Liriel roared and unleashed the growling salvo of heavy bolter fire, which shredded at least 4 bikes and the soldiers on them into puddles of blood and guts, the bolter rounds being as effective as always.
Niko looked at the side mirror of the Tauros, and grinned even wider at the beautiful results of Liriel's planning. "Her tactics surely deserve recognition. Luring their speed and using it against them.. Freaking perfection!" Niko thought to himself while hearing more of the loud, deafening noises of the heavy bolter as he drove the vehicle in the long, stretching, flat-land open valley. The rest of the 6 bikers did manage to slow down after literally shitting their pants at Liriel luring them to her trap. They were constantly making turns to avoid the bolter fire, and they stopped firing their autopistols. This gave Liriel enough time to aim the heavy bolter to the sky and force the Valkyries to make turns as well, since they were being very annoying with their heavy firepower.
"Oh they are not doing that.." Liriel told herself after realizing what one of the Valkyries was about to do. By thrusting its engines, the second Valkyrie, instead of trying to avoid her fire, literally charged forward. Niko also saw this from the side mirror of the Tauros, and then Liriel has had enough. "Suicidal charge.. How desperate these mon'keigh are. Not on my watch." She said, and then unsheathed her sword, and before Niko's eyes widened at what she literally did next, even Akila was shocked. "Liriel! what in Ciaphas Cain's balls of steel are you doing?!"
She literally placed her foot on the backseat of the Tauros, and then dashed towards the charging Valkyrie like a bee attached to a flower. She saw the zealous facial expression of the pilot changing into fear and then gasped in an instant. "GET OFF YOU BASTARD!" He yelled and pulled out his sidearm, aiming at Liriel who simply stared through the glass panel, but it was all for naught, because Liriel took her sword by the hilt with both hands and just stabbed it through the panel, stabbing the pilot in the chest as the blood from his mouth and wound splattered all over the glass panel, before Liriel twisted her sword, pulled it out, and then turned the center stick, also known as the control stick upwards in order for the valkyrie not to hit their vehicle and stabilize it, before she avoided the engines and leaped onto the left wing. "Khaine be praised!" She said and kicked the missile from the wing, and the result was as expected.
The missile dropped and struck two bikers with its blast radius, with Liriel jumping back onto the pilot's cockpit, and getting her closer to Niko's Tauros with the control of the stick, the engines still going at full thrust. Afterward, Liriel turned the stick rightwards, and then she made an enormous jump straight at the rear of the Tauros, as Niko was still maintaining his slow speed after having his eye wide from shock and his jaw completely dropped at the disbelief of seeing Liriel's action. The Tauros felt bumpy as Liriel managed to get back to the gunner's seat and take control of the heavy bolter by placing herself at Niko's seat, her rear still facing her. The Valkyrie has already exploded in a safe distance, with only 4 bikers and 1 valkyrie remaining.
"... WHAT... in the EMPEROR'S name just happened?!" Niko reacted with quite a shock. He literally witnessed Liriel being the elegant bird that she is and took down a literal Valkyrie from midair for the Emperor's sake. This left him speechless, as he was stuttering to even say anything, especially with how precise and accurate her every movement was. Liriel felt the aura of admiration radiating from Niko as she looked at the rearview mirror, his face being that of a bewildered stare of uncertainty, but a very, very high admiration and awe. "Holy mother fecking shite, Liri! I am fecking glad that you're on my side, holy Emperor.." He shook his head and tightened the grip on his steering wheel, concentrating on the path ahead. The night really did not make it any easier, but he knew what to do with his driving skills.
The bikers were more or less frustrated beyond belief. Their autopistols were ineffective at causing any damage to the Tauros, not even the wheels were damaged because they were way too thick and enhanced, and plus, they already lost 6 members and a Valkyrie. And now, the remaining Valkyrie began to fire its automatic cannons with explosive shells, alongside two missiles at the Tauros, purely out of frustration. "Shite! Hang on!" Niko tapped the breaks, swiftly turned his wheel rightward, and took a path through very rocky terrain, which looked very treacherous. The missiles missed their target, but Liriel opened fire at the Valkyrie with the heavy bolter, damaging one of its engines in the process, with black smoke coming out from the rear of the damaged engine.
"Why now, just why now?!" Liriel frustratingly thought to herself because the heavy bolter ran out of ammunition, and now they had to rely on whatever they had at their disposal. There were no spare ammo boxes left for the bolter, and Liriel crouched while Niko noticed her frozen and digging in her thoughts, staring at the rear mirror while controlling the wheel. "We're out of ammunition.. Feck.." He frowned at the thought, but then widened his eye after looking at his feet. "Bingo! Liri!" She turned her head around and saw a belt fly towards her. "Wha-" She swiftly caught the belt and inspected it. The belt consisted of 2 krak grenades, and Liriel smiled behind her helmet at such a lucky moment. "Isha's tears, just what we needed!" She nodded at him as he nodded back, concentrating on the path with the headlights, giving him a proper view of the front.
Akila in the meanwhile, simply remained between Niko's legs in safety, and Niko made sure to hold him in one place so he remained where he was. But he wanted to give his own share of assistance. He attracted Niko's attention by unleashing a howl, while Liriel was busy thinking of a plan on how to use the grenades. "Eh? Aki, not the right time to blabber around, boy!" Niko said, but Akila howled again. "Not. The. Time, boy!" Frankly speaking, Aki began to growl, and then he opened his jaw widely between his legs and looked at him quite frustratingly. Niko widened his eye and nodded a few times. "Okay okay! For the golden throne, don't need to bite my damn pearls away.. What is it? Understand that I have to concentrate on the road!" Akila shook his head at the detesting human owner of his and then pointed his paw to the hill, which Niko looked at.
"You are NOT fragging serious, Aki.. Tell me you're joking. Please TELL me you are just messing with me right now." Akila shook his head and howled again, pressuring him to go to that one simple hill. Niko realized that the path he took was literally gonna be endless in this treacherous rocky terrain, and so the chances of escaping from the enemies were low. The valkyrie may have been damaged, but it continued to chase after them. The bikers were closing in, and he simply couldn't use his laspistol right now, let alone Liriel, because the bikers would be too swift to fire their autopistols at them. After all, those bikes were faster than Tauros, and Niko had no way to maneuver properly in such rough terrain.
"FFffeecckk.. To hell with it, man! Liriel!" He yelled, and she quickly gazed at him. He was pointing at a hill that was going downward, but where exactly? What if there was a lake or an unknown waterfall? These thoughts ran inside Niko's mind, but they needed to get rid of their chasers before more of them would follow by finding out where their units are. "Prepare yourself. By the Emperor, I hope you know what to do." He said. "What- Where- What are you talking about, Niko?!" Liriel yelled, not understanding his language, but Niko had already made the swift turn towards the hill and hit the gas with all his might, the engine of the Tauros roaring with defiance and the power of its machine spirit.
"RIGHT TURN, RIGHT TURN! THEY'RE ESCAPING THROUGH A ROUTE! SPEED, SPEED, SPEED!" The loud noise came from the Valkyrie's pilot. The bikers, after listening to the Valkyrie commander, realized what their targets were about to do, and so they pressed on with full speed after them while closing in to their rear. "By Khaine, they are onto us!" She thought while taking a peek from the driver's seat and seeing 4 bikers closing in with full speed, especially the Valkyrie which began to fire its automatic cannons once again.
"We're hit! We're hit!" Niko yelled after the Tauros began to make a loud negative buzzing noises, a few circuits going off there and here, as their rear began to get smokey while they approached the hill. It dramatically decreased the speed of the Tauros, and then the pilot of the Valkyrie grinned while taking his precise aim at the Tauros. Liriel tapped Niko's shoulder and pointed out. "Out! Out! OUT! NIKO!" She grabbed his arm and wanted to pull him out in order to avoid being blown to shreds by the inevitable automatic cannon fire, since its high caliber managed to penetrate their Tauros like a knife through butter.
"Not so FAST!"
Niko defiantly told her, and then immediately struck the breaks of his vehicle, slowing down his vehicle in an extremely swift motion, as the fire from the Valkyrie missed them by mere inches before the bikers slowed down as well. After having the perfect momentum of surprise against their chasers, he pushed the Tauros to the limit by hitting the gas once again, and then, as the Valkyrie passed by the hill, Niko pulled out a krak grenade from the belt that Liriel was carrying and then pulled the pin with his teeth before throwing it at the underneath of the Valkyrie, the krak grenade attaching itself to the hull like a magnet, while Liriel got taken by surprise as to what just happened after her back got struck against the seat from the sheer force of the vehicle slowing down.
The next moment was something out of a legend. As Niko drove his Tauros off the hill while it flew in the air, the Valkyrie crew did not even have time to properly react to what just happened because it literally exploded in midair while the Tauros which Niko controlled, flew past it, and it landed on the hill that was going downward into the rocky Terrain. The bikers were shocked beyond the core as they flew from the hill after their targets, but unfortunately for them, 1 of them couldn't keep control of their bikes and flew in a random direction, while the rest of the 3 managed to land accurately at the hill that was going downwards. "How you like that, you clumsy bastards?!" Niko yelled victoriously, celebrating a bit too early, but he was very happy that their biggest chasing threats were dealt with. Now, only 3 bikers remained at their tail.
"By the ancient heavens, this human knows absolutely no fear.. Under such tremendous stress, he gives his all. My respect for him is undeniable." Liriel thought while seeing how Niko was, in fact, grinning. He felt no fear, but excitement and defiance against the odds. Little did Liriel know that this was Niko showing his prime. All those trainings and creative time in the woods as a hunter and problem solver truly did not go in vain. Liriel, however, knew that the celebration was too early. The 3 bikers were still endangering them.
"Niko!" She said and pointed behind herself, to which Niko looked at the side mirror and nodded. "They are closing in from 3 sides! This baby is damaged.. It's now, or never!" He said and struck the gas pedal even further. Liriel looked at a single krak grenade that remained at her disposal and decided to preserve it for later. "The mon'keigh aircraft are dealt with. I will require this as an emergency.." She told herself, unattached it from the belt, and shoved it in her pouch before holding onto the metal of the Tauros ceiling and taking a good look at the biker. They all wore helmets, but their eyes were visible, and all that Liriel saw behind the orbs of that single biker was pure, unimaginable hatred and zealous self-sacrifice. It made her feel disgusted every damned time because of how these stupid creatures, as she thought, did not have any regard for their own lives, let alone the others.
The biker pulled out his autopistol and wanted to fire at Liriel, but she quickly hid back at the seat and heard the rounds striking the hull of their already damaged and dying Tauros. After the autopistol depleted, the frustrated biker threw his weapon away. "He's closing in from the right!" Niko said and pointed rightward. The biker made a swift " U " turn to gain some speed and then jumped on the right side of the driver's seat with an unsheathed knife, ready to stab Liriel through the lenses. She reacted swiftly by gripping the biker's arms and pushing them backwards, bit by bit, while he grunted and roared, the saliva flying at Liriel's helmet, which forced her to cringe and clench her teeth. "Disgusting mon'keigh!"
The howling did not notice that while she was resisting the first biker, a second one attached himself to the gunner's seat, reaching for Liriel, and then tried to stab her in the vulnerable spot on the neck behind her head with his own blade. She gasped after noticing this, but the second biker received a loud "BLAM" straight on the temple of his head as Niko managed to pull his laspistol and blow his brains out, saving Liriel from the inevitable fatal wound. "Akila, at him!" He commanded, and the Merlorian canine beast growled in fury before leaping on the biker's right abdomen. He opened his jaw wide and bit his side with such force that the tissue and the guts began to spill out after Akila took a huge chunk of fresh meat. The biker unleashed an agonizing, painful groan and then stopped his zealous attempt to try to stab Liriel. She punched him as he dropped his knife and then kicked him in the chest before he flew off from Tauros.
"Only one remains!" Niko proclaimed, while Liriel wiped the blood away from her black armor. Akila got back to his position between Niko's feet and curled up in order for his legs to hold him in one place. He proudly smiled down at his white-furred companion. "You never disappoint me, Aki. Sorry for reacting a bit aggressively to your idea." He told him as he cheered with a light howl. But for some reason, Niko blamed himself for not preparing Liriel for his swift plan that Akila forced him to create in his mind. She was just not prepared for it, and so the krak grenade was used by Niko while she decided to preserve the second one, unbeknownst to Niko.
Liriel took a gentle peak, but then got instantly confused when there was no third biker to be seen anywhere. "Wait a minute.. What in the name of Cegorach..?" She rubbed her helmet clean from the saliva that the first biker threw at her by screaming against her helmet, and then just looked around while the Tauros kept going down this extremely long hill. The biker was simply nowhere to be seen. "Impossible. He was approaching us from the rear.." She shook Niko by the shoulder and pointed at their rear. "Is the third one being taken care... Of...? Where the feck.. Is he..?" Niko said, curious as to what in the bloody hell just happened to their third chaser, because not even he could see him anywhere.
He was simply nowhere to be seen, and Niko had no desire to stop at this very moment, nor did Liriel, who just told him to ignore it and keep driving. "Niko. Go. No stop.." She said in low gothic, before confused Niko simply nodded, although being quite anxious as to what the hell just happened. This was a time for a small break for them. It was dark, and their vehicle was damaged. They were both exhausted and stressed, and they barely escaped their pursuers. He was definitely not going to stop until the fuel ran out or their vehicle simply could not go forward anymore, or until they find a shelter.
Liriel removed her helmet and took in a breath of fresh air, while Niko completely relaxed after not hearing the damn bikes or valkyries behind him. As for Akila? He jumped on Niko's lap and curled up in a ball to get into his favorite snuggly position. Liriel stared at the sky full of beautiful stars while keeping her sword at her lap after unsheathing it and wiping her forehead, her hair in a ponytail, while her helmet remained at her chest as she hugged it. "Isha... Thank you, our great mother.. Thank you.." She whispered, praying in silence while Niko gave Akila a few pets and used his Tauros in a more relaxed way, although the engine was going to give up sooner or later, so he had to get away as far as possible.
The hill ended up on flat rocky land, which looked to be more like a desert of some sort. Merlorian was a very unique world, because not only was it lush, but it was also very beautiful with how it approached its nature. This was no different. The moon brightly shined as midnight struck the world, with the stars visible in the clear sky and Niko driving his vehicle on a clear path, just wanting to get away as far as possible from any civilization. "Good Emperor.. Phew. We escaped, at last." Niko thought as he allowed himself to relax, pulling out a water canteen from his backpack that he kept at his feet. "I am freaking starving and thirsty.. But I am sure that she is too."
Liriel's eyes were closed. Niko watched from his rear mirror how Liriel was meditating and praying with her lips moving. He lightly smiled while shaking his head. "Tsk-tsk.. We got truly lucky today.. I still do not know if it was the Inquisitor who created that mess, but I would rather not dare to fathom what happened there. We escaped, that is all that matters, and now, we survive.. Until we reach the capital, and I keep my promise to Liriel." He thought to himself, speaking in his own mind. "She definitely... Changed. I must say that. I felt her aura being more, resistant and quite stubborn, but now? I do not... Feel it." He continued to speak with his own mind, especially about the fact, that how she was treating him way more nicely. Perhaps she had mutual feelings for him, just as he had for her, but simply did not confess or express? Perhaps, Niko thought, but he was happiest when he was with her, undoubtedly.
"Let's not dwell deep into confusion. We need to stop at some shelter.. The bath was very refreshing in that cave. I feel beyond perfect." He chuckled silently. It seems like he was able to forget about any negativity as long as he remained closer to the beautiful Aeldari warrior woman.
"Guide your children, Isha.. Asuryani calls us... Praise be to you, our mother, and praise be to you, oh god of war, Khaine the bloody-handed.. Praise be- Eh?" She felt a gentle bump at her knee and opened her right eye. She saw Niko staring at her with a sweet, fabulous smile of his, and he held something in his hands, which was the water canteen itself. She opened her second eye, blinked a few times, and gently took it, smiling in the process before nodding to him, with Niko nodding back and keeping his eye on the road. "Thank you, Niko.." Niko swallowed his saliva after hearing her sweet, soft, beautiful, gentle and soothing voice. He thought it was mesmerizing, because when she was battling and having to yell, she sounded like a warrior in the midst of a bloody fight. But when relaxed and calm, her voice was truly angelic. Niko found that to be very beautiful.
He watched from the rear mirror how the howling banshee placed her lips on the rim of the canteen and gently chugged the water down her throat, her eyes closing as she blushed softly while quenching her thirst, while Niko watched in awe. "She.. Is, just.. beautiful.." His mind only processed these words and no others, while slightly blushing. It even fascinated him to see that her skin was pale and there were no signs of fatigue or even of any, sweat, if the Aeldari even had any as he thought. He still, comically, wanted to know how those ears feel to touch, but shook that idea out of his head. "Erm, Niko, concentrate will ya?" He told himself and just watched her from the rear mirror, while, of course, keeping his eyes on the road as they got into sandy terrain.
Liriel finished quenching her thirst, and then, seeing how he was concentrating on the path ahead, she made sure to lean the canteen to his lips, which surprised him with a silent gasp. "O..Oh.. Thank you, Liri." He said after blinking few times, then stared directly at the road before putting his lips on the rim. Liriel slightly raised the canteen and allowed the liquid within it to flow into Niko's mouth before he took the canteen, closed it and put it back into his backpack. "Thanks, Liri. I really needed this." He admitted while staring forward, smiling but shivering slightly. Then, Liriel gestured for him to stop the vehicle, which he did, and afterward, she unwrapped the long-sleeve shirt she had wrapped around her waist and handed it to him. "My.. My shirt? I-" She placed her finger on his lips and shook her head, telling him not to suffer from a cold, to which Niko reacted with great appreciation.
"I honestly.. Just." He slowly removed the banner from around his neck, folded it, and placed it into his backpack before putting his shirt back on, with Liriel nodding in approval, to which he nodded back. "Hah. Honestly, I love your care for me, Liriel. Makes me experience.." He turned his attention to the path and placed his foot on the gas. "Happiness." He softly said. His shirt had a quite distinctive smell to it, which reminded him of flowers, especially the purest lavender. He knew it was the scent of Liriel that he frankly enjoyed.
Next, Niko gave Akila some water from the canteen and some dry meat to regain some energy. Afterward, he gave Liriel some as well, before biting a piece himself. The dry, salted meat came as a great emergency ration and kept their bellies from growling and irritation. The both individuals remained there in silence, feeling relaxed. "We are victorious.. We have won this battle. The war still rages on, but the battle is over." Niko whispered to himself while Liriel was in the process of cleaning her sword with her loincloth and rubbing the dirt and blood off of her helmet as well. They were truly victorious, but none of them knew that it was all due to the interference of Ulthran and his group, which distracted an enormous chunk of the Merlorian military, let alone all of this was possible thanks to the cunning planning of the Inquisitor Oleos, who sent the secret coded message to Liriel's craftworld of Ulthwe while in the mountains before his captivity.
But the worst was behind. They were far away from their enemy, and the Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim suffered a humiliating defeat thanks to his arrogance and stupidity. And now, their journey seemed to be bright once more. First, they needed to find a shelter, and after a well deserved rest, they would be able to continue their original journey. The die was truly cast.
Under the moonlight that brightened the surface of the sandy terrain, Niko drove his Tauros with the headlights starting to flicker bit by bit, but he paid it no heed. He wanted to get as far away as possible after having survived a bloody chase, which was already arduous to begin with. Half an hour passed by as Niko started to notice something in the far distance. "Woah.. Am I experiencing a mirage?" Niko asked himself as the moonlight shone down against the surface of the desert itself. He rubbed his eye, but it was not a mirage that he saw in the distance.
He saw a small area with a couple of trees in the distance, surrounded by what seemed to be a couple of trees and a little pool of water. This caused him to feel quite delighted as he turned his head to Liriel who was cleaning her sword. "Liri, look!" She raised her head and looked at him. He was pointing in the distance. "Huh, what did he see?" She said, then looked at where he was pointing. By lifting her head above the roof of the Tauros, she zoomed in with her helmet's visors and finally sighed in deep relief. "Finally! At last.. A safe haven. Isha watches over her children, and.. Well? This human too, I would say." She said with a slight chuckle before sitting back down behind Niko.
"We will make our stop there for the night. I doubt anyone would be willing to wander around this Emperor-forsaken desert." He said, laughing softly at the fortune that was in front of them. He checked the fuel meters and realized that the vehicle had already lost a huge chunk of its gas, which, in all seriousness, was not a good thing at all. Niko frowned at himself. "Darn.. The gas. It needs to be preserved, let alone the darn battery in this thing." The headlights began to flicker once more, and Niko thought of two options. One, they either will have to abandon their vehicle, or second, there will be replacement parts somewhere in this vehicle. Frankly speaking, he shook his head and slowed down the vehicle before turning it off and taking a deep sigh.
The howling banshee looked at him from behind and had quite a questionable facial expression. "Why did we stop?" She asked, then tapped his shoulder. "Niko. Why stop?" He turned around and answered. "Uh, well. You see, the vehicle is kinda.. Well, damaged?" He got out and pointed at their rear, where the smoke was coming from. The way that this Tauros was built was in itself unique. These vehicles were never meant to be driven by fuel engines, but rather by galvanic motors, which gave the vehicle its silent noise. This one, however, was more or less turned into an assault vehicle instead of scouting. Nevertheless, Liriel noticed the problem, rubbed the back of her head, and got out as well, while Akila was neatly placed on the driver's seat to not disturb his slumber.
"Cursed be that aircraft. It punctured the rear hull pretty deeply.." She noticed, after seeing a few holes, while Niko pointed his military flashlight at the rear. "Can you hold this, Liri?" Niko asked her, to which she blinked a few times and took the flashlight, pointing it at the rear. Next, Niko cracked his knuckles and jumped onto the gunner's seat, checking if there were any spare part boxes. He did find a tool box attahced to the wall of the gunner's seat and opened it up. "Hmm.." He waved for Liriel to point the light at the tool box, and he was certainly pleased.
"So.." He wiped his forehead. "We have a wrench and a few screwdrivers, and.. What's this?" He noticed something in the corner of the gunner's seat. It was some kind of straight line that traveled around the gunner's seat floor in a straight square line. He followed it thoroughly, and then he noticed a small screw that was locking the floor of the gunner's seat. "Wait a second.. I think I know what this is." He eagerly started to unscrew that small screw before catching it in his hand, and then he lifted the floor panel of the gunner's seat and smiled instantly at the result.
"Emperor's throne, jackpot!" He noted this while Liriel looked at him in a slight confusion. "I.. Have absolutely no idea what he is literally doing or being happy about, but this is surely a good sign if he's that joyful." She thought and nodded to him, to which he smiled further. Under the floor panel were certain spare parts for Tauros's maintenance, including a new battery, engine parts, engine oil and a few useful fluids designed for the vehicle. "Alright, we will have our time to get this thing fixed. I'm not too smart with mechanics, but anyway. Let's reach our shelter first, shall we?" He said and closed the panel before screwing it back on, putting the screwdriver in the tool box, and closing it before going back to the driver's seat, lifting Akila on his lap, and getting to the driver's seat. "Alright we will have to.."
He raised his eyebrow while staring at Liriel, who was kneeling and pointing the flashlight under the car. "Huh? What is it?" He asked, but Liriel did not answer. Instead? She simply shoved her hand under the Tauros, and pulled out... A dead body.
"Euugh by the Emperor..!" Niko held his mouth and swallowed his bile back while staring at the very disfigured and mutilated body of a Merlorian soldier. It was the third biker who had lost all his blood and left no trail behind the Tauros for them to see. His legs were missing, and the guts were still hanging from his waist, although there was no more blood left. Liriel gave no reaction except a literal frown, and then just lifted the "thing" and threw it aside before it rolled like a ragdoll across the sandy dunes with its guts still spilling out. "Disgusting.. Very disgusting. The lengths of what the mon'keigh are capable of going to.. I can only fathom how Niko copes with it." She said, and simply sat behind Niko's seat while giving him the flashlight.
"Kalevan devils.. That's where he was all this time? Bloody hell! Luckily for us, our ride did its job perfectly. I mean, I am used to seeing people with their guts out, but it is still not a pleasant sight, especially after such a long time of being away from the bloody Imperial Guard.." He said and took a few swigs of water from his canteen, took the flashlight from Liriel, shoved it into the backpack and turned the key in the ignition once more. The Tauros turned on with the machine spirit not resisting, and then drove straight towards the save haven with a small pool of water and a couple of thick trees.
They were close to their safe spot for the night without too much of a fuss, but unfortunately, the engine of the Tauros began to, in short words, give up on its Emperor's forsaken life just 50 meters from their spot. "Uuuggh come oooon, not now, man! Come on, girl!" He turned the key in the ignition once again, while Liriel cautiously watched him. The engine refused to turn on, making that familiar yet annoying noise of arduously trying to start up. "Emperooorrrr... Kill meee.." He faceplanted right on the steering wheel, took a deep sigh of annoyance, and leaned back while fixing his eye patch.
Liriel pulled her helmet back on her head and got out of the vehicle, approaching him in a calm manner and gesturing for him to get out. "Uh, okay." He shrugged and got out of the vehicle. Then, Liriel took his hand and leaned her shoulder against the hull, raising her eyebrow. "Well? Silly mon'keigh you are, Niko. Help me push." She said in her own language, while Niko simply blinked a few times and then simply understood what she was about to do. "Oh yeah, I get it! You want me to push the..." Liriel tilted her head at him, and in response, he quickly pushed his own shoulder against the rear of the vehicle. "Okay okay! Emperor almighty, don't look at me that way, since I can guess your facial expression behind your helm.." He said, while Liriel smirked behind that helmet of hers. "Good spirit, Niko Armanen of Kaleva." She whispered before nodding at him, and he nodded back. "On three.. One.. Two.. Three! Puuuush!"
They both began to simultaneously push the vehicle forward, both of them grunting while the vehicle was being pushed forward. "Come on now, show me what passes for strength amongst your kind, Eldar!" Niko said, clenching his teeth while pushing the vehicle onward. Liriel did the same. "How heavy is this mon'keigh vehicle!? Would have used a wraithlord's help just about now, mighty Vaul.." They were both certainly annoyed that the stress was only getting worse. They pushed, pushed, and pushed... And Pushed.
After about 20 minutes or so, the vehicle finally reached the spot as they stopped right at the pool itself, but Niko's face was covered in that smoke that came from the rear. Liriel however, was as clean as a newborn child. Her armor reflected the smoke, and even then, the armor was black. The helmet itself was whiter than the damn moon, but Niko had to get a damn wash, and that's what he did next. "Hhhuufffff... Holy Emperor almighty." He removed his long-sleeve shirt, dropped it near his feet as he knelt down in front of the pool, and dug his face straight into the waters, much to Liriel's shock. "What in Ulthwe's name is he doing?" She asked and just looked at him, bewildered by this weird human behavior.
Niko kept his head in the water for about 8 seconds before lifting his head, taking in a deep sigh, and keeping his face clean from all that smoke that covered him. He stared at the clear sky filled with stars and then looked at Liriel who was helmetless, her face clear and bright as ever, while Niko's face was wet with water. He smiled, ran fingers through his hair, and shrugged after splashing water on his body, since he liked being clean. "I assume you take your time when you gotta clean up, but I prefer doing it my way. Although I don't think this is safe to drink. We can fix that." He went back to Tauros and pulled out his backpack before walking back to the pool itself, turning on the flashlight, and handing it to Liriel who kneeled down in front of the pool, staring at it.
"What is he planning?" She thought while taking the flashlight and pointing it at Niko. He was pointing his finger at a tree, to which Liriel directed the flashlight right towards it. "Perfect. Hold it like that." He pulled out his Leuku from his belt, the crossbow and his backpack with an arrow quiver neatly placed on the ground. Next, he began to cut slices of wood from the tree, including a few branches, and stack them up together. "Reminds me of the times with my dad, when we used to travel around Kaleva, and he taught me necessary stuff when I was a kid, hah, good times... Indeed, good times." Niko said with a calm smile, while Liriel merely looked at him in curiosity as he grabbed a few stones and tried to make a fire.
"Judging by what he says, it must be his past memories. Elidyr taught me when I was a child that the mon'keigh usually cling to the past of their short lives.. How easy it is for them is unknown." She said, thinking about how much sadness and joy there simply were in the lives of humans. Niko managed to change her perspective about humans with how much he cared for her, let alone how those visions inside his mind were stinging Liriel's heart. "One cannot completely trust the entities of the warp, but I sensed no lies in what she said. Forge your own destinies.. I wonder. Did she clearly mean.. All of this?" Liriel sank into her thoughts while assisting Niko by holding the flashlight.
"I am not completely out of touch with reality, but he surely does everything on his own accord. How much time has passed since our fates collided with each other?" That single thought was enough to cause fatigue, but she had to think about it. How many times has death been following them, only for them both to spit at it? How much did their feelings grow for each other despite both of them not admitting it to one another? Mutual survival, staying united, caring for each other.. Liriel may not have known it for sure, but this was nothing else but the Power of love.
She watched how Niko finally managed to make a campfire as the gathered wood began to burn, brightening the surrounding surface in the middle of nowhere, right in a desert that was practically uninhabited. "And thereeee we gooo. Got ourselves a fireplace, ayh?" He laughed and gave her a thumbs up with that sweet smile of his, which was now clearly visible thanks to the fire that only grew bigger and brighter as Niko decided to cut more chunks of wood from the tree and fuel it. "He has no home, no shelter over his head, the Imperials are after him, and he has experienced torture.. And yet, he smiles." Liriel thought within her mind. She frowned at the images of what Kasim did to him and the images from his past, where he got flogged very severely. She shook her head to push these thoughts aside, and she spoke further to herself.
"I cannot be without admiring him. Despair follows him and overwhelms him, yet he fights against it and continues to express joy. It is hard for me to grasp." She admitted. It was truly not easy to think for Liriel, that Niko, a simple but brave and courageous young human man, experienced anything positive thanks to Liriel herself. She began to feel pity for him. Not because of how naive his thoughts were, but because of how unfortunate he seemed to be. However, as the spirit told her, Niko Armanen continues to be bright, thanks to her being with him. To help her, to grant her the wish of her returning home, that, alone, is what drove him. It is what forced him to push onwards, despite all the odds.
Niko was in the process of boiling the water he retrieved from the pool in his canteen and then filtering it by picking up a few charcoal pieces, crushing them, placing them on a cloth, and running water through them into a metal cup before using another bowl of boiled water for the MRE packs he had in his backpack. He hummed some kind of song, smiling in the process. Then, he got up and decided to get to work by gathering more wood to create a shelter, using plant fibers as ropes and leaves with some wood for the structure. "Hah, while the food boils, it is time you help me out here, Liri! You xenos are resilient when it comes to creativity." He looked at her with a proud grin, to which she tilted her head, turning off the flashlight that was not needed because of the campfire's luminosity.
Akila slept peacefully in the vehicle's driver's seat, and now Liriel was tasked by Niko to gather some wood with him to speed up the process. She used her power sword to make easier cuts, which left Niko slightly irritated because she made it look so easy, but he simply took a deep sigh and nodded to her to continue after she looked at him, as in asking him if what she's doing is good.
"Yeah yeah, let's not show off now, redhead." He rolled his eye, but Liriel was clearly feeling amused by this. "Silly human you truly are, Niko Armanen. Mon'keigh are quite slow with everything, aren't they?" She asked him while he turned his head with a pout. "Oi! No need to mock me about the fact that I am not as fast as you, if that's what you meant.. Hmph. Let's just pray that nobody truly sees our bright spot. I got an idea for a little structure we could build around it." He spent five minutes and only gathered a bucketful of wood and plant leaves with fibers. He felt good about this, more or less. "Hah, not bad for a Kalevan. Liriel? How are the things loo...king..."
He literally turned around and saw an enormous pile of every needed material at Liriel's feet, while she was a few meters away, cutting chunks from a tree like a knife through butter. She looked at him and raised her eyebrow with a grin. "Slow. No fast." She said in low gothic, surprising Niko as always. But Niko merely blinked a few times at her with just a single eye and literally had a face of irritation written all over it.
"By the Golden Throne, is there anything you are not good at, Liri?!"
Merlorian. Landing zone of the Aeldari shuttle..
"Have you absolutely lost your mind, foolish child?!" Exarch Sarya was in the process of scolding Arleina while she leaned against a small rock, sitting on the ground with her knees up and arms wrapped around both kneecaps. She was not happy with her outbursts and just blindly charging against the superior numbers of the enemy, especially against an Inquisitor who was not an easy target as she thought. "Did I not tell you how to behave in the fields of battle?! Did I not teach you how to control yourself on the fields of battle, Arleina?!" She raised her voice while sitting on a rock and holding her abdomen while Warlock Belanor healed her.
Ulthran was busy meddling with his runes in the background, while Autarch Nuvian stood with his arms crossed and staring at the ground, contemplating and thinking about what to do next after they, in short words, annihilated the mon'keigh base and forced the survivors to flee in all directions possible. The smoke was still visible from afar, even from their spot where they originally landed. The inferno, which engulfed the military base, was devastating. But now? They seriously had to think about what to do next. More or less, they were running out of time. The longer they stayed without a motion, the closer was the doom of Liriel, which they could not allow to happen at all.
Sarya had a reason to be frustrated with her warrior. Arleina was a banshee that Exarch trained with every knowledge that she had, and yet she was definitely unhappy, and for a good reason. "I am clearly disappointed, Arleina. Very disappointed. You could have literally died, and worst of all.. You would have lost yourself in the path of a warrior and become like me. I trained you to be a warrior that avoids such horrifying doom, and yet, you easily would have fallen for its grasps! Outrageous is not even close to what the result should be called. Had you not been so eager to rush for her, perhaps we would have managed to let her know that we are here." Arleina listened. None of them wore helmets, and her facial expression was nothing else but disappointment... Disappointment in herself.
"She is right.. How did I ever allow myself to get lost like this in the fires of battle..?" Arleina digested every word of her Exarch. She was not lying, but speaking pure facts. "Blinded.. Eager.. Rushing to the fire without looking at the consequences.." She thought, and she kept thinking of her screw up big time. Sarya had her palm on her face, and she was clearly furious, but she knew that with mere words, nothing would truly change. By taking a deep sigh, she calmed down and looked at her warmly. At the end of the day, Sarya cared for those she considered her "Falcons"
"Look.. Arleina. You must understand the gravity of your mistake. I am scolding you because I care about you, and I want you to heed my words and do better. I am strict for a good reason, because my job is to keep you, first and foremost, alive. Imagine.." Sarya looked down at the ground and frowned. "What would I have told Liriel, when she would ask me, where is Arleina? I may look heartless to you and the rest of the sisters.. But even I would have shuddered to give an answer. The pain she would experience.. Exactly. You already feel me, don't you?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. Arleina nodded slowly, two times, and lifted her head to look at her Exarch.
With a slow moment, Sarya kneeled down in front of her "Falcon" and placed her head on her chestplate. "Come here.." And immediately, Arleina slowly clung onto her Exarch and silently wept, while Sarya looked down at the ground, stroking the back of her hair. "Every loss that I experience is devastating enough.. I cannot afford to lose another.. Understand. I am not blaming you, for you want to desperately save her. But please, do not make stupid mistakes like this that will only endanger her. Learn to control yourself, and then all your efforts will not be in vain." Arleina nodded while hugging onto her Exarch. "Poor child.. She just wants to save her. I was just like her a long, long time ago.. Wanting the same for my sisters." Sarya told herself inside her own mind and kept calming Arleina down.
"Nuvian." Belanor said while approaching the Aeldari equivalent of a General. "Yes, Belanor?" The steely Autarch continued to look down at the ground while holding his chin, his elegant wings as beautiful as an eye could grasp. "You seriously cannot think that it was-" Nuvian interrupted him. "Our plan was not ruined because of our banshees, Belanor. The cages were empty.. Then, at the end of the day, we find out that Liriel has escaped. Eldrad would have tried to connect to her mind, but there was simply no time for that. Mon'keigh were pouring at us from every cursed direction. Our plan failed because fate decided to be cruel to us this day. We can only try to track her in the vehicle that she was in. However.. My mind is still confused about one thing." Belanor raised his eyebrow. "And that is?"
Nuvian finally allowed himself to look at his comrade. "Liriel was not alone. Did another one of our members survive, who was left in captivity?" And now, Belanor himself, began to seriously sink in his thoughts while slowly walking in circles. "Hm.. I honestly, do not know what answer to give, to that presumption. It is highly unlikely that there were any other Aeldari left here, besides Liriel. But I am not saying that it is not possible, Nuvian. Whoever it was, we can be certain of one thing. They are with Liriel. Otherwise, as Sarya informed us, she would have not been on the gunner's seat on that mon'keigh vehicle that got out through the destroyed gates. That is why Ulthran is trying to find any clues about that right now." He finished the explanation, but Nuvian was still feeling suspicious.
"Belanor. I really do not like this. I agree with you, let's get that right. But.. Have you considered, that.." Belanor looked at him. "A Mon'keigh, perhaps that Inquisitor who sent the message could have been working together with her? Perhaps. Another possibility, which can or cannot be true. I am only waiting for Eldrad's word so we can finally move out and seek her. Although I honestly think that he should have simply finished off that fanatical Inquisitor and his lapdog once and for all. Farseers work in a way too mysterious ways. I know that, since I am a seer myself. It is an unpleasant experience, Nuvian, believe me." He said, while leaning against a tree. "I do believe you.."
The pilot guardians were not daring to interrupt them. They simply sat outside their machine and were busy eating rations, while in the short distance, Ulthran sat down on the ground, legs crossed, with a shiny bright light oozing from his hands and the runes mysteriously floating and circling around his palms while he was doing his psychic procedure. After a short while, he finally stood up and approached his group.
"Kinsmen." Nuvian, Belanor, Sarya and Arleina simultaneously looked at him while standing straight and waiting for his verdict. Eldrad looked at all of them rather grimly, but nevertheless, he delivered the news. "Liriel lives. As far as my visions could suffice.. But I would not dare to sit here and waste time, for we need to preserve it. Exarch Sarya." The Exarch looked at him. "Yes, Farseer?" Ulthran approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You care for your birdlings, I know that very well. You are a strict but a fair leader. Keep encouraging her, but do not blame her for wanting to reach her aspect sister so desperately. We have too many members of our people who would have done the same when our home was under attack by the spawns of she-who-thirsts.." He said, quite sadly.
Sarya was quite at a loss for words at what one of the mightiest Farseers of Ulthwe, was telling her. She would have expected something like this from an Autarch, but never from the lips of Eldrad Ulthran himself. "Farseer.." She tried to continue, but he stopped her by shaking his head. "No need, I know you needed these words. Guide your warriors despite their mistakes. We all learn from them, for even you were just like her a long time ago. Now, you need to prepare to face similar challenges as your own Exarch did once upon a time.
This is a continuing pattern, so show what you are capable of." Sarya looked down at the ground, then back at him, nodding. "Much appreciated, Farseer. I swear by my glaive, and by the name of our home to heed your words thoroughly." Eldrad smiled at her and tapped her shoulder twice. "Good spirit, young one." Sarya would not admit it, but she felt truly blessed. Someone so serious as Ulthran appreciated her efforts, and in the short distance, Arleina, was brightening up with a light smile and then a slight sadness, because she knew very well that Sarya only wants the best for her. "I will not make the same mistake, again.." She whispered to herself while clenching her hands into fists.
Eldrad stepped back and looked at all of his comrades. "I changed my mind. We have a little spare time to spend. Use it to get a good rest. Get on the shuttle, all of you. I need to consult with my colleague.. In private." Said Ulthran, before Nuvian and Belanor exchanged looks, the same with Arleina and Sarya, but they would not dare to detest or protest his request. They all understood the command and disappeared back into the shuttle for the night, while Eldrad Ulthran decided to head away, straight into the depths of the woods.
After about an hour of traveling in the middle of the darkness of the night, he stopped where he was in the middle of the woods, knelt down on both knees, and placed his staff near his knees, alongside his helmet. Next, he looked down at the ground and decided to contemplate, sinking into his thoughts. "In the name of Isha. The calamity of this day is surely tiresome. Why did I not foresee this? What kind of mist clouded my mind when I used all my mental strength just to get the most accurate path to rescuing Elidyr's niece.." He spoke while sighing deeply and looking down at the ground. "I need to calm my mind down.."
Eldrad Ulthran began to meditate for about 10 minutes straight. He sat down, cross-legged, with his eyes closed and his staff emitting light and acting like a lamp for him while he meditated. Then, after concentrating his mind completely, he proceeded to make telepathic, psychic contact with his most trusted and closest colleague.
"Elidyr. It's me. We need to talk." His mind spoke. "Eldrad.. My friend. Thank Isha.. I am delighted to hear your voice. How is the operation on rescuing my niece?" Eldrad was pausing with his answer. He wanted to be precise, but cautious on top of that. "Eldrad?" Eldrad heard the concern in his elegant, majestic voice within his head, and only then did he decided to answer. "You may have foreseen it, Elidyr. Not the worst case scenario, but the plan did not go as we expected.."
There was no answer coming from Elidyr this time. He was also pausing and slow with the response, but nevertheless, the communication was crucial and necessary. "My niece.. Is she-" Eldrad gave him the answer himself. "She lives, my friend, do not let despair grip your heart." He reassured him. "Blessed be the great mother. Then, where is she? What happened, Eldrad? Please.." Eldrad could still sense that Elidyr was hurt. He was told that his niece was alive, but she was not with them. He realized this rather quickly. "Elidyr, listen to me, please. We will do everything in our might to save her. The mon'keigh kept her at the base. We met the vile Lord Inquisitor that the coded message talked about. I punished them both, but we had to leave. May my name be cursed if leaving him to die instead of killing him, will come back flying at us. But that's not the point. Liriel escaped without knowing that we were here. You have foreseen this vision."
Elidyr's voice was tired as he gave his reply. "Curses.. Be.. Upon these events. Yes, I have.. Foreseen a path like this, but it was the less likely to happen. What kind of damnation are the strings of fate playing on us?" He asked. "Something very mysterious is clouding our minds, dear friend. I do not wield the power to decipher it without seeing many other possibilities. This is not all, however. I am very certain that she escaped.. With someone."
Elidyr, was slightly taken aback and confused by this reply. "What? Were there other survivors from Nuvian's warhost kept in captivity by the mon'keigh?" He asked. "Negative. Before the attack, I could feel only the presence of Liriel through meditation. When we sent Arleina and Sarya to the cages where she was kept, they were empty. Then, with all of us confused and busy gasping from shock, the mon'keigh exposed us and alerted the entire base and possibly every force on this planet. The base was obliterated through our combined strength. These mon'keigh were nothing special. Untrained militia, their spirits weak, fragile and terrified. They were easy to get rid of. Liriel was on the backseat of a mon'keigh vehicle firing their inferior mounted heavy weaponry, but who was the driver? I.. I cannot know. I literally cannot know, my friend. When I stared into the vision, this individual was blocked by bright light. His spirit was basically invisible." He told him about everything he saw.
"By the hammer of Vaul. We are piling up a mystery after a mystery. At the same time, I do not desire you to waste time on naught, Eldrad. Liriel still lives, and that's what matters." He explained. "Agreed. But, Elidyr, we may find their tracks, but our warriors need some rest. We faced hundreds, if not thousands, of mon'keigh all alone, and only through sheer luck and determination did we manage to avoid falling in the battle. I would have obliterated that base into inferno had Liriel not been within it.. Either way, in the morning, I shall proceed on the shuttle to track her once more. The vehicle she was in surely left its tracks on the soil. She must be far away."
Elidyr gave his reply rather quickly. "Commence as soon as you know it is the right time, Eldrad. But, please.. Just, save her. Everyone who threatens Liriel, should be eliminated. Period. No matter what. I must look into the visions to foresee what awaits you so that you do not do it all alone. As you can see, I still try to give aid.. Just like many times we watched each other's backs." Eldrad allowed himself to lightly smile, eyes still closed. "Likewise, Elidyr. But let me make it clear. It is Eloen, who told you to stay away from high matters of the council and await my word in your chambers, right?" Eldrad cheekily asked, and he heard Elidyr's soft laughter. "You never miss a beat, my friend. But yes, she insisted that I take a day or two off from the matters of the council and leave them to her while I await your word."
"She was correct to do so. Elidyr, listen. Keep listening to Eloen. She is the only person besides me who understands you completely. Do not disappoint me, will you?" He told him. "Feel no doubt about that, Eldrad. I will heed your words. But, please, I beg you. Just, save her.. She grew up in my hands after her parents died and joined the infinite circuit. I promised my brother that, while I carry the burden of leading our people, I will keep Liriel safe and make sure that she remains safe, as much as my strength can allow me resisting her stubbornness. I cannot betray his trust, nor can I leave my beloved niece in the jaws of death. I rely on you." Eldrad frowned since he had experienced this type of pain too many times. He felt Elidyr's pain. He did not have to show it. He simply felt it.
"Mark my words. At the cost of my own life, if I have to, I will ensure that your niece returns safely home to your embrace. Feel no doubt about this, my friend. You have my promise. Head up high, Elidyr." He said, softly. "Thank you, Eldrad.. Isha bless your every step." After their initial important chat, they switched to secondary objectives. "Now. Regarding the artefact." Elidyr started. "We are missing a crucial detail. Our brightest minds and those of the seer council have been busy with this artefact due to how important it is. But it simply refuses to activate." Eldrad got curious. "I used to be there alongside the rest of the seers. I felt that something was missing, but did you find out what it is that we lack?"
"Precisely. Seeing how desperate our situation was? I had to resort to, some unorthodox methods.. I had to contact my most trusted colleagues across the craftworlds of this galaxy, who I know will keep everything secret." Eldrad was surprised. He knew that Elidyr was a very sage individual. He was smart, charismatic and a born leader, but at the same time, he was a person that did not see different between Craftworlds. He considered them all to be the same people, the same Aeldari, despite the political feuds and scandals. "You.. Do know the risks this poses? Why did you do it? What is this that we miss about the artefact, Elidyr?" He asked him very curiously.
Elidyr hummed slightly, but replied nevertheless. "The ancient language is hard to decipher, Eldrad. The artefact itself is covered in the words we managed to stack up together. I asked everyone I knew, and only one managed to give me a translation of this. And, if I am being honest.. It did surprise me to the core." He told him, and then Eldrad had to ask for more. "Asuryani.. Well, and who gave you the piece of puzzle to solve?" He asked. "One of my colleagues from the old times.. From the Craftworld Ducaish."
Eldrad got even more curious. "Are you talking about Farseer Alw-" However, his friend interrupted him. "Your assumptions do not deceive you. She is one of my most loyal companions, and I trust her word. I want you to not think that just because she is from another Craftworld, she cannot be trusted. There are enough Farseers who are too busy around this galaxy, and she found time to investigate and gave me an answer." He said, and Eldrad only hummed in agreement. "Hm. Do not doubt, my friend. I trust you. It's just the political turmoil between our kinsmen that has given me a massive headache.. But I am glad to hear that someone genuinely wants to help us. So, what did she reveal?"
"The words of the ancient. It is like a tale of some sort, but the words, as she translated, go like this.." He said, and began to recite the translation.
"The light is gone, and the darkness has come. The souls are torn, but a new hope shall be born."
"From the calamity that struck our people, you will rise from the pile of ruble. When the unity is created, it shall never be defeated."
"With the blessings of our gods, you shall fight against all the odds. We bestow upon you one of our treasures, crafted by the last of our masters."
"When the right time has come, the times of despair will be gone. Through the blessed creation, this treasure will be your only salvation."
He finished reciting this, and now Eldrad digested all of what he heard. It took him a few minutes, as Elidyr did not interrupt him, since he knew his friend's way of processing thoughts very well. After the minutes passed by, Eldrad, broke the silence. "These words are very puzzling and mysterious, but I am intrigued mostly about the last part.. Blessed creation, Only Salvation, what is the meaning of this? Elidyr, you must not-" Elidyr spoke in an instant. "Nobody knows but her, me, and now you, Eldrad. I remember you saying there might be more of these out there, but the chances are slim. The council insists that we should keep this artefact for ourselves. Honestly? I do not blame them, but at the same time, I want the best for our people. Not just for Ulthwe, but for the entirety of our race." He explained it sincerely.
Eldrad let out a deep sigh and had to seriously consult with his friend. "Elidyr. You walk on a serious, thin rope with a void underneath. Unity is hard to create in our times. I know this better than anyone can comprehend. It has been over ten thousand years. Where did we ever see true unity when instead, our fates are intertwined with the mon'keigh? We are surviving, not living. Our numbers are small, yet we prevail through all the strength that we have to show this cursed galaxy. I believe in your dream, but it will not be so easy to achieve." He said.
"I know, Eldrad, I know.. As much as I carry the burden of ensuring the well-being of our craftworld, I cannot close my eyes to the despair of our people across this galaxy. This artefact might be our first step. Something that will prompt all the Aeldari, even the Ynnari, to an ever-lasting bond and trust that cannot be broken. The arch-enemy is stronger than ever. The mon'keigh world that was the shield against the eye of terror is gone. Half of the galaxy is covered in the shadow of Chaos. Our people must survive these tough times. And if this artefact is our salvation, then so be it. We will make sure that this gives us, at least, a new hope for a secured future." He explained it from the bottom of his heart.
Ulthran simply couldn't help but smile, his eyes still closed. "You never fail to amaze me, Elidyr. You would be worthy of the title of Prophet of Isha. I believe in your vision of a secured future for our people. We got lucky that we even managed to retrieve it, but at an extremely heavy cost. I saw her face, Elidyr. Eloen still mourns them in private, and yet she has the strength to give you a peaceful state of mind. She and only she have seen what happened in that world more than ten thousand years ago through her vision in that cave. Let's just concentrate on our tasks at hand and try to find out what these ancient words mean. You must search for the meaning behind them." He said, strictly.
"Will do, Eldrad. For now.. Please. Rescue my niece, that is the first priority. My mind tires me. The fatigue is overwhelming when I worry about Liriel. Find her, please.. Find her." His last words sounded very emotional, even though his voice was calm, soft and normal. But Eldrad knew his friend extremely well. "Easy, my friend. I gave you my word, and I will uphold it, I promise." He told him. "Thank you, Eldrad.. Thank you. I have to meditate and continue my research. Until our minds meet again. May the Asuryani be with you."
"And with you too, Elidyr." It was then that their minds disconnected from each other, and Eldrad opened his eyes before letting out a deep sigh and stare into the sky full of stars and the beauty of the cosmos. "Great mother.. What do we have left? What are the secrets to ensure that your children do not live like this? Where do we have to look for any clues about this damned artefact.. Hm.. Through the blessed creation.. Elidyr must be under a lot of pressure as it is, just trying to find out what any of this means." Eldrad finished his thoughts, and then he leaned his hand forward and forced the runes to float and circle around, concentrating his psychic energy straight on them, before a small frozen picture appeared in front of him, floating above his palm.
In the picture, he saw the figure covered in bright light that was slightly blinding to Eldrad's eyes. He leaned in despite this, and still, the brightness around this figure did not disappear. He did not even know what or who it was to begin with, but he frowned at this puzzling mystery.
"Who, or what are you.. Stranger covered in light?"
Melrorian. The Eastern Desert. Camping site of Niko, Liriel and Akila.
"Ships in sky and the clouds are skimming, barren planets to the pleasure worlds, each horizon is a new beginning, rise and reign.." Niko sang while removing fibers from the plants and slicing more wood from the nearby trees, while the food in the pot was cooking all along. Akila was still in the deepest sleep he could possibly imagine. While he was chained and tied in that cage back at the base, his efforts to sleep were all futile, and the sleep deprivation kicked in, so he was allowed to rest. After a bit of chopping, he noticed that he had grown hair and facial hair while rubbing his chin. "Ah shite, forgot when I last shaved or cut my hair.. Or did I even?" He shook his head, took out his military-issued shaving kit with a mirror, and sat it down on a rock before pointing the flashlight at his chin. Next, he applied the cream and grabbed the razor, going bit by bit to remove his facial hair, before proceeding smoothly to shorten his hair with his Leuku, putting the flashlight on a small rock.
Liriel sat down at the campfire, slicing the wooden planks with her power sword while eyeing Niko, who remained shirtless, was pretty much alive, and was shaving. "In all seriousness, he has a singing talent.. I do admit that. But by Isha, do the mon'keigh grow hairs in different places, or is that how nature intended?" She stopped the slicing process and watched him shave and shorten his hair. His body, no matter what damage it sustained, was in pretty good condition. His lean abs were something that was quite remarkable, but he was not jacked or buffed too much. He had enough muscle thanks to his guardsman's training, and after living in the woods as a lonely hunter. "He takes care of himself. Quite remarkable for what my race would deem barbarian.. But he is not." She said, and found out that she's staring at his shirtless body for a bit too much than she would expect.
The banshee shook her head, looked down at the wooden planks, and had quite amount of redness visible on her cheeks. She was pouting and continued slicing. "Liriel, shut up, and work.. Just shut it." She told herself and kept slicing, not staring at the quite handsome-looking young man, despite his back scars, the claw scar on his face, and an eye patch. It only made him look more badass.
"Far from the home and the icy mountains, eagles soar over new big lands, guardsmen firing over crushing barrage, Silver Spears.." The young man continued to sing while shaving. He added more of that cream, and Liriel's curiosity got even bigger as her ears slightly twitched at his singing. She sliced the wood and occasionally stared at him in silence. "Holy prayers or the thrill of killing, pull together and then hold the line, lasguns shooting and the shells are coming, pound within.." He finished shaving, cleaned his face and head with the canteen, dried himself, shoved his shaving kit back into his backpack, and then grabbed his Leuku once again and began to pull the planks together, using the leaf fiber as a rope to stack them into a horizontal line of a wall. Then he used a rock to pound them like a hammer against the ground, but not without his singing.
"Ohhh-hooo-oooh! The echoes of eternity.. Ohhh-hooo-oooh! Emperor calling me.. Ohhh-hooo-oooh! To do my duty valiantly.. Ohhh-hooo-oooh! Emperor calling me.. Emperor calling me." He sang while hammering down the wall he just made with the planks he himself made. He hummed his song, and Liriel approached him calmly. "Yeah, I know, not the best singer, heh. But without a song, an activity can be boring! Ya know?" He told her as she tilted her head and then shrugged. "Ah well, don't pay it any heed, Liri. Look, can you help me with this thing? I can't-" He tried to push it down so it went deeper into the ground. "Seem-" She simply lifted her leg above his head and slammed her foot down the wall without too much pressure in order not to break it. The wall went perfectly down the sandy ground, but nevertheless, Niko just blinked a few times and then facepalmed. Liriel stood there with her arms crossed and with quite a smirk.
"Your strength is really scaring me, pretty Eldar lady. More or less, let us build this little shelter to cover us and our campfire over here at the best efficiency. Then, we might as well have our meal." He said, chuckled at himself and smiled at her before diverting his eye to the huge pile that she sliced at the distance. It forced him to drop his jaw. "What- How the- Actually, you know what? I'm not gonna even question that.." She watched him go over to her excellently sliced and refined wooden planks before starting to connect them with the fiber ropes. "Something about Niko is amusing me.. When I manage to surprise him completely. This young man, I swear." She shook her head with a hidden smile and just kept watching him.
"Ooooo you are the beeeesst, all other races are weak, stupid, fragile.. Fecking hell, how do the masses even fall for this Imperial propaganda when a lonely warrior like her is capable of making fecking backflips on a fraggin Valkyrie after jumping on it, let alone kick a missile from its wing?! Emperor almighty, we are truly blinded.." He said and rolled his eye until he blinked a few times and noticed Liriel, yet again, unexpectedly, in front of him. He saw her boots and lifted his head, staring at the elegant beauty, who judgingly looked down at him. He made an irritating smile with his eye twitching and had to ask a question. "Yes, Liriel? What else do the "mon'keigh" appear to be slow at?" He asked before she grinned even wider. "Teasing him.. Is really amusing." She thought to her head, then pointed him to sit down on the ground, which he did, raising his eyebrow. "Uh, wha?"
Next, Liriel cracked her knuckles slightly, and decided to do a little show-off. She knelt down, and with an uncanny speed, began to tie up the planks together with the ropes made from fibers. She was precise in her action, and truly, was quite talented with her hands. "Behold the might of Ulthwe, little mon'keigh, hm-hm." She said cheekily, grinning slightly while Niko, remained with his mouth wide open, and eye widened up. "What.. In the bloody Kalevan devils am I witnessing, hey, I can't even see how you're tying them!" He said, trying to watch over her, but she deliberately made sure to force him to watch her, which he, of course, did. "Oi, again you're showing off? As always, you're gonna point out that we are slow, clumsy, stupid, but hey, I'm telling you!" He stood up and placed a chest on his heart, before staring at the sky and proclaiming.
"That we might be slow, clumsy, and idiotic, but we are holding out through our sheer numbers, courage, bravery, unity and the strength of countless beating hearts. What is ancient technology, or alien powers, in comparison to human might? Well! I can definitely tell that... The... Might is..." After a few seconds of his blabbering session, he noticed Liriel already standing still while holding a very stable and efficiently crafted wooden wall, which she shoved down into the sand, raised her leg and sent it down against the board, forcing it to tightly penetrate the sandy ground, before she put her arms on her sides and looked at him, raising her eyebrow and asking her "How's that?" in a very cheeky manner.
Niko just blinked and had already given up on his attempts to flatter his race. He sighed deeply, facepalmed himself, and heard Liriel chuckling before she said something in low gothic. "No fast. Slow, Niko. Slow.." She said, and saw Niko pouting before leaning down to the ground to pick up his Leuku. "Oh yeah? Should I remind you that even if I experienced torture, escaped from the chasing fanatics, and we actually won the battle, I am still determined to duel you?" He said and leaned back up, but Liriel was nowhere to be seen. "Eh? What-"
"BOO!"
The young Kalevan man jumped two meters forward from a sudden jumpscare, and heard Liriel laughing behind him. He was red from embarrassment and pouted even further while clenching his teeth. "Hey! That's not fair!" He said, but then his face changed completely. Liriel held her wrist against her lips while she was laughing, and frankly speaking, Niko slowly lit up with a smile from this sight alone because Liriel's laughter brought him an unusual feeling of joy and happiness that he couldn't express. Something about this beautiful Aeldari warrior woman expressing joy made him feel warm inside. "Emperor almighty. It is a rare sight that I witness, but she laughs because of me. I cannot say that I am not happy to see her in this state." Niko admitted, then began to laugh himself.
"Frankly speaking, that's a good one, heh.. Well?" He put his hands on his sides and looked at the first wall he made before grabbing a few more planks and looking at her. "Liriel. How about we get onto it already while the meal is almost done, eh? But first, let's make some safe haven for our tired furred companion, shall we?" He asked, smiling. The howling banshee couldn't remove her own smile from her face, seeing how she experienced joyfulness from this young human man. She did not understand his words but understood the assignment just by him lifting a primitive wooden plank. And then they got into working together to build a proper shelter.
Half an hour passed by as they built their shelter together. Niko showed her the proper ways of making wooden walls with thick sticks and sliced wood, and she used her alien speed to tie them together under pure concentration, which forced Niko to feel more inferior, but he ignored it since the Eldar, as he thought, were mysterious enough. Just as they worked together, they managed to build a small wooden shelter, enough to fit them both. Next, Niko crafted two beds from wooden sticks tied up together before laying the soft bushes on top of them and covering them with spare leather he had in his Munitorum issued backpack, creating pillows by stuffing some of his clothes with the bushes. Next, he constructed a small kennel for Akila, before placing him in there, he covered the entrance with a few sticks so he could sleep in peace and no noise would wake him up. "Good boy, Aki, you deserve unbothered rest." He said, and then stepped back to the shelter he and Liriel constructed for themselves.
The light from the campfire made the shelter itself clearly visible to the naked eye, and it was nicely built in the shape of an oval square. "And the job is well done!" Niko proclaimed before wiping his forehead, staring at their creation with his fists at his sides. "Pretty primitive, don't you think?" Liriel asked him, of course, in her Aeldari language. "Hah, I'm glad you agree it looks good!" He grinned, and Liriel tried not to show laughter because she realized that he thought she was complimenting the primitive-looking shelter. "Wraithbone singer could've made this into something your richest nobility couldn't afford.. Do not be silly, Armanen." She said softly, before kneeling and sitting cross-legged while facing the campfire. Niko rolled his eyes in an instant. "Eldar arrogance.. The tone of her voice is enough for me to know that this is simply shite. But hey, better than nothing."
Niko went inside to place his backpack in there, but then came out of there, sitting down with a pouch of the Kalevan tea and a bottle that he was holding, alongside two bowls and two metal cups. Liriel lightly smiled as he sat down, but raised her eyebrow. "Hm? Oh, this?" He noticed that she was looking at the bottle of fine Amasec, which Niko took from the empty pub back in that town. "What's.. In that mysterious-looking little bottle, I wonder?" Liriel asked.
She looked at the bottle, then at him, and Niko could tell that the alien lady was, in fact, curious. "Oohhoh, this is something I kept for special occasion such as this." He said, before opening up the bottle and pouring the liquid into two cups. He handed one to her, and she instantly reacted by giving it a sniff, and then widened her eyes, cringing hard and even clenching her teeth. "Oghhn by the hammer of Vaul! What is this.. It reeks of poison, and they drink this?!" She thought while staring at the cap and holding her cute nose. After all, the senses of the Aeldari, were way stronger than those of humans.
The young man expected this reaction, and he was grinning and chuckling silently while holding his cup. "Hah! The almighty Aeldari cannot withstand the smell of alcohol?" He made a mockingly sad expression, provoking her and basically calling her a scared chick. "Aweee, look at that. Did not even dare to have a drink and is already shivering in nervousness." He said, trying not to laugh, but he could see Liriel's predatory gaze set up right at him, but to her surprise, he did not flinch or even feel scared or intimidated. He was.. Smirking.
"You do not scare me anymore, miss xeno-of-the-year. I can mock and tease you as much as you probably do the same towards me, so we are even! But admit it. You are scared." He pointed at the surface of his booze and then at her, shaking his head with a wide grin and prompting her to take just a single gulp. "You..." She whispered, pouting. "He is literally cackling and taunting me. Am I that weak as to be scared of a liquid they consume?! No, I am not." She leaned it to her mouth, looked straight onto the surface, and saw Niko staring at her like an excited child. She could see he was totally enjoying taunting her, but Niko was doing this as a jest, not as genuinely malevolent. "Okay.. Here goes nothing." She slowly attached her lips to the cup, and then... Lifted it up, taking just one sip.
*PPPFFTTHHF!*
"Pff-Thahaha!" The Kalevan young man slapped his knee and burst into total laughter as Liriel literally spat out the drink straight from her mouth and coughed a few times while holding her throat, her eyes clenching in disgust and bitterness, while she felt her throat burning with a dreadful sensation. "B..By the- By the bloody hand of Khaine! What do these mon'keigh even thrive on if they allow such poisons to manifest in their bodies?!" She asked herself while coughing a bit more, before Niko approached and clapped her on the back. "Easy now, lassie, easy. It's not so bad!" He said cheekily before Liriel looked at him after opening her eyes, and she was truly not happy.
The Kalevan man shrugged and lifted his cup. "Cheers for your well-being, Liri." And swallowed the contents of his cup in one go with a loud gulp before exhaling against his forearm. "OOooofff, good stuff. Was a very long time since I had this." He said, before seeing Liriel still pouting. He rolled his eye and placed the cup down before lifting his hands against his shoulders. "Fine, fine, by the Emperor, woman, don't look at me like you're ready to eat me alive." He chuckled and simply took the cup from her hands before she refused to let go of it, staring into her eyes. "What are you up to?" She asked him, obviously, in her language.
He simply placed his other hand on top of hers, and looked at her, quite warmly. "Liri, please let go." Niko said. Liriel slowly forced her grip to loosen on the cup before Niko took it from her. She sat beside him, cross-legged still, and watched his every movement. "You can't handle alcohol as I see it. Not a problem. But just one minute." He cleaned the cup with some of the water from his canteen, spilled the water, and hung a new pot with just boiling water within it. Next, he threw more wood into the fire, fueling it up to a greater extent, and letting the water start boiling sooner or later. Then, he poured some into the cup, threw the Kalevan tea leaves, stirred them, and gave her the cup with that fabulous smile of his. "Here you go."
Liriel could've not admitted it, but her cheeks were brightened by this sweet act. She slowly took the cup and blew some air onto the boiling surface in order to cool it down, and then took one simple sip of the drink that Liriel seemed to enjoy the most. Niko was intrigued and watched how her pouting and frowning disappeared into a light smile, then resumed into a calm facial expression. "See? I knew you would like it. The food seems to be ready." He said and poured some two bowls of food into them before Niko handed over one bowl to Liriel, who, despite the sloppy mess that the MRE contents were, took it with not much of a fuss but with neutrality.
"I know the food tastes like total shite, but it will surely give us well needed energy that we have depleted. Man.. That was quite risky and tough. I still can only fathom, what do you think happened back at that hellhole we escaped from?" He asked her before grabbing his own bowl. "Emperor bless this meal." He started to eat, and frankly speaking, he hated every bite, much like Liriel who was trying not to cringe at the awful slop. "This.. Is torture. Their stomachs must be made out of iron if they can digest this garbage." She whispered to herself.
Niko finished his meal rather quickly, and now he sat cross-legged, staring at the campfire while holding his cup, before raising his left knee and putting his elbow on top of it, holding the cup in his hand. "Something's fishy here, and I can feel it. We may reach the capital while they are in disarray, Liri. In that sense?" He took a gaze at her, to which she returned, holding the wooden spoon. "You know, just a strange feeling that I have.." He looked back at the campfire, taking another sip of Kalevan tea. "Mmmmf. Tasty, heh. Anyway.. I just have this feeling within me that we might await more surprises than we can imagine. This entire expedition was intensively difficult due to how many obstacles were placed in front of us.."
Liriel was listening, loud and clear, but she barely understood what he was saying, yet he kept talking and talking. "What is he.. Even saying? He talks like I can understand him. Maybe he's telling me something that concerns him?" She didn't finish her bowl but put it aside, taking a sip of the tea and closing her eyes in pleasurable relaxation, because that tea was surely a heavenly experience for her taste buds. "Mmm.. This drink. I wonder if I could grow these leaves in my craftworld. Would that be a sight in our great gardens. Talk about an alliance with the mon'keigh. So many problems could have been avoided if something so blissful as this, tea, as it is called, was exchanged for something that we grow in terms of food and drink. I wish.. I only could wish." She said, before taking another sip.
Next, she allowed herself to relax completely by taking off her pieces of wraithbone armor, all black-colored, and neatly placing them on the ground, stacking them together, and leaving her synthetic, tight bodysuit on her. "Like, I swear to Emperor. This feels alm...o...s..t.." Niko looked in the direction of the banshee and saw Liriel... Bending over to place her pieces of armor on the ground. His eye widened up, his cheeks brightened up, and he simply stared without even an ounce of blinking. He could see her perfect, quite thick, yet heart-shaped well-built rear, literally right in front of him. "Em..Pe..ror.. Al..mighty.." He could not admit it, but literally in a split second, his specific regions of his "business" received good "communication" from his "headquarters" in terms of a quick blood rush. He clenched his thighs further and instantly looked at the campfire, swallowing his saliva, realizing that this perfect picture that he just saw was forever instilled within his mind.
Liriel finished placing her armor down and leaned up to a standing position. "I doubt there will be anything that will threaten us here." She said, then turned around and instantly got confused. "Huh? What's.. Wrong with him?" She approached him and sat next to him, cross-legged, curious as to why his cheeks were reddened and why he was tapping his knee with two fingers. "Is he feeling sick? Did that disgusting liquid have certain side effects?" She thought and got slightly worried before placing her hand on his forehead, which made him slightly shudder and look in her direction.
Niko clearly saw her face full of concern and worries. He felt instantly relieved, since he understood that she thought he was feeling ill. "O-Oh I, I am fine, Liriel, see? I am not burning." He chuckled nervously, but he could've sworn that her touch was quite magical. She had no gloves, and yet, her fingers refused to let go of his temple. This made his attraction to her even stronger, because for the first time ever, he felt her touch with her hand, which was not protected by her gloves. The surface of her fingers was softer than any silk, and it forced him to remain silent, but unfortunately, he blushed even further.
Liriel, after noticing that he was reddening in his cheeks, quickly diverted her hand away. "Am I making him feel uncomfortable?" She thought, and she looked a bit guilty of that. "Oh no, no-no-no, Liri I- I wasn't feeling ill or bad in any way or form, don't feel like you're making me uncomfortable." He said and smiled once again. His smile, his undefeatable smile, is what removed her worried expression and gave her the relief she needed. "Apparently.. Not. He's cheerful, and that's good news. By the Asuryani, the strength that drives this young human.. Is admirable, I will admit." She said, and smiled back at him, which made him smile even further as they looked at each other.
The young Kalevan lifted his cup, and Liriel, raising her eyebrow, followed his motion by lifting her own cup as well. "Cheers! You gotta clank the cup, you know, like this." He clanked her cup and pointed at his own. The curious banshee, sooner or later, clanked her own cup against his, and he grinned in an instant. "Good job learning human customs, sweetheart." He took a long sip of the tea, and Liriel followed him by doing the same, before Niko resumed his stare at the campfire, removing his boots and letting his feet sink into the sand, pulling his pants' sleeves up a bit.
"Liriel." He said softly, before Liriel diverted her gaze towards him. He was smiling still, but there was something behind that smile, which made her feel even more curious. "Poor soul.." She whispered, frowning and staring at the ground, remembering some of those horrific details of looking into his past. "How much has this galaxy forced him to suffer? How much more does fate have to keep torturing him? He fights, fights, and fights.. Like, in that horrifying tent." She clenched her cup as hard as she could force it to slightly bend, and she closed her eyes. "Cursed be that mon'keigh Inquisitor and his lapdog.. As for the one who was in our cage, you better not fall into my sights ever again. I will show no restraint in cutting him down for inflicting more pain on Niko than what he has already suffered through." She swore to herself, making sure that Niko believes in the better hope and, yet, never to give up on what he truly believes in.
Suddenly, Liriel felt a warm touch on her hand, which she kept on the ground. She opened her eyes, just to see Niko's hand right on top of hers. She lifted her head, despite being taller than him, and stared into his eye. He shook his head while softly smiling and fixing his eye patch. "Do not dwell on these thoughts. Sit and relax. We deserve it.." He said, gently rubbing her hand and showing her what she truly lacked ever since she stepped onto this world - Affection.
Liriel remained staring at him, not knowing what to say about his gentle affection for her. If not those visions.. If not the spirit.. She surely would've punched him for even daring to touch her, but right now.. All she felt was warmth in her chest, spreading throughout her entire body and forcing her cheeks to brighten up. She was speechless that Niko even dared to touch her with such gentle passion, and she simply did not know how to react. That was, until she closed her indoctrinated part of her mind on tight locks and then just looked away, acting a bit shyly to this new feeling. "W..What is.. I.. This, feeling.."
Niko giggled at her reaction. "Tall, well-built alien warrior lady is feeling a bit shy? My apologies." He thought that she was feeling uncomfortable and tried to remove his hand from touching her, but she, in an instant, reacted by looking back at him with a simple yet serious stare that she tried to hide. She simply tried to act like her warrior's path demanded, but even Niko noticed that she was failing at this. "I.. She never felt affection of this sort or even love of this sort?" He thought to himself because of how she reacted to him putting his hand away from her. It was as if she was looking rather saddened, and this was too heartbreaking for Niko.
He simply placed his hand back on top of hers and saw that she brightened up once more, smiling lightly or even trying to smile, but Niko already noticed the desirable effects of the change. "You're very beautiful, Liriel. Even cuter when you look like you cannot understand the simplest way of affection." He said, and giggled once again since he saw that she was, in fact, loving this new feeling. "I.. I just- What is happening, why do I.. Why do I want... More..?" She asked herself within her mind, trying to process this new, alien feeling that she hadn't ever felt. The spirit did tell her about love and what it can do, perhaps this was it, as she thought so, but only she could tell.
Niko slowly placed the cup down, placed her palm on his second hand's palm, and rubbed the top of her hand with the first hand, smiling further. "How's that, better? Heh." He asked, to which Liriel only blushed even further, not answering, but Niko did not require her answer. Her face, already gave him the answer he needed. Next, he stared at the campfire, and looked to be quite nostalgic. "You know, Liri.. Let me tell you a couple of stories." He drank the cup clean before resuming her hand rubbing. "I.. I should listen to what he has to say, even if I do not understand him. I still, can feel him, feel his emotions, and this.. New feeling." She said, and prepared to listen.
"In my bloody time in the guard, I had the luxury of being the lucky one, as you would say.. Surviving the first battles and doing my duty as the Emperor intended. Hah, I swear to God-Emperor. I saw many regiments in my lifetime, from countless worlds, but one specific regiment from a feudal world? Was truly unique." He said, grinning proudly. "The Kalevan Silver Spears had the honor of meeting this specific regiment. Which world did they derive from? This is what you would ask if you could understand me. Well, they were from.. Hmm, aha, yes. The Anglerre. And let me tell you, they truly knew how to be soldiers, badass warriors." He said, looking quite proud of his experiences. Liriel carefully listened and tried to grasp his emotions, since he could not grasp her words, only, and probably, a couple of words there and here since her knowledge of low gothic was not so high.
"Our crusade was designed uniquely. Mainly the many regiments from 3 worlds. The Cadian Shock Troops, Kalevan Silver Spears, and the Anglerre. The Cadians were the hammer, making assaults and attacks on the enemies. We were the spear, standing on defense as we are famed for it, staying in the trenches and defending important positions and objects, taking the brunt of the enemy assaults into the tip of our spears, before using artillery to shred them into pieces." He chuckled and kept explaining.
"It's our way of saying "Throw the spear", since every shell in our disposal is like a javelin. The Anglerre were the sword and shield and the garrisons, but they also, I kid you not, would absolutely scare the shite out of rebels with their raiding parties and scorched-earth tactics before making the killing blow. I forgot what their word for it was.. Something starting with Che, or something like that, memory isn't the brightest you could tell." He said, smiling lightly. After a small pause, he continued to talk, with Liriel looking at him and listening.
"We were exterminating orks in the first place, but then the rebels used this distraction for the initiative. We were truly surprised, because we came there to help them out as they were still loyal citizens of the Imperium, but in reality, they were already heretics, who killed the loyalists of the PDF, or anyone who was loyal to the Imperium to begin with, and we were just used to remove the main problem, just for them to start their uprising." He frowned after saying that.
"So, we were particularly angry. I kid you not, we were TRULY pissed off.. Our brothers, our sisters." He clenched his teeth and had quite a frustrated expression on his face as he spoke. "I might sound like a hypocrite, but I never rebelled against the Imperium. Be it that Inquisitor or that Lord Inquisitor, it was they who wished me harm. These Merlorians, they wished me harm, I only defended myself, so let's leave it at that.. I never willingly killed a loyal person of the Imperium. If they threatened me, then their loyalty to me does not matter anymore. They raise their gun at me, they are my enemy, as I am theirs. Simple. There is no place for morals here." He coughed a few times. "Okay, the subject is sort of changing. Anyway."
"We were angry. Our brothers and sisters fell to save these bastards from the greenskin menace.. Fecking orks, Emperor how I hate them." Liriel heard the word "Ork" and instantly swallowed her saliva, frowning. "Greenskin brutes.. The Orks. Vile creatures who know nothing but their love for war and destruction. How he was able to face them and get out in one piece, I can only shudder to think." She admitted while processing this thought in silence, before Niko continued.
"So, the sacrifices were apparently in vain, as these bastards rebelled against the Emperor. We were not in any mood for mercy during that time. Not even I.. Many of my former friends fell. It's just devastating how you build a bond with your battle buddies. They fall, new ones come, then they fall, then new ones again, and so on and on.. Eh." He sighed and looked down at the ground before Liriel comforted him by placing her hand on top of his and tapping it two times. "Talk. Niko.. Talk." She said in low gothic before Niko's depressive thoughts disappeared, and he nodded with a smile. "Thanks, Liri.. Anyway." He looked back at the campfire, and before Liriel went back to her original position, Niko was still rubbing her hand.
"Us, Cadians and Anglerre gave them two choices. Surrender to the Imperial authority and suffer the fair justice of the Emperor, or? Be annihilated without mercy, and with sheer brutality. So, they obviously refused the first option. Then, we made our planetfall. We set out to scourge every planet from the heretic filth, and gave them no quarter. Cadians made their assaults, the Kalevans stood as a wall of spears to take the brunt of the enemy assaults, the Anglerre dug deep into the enemy territory and gave them quite a massive headache, especially with their raiding parties. I have honestly never seen such brutality, but here's the thing. It was necessary, and plus, we gave them the warning, which none of them took seriously." He sighed deeply, and kept sharing his story.
"I was truly amazed how the soldiers of Anglerre, with their cool, badass looking kettle-helmets, and those awesome multicolored uniforms, were the reason of how we won against the rebels. They saved our asses by weaking the enemy and their overwhelming forces and material, cutting them down to the most possible minimum. They were truly a good sword and a good shield, and frankly speaking, I have to give them the credit. We were once holding the line and running out of ammunition when the rebels kept pouring and pouring, and then, from the distance, we see their cavalry and infantry, but most importantly? These, badass knights that they have, literally, I kid you not, charge against the assaulting rebels, and tear them to shreds." He was quite amused by remembering this moment.
"These knights were literally outnumbered like 1 to 5, yet showed more courage and bravery, thrusting swords and lances into the air on their steeds, and screaming in their native language. It was beautiful to see that cavalry charge, then the rest coming in for the kill.. Honestly. I hope their potential is well recognized, for they deserve to be called the legends." He said.
"I remember when we were once running low on provisions. Cadian cunts refused to spare some of their own, despite having mountains of them. But the Anglerre? Man.. These men, just came from another raid, with plentiful bounty, and I kid you not, they gave all that bounty away to us, when they saw that we were in dire need. We were surprised and asked them what will they eat? They all laughed in response. Their Commander, approached our own, which at that time was Colonel Varos, and told him something like. "A lion will always catch his prey." and honestly, we were very grateful. We gave them a stockpile of Kalevan wine, which they enjoyed and even invited us to party with them. Hah! Good experience. These men knew how to fight, and how to have fun." He said, chuckling at the thought.
"These valiant men.. They were truly loyal to their word. If they told us they'll do something in particular time? They would do it. If they said they'll help? They would help. Cadians? Feck these stuck-up cunts. Only stones in the shoes and nothing else. So anyway. I volunteered as a support for a week and joined the Anglerre, alongside the other squads. We were honestly surprised to see how relaxed the men of Anglerre were. You could rouse them with a good speech, and they'd be ready to throw themselves into the pits of hellfire, kick some ass and come back. Honestly, I asked myself, that, how many more regiments like these exist out there? I will never know. I only know, that Anglerre, and their brave men, have my highest respects." He said, throwing pebbles in the distance.
"But that particular moment of when their noble knights began to charge at the heretic scum, was something, that I will never, ever forget. Even in my wildest of dreams, I have never seen anything more incredible.. Only my regiment stood there defending that spot. Others were too far away.." Niko held his chin and started to remember every detail of that moment. "Let me tell you, what I saw.." He said, and then, began to tell of that particular moment.
The Kalevan Silver Spears were dug in deep in their trenches on a world that rebelled against the Emperor. It was the 64th Line Infantry Regiment tasked with defending an important and vital military base on this specific world, which stored a lot of resources, materials, field hospitals and refugee camps. Nothing was going according to plan. Niko's regiment was taken by surprise, and the concentration of the artillery regiments that always followed a line infantry regiment was nowhere to be seen because it was not prepared for the sudden arrival of the massive rebel army that was at the Kalevan doorstep.
Colonel Emil Varos of the 64th Line infantry regiment of the Kalevan Silver Spears was the only man who was responsible for protecting this base to begin with. Its fall would change the outcome of this war and only make things worse due to how many vital resources and materials the base was holding, let alone innocent civilians and wounded soldiers. It looked like a dire situation, but nevertheless, the Silver Spears were not willing to give up. They knew they were outnumbered, but by the God-Emperor, they were willing to lay down their lives to not allow the enemy to achieve their objectives. This was one of those cases where the last stand was inevitable.
"Fight, my warriors! Fight with all you've got!" Screamed Varos at the top of his lungs. He stood in the first trench line with his sword raised into the air, then pointed it at the charging rebels. The Silver Spears looked up to their father figure and, unleashing a massive roar, began to fight even more valiantly. Varos knew that this battle was not something they could win alone, but he was buying time. Time for the Emperor's miracle to happen. "Emperor save us.. Emperor, hear us, Emperor, deliver us!" He screamed and kept firing his sidearm as the volleys of enemy fire went past him, some shrugging off from his armor.
"Not one step backwards, you dogs! Hold your ground in the name of the Emperor!" Commissar Artan was yelling, and yelling loudly he was. One of the Silver Spears in the first trench line was obviously Niko Armanen himself. He was controlling an autocannon while his companion was loading the rounds into the weaponry when it was empty. Alexis Kauno, alongside other medics, were treating the wounded with as much strength as they had in their souls. "Mikey! Where the feck are our spare drums?!" Niko yelled at his comrade.
"Feck if I know, Nicky?! Just keep shooting 'em sons of bitches!" He replied as loudly as possible. "What the feck do you think I'm doing?! I do not see a single spare box! We won't hold on much longer!" He yelled and was beyond frustrated. In here, Niko has been in the guard for six months or so. He came out from fighting the greenskin menace to fighting the rebel scum that dared to backstab him and the rest of the Guardsmen, and spit at their sacrifices. His teeth were clenched, and even here, he was in a dire situation, just like his entire regiment.
The rebels kept pouring and pouring before many weaponries of his brothers and sisters went silent due to the lack of ammo. Only the heavy weapons mounted, such as heavy bolters, autocannons and lascannons remained firing. "Colonel! We ran out of ammo!" Major Rex yelled while holding a vox-caster. "Emperor damn it, Rex!" He was now in the trenches, avoiding the heavy fire as it only intensified, while the land ahead of them was littered with dead and torn bodies and primitive, rusty vehicles alike. "We have been ordered, as you know, to not take an ounce of ammunition from the base.. So now, we have nothing left. My signals are buzzing, and there is nobody on the line.. We might be doomed.." He told his old friend.
"Bloody fecking hell.." Colonel Varos uttered, cursing at this misfortune. "Time to show these heretic scum what the Kalevan merit is made of! Rex, join me!" Major Rex immediately dropped the vox-caster, and took out his chainsword, and his bolt pistol. "After you, my friend!" And joined him by the side, standing in the first trench line while the rebels kept pouring themselves and trying to overwhelm the Kalevans with their sheer numbers. "Commissar, your word!" Varos yelled to Artan, who was yelling and screaming encouragement at the top of his lungs, before taking a gaze at the Colonel. "Will do, Colonel! Men and women of Kaleva!" He raised his power sword into the air.
"BAYONEEEEEETS!" He ordered, and every Kalevan soldier who ran out of ammunition attached bayonets to their lasguns, and waited for the order. "Melee combat! Let them come closer and fight them with all you've got, or I'll personally travel to the Emperor's paradise to punish you twice! We are the Silver Spears, we hold the line, meeting the enemies with the tip of our spears before making the fatal blow! Hold your ground, be what you swore to become, and do not think about anything else but the Emperor's blessing! We might die today, then so be it.. So, be, it! For the Emperor!"
"FOR THE EMPEROOOOOORR!" Everybody, from the Colonel to a private, yelled at the top of their lungs, waiting for their possible last stand. They were all alone. A single regiment, while the rest were in the other hot zones of battle upon this world. "Fecksakes, will we even survive their endless waves?" Mikey asked, shivering in the trenches, before Niko grabbed him by his flak armor and slapped him to the point of his helmet dropping. "Wake up, you bloody idiot! They think of us as weak! You're a Silver Spear, Mikey! Then act like it!" He told him, waking him up from the taste of doubt and despair. He immediately had a prideful grin on his face and gripped his lasgun while clenching his teeth. "You're right.. You are right, Nicky! Let them come and see what we are made of!" Niko grinned, glad that his comrade had resumed his courage.
Next, Niko took a slight peek and saw endless waves of heretics coming towards them in massive numbers. Their wave attacks were being slowed down as long as they had spare ammunition from countless lasgun volleys, but now they were empty. There were simply way too many of them, and the heavy weapons quickly depleted their own ammunition, and now only their trusted bayonets and any other melee weapons remained with them to begin with. "This might be it.. The last stand, perhaps? We must hope for an Emperor's miracle. Emperor protects... Emperor protects... Emperor.. Prot-" He felt a sudden budge at his shoulder before taking a look towards it.
He saw Alexis Kauno, the one and only closest member of Niko in the regiment, holding his arm while looking at him nervously. "N..Niko.. Too many dead, our supplies are scarce, we couldn't save many of them! I.. I tried to-" He quickly comforted her by taking her hands and looking into her eyes. "Al, take a deep breath, inhale, and exhale, deep breath, and try to remain calm.." He told her, to which she followed his notion and did just what he told her to do before feeling more relaxed. He smiled at this success. "Now.. Concentrate. Collect yourself. You did what you could, and nobody will ever blame you for that. Even if they do, it will never make it right. Just stay by my side, and I will protect you." He told her with a smile.
Alexis brightened up from her nervous and anxious mood into an encouraging one, bright like a star in the sky. "Alr..ight, alright, Nicky." She said, holding onto his arm tighter before he held his lasgun tightly against his chest. Every Kalevan who was in the trenches knew that this was possibly their last battle, but they always honored their word, no matter what. They were told to defend a certain spot or thing, and they would do it at the cost of their lives if they must, and this was not an exception.
The sounds of the rebels were getting closer and closer. Their vile screams and insults were only swooping closer and closer as well. They spoke their native language, but some spoke a broken sense of low gothic, primitively stating how they would gut all of them and do unspeakable things to the captured, especially.. If they were females, and any other horrible shit that one can come up with. They were simply trying to instill fear into the Kalevan minds, but they all failed. It did not even help the fact that the military base had field hospitals and was also a refugee camp, and save haven for the loyal members of the PDF and the small number of other citizens alike who refused to betray the Emperor and his dominion, the Imperium of Mankind.
Every Kalevan warrior gripped their guns as tight as possible, until their fists went pale, and prepared for this inevitable, bloody hand-to-hand combat, since there was simply nothing else they could do. The Silver Spears couldn't blame anyone or anything but the fate itself, due to how these rebels took them by surprise. They were originally meant to attack the fortresses at the south-west in order to cut off the main Imperial forces from receiving reinforcements, but decided to instead deal with the weakest part of the Imperial forces, which at this point was this certified spot that Niko and his regiment held. This was dire, very dire.. There was no help anywhere to be found, and every Kalevan was prepared for the worst that could have happened. But then.. As if the Emperor himself answered their call for help..
*...bbrrRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!*
Everybody and everything stopped right after the sound of a buisine was heard on the horizon. The heretics stopped in their tracks, including their vehicles, and looked at the west, while the Kalevans, looked at the east. "Wha..?" Niko blinked a few times and took a peek again. To his shock, the heretics were all staring at the hills far ahead on the horizon, west of their point of view, and east from Niko's point of view.
A single knight, on a fancy steed, revealed himself on the horizon. His elegant, beautiful, shiny lance bright in the scorching sun. And then, a dozen more knights revealed themselves, and then another dozen, all standing in a horizontal line on the hill with their steeds, bearing the banners of their noble houses, but most importantly, these were the banners of Anglerre.
*...bbrrRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!*
Another sound of the buisines came by, but now, from the other side. Dozens of knights revealed themselves. All of these noble knights were clad in their beautiful looking armor, and the rebels began to slowly step backwards after seeing them from both the east and the west. They instilled fear in them, especially when the sunlight reflected against their armor, and the rebels looked to be blinded by this sight. And yet, most importantly.. They were Scared.
"By.. The Emperor..!" Niko said, widening his eyes at the sight of these knights from east and the west, staring straight at the heretic forces. Colonel Varos immediately grabbed his binoculars and gasped in shock at what he was seeing. "Golden.. Throne... It's the Anglerre! The Anglois are here!" He proclaimed, every Kalevan noticing their arrival, literally surprising both them and the heretics. "My warriors! Rejoice! For we are not alone this day!" Varos yelled and the Kalevans cheered with joy, including Niko himself, who raised his lasgun above his head.
More morale boost was the fact that alongside these knights came hundreds of cavalrymen and thousands of troops. Those kettle-helmets kept appearing, and appearing, behind the knights and riders in their fabulously colorful uniforms and magnificent banners held high. The Knight Commander and the entire retinue of knights from both sides rode without any of the rebels daring to shoot at them, all taken aback with shock and frozen fear. The commander stood right in front of the first line of the trenches, before the rest of his knights stood behind him in a horizontal line, holding their lances and banners high and proud.
From the west and the east, the cavalrymen and the infantry stood, all looking to slaughter these filthy heretics, from one to the last, without mercy. It was a literal encirclement. They were all totally freaking surrounded. Every Kalevan watched this scene in total awe, their cheers unstoppable and unimaginable to describe. Every Kalevan, no matter who they were before, immediately felt their morale exploding into the skies, their faces shining with brightness. The knight commander, clad in magnificent armor, proclaimed his next words as loudly as possible.
"Fear not, Kalevans! You are not alone this day! For the lions of Anglerre honor their word! Remove the despair that has gripped your souls, and face the enemy straight ahead! We swore to follow the code of honor, the code of brotherhood, and the code of unity, thus lifting the meaning of chivalry to the skies! We fight for Anglerre, and for the Emperor, but we also fight as brothers to our brother-regiments who have proven themselves worthy of our merit, and today, through your courage, honor, sacrifices, and bravery against the inevitable doom, you have proven to be outstanding warriors that the sons of Anglerre shall respect. Rejoice, warriors of Kaleva, rejoice!" He proclaimed.
Niko heard this as much as any other Kalevan, and his eyes were full of joy. Alexis was on the verge of tears as their saviors arrived at the last minute. She felt overwhelmed, and pulled Niko to look at him. "Niko.. Emperor has saved us, he heard us!" She clung onto him, sharing tears of joy as Niko smiled widely and tapped her back. "Woah hah, easy there, sweetheart! He indeed has heard us." He said, before the Anglois soldiers on the hills, all prepared their weaponries, and melees.
The knight commander turned his attention towards the shocked rebels, who were slowly retreating as they were afraid to take a single shot due to how many enemies they saw surrounding them. Their entire morale literally, went down and fell as quickly as it went up after they were close to crushing the Kalevans. Oh no, now it was truly on. There was no way they would get out of this one by just surrendering. Many of the rebels wanted to drop their weapons down and run, but they were simply too afraid to do so. The commander was not, in any way or form, feeling merciful to these filthy heretic scum. He rode forth and back, passing by each knight who followed him, placing his sword above, so the edge struck every lance that each knight held.
"Arise! Arise, riders of Anglerre! Land shall be shaken! Traitors shall be slain! Ride now! Ride for ruin! And the world ending!" He proclaimed as he lifted his sword into the air afterward, standing in front of his knights straight at the center, before every Anglerre's warriors on both sides of the hills and the knights alike followed his battle cry, chanting after each time he lifted his sword.
"Deaaaaaaaath!"
"DEAAAAAAAAAAATH!"
"Deaaaaaaaath!"
"DEAAAAAAAAAAATH!"
"DEAAAAAAAAAAATH!"
"DEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTHH!"
Every man of Anglerre screamed the cry at the top of their lungs, their weapons prepared, staring at their prey, half of which literally started to retreat and flee by dropping their weapons while the other half took fragile defensive positions. Some were even leaving their vehicles, intimidated by the sheer terror they were experiencing from seeing these men. The knight commander looked to his west and to his east, then straight ahead, and gave out his final order.
"Fooooorth, Anglerre!"
The sounds of multiple buisines were heard from both sides, and the Knight commander slowly started to ride forward before his speed increased, and his knights followed him in the same motion, all of their lances pointing straight ahead. The cavalrymen from both sides went down the hill, followed by the loudly yelling men of Anglerre, who began to give covering fire to their cavalry with their lasguns, and with every depleted gun, they did the bayonet charge. And they let out wild chants and battle cries in their native tongue.
The unimaginable, terrorizing shock that the rebels were experiencing was definitely seen in how many screams came from their side. Even then, how could they not? These bulky, badass noble knights were following their code of chivalry - Striking from the front. The cavalry and the troops struck from the flanks, clamping the enemies together and against each other before cutting them down. The knights went through the huge rebel forces like a knife through butter before the cavalry crushed the heretic flanks, and the infantry moved in to kill the disoriented, stunned and wounded. It was a total annihilation of this huge heretic army.
Niko looked at this sight, and his jaw dropped in pure shock and awe at what the bloody hell was just happening right in front of them. "By the God Emperor, how fiercely they fight!" Niko complimented them due to the fact that they managed to exterminate the rebels with full force. Niko felt not an ounce of remorse, seeing them get slaughtered by the sons of Anglerre.
"Stand down, Kalevans. Let the Anglerre's lions have their prey.." Colonel Varos ordered, disappointing some of the soldiers as they wanted to finally be able to do some killing, but the Anglerre handled it professionally as it is, and so, Niko let out a deep sigh, took a sip from his canteen, and allowed himself to take a little rest with Alexis by his side, as the moment of them being saved by an Emperor's miracle in the shape of Anglerre, overwhelmed him deeply, and he just couldn't believe it. "We are saved... Thank you, warriors of Anglerre.." He whispered before every exhausted Kalevan, including Niko and Alexis stood up, and watched how they managed to withstand the assault until honorable Anglerre came to their rescue out of the blue.
Many Kalevans saw the approaching soldiers of Anglerre to assist the Kalevan wounded and bring in much-needed help. The Kalevans couldn't express their joy more properly than to run towards them, and then the Anglois and Kalevans embraced each other, and then, to honor these brave men, Colonel Varos himself personally asked to hold the banner of Anglerre from just a common soldier of Anglois by saluting him, even though he had a higher rank. This was a Kalevan man expressing his honor to these men from a distant feudal world. The Angloi, slightly confused, hesitated at first. But he saw the Kalevan colonel being very sincere, and so, kissing the handle of his banner, he handed it to Colonel Varos, who respectfully took it, placed it against his forehead, then turned his attention towards his soldiers.
"Silver Spears! Attention! Declare your eternal respects to the men of Anglerre! Aeternus Veneratio!" Every Kalevan who was not wounded or busy treating the wounded took off their headwear, much to the curiosity of the Anglois, and then diverted their gazes at the banner of Anglerre that was raised high by Colonel Varos. Major Rex raised the banner of Kaleva, and crossed it with the Anglerre's banner, which Colonel Varos held, as a strong symbol of brotherhood and honor.
Kalevans placed a fist on their chests, stood on full attention, and placed their other arm behind their backs, and then they all began to chant one of their songs to those who had helped them. They called their chant "Aeternus Veneratio" translated in Low Gothic as "Eternal Veneration" in the shape of a song sung in high gothic, which they sang to those that earned their respects, as it was the highest order of respect the Kalevan warriors could give to their allies. Thousands of Kalevan voices were about to echo all the way to the military base as the Kalevans proclaimed the victory, but most importantly, with respect and honor to those who allowed it. They sang with pride, even the field medics who were treating the wounded, alongside some of the wounded ones, who still had strength within them.
Song: Legio Aeterna Victrix (Eternal Victorious Legion) by - Maddog Radio (AI themed version of the original song. Words edited by the story's author.)
Gloria, Aeterna.. Aeterna Victrix...
[Glory, Eternal.. Eternal Victory...]
[X]
Gloria, Aeterna.. Aeterna Victrix!
[Glory, Eternal.. Eternal Victory!]
[X]
Verti est sua aeterni!
[Destined to be eternal!]
[X]
Honor nostra solum tibi!
[Our honor for you alone!]
[X]
Verti est sua aeterni!
[Destined to be eternal!]
[X]
Hasti nostra solum tibi!
[Our spears for you alone!]
[X]
Kaleva et Anglerre!
[Kaleva and Anglerre!]
[X]
Honor, Fraterna, Aeterna Victrix!
[Honor, Brotherhood, Eternal Victory!]
[X]
Honor, Fraterna, Aeterna Victrix!
[Honor, Brotherhood, Eternal Victory!]
[X]
AETERNA!
[ETERNAL!]
"... And that's as far as I can remember. The honor and respect we had for them was very great, and we sealed our brotherhood that day. What they did back then was literally legendary. Well? In the end, the rebellion was crushed. The heretics purged to the last, and the worlds came back into the grasps of the Imperium. Cadians were decent, but it was mainly Anglerre, which saved our asses and got us the victory. We did not work with them before this crusade, but everyone who shows us the meaning of courage, honor and especially chivalry? We cherish them in our glory halls. I salute those men and their regiments. Feudal yet literal lions.. Literal lions! Very Admirable and true warriors. May the Emperor bless them and give their fallen brethren the eternal paradise, for I doubt we would've succeeded without their assistance." He added, before sighing deeply.
"Hell, many of the Cadians decided to act like assholes towards the Anglerre behind their backs before our Kalevan officers put those Cadian idiots in their places. You do not simply talk down to such brave men like that. Kalevans respect every soldier who shows what it means to be a soldier. So there's that, good old times.. I was younger back then, but I have good experience with the soldiers of Anglerre. I truly admire them." He said and rubbed his eye a little bit.
"So yeah, this experience is something that I will never forget. The lions of Anglerre won us that war against the heretics. For their valiance, honor, and courage, Colonel Varos personally asked the Marshal of the Kalevan Silver Spears to send a row of ships, and the wounded of Anglerre were sent to Kaleva for treatment since it was closer. As for their fallen? The Marshal gave a strict order to put each of them in Silver caskets and return them home with full honors, no matter what. Hell.. Many of them stayed on Kaleva, as I've heard, made families there as well, and found their place, and we consider them equals, mind you. Great bunch! Well, there's the first story." Niko finished and then pulled out his banner from the backpack before handing it to Liriel, who took it in her hands.
"I do not know what he just said, but it appeared to be a story, something about his past and.. Huh? What's this.. Ah, his homeworld's banner." She curiously thought before diverting her gaze at him. "It is the banner of my regiment, the 64th. You see, this eagle, with the civic crown, represents the unity of the Kaleven people. The spears represents us, the Kalevan warriors." He explained, pointing at every detail on his banner. "He must hold this banner very dearly to his heart, alongside that blade, which belonged to.." She couldn't finish her last sentence, remembering that the Leuku belonged to Alexis, someone she did not want to think about, for it only carried with it the sorrow of countless measures. "Either way.. It's very unique. The colors are top-notch too." She added, before Niko continued, both of his hands resting on the ground.
"The origins of the Silver Spears are those of a legend. Let me tell you a little bit about it.." He said after stretching slightly while remaining shirtless, with Liriel's eyes constantly switching from banner to his face, but frankly speaking, his body too, which caused her to blush once again. She shook her head and stared back at the banner, gulping her saliva down. "J-Just, let him talk, Liriel, let him talk.." She told herself, before Niko continued.
"So, my father.. My good da, used to tell me this tale when I was a child. It's told to literally every Kalevan, so here goes nothing. Once upon a time, long, long time ago, before the Silver Spears ever became known as a symbolism of Kalevan people, our world was barely beginning its history, but we were prospering and building our world from a clean paper, as to say. We were not the bunch to send our sons and daughters to the frontlines either. We were merely farmers before our great cities ever began to appear in our soil. The tale speaks about a great calamity that struck my people, you know, a very bad one.. So to speak." Niko said, flipping his knife calmly.
"The great beast. The doom in the shadows. Evil creature. Bale fortune. This creature, from descriptions, was truly a monstrosity, which, if the rumors are right, appeared from the northern icy mountains. It began to terrorize our population across the entire world. Many villages started to disappear, and we asked the Imperial authorities for assistance multiple times. They obliged, but after their scouting units disappeared, they left us to our demise.." He said, and he shook his head.
"So, you can guess how our ancestors felt as the authorities did not deem this issue as being too important, fecking Administratum.. Anyway. Everybody was afraid to get out at night because that is when this beast would appear. Hiding barely helped. You could hide alongside your entire village, just to disappear the next morning." Niko explained, frowning at the thought of the past suffering of his people. Liriel did not dare to interrupt him but carefully listened, only able to understand the emotions he was feeling instead of the words, which she did not understand due to her lack of Low gothic.
"It was horrifying. Those that saw it described it as being large, like, quite large, winged and blue-colored. Nobody knew what it truly looked like, to be honest, but it was simply huge, blue, and winged. It terrorized my people, and nobody was able to stop it.. Until he, arrived." He said, his frown switching to that of a prideful grin.
"The father of the Silver Spears. The man of the unknown, the hero of Kaleva and my people. His name has been lost, but he is simply known to us by the name of "The First Silver Spear". True legend. The tale tells us that he was a farmer and a blacksmith, living a peaceful life in some tiny village. That village was isolated and quite primitive. While the rest of the Kalevans were trying to go forward, the First Silver Spear remained with his way of life. But that is not the point." He explained and smiled before continuing, much to the curiosity of Liriel.
"This man.. It is said that once he learned about this beast, he personally crafted a spear out of the purest silver, unique and beautiful in its design. This is where the Silver Spears are derived from, you see. The First Silver Spear went out to hunt this beast down after tracing its tracks to its lair in the mountains. Nobody dared to get near those mountains, due to how everyone that approached them would disappear in an instant, but he? He was indeed clever and had the balls of adamantium to even attempt to approach this big fecker. My da, always smirked when talking about this specific part of the story, and I cannot stay without grinning either." He admitted, grinning now while holding his hands together.
"The man faced this beast one-on one. The fight was truly bloody, but this man was not willing to back down, no matter what. At first, the beast overwhelmed him at ease, and it is said that it could talk, which was obviously even more terrifying. Taunting the man, the beast is said to have told him that what he is doing is fragile and will never matter. How wrong was it.. The man, bleeding, badly hurt, bruised, and covered in cuts, looked at the devil straight in the eye and proclaimed the words of: "As long as a single Kalevan stands tall, the death will never be able to grasp the Kalevan people!" and then, through all his courage and bravery, gripped his silver spear and charged straight at the beast, which was swinging its wings and floating in the air. This happened at the top of a mountain. And then... And then!" He looked at her straight in the eyes, very excited.
"The man pushed himself beyond the limit and stabbed the beast straight in the heart with all his strength and might. He twisted that Silver Spear, and the beast unleashed a howl of pure, agonizing pain before it lost its balance and went down like a Valkyrie that lost its engines. It plummeted a few kilometers down to the ground, all while trying to reach the man who was pushing the spear ever deeper, and deeper into its chest. And then, an enormous calamity occurred that shook the entire world of Kaleva in a split second.." He said, shaking his head and just imagining this entire scenario in his mind.
"The Kalevan people gathered around the mountain after the calamity was felt. The servo-skulls flew and streamed the entire scenery of what was happening. You ask, What was happening? Well? In short.. Every Kalevan that day knew that the beast was slain at last. They saw the beast covered by the massive dust, which was slowly dissipating, and they thought to themselves.. Did the Emperor's angels arrive for their rescue? Did an enormous army of the Imperial Guard manage to take it down? Did the God-Machines arrive, unbeknownst to them and take it down? No, no and no.. They were Shocked. They were shocked to see a single man standing weakly on top of the beast's chest while holding the grip of his silver spear." He explained, smiling once more.
"Everyone was at a loss of words.. Nobody was willing to believe that this unknown, mysterious man was able to take down this beast all alone. You can imagine the faces of these people at the sight of their hero, who was not a Space Marine, not a Tempestus, not any other Elite of the Imperial might, but just a single, ordinary man who held courage and bravery above everything else." Niko explained proudly.
"He was brave, not because he was afraid.. He was brave because he overcame the fear of the horror and was willing to give everything that he had to protect the Kalevan people. In the end, the man was already badly hurt and was taking his last breaths.. But he, through all his willpower, managed to pull the spear out of the beast's chest, slowly stand on his feet while his knees trembled, raise his spear above his head, and proclaim: "Kaleva Victrix!" before taking his last breath and dropping dead.." He said, his face turning into a more saddened expression, which Liriel felt radiating off of him as he finished his story of the Kalevan Silver Spears origins.
Liriel was quite baffled, as she could only understand his emotions but not his words. "Are you okay..?" She asked while freeing her ponytail, allowing her beautiful hair to freely drop, landing on her shoulders. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt it, and he smiled lightly. "It's fine, Liri, it's fine.. Just, memories of my home." He said, wiping his eyes a little bit before looking at her. "Nothing went in vain. A priest of the Ministorum caught his falling body into his arms, blessed him, and bid him his last farewell to the Emperor's paradise. He was venerated after that, and the Ministorum, in fact, turned him into a Saint. A name was given to him as the Saint Argentus, in high gothic, the Argentus means the one of the Silver. To this day, he is buried in the greatest church in our capital, safeguarded by the Elite Guard, and day by day, many Kalevans take it as their duty to visit his tomb, and thank him for giving us a safe future under the Emperor's light." He said, before rubbing his banner, which Liriel held.
"After his valiant sacrifice, the Kalevan Silver Spears were born as a part of the Astra Militarum. It is mainly where our defensive doctrine comes from. We are simply the spears who hold the line, who take the brunt of the enemy assaults, and who defend the innocent.. And give our lives to those that we swore to protect. It is, well.. Of course, it is very hard, but if the First Silver Spear managed to do something unbelievable as this, who are we to lose confidence?" He asked before rubbing his head.
"In all seriousness.. I know that you do not understand whatever I am telling you, but you're the only one I am willing to talk to, even with the language barrier, Liri. Heh, it's funny, but not like I lose anything.." He said, holding his left cheek and stroking it while feeling the scars and frowning in an instant as he looked down at the ground. "I wish I could tell you, what was my worst ever moment.. If only you could understand me. You know, Liri, I hold it within me, and it honestly pains me.. Traxon III.. The curse that will never leave my mind." As soon as he mentioned Traxon III, that world where he fought against the Drukhari, Liriel had to gasp silently and widen her eyes.
"He remembers.. He still remembers what happened." She told herself, seeing how he was feeling a bit upset as of now. "He should not dwell on remembering this nightmare. He should not. Although I couldn't understand his stories, I understood how dearly he held them within his heart, but Traxon III.. No." She shook her head and gently placed her hand on top of his, which was on the ground. He instantly looked at it and then looked at her, confusingly. She was surprised to be smiling and shaking her head.
"Niko Armanen of Kaleva. Do not dwell on past nightmares, for they will swallow you alive. Strive forward to achieve what you truly believe in, and never allow the past scars to tear you apart over and over again. You might be a mon'keigh... But, you are my, mon'keigh." She spoke very softly, noticing how Niko's negative thoughts disappeared in an instant, despite not understanding the Aeldari language that she spoke. She was very fond of how quickly Niko's demeanor changed because of her and how, despite suffering literal torture, being hunted, getting almost killed, or tasting death through illness.. Despite all of this, he still smiled. Liriel could not admit it, but she was slowly understanding what love really was. She thought that this was the effect of love, and she was, of course, correct.
"Liri.." He softly said, before Liriel rubbed his hand now, forcing him to blush, swallow his saliva and look down, before she lifted his chin with her index finger, just trying to cheer him up. "You have defeated everything that I believed in about your kind. You may as well be the only one.. But." She fixed her voice and said just a single word in low gothic. "Thank you.. Niko." She told him, before Niko, in all honesty, noticed her look at him, then looked away, frowning and remembering the awful things that would have happened to her if not for Niko being her savior.
"I.. Elidyr. Arleina. Sarya.. Eloen.. I want to return to you, but.. I am not leaving him to die. I am not abandoning him. Is this what love feels like? To feel the affection, the care, and comfort.." Liriel thought for a while, before feeling the stress gripping her heart once more with these thoughts and worries about the future. "I am ready to face judgement from my kin, but Niko.. He never judged me. He thinks of me, as a woman that he loves. No negativity, just thinks.. Of me, as a woman. Not as an alien vermin as his kin thinks of us, let alone how our kin thinks of his kin. He is really.. The only one, in this universe, that has conquered my heart." She admitted to herself, before Niko, slowly but surely, turned her head towards him with his thumb, and smiled with all sense of kindness, and pure care.
"You fight with your mind, as much as me, but.. Please, do not think about it, alright? Come on, how about a little humor to brighten up the mood?" He said, and then, made funny gestures with his face by blowing air into his cheeks, pushing his fingers against them. Liriel was good at hiding what bothered her, but this time, as she looked at him, Niko heard a silent giggle coming from her lips, before her calm expression, turned into a light, beautiful smile. Niko winked and pointed two index fingers at her like finger guns. "Hah! See? Humor is a beautiful thing which we do not lack." He admitted, before Liriel shook her head in amusement. "Cegorach, you must definitely look into what this young human can do." She whispered.
Next, it was Liriel's turn as she gestured to him. "Oh yeah? Give it a shot! I'm all ears." She smirked and then began to imitate him getting struck in the groin like what Akila did to him in the woods, and then, imitate his groan, to which Niko reacted after falling for her provocations. "O-Oi! Come on Liriel. That was not funny!" She then imitated his facial expressions when chasing Akila, and this, mixed with imitation of him getting struck in the groin, in all reality, forced him to close his mouth and laugh in a muffled tone. "Pfpft-tPfptt... Gaaah Emperor damn it, okay! I admit that was funny.. I mean.. Pft-Thaha!" He couldn't seriously help but laugh at his own misfortune. Liriel burst out into laughing as well, and now? Their laughter, mixed up while they looked at each other with joyful expressions.
This, literally led them into sharing a moment that they both realized, would have definitely crossed the line in their indoctrinated minds, but after what have happened between them two? They were able to quickly push aside these thoughts and just enjoy each other's company, especially how they were able to have a laugh with each other. Let alone the massaging of hands that they shared, was already a line-crosser, but none of them paid it any heed. They simply did what their hearts felt for one another. Now, the young Kalevan man and the Howling banshee from Ulthwe, were smiling at each other under the sky full of stars, the moon ever so shining brightly in the sky, and the campfire that gave them some sense of warmth... But that sense of warmth was not enough.
"Liriel.. I.." Niko was the first one to speak. He looked into her amber eyes, and the attraction was already reaching its peak. Liriel looked into his single, green-emerald eye and pretty much felt the same. It looked like the longer they looked into each other's eyes, the stronger their connection to their hearts was being established, and it only increased as they stared at each other under these particular circumstances. Both of them appeared to be blushing, especially Liriel. "Niko..?" She asked, staring without a blink. What was truly going on in here? Was it their feelings speaking for themselves at this very moment? What was happening to them? Because surely something was truly happening as they appeared to be... A tad closer.
Niko was eyeing her features at the moment. He diverted his eyes at her attractive knife-ears, which he so badly wanted to touch, due to how this curiosity was eating him from the inside out. He took notice of her beautiful red hair, which was attractive beyond his imagination. Next, he dared to look at her.. Bosoms, and, frankly speaking, the more he eyed her features? The brighter, his cheeks became, and he allowed himself to swallow his saliva. "By the Emperor's domain.. She is extremely.. Attractive." Niko thought while eyeing her legs, specifically her stomach, where slight abs were noticeable. He did not notice this before, but he realized that Liriel was quite strong in terms of having muscle mass. Her legs, thighs, hips, and the rest all packed the true meaning of perfection.. His heartbeat began to seriously increase as he felt his certain "parts" getting enabled while eyeing her figures, before diverting his gaze towards hers and seeing her eyeing him as well.
Oh boy, the moment that they were experiencing right now was something beyond this world. Liriel especially took notice of his pale skin, due to how Kalevans were always as pale as snow, this feature was quite mutual. Her eyes slowly went from his shoulders to his chest, then to his stomach. Many, many days ago, she would've sneered in disgust by even daring to look at his shirtless body, but after everything that has occurred, she surely felt otherwise. Way, way more otherwise.
Merlorian was the world where the pull of she-who-thirsts was not felt. Liriel already had the taste of freedom within her soul, as she was allowed to express her emotions on a wider scale without having to fear Slaanesh devouring her soul. And so, in this very moment, in this very freaking moment, she felt a completely new feeling that was slowly getting intense within her body. But also? Niko was feeling exactly the same. The feeling of total thirst and hunger.
Not for food and drink, but for bodily contact... This feeling that gripped their hearts was rising up and up, both of them feeling hot just like an oven and in need of some loving, only getting stronger and stronger.. The amount of stress their bodies were overwhelmed with, was huge. As if massaging each other's hands was not enough, there was still just so much stress that has accumulated within them, and being so close to each other without having any worries looming over them, their souls started to feel the magnetic connection, and the first feeling that gripped their souls was clearly visible in this very moment as their eyes met each other, their cheeks red as cherries...
They felt the unquenchable arousal.
Under the moonlight of Merlorian, alongside the warm campfire, sitting at the entrance of their little shelter, the human man and an Aeldari woman, members of different species, from different backgrounds, different beliefs, languages, and opinions, were staring into each other's eyes, their hearts beating slightly faster from how their minds were slowly getting locked on tight gates, and their hearts took the leading roles for their actions. "Liri.." Niko whispered, staring at her. "Niko.." Whispered Liriel, staring back. Both of them felt how their minds got locked, and their hearts spoke for their actions that were about to happen. Their arms slowly rose up and landed on each other's cheeks, allowing themselves to stroke one another's cheeks.
And then, as if the strings of fate were finally cut loose from them, setting a clear path of destiny from which they could pave their paths with, their faces.. Started to slowly.. Approach one another. This moment felt like an eternity, but in the end... In this exact moment when their souls established a connection once more... They...
Kissed.
Two members of different species, were sharing an intimate moment as their warm lips connected with each other, their hands touched each other's cheeks, and their eyes began to close. The warmth started from the lips and continued to spread throughout every fiber of their bodies. Every cell in their bodies felt this special connection starting to occur. The blood flow increased dramatically, and every part of their erogenous zones started to feel awakened, the energy being brighter than anything in existence.
As Liriel and Niko kissed each other, their arousal was unmatched when it came to tongue kissing, as they allowed their tongues to touch each other in a tight embrace of love and let them dance together in their mouths as their breathing became heavier and heavier. Niko's hands were trembling, unable to grasp the concept of ever being this intimate. Liriel felt the same way, as she never imagined herself being intimate with anybody, but destiny allowed it. They were both only virgins after all, who started to play out according to what their aroused hearts told them to do instead of actions at which they had zero skills.
With his trembling hands, the Kalevan man wrapped his arms around Liriel's back and tightly hugged her against himself. Liriel's head was leaned slightly down due to her being taller than him. Her left hand gripped the back of his head, while her other one wrapped itself around his neck, as this completely new feeling that she was experiencing was slowly getting a dozen times more intense than Niko's, due to the fact that Aeldari, had way stronger emotions than humans. They were thirsty for one another.. The stress overwhelmed them, their experiences, their escapes from the jaws of doom, their understanding of each other.. Their beliefs they defeated.. Led them to this very moment, and so... They wanted each other.
None of them talked with themselves inside their minds, for their minds were blocked completely. This kissing session lasted for over a minute-long, before Niko gently pushed Liriel down against one of the beds behind them. Within the shelter, the campfire was brightly shining. He was lying on top of her, hands next to her shoulders, with her thighs clamped against Niko's waist, her feet on the ground, and her hand still wrapped around Niko's neck, with the other one behind his head.
They slowly broke the kiss, allowing the strings of each other's saliva to remain on their tongues while staring into each other's eyes, their faces full of arousal, red and desiring each other more than anything in the universe. Their heavy panting was heard before they kissed each other once more. Liriel ran her hands across Niko's shoulders, his chest and his stomach, while Niko ran his hands across her body, starting from her magnificent, juicy, curvy, meaty hips and going slowly upwards by her sides, before landing them at her bosoms, his hands still shaking with excitement and the purest aroma of arousal.
Liriel was completely heated up, and it was obvious by the fact that she felt something hard and bulgy at Niko's groin, pulsating with a clear intent of mating. He, in exchange, felt nothing else but accumulating wetness between Liriel's legs, where he was resting his groin. It was incredible, as his pulsating only increased, the blood literally filling up his nether regions to the fullest, while Liriel's "engine" was already turned on and active.
In the next moment, the kiss was broken once again, and they simply stared into each other's eyes, their breathing being heavy, their bodies ready and aroused, while Niko slowly caressed her cheek and smiled once more, with extreme charm. "I've.. N..Never.. Felt.. This.." Liriel placed a finger on his lips, forcing him to shut as her breathing became heavier, the feeling intensifying completely, before she pulled him in for another kiss, which he got taken by surprise but nevertheless did not detest. He loved this.. He loved every fabric of this moment, much like Liriel, who wanted this as much as he did.
Their lips kept the tight connection once more before they broke it once again, and now Niko went down a little bit to nuzzle her neck, running his wet, warm tongue against it in vertical lines, and planted a few kisses on each side, committing himself to one hell of a hot, romantic foreplay. Liriel reacted by tightly gripping his hair from behind his head, and beginning to softly moan, arousing Niko even further. Then he slowly traveled his tongue upwards, until it eventually... Reached her knife-ears.
He nibbled on her ear and immediately heard a loud, squealing moan coming from her mouth, her thighs clamping tightly against Niko's waist, before he got completely surprised by this reaction of him nibbling on her ears.. As if Liriel came already. Then he nibbled them once again, and the reaction was the same, if not stronger. It was then that he realized.. That these knife-ears were, in fact, very, very sensitive. He allowed himself to grin and gently nibble her ear once again, running the tip of his wet, warm tongue across the shape of her ear, forcing her to moan louder and her wetness to intensify further enough to soak her tight, synthetic suit and dig her nails into Niko's shoulders and his back.
Niko, being as aroused as a mighty stud, couldn't let his control get the better of him. Feeling Liriel's body tightly against his was already making him beyond the meaning of horniness. Oh no, he was just starting. As he nibbled her left ear, he slowly leaned his hand toward her other ear and gently began to stroke it, rubbing the tip of his thumb across the entire surface. This resulted in Liriel's constant moans as she lost herself to the bliss of sexual pleasure, especially when she was a virgin after all. Her nails dug deep into Niko's back and ran across his shoulders, but Niko did not feel pain, despite the scratches. He knew that he had a lioness beneath her, and he would only push this experience further and further.
With her reaction being quite wild, Niko could not bring himself to stop, nibbling her cute knife-ear while caressing the other. Her ears were soft to touch and pointy, and yet, when he nibbled, he could not bring himself to distinguish her taste. It was a mixture of lavender and citrus, prompting a belief in Niko that Aeldari were beyond elegant. Her scent was even more attractive to begin with. Their breathing was loud and heavy, both aroused beyond their means.
Niko at last stopped licking her ear and saw her face filled with nothing else but the expression of arousal, lewdness, and heavy panting. He stared into her eyes and grabbed the lock of her tight bodysuit, starting to slowly pull it down further, and further.. And further, until it reached her stomach, his hands trembling with excitement non stop, before spreading her bodysuit open. His jaw literally dropped as soon as he saw her firm, busty bosoms right in front of him, ready for the taking. Liriel was panting and trying to recover from her ears being overwhelmingly stimulated, and then she felt two warm hands touching her breasts, resulting in her silent gasp. But then.. She looked at her chest and saw Niko licking his lips before sticking out his tongue as wide as possible and smoothly, like butter on a slice of bread, run his saliva-dripping tongue across her aroused, perky, pink nipples, circling his tongue around it and pressing his tip against it, while showing signs of uncontrollable lust, hunger, and thirst.
The feeling was magical for them both. He literally could say that they tasted like strawberries, but for Liriel.. Her deepened moans already escaped her mouth as she closed her eyes and tightly pushed his head against her chest, forcing his face to be buried in between her bosoms. In exchange, Niko turned into quite a wild, hungry animal, and with nothing stopping his exploration of her wonderful body, he began to seal his lips on each nip and let out some lewdy, noisy slurpies, pushing Liriel's arousal higher and higher, her moans showing clear signs of enjoyment, while gripping Niko's hair from behind his head.
At certain times, Niko allowed himself to look at adult-magazines, and relieve his stress in the past. He surely saw a lot of actions in those pages and never thought that he would be able to recreate them on the hottest woman his eyes have ever seen, but more than anything.. With an Eldar woman, whose body was so attractive to him, he felt his groin part already soaked in his pre-fluid, slowly dripping from the tip of his member, eagerly waiting to be unleashed from his trousers. He fondled her bosoms while tightly sealing his lips on each breast and switching occasionally while taking his time to breathe properly. As for Liriel.. She was in a completely new state of bliss. She never, ever in her life, considered herself to be in this position of intimacy, but she was loving it. Every second of this new, heavenly experience.
Liriel held her thighs clamped against Niko's hips and then began to grind his pulsating groin against the groin part of her tight bodysuit, forcing her wetness to increase dramatically. Both of them were virgins and had never had sex before, but tonight they would have their first ever experience. An event of pure magic and unimaginable pleasure. They wanted each other, and nothing could stop them from fulfilling this desire to connect fully and completely with one another.
The Kalevan man stopped feasting on her milkers and gave her aroused nipples a few deep licks before running his tongue below and below until it reached her stomach. He ran 3 vertical licks across her abs, forcing Liriel to shiver and silently moan from being so sensitive. But she plunged her eyes wide open after feeling Niko slide his hand under her bodysuit and reach her "Holy grail" with his hand, exploring her attractive body even further. Niko felt the heat radiating from her untouched entrance and slowly ran his finger between her wet, silky soft labia, or the lips, vertically up and down, smoothly, slowly, and very gently. His entire fingers were already covered in wetness, and Liriel could do nothing more than try to desperately close her legs together because of how good she was feeling at this moment. She closed her eyes and pushed her head back a little, her mouth opening slightly, to let those wild moans and heavy panting let loose.
After coating Liriel's abs in his own saliva, he pulled his hand out of her bodysuit, and leaned back to his knees while retaining the eye contact with her since she opened her eyes slightly and took a look at him, her fiery, amber eyes so bright and full of lust. He was pulling her bodysuit off completely, revealing her naked glory to his eyes in a very blissful manner. His breathing got heavier and faster as soon as his eyes ran across her gorgeous body. Liriel had her head tilted slightly away with her hands next to her head on the makeshift pillow, but her eye contact remained. She had her legs tightly clamped together, as this was a very unusual, yet wonderful, new feeling to her, as much as it was for Niko. He began to slowly pull down his zipper and grip his pants and boxers at the same time, before pulling them completely down, doing this with the purest form of excitement, with his hands still trembling from excitement itself... And then...
His member popped out, standing fully hard, pulsating, and with his tip already leaking his pre. That's how excited he was.
Liriel's eyes instantly diverted to his groin, and she couldn't understand what she was seeing or what Niko had in his mind to begin with. She fixed her eyes, then looked back at him, biting her lower lip gently and keeping her legs tightly closed together. Niko gently and so sweetly placed his hands on her knees, before.. Slowly opening her legs, spreading them firmly apart with her firm elasticity and flexibility, before her cheeks reddened severely. The young man expected her to be nervous. After all, What they felt was a dozen times stronger, and this was not an exception. Nevertheless.. He did not hesitate after such an unimaginable, godly, heavenly sight.
The howling banshee leaned her arms forward, begging him to come to her under the influence of sexual excitement, and Niko, like a young, wild wolf who has caught his warrior-lioness, crawled forward, setting himself right on top of her, his chest gently pushing against her breasts, which he felt like two warm, soft cushions. Then, as he approached his forehead to hers, he felt his pulsating member land directly on top of her groin, which in turn prompted Liriel to clamp her thighs against his sides once again, while their heavy breathing and the loss of words were thorough. They did not wish to speak any words at the moment, for they wanted their bodies to connect, because as soon as they were too close a moment ago, their cells, their every atom of existence, literally started to pull against one another, resulting in them having a strong, intimate moment like this.
Looking into each other's eyes, while lusting for one another, they kissed once more, sticking their tongues into each other's mouths even deeper than before as Niko began to grind his member against her soaking wet lips and clitoris, resulting in her muffled, deep moans flying into his mouth, and in exchange, resulting in his soft moans flying into her mouth. He felt her heat all over his groin, let alone his body, and most of all.. He felt her wetness coating the lower part of his shaft, but he wanted to taste her body further. He wanted every ounce and every inch of her, and ever since the attraction began, it only grew further and further.
After breaking the kiss once again, Niko had his hands next to her shoulders and reached out to her sweet knife-ears once again, before Liriel slightly widened her eyes before closing them completely and letting her tongue slip out slightly from her mouth as Niko used his soft lips to nibble on her ear while caressing the other, forcing her legs to clamp tighter and her wetness to leak against his shaft as he had his member placed directly at her hot, heated vulva, with Liriel tightly gripping his hair and slowly running her nails across his shoulder.
Niko left a hickey on her ear, marking her as his, and then ran his tongue from her ear to her cheek, then to her neck, and left a few deep kisses on it, alongside two to three hickeys. Liriel was absolutely starting to melt from a foreplay like this. Niko was a man who loved romance, but he never thought that he would show his passion and romantic spirit to anyone. His destiny led him to this path.. The path where he was connecting with the one woman he loved, despite being a xeno. He did not care.. He wanted her.
After having done with her neck and throat, he kept running his hands on her body and ran his tongue below once more, letting it run like a smooth brush in between her cleavage, her abs, and finally.. To her thighs. Liriel shivered each time his tongue touched her sensitive, virgin body, and this time, it was not an exception. Because, as much as Niko was a virgin, he was not afraid to let his desire for Liriel go with just intercourse. Oh no, he wanted to please her to the heavens, thanks to those adult magazines he used to read during his service.
He softly, and smoothly, nibbled on Liriel's thighs as she slightly lifted her head with her heavy panting, and watched him do a proper work on her untouched body, only able to unleash a moan when feeling his lips. He ran his lips across her thighs while softly caressing them and worshipping the beauty of her body, giving out a few deep, passionate kisses and deep licks that forced her to grip the edges of the makeshift bed. After nuzzling his lips on her thighs, he continued to nibble both of her thighs, ever so smoothly making a few hickeys to mark her body and making her completely his. That was until he finally could not resist his insatiable hunger and traveled his lips closer and closer..
To her "Holy grail."
Liriel gasped, moaned and arched her back as soon as she felt something wet running through her soaking wet lips. Little did she know that it was Niko's own tongue running in between her soaking lips all the way to her clit, before feeling how his hands slowly traveled across her hips and sides, caressing them in a gentle motion, before running his tongue continuously between her lips, resulting in Liriel clamping her juicy, meaty thighs and trapping Niko's head between them, especially when his tongue's tip ran across her clit in zig zaggy, and circling motion, rapidly and rapidly.
The juices flew with squealing moans as Liriel began to completely melt and climax from such oversensitivity and her alien, inhumane nature. Niko did not mind it.. He loved it. He was thoroughly heated up while his ears were experiencing eargasm from Liriel's lewdy moans. While she tilted her head continuously left and right, her eyes shut as she was simply unable to process the situation of her brains being melted away with the passionate knowledge of Niko. As Liriel trembled and panted heavily after the orgasmic experience of cunni, she looked at him and only panted before biting her lip and pushing his head back to her "sensitive place".
The Kalevan man tasted her thoroughly. He felt how her juices got on his tongue like the nectar of the gods and could not resist stuffing his face against her crotch completely, his eyes slightly closed while retaining his eye at how Liriel reacted to his skills that he never thought he had, if not for those adult magazines. By her reactions alone, he knew that she was loving it as much as he was, being trapped between her thighs, hearing her constant, hot, thirsty moans.. It aroused him to the heavens, especially with the fact that he was giving her one wonderful cunni. Liriel held her breasts, stared at the ceiling, and already stuck out her tongue from an overwhelming feeling of Niko eating her out through passion, romance and deepest form of love.
While Niko devoured her, his hands softly ran across her naked, beautiful pale body before sliding the tip of his tongue into her entrance and running it in circles. He felt her "flower" not allowing him to make it ever so further, and then he had a surprise written all over his face when he realized.. She was, in fact, a virgin just like him. His heart began to literally beat faster at this fact. He was a virgin himself, and tonight, he and Liriel, would lose each other's virginities to one another. This fact alone was enough to have his hunger dramatically increase. He would've not minded if she wasn't a virgin, but realizing and knowing that what he was doing to her was her first experience.. Aroused him even further.
After edging her closer to another massive orgasm, he leaned his face back slightly, with the tip of his tongue having a string of her juices attached to it, before he so eagerly swallowed it and licked his lips. Liriel slowed down her moaning and began to heavily pant instead, diverting her amber eyes directly at him. He looked at her with the face of insatiable hunger, and she, sensing the most important part of this connection, loosened the grip around Niko's head, and then he gently crawled forward since she was taller than him, and then he lied right on top of her, his groin between her legs as she held her feet on the ground, her knees lifted up. She looked at him without saying a word, with her heavy breathing. Niko smiled and ran his fingers across her forehead, moving her beautiful red hair away from her eyesight. He realized that his foreplay and the oral he gave her completely turned her on. And now.. It was the time, for the Intercourse.
He caressed her cheek as she looked at his hard, erect boner laid on her pubic bone, ever so eager to be hugged by her "gates". She couldn't muster out a single word while staring at his eager and hungry member. Niko would've not admitted it, but he could see.. She was slightly nervous, even though her body was overwhelmed with lustful hunger. He did not find it strange, and being the young man that he was, he was not going to be harsh. "Liriel.." He whispered softly before placing his hand on her cheek and making her stare at his eyes. He smiled, leaned forward, and softly, deeply, passionately.. Kissed her lips. Liriel closed her eyes after feeling his soft lips once again, and then, as Niko broke the kiss, Liriel, gave him the sign of the purest form of trust by nodding her head once.
And now.. As Niko leaned slightly backwards, taking a comfortable missionary position, he leaned his waist back and prepared to lose his virginity for the one and only, as much as he prepared to take hers. Liriel continued to pant, breathing and having her hands next to her tilted head, her eyes slightly lewdly open. Niko grabbed his hard, excited member and looked down at his and her crotches. He bit his lower lip while rubbing the tip of his member against her wet, soaking lips and could not help but silently unleash a moan or two, his heart racing faster than ever, to the point of him being able to hear it at this very moment. At last, when he finally could not hold himself any longer, he found.. The radiating heat of her entrance, and then..
He gently, smoothly, slowly and passionately slipped his tip inside without any hesitation.
Liriel and Niko unleashed a soft moan simultaneously, their faces filled with nothing but hunger for one another and the desire to deeply connect with each other. Niko literally felt her entrance gripping his tip before he lied on top of her body, with Liriel swiftly placing her hands on his back. Then, he gently.. Pushed.. And pushed, and... Pushed it further, deflowering her and popping her cherry, as he felt slight resistance when penetrating, but it was no more. Luckily he felt no blood either. He and Liriel.. Unleashed the deepest and loudest moan possible while opening their mouths.
Liriel's legs slowly wrapped around his waist in a tight leg-lock as he pushed his member deeper and deeper within her entrance, tightly trapping him in one place and digging her nails straight into his scarred back, before running her nails horizontally on his back and shoulders, opening her mouth wide open with her head tilted back, while Niko's head was trapped between the cleavage of her quite big breasts. As for Niko, his brains were nothing but mush as he was melted right away. He felt how his entire member was being hugged from all sides with wet, warm, tight, slippery, juicy, squeezing and massaging ridgy walls. The hotness, the tightness, the grip.. It took everything within his willpower not to orgasm and cum straight away... But he failed.
Unleashing a loud, lewdy moan from in between her cleavage, Niko simply couldn't hold himself together, because as soon as he started to push his member backwards slowly within her depths, he did not even feel prepared to experience the sudden climax that struck his body like lightning. He instantly pushed his member deeply forward and felt his waist trembling as he prematurely ejaculated within her depths, coating her walls and her cervix with his semen in the blissful manner of his first, sudden, unexpected orgasm.
Liriel felt his member pulsating within her depths, and it felt weird to her, but the warmth that began to spread throughout her body replaced that weirdness with a lustful thirst to feel more of it, and so she began to react by milking his member for every ounce of his thick, warm cumload, while he shivered, panted, moaned and melted from his urge to claim her, because as he came from his premature orgasm, he tried to desperately push his member deeper than it would go, but at the end of it all, both of them were swimming in pleasurable oceans. Being a virgin, it was to be expected, but nevertheless.. Niko was far, FAR away from being done.
He laid on top of her, being leg-locked, and simply experienced the true meaning of shock that his entire body felt at the moment, much like Liriel. He was panting after unleashing his deep moan alongside his partner, and he refused to move for a while.
That single moment, when they lost their virginities to one another was unimaginable to them both. Their minds were shut off, and only their hearts remained. It allowed them to come to this moment, to this exact moment of pure intimacy, forged by their love and their trust in one another.. And their passion for each other. This was the moment when their souls truly connected and brightly formed an ever-lasting bond of certainty, unbreakable in the face of odds and dangers yet to be met.
It did not take Niko long enough to feel how he was deep inside of Liriel, constantly feeling her muscular contractions, his member literally being massaged internally. And yet.. He wanted more, and she wanted more. Virgins making hot, romantic love. Unbeknownst to Niko, however.. He was still hard as fuck despite his premature ejaculation.
Putting his hands next to her sides and leaning his torso slightly upwards, he began to thrust, his inner thighs touching hers while his member went smoothly forth and back within her warm entrance. He began his thrusts slowly and gently, letting her get adjusted to his member while unleashing his moans of overwhelming pleasure. He retained eye contact with her, both of their cheeks as red as cherries. Liriel's moans were unusually deeper and louder, but Niko was not able to grasp how strong Eldar emotions were, and so she tightened her legs around his waist, prompting him to push deeper, which he did by holding her hands together in pure romance as they slipped off of his back, and then, while burying his face in her neck, he thrusted... Balls deep, his moans loud, and hers deeply louder, her breathing fast and heavy, and her contractions stronger around Niko's member.
After that, his thrusts picked up the pace, and he began to thrust harder.. And faster.. Because if he stopped for even a second, he would undoubtedly ejaculate, and he refused to allow it. He wanted, desired, and thirsted for her even more, more.. And more. The way he was engaging in this hot intercourse pushed his body's temperature higher as they exchanged their warmth. Aeldari had no sweat glands, but Niko surely did as a human, and he was already starting to sweat just from the beginning of this wonderful intercourse. His member was slipping forth and back in hot missionary position, with the "plap-slap-clap" noises of his inner thighs hitting against hers as their moans continued to spill out, alongside her juices that slowly spilled from her hole with each thrust he made.
And that's when they began to moan each other's names in the midst of this heavenly pleasure. Niko and Liriel could not explain this amazing feeling they were experiencing. Their bodies simply connected with one another, and they refused to let go of each other. Liriel felt his hard, pulsating member swimming within her wet depths and constantly squeezed his member with each few seconds, her creamy gates literally milking his member and making him lose his control of holding his orgasm at bay.
His moans struck her neck while he was tightly holding her hands, and he allowed his tongue to spill out from this pleasure alone and run it across her neck before eagerly forcing his right hand to loosen from her hand and stroke her knife-ear, prompting her to try and knock his hand off, but he tightened his stroking and allowed her body to experience a majestic, god-like pleasure as she gave up her attempt to push his hand away. He couldn't nibble them because he couldn't reach them, as she was taller than him after all, so he had to use his hand to stroke them.
With each stroke, she tightened the squeeze on his member and prompted him to thrust faster, stuffing his face between her breasts and letting out those deep, muffled moans while she held him in a tight leg-lock, through the pure instincts of the magnificent mating session she was having with her human lover, her moans becoming deeper and louder from such extreme amounts of pleasure.
Their minds were on fire, literally, and Niko, being so overwhelmed with excitement, felt his orgasm approaching. He kept touching her ear, gently stroking it and massaging it thoroughly, while getting comfortable in this missionary position.
His member was pulsating faster as he felt every inch of her vaginal ridgy walls massaging his member. He lied on top of her completely and then wrapped his arms around her back, tightly embracing her, pushing his face between her big milkers, thrusting with his unquenchable stamina, going harder and faster, with her soaking wetness allowing the juicy, lewdy noises of thrusts to be heard, accompanied by their simultaneous moans. He could not hold his urge to feast on her milkers, and so he tightly sealed his lips on her nipples by occasionally changing from one to another and slurped each of them loudly with lewdy noises, while Liriel resumed scratching his back and shoulders with her nails as she was swimming in the rivers of ecstasy and cloud nine, moaning and melting away, while Niko kept his arms tightly wrapped around her back in a wonderful embrace.
Niko.. Was.. Burning. His orgasm meter was at its peak, and he did not wish to hold his load within himself any longer, especially since he was a virgin. He could not last for longer than usual, even though he was making love to someone he would consider a goddess had he not known her very well. His moans began to sound desperately louder and deeper, while the pulsation got stronger. He felt it. He felt how everything he held inside himself was about to be unleashed, but being a virgin himself, he wanted to do it. He wanted it.. He wanted to Impregnate her. To leave a piece of his "soul" inside of her, to push his feelings to the greatest extent, to have a future with her, to spend his life with her, for he wished for nothing else.
He did not even have time to notice how the lower part of his groin began to feel that intense, familiar, squeezing feeling as if an explosion is about to happen, and only then he grasped what was about to happen as he let his lips go off of Liriel's knockers. Tightening his arm wrap around Liriel's body in this hot, romantic missionary, with his muffled moans being heard all over, he made one deep, hard thrust, then made 2 more, then pushed his member backwards without letting it out, and then, pushed it in a single, hard, and balls deep thrust, both of them letting out some wild, bestial loud moans simultaneously, as Niko began to...
Cum... And he came.. A lot.
With his member pushed as deep as possible.. His waist trembled as his overwhelming orgasm struck his body like a lightning bolt, forcing his body to shiver as his tip began to splurt his cumload deep inside Liriel, ejaculating for almost ten seconds straight and striking the walls of her cervix with his hot, thick, accumulated semen. He moaned by every second during this heavenly experience of splurting inside her, filling her up, making a deep thrust to the point of clenching his rearcheeks while blinded by lust, and trying to push his member deeper than it could go.. He was Melting. There were no words, or simply anything, for Niko to explain how his brains melted at that moment, as he could only think about claiming his Eldar woman through romance, love and mutual lust. His eyes completely shut as his soul literally left his body temporarily, allowing him to feel nothing else but the warmth of her body, her moans, and her tight contractions, which milked his member for every ounce of sperm.
Liriel felt her human lover push his member balls deep within her entrance, and then her entire body had waves of warmth spreading all over her multiple times, when she began to feel his warm sperm flowing inside her body, ever so tightening her legs around Niko to the point of almost crushing his hips, but he did not care, for he was experiencing something beyond the heavens, much like Liriel, who squeezed the living soul out of his member via constant contractions and milked his member dry while his tip pumped his seed within her depths. She was melting as much as he was, with their souls leaving their bodies and connecting like magnets. The warmth, the pleasure, the passion, the feeling.. It was all too much for both former virgins to bare as they simply refused to let go of one another while having this wonderful connection.
They tightly embraced one another during this very special moment, and both began to heavily pant with their tongues dripping out of their mouths. There was nothing else but heavy breathing and silent moans from one another as they took their time to breathe heavily. Niko's member remained deep within Liriel's depths, and she was squeezing every ounce of his "milk" out of his tip until he finally gathered his strength and slowly pulled his member out of her with a string of his cum still attached to her entrance, lying on top of her leg-locking him , before her legs went loose, and she placed her feet on the ground, her knees still up.
Niko and Liriel shared their heated passion thoroughly. It was as if two souls connected into one ball of light, which created a flame of life, built and forged by a heating passion, and the power of love, from two different species, something that was unimaginable on a universal scale, and yet.. They ended up making love and shattering the belief that something as unimaginable as this was, in fact, impossible. These two lovebirds confirmed otherwise, and they would not be the ones to ever let go of each other, no matter what happened.
"Hhhuufff...Huuffff... L..Li..Ri... Hhh-hhaah...~" Niko whispered while catching his breath, swallowing his built-up saliva, and breathing heavily against her chest, before putting his trembling hands next to her sides and leaning his torso up. He saw her panting heavily, her eyes barely open, while she looked at him through what seemed to be satisfaction...
Little did he realize... What kind of mistake he committed.
"Hhuf.. Liri- MMmfnh?!" Niko wanted to say something, but he was taken aback by how Liriel grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a deep tongue kiss, forcing him to blush even deeper, before closing his eye in acceptance of her wonderful lips touching his ones. Then.. To his own surprise, he plunged his eye wide open when Liriel grabbed his shoulders and rolled them both around while the kiss remained, as now Liriel was straddling Niko cowgirl style, leaning down and kissing his lips as her beautiful red hair fell down from both sides of her hair, and he felt their silky surface touching his cheeks, neck and the beginning of his shoulders. He did not know what got into Liriel, but he knew that she was holding him down by keeping his shoulders against the ground.
As Niko's mind began to return to him, the same thing, as it seemed.. Did not happen to Liriel. A slight amount of Niko's semen dripped from her entrance hole, and she was still soaking wet. With this notion, as Niko's member went semi-erect after a good amount of milking by Liriel's vaginal ridgy walls, she sat down on Niko's shaft, which was lying against his stomach, soaking wet and covered in a cocktail of her juices and his semen. As the kiss continued, Niko frantically looked around with his eye before diverting it to his groin.. And there..
Liriel was rubbing her wet, moist, soaking lips against his shaft, coating it in her warmth and juices.
At that moment, Niko's erection returned to him like a rocket from ancient Terra being launched into the skies. As if deflowering her was not enough, she was simply hungry for more and was pulling out her newly born dominant, stronger side, much to Niko's surprise, but he couldn't do anything as he was now put into submission by a hungry Aeldari warrior woman. His shaft began to pulsate once more, despite the fact that he had ejaculated already after a long while. Nevertheless.. Liriel continued to thrust forth and back, with wet, slimey lewdy noises being heard as if melting butter was being spread over a slice of bread, over and over again.
After his member became ready for another round, she broke the hot tongue kissing session, and both of them were breathing heavily once more. Niko did not understand that he had just committed a terrible mistake by overstimulating an Aeldari woman. Their emotions and feelings were way, way stronger than those of fragile humans, and this was not an exception to Liriel's energy being overwhelmingly huge as she stared down at her human lover and saw that he was feeling...
Nervous. But he was not willing to back down.
Niko was about to say something to her despite softly moaning from feeling her wet, warm and soft silky lips rub against his shaft. He truly wanted to feel her body, he really did, but he was a human, and now a former virgin, but at the same time, a human young man with his own limits. But Liriel? She was someone else. Despite the inevitable, Niko could not help but to eye her gorgeous, tall, well-built body. He felt like he was making love with a goddess of ancient tales. The charm of Liriel got straight into his heart, and his submission to her will was inevitably visible. "L...Liihh..Lirri-" Niko really wanted to say a word, but instead of that, he gasped and moaned by tilting his head backwards, because Liriel..
Lifted her heart-shaped rear and sat right on his member.
He felt how his member went smoothly within her entrance before Liriel slowly lowered her rear back onto his waist, placing her hands on his chest, and staring at the ceiling with a very loud moan. Niko felt his entire member tightly squeezed by her tight, ridgy walls that contracted and massaged his member thoroughly before Liriel began to bounce and ride him, being overtaken by lust and hunger, which she could not simply satisfy with just one round. Oh no.. Niko was about to have the night of his life.
With her bouncing starting off slowly and deeply, her wetness continued to pour down all over his and her thighs. She lowered her head and kept her eye contact with him, as much as he did it himself as his eye opened up slightly, both of their mouths open for the release of moans and groans. Niko felt his sexual strength returning to him, and he would only describe this feeling as being so magical, while Liriel slowly picked up the pace and rode him faster, moaning rapidly while making her bouncy-bouncy motions and milking his member thoroughly once again with tight, wonderful squeezes through contractions. So much juices kept spilling out of her while his meat was getting covered with them.
Niko slowly lifted his hands, and through this fierce pleasurable moment, he gripped her asscheeks with his hands, squeezing and groping them over and over. By the heavens, his mind went wild with how soft, silky, squishy and juicy her meaty cheeks were. They were truly perfect, and his greedy hands just kept squeezing them over and over again. To his surprise, he noticed Liriel grinning at him, very lewdly in fact, and he was slightly confused by this, as he would not dare say a single word but to moan from the overwhelming pleasure she was giving him, as much as he was giving her.
Instantly gripping his hands, Liriel pushed them back down against the bed and held them down before leaning over to give him a hickey or two on his exposed neck. He gasped and widened his eye, feeling her lips sucking on his neck, which forced him to shiver and tilt his head to expose his neck more thoroughly. It seemed that he really was put into submission by Liriel, who went from being submissive herself to being a femdom right away. Niko could not move but endure, as his hands were against the bed and his member was being pleasured by Liriel's constant bouncing, accompanied by wet, sloppy sounds. He could do nothing but submissively moan and close his eye while Liriel marked him as hers, and only hers, moaning at the same time and trembling. She knew Niko wanted to touch her body, but she was the one in control now, and she.. Was Hungry.
Nevertheless, as Niko felt himself completely trapped under the unexpected dominance of Liriel, he began to show some resistance, and Liriel noticed this. Curious at what she may find out about mating, so to speak, she loosened her grip on his hands and allowed him to take control.. And he wasted not a single second of it. With his sexual energy returning to him like the fiercest lightning, he leaned up his torso and gripped her asscheeks with his greedy hands before mustering all his strength and standing on his knees, with Liriel tightly wrapping her legs around his waist.
She felt his member still pulsating within her depths as he got onto his feet, while carrying her, and then, looking up at her with what one could describe as a hungry young man whose virginity was lost and who got to experience the best possible pleasure known to a human, he pushed her against the hood of the Tauros after taking his steps towards it, and under the hypnotizing influence of fresh, sexual hunger, he began to thrust his hips forth and back, penetrating Liriel's entrance while holding the sides of her abdomen, drooling from his mouth and moaning with intense amount of pleasure, while Liriel gripped her legs around his waist, and stuck out her tongue while feeling his meat smoothly flowing forth and back within her wet, tightening tunnel.
The howling banshee was now truly howling as she held onto the Tauros with her hands above her head, while Niko's thrusts intensified further the more he kept going. His hands smoothly caressed her sides before he allowed himself to squeeze and fondle her milkers around, even leaning his head towards them, ever-hungrily running his tongue across her perky, aroused nipples, as he was very much enjoying the feeling of tasting her beautiful, elegant, pale, silky-soft body. Liriel bit her lower lip harder as her eyes closed up, her head tilting backwards while he feasted on her breasts, and he made some serious hot love to her, his member ever so desperately wanting to go deeper and deeper inside her.
His slurping noises got louder as his saliva accumulated to the point of him feeling like he was starving for eternity, but it was just him desiring Liriel more than anything, much like she desired him. They were severely, utterly, unimaginably stressed after the events they suffered from, but Liriel's stress was way stronger, and in exchange, her hunger was greater than that of Niko's. She did not know how to control herself at this moment due to her never having this experience, and so she only begged Niko for more... More... and More. She did not have to speak a word because her actions spoke for her.
While swirling his tongue constantly against her pink nipples while his lips were tightly sealed around them, sucking intensively and desperately, his member was in a bliss of being constantly massaged by Liriel's walls, letting it drown amidst all her warm, tight wetness, which prompted Niko to moan lewdier. His thrusts didn't stop for even a second in order to take a break, despite feeling the fatigue in his muscles. He kept going without a stop, squeezing both of her milkers while his waist went forth and back, Liriel's mouth still open to let out her moans that echoed straight out into the desert itself, but neither of them cared.
"I..C..Can't.. Bring.. M..Myself.. To.. Sto...Sttooopppp.." This was the only thought that Niko could muster inside his mushy brains, which had already melted away during the entire session. Liriel made sure that his arousal stayed on the highest float, and he himself was enjoying it
As his body heated up and his dopamine exploded, mixing his moans with groans of trying not to show his fragile, human weakness to someone as energetic as a xenos woman like her, he pulled out his member with her juices completely covering it, alongside his leftover cum around his tip, and stood there for over 5 seconds while catching his breathing. Liriel felt his member pop out of her while he rested it against her wet lips, and then she took a good look at him like a hungry lioness, wondering why he stopped.
It was then that Niko looked at her with the gaze of a hungry wolf, turning her around by unwrapping her legs and laying her on her stomach, right on the hood of the Tauros, and then he pulled her rear towards himself, while Liriel surprisingly looked behind at him, her looks as lustful as a hungry Aeldari could be. Without saying a word as he pulled her heart-shaped, perfect rear towards his groin, he gave her asscheeks a slap that forced them into jiggly-wiggly, forcing Liriel to squeal and pout at him while holding onto the Tauros. He grinned, winked at her, and then shoved his hard, pulsating member straight into her wet, needy hole and felt her vaginal walls gripping his member once more. He and Liriel moaned simultaneously after the penetration, and Niko, feeling already overwhelmed, gripped her knife ears, which forced her into squealing, lewdy moaning, and began to clap her cheeks while she lifted her feet, allowing her lover to claim her.
He felt her constant contractions milking his entire member while he was balls deep within her, and it did not help the fact that he was literally holding her ears, and rubbing them with his thumbs in horizontal strokes, while gently tugging them, and clapping her cheeks with lewdy sounds. They both began to melt right away. Moaning, groaning, and connecting. Niko couldn't believe himself that he was even able to keep holding on for the second round, but here he was, making hot love to Liriel while she turned him on so easily after the first round.
There were a lot of "plap-plap" noises being heard as he clapped her cheeks while she held her feet in the air, holding onto the Tauros with the tightest grip possible. As Niko thrusted and held her ears in a stroking motion, forcing her hypersensitive body into a fray of heavenly pleasure, the Tauros began to slightly bounce back and forth. His entire length was swimming within her flooded cave, and he could do nothing else but moan and continue his thrusts while Liriel lifted her head, her hair freely flowing down her back, shoulders and even on Niko's forearms, while staring at the star-filled sky under the bright moonlight, ever so experiencing the true meaning of ecstasy.
As his thrusting got harder and harder, he freed his hands from gripping and stroking her ears and then pulled her arms towards her back before forcing her torso to be lifted off the Tauros's hood. Then, he tightly pushed her back against his chest, placed his hands on her breasts, and kept thrusting while she placed her hands on hers, shivering and spilling her juices right onto his member, absolutely melting and loving this new, ecstatic feeling. Niko softly breathed against her neck while he ran his tongue across it, making Liriel open her mouth wider before traveling up to her knife-ears, where he began to nibble, forcing her mouth to open even wider. He really loved her ears and how she squealed and moaned deeper from just touching them, let alone nibbling on them. He occasionally changed his nibbling from one ear to another while fondling and groping her breasts, thrusting deeply within Liriel's entrance, to the point of him clenching his own rear cheeks.
Their lovemaking was progressing like an art. Every second felt like a brush was working on an empty canvas, creating something marvelous and unimaginable. Niko only knew what to do thanks to those adult-magazines, while Liriel made sure that her human lover stayed on the float and gave her the true meaning of ecstasy, and he was not disappointed with how much energy he had for being a fragile human, or a mon'keigh that is. Liriel was just in the purest form of bliss, for she has never felt this good in her entire life. After all, how could she? She was a warrior who trained and waged battle all her life. And tonight, in the most unbelievable of circumstances.. She felt the deepest form of love in the shape of intimacy with a young human out of everything. A human who defeated her beliefs, who loved her, and who wanted her... She felt... Mutual.
Sensing Niko's heavy breathing and deep, louder moaning as a sign of him being on the edge, Liriel used her flexibility and her art of Eldar gymnastics to change her position. She gently pushed Niko by pushing her elbows against his chest, and then, with his member still remaining inside her depths, she rolled around completely, and now she was sitting on top of Tauros's hood. Niko didn't even have time to properly react to her change because she did it so swiftly, and just as he blinked, he felt how her walls felt like a spiral for a split second. Next, he saw Liriel swiftly grab him by his chin and push him towards herself. Niko gasped from a sudden movement, widening his eye as his member was pushed deeper within her, those soft, warm, tight, ridgy vaginal walls trapping his member completely as she held him in one place with her leg-lock around his waist once again.
As he opened his mouth wide and moaned, he didn't even have time to unleash it because Liriel gripped both of his cheeks and looked down at him since she was taller before planting her lips against his, commencing a deep, tongue-kissing make-out session while shutting her eyes, prompting Niko to stare at her, then at the sky, and slowly close his own eye. His hands trembled as he was experiencing one of the purest forms of bliss imaginable, and so, being trapped while standing still, he could do nothing else than keep his tongue kissing her, wrap his arms around her back, and thrust hard, fast, and balls deep in her depths, feeling the friction being ever-so pleasurable and heavenly.
The young Kalevan man and the howling banshee started to moan into each other's mouths while their wet, warm tongues danced together in a beautiful moment of connection and ecstasy. She held his right cheek while slowly sliding her left hand down to his side and reaching his waist, pushing his waist forward to the pace of his thrusts, prompting him to keep going, before sliding her hand back to his left cheek to hold both of them while they kissed. He obliged immediately and thrusted without a stop, going faster.
He felt how her ridgy walls massaged his member with constant contractions, starting to milk him in a creamy ecstasy. As his moans became heavier and lewdier, Liriel felt that he was about to blow again as they both kept making out. His arm wrap tightened around her back as he embraced her, opened his eye slightly, and rolled his eye to his temple before closing it again, making about 4 hard, deep thrusts before hitting his fifth one, which was the hardest and the deepest, and moaning deeply, loudly and softly into Liriel's mouth as he reached his second orgasm.
Liriel slid her hand to his rearcheeks and pushed him forward as Niko's waist began to tremble and shake, his pelvic muscle contractions pushing him to the farthest clouds of ecstasy as he began to unleash his second cumload deep within Liriel's body. He was breathing and moaning heavily, and simultaneously, while making a few thrusts as he came inside of her, he filled her up with the hotness of his sperm, flowing ever so nicely within her depths as her vaginal contractions milked his member dry, this time even more tightly.. That creaminess, those warm, wet, tight, slippery and juicy ridgy walls, milked and dried his member from every ounce of semen he could release, letting his tip pump his load freely, and each shot striking her cervix once again.
They moaned, melted and shivered while Niko began to sweat profusely, his body in such high heat, that he was not able to grasp it himself. He merely thought about doing this forever with Liriel, over and over, again, again, and again, until the end of his days. She slowly broke the kiss as their tongues had each other's saliva strings attached to them, panting heavily. Then, Niko laid his head against her chest as she hugged him and stared at the sky, letting the warmth from his cum spread all over her heated body in the waves of passionate lovemaking, letting their souls have another spark of connection.
Niko was trying to catch his breath while resting his cheek against Liriel's cushions, holding her in a tight embrace, before he slowly and smoothly.. Pulled his member out. And then, the cocktail consisting of his cum and her juices started to drip down from between Liriel's legs while he rested his relaxed member at Liriel's pubic bone, as they were busy embracing each other amidst this heavenly pleasure to begin with.
After catching their breaths due to their heavy panting, they looked into each other's eyes under the light of the Merlorian moon and kept blushing, showing clear signs of how much they wanted, desired, and were made for each other.. "Hhhff..Hhf..Ni..ko.." Liriel finally uttered out in a soft, angelic voice of hers before her face lit up with the most gentle and caring smile that he has ever seen. He reacted mutually by smiling at her, trying to muster any words to say. "Hhnng..Ffhhf.. Li..Ri.." After that, they closed their eyes and placed their foreheads against each other, before deeply and passionately kissing once more.
The kiss broke after a short while, and they hugged each other once more, both of them completely naked, and enjoying one another's warmth. None of them felt the cold air of the desert due to how heated they were while making love, but they couldn't simply stay at the Tauros, and so, as their minds began to return to them, completely unlocked, Niko softly placed his hands under Liriel's thighs and carried her with all the strength that was left in him. She held onto him as they retained eye contact and then reached their shelter, the juice and cum cocktail dripping down from both of their crotches.
Niko laid his Aeldari woman on top of one of the beds and laid on top of her, catching his breath and trying to cuddle her... Until... Much to his surprise and, more or less, a shock, she instantly rolled her and him around, and now she straddled him once again as his eye widened up completely at what had totally gotten into her. "Hhhhhnngff?! L..Liri I am- Wo-woahh!" And yet again, he started to stutter and moan at the same time, because...
Liriel was still hungry.
She looked down at Niko, completely overtaken by the hunger of her first-time experience. Niko looked back, blinking few times and still blushing as deep as a tomato. He was about to say something once again, but only stuttered, getting lost amidst his moaning as she began to rub her wet lips against his semi-erect member once again, which was already in a state of huge break.
Niko still tried to say something, but then, seeing the howling banshee biting her lower lip and approaching his neck with her lips, he closed his eye and slightly opened it, as soon as her lips planted themselves right on his neck, as she continued to massage his shaft with her soaked crotch, his heart already racing faster than usual, and the blood rushing to the tissue of his member, expanding it to a full, pulsating erection. It also did not help Niko to withstand the incredible amount of pleasure, due to the fact that with each Liriel's grinding, her lips stroked his member, milking it with a few ounces of his seed splurting out on his pubic bone.
Niko desperately wanted a break, but if he gave up now, he would fail to show that humans are a sturdy and resilient race. He knew how much his body begged to be connected with Liriel, but there was a limit to how much he could handle. Nevertheless, he wanted to keep going as long as it would take him to completely please her. After all, this was the moment to show how different humans and Aeldari are, and Niko was not willing to just give up on satisfying her hunger. Oh no, he was ready for it, despite being fatigued.
"I.. HH..Hhhaahh.. Aahh.. Can't.. Hh..ff.. Givv..e.. Up... Nnnoww.. H..How is she.. So much full of e..energy... Are they.. S-Stronger in bed too..?" His mind thought as Liriel was in the process of nibbling his neck and rolling her soft, silky tongue on each side, tasting him thoroughly. As she grinded her hips forth and back, passionately rubbing her wet, warm, heat-radiating lips against his hardened shaft, she ran her hands across his chest and placed her tongue right in the middle of his chest, slowly going up, up, and up, until it reached his lips, which she licked precisely.
Niko swallowed his saliva while letting out his soft, panting moans. He would not admit it, but he surely realized that after deflowering her and claiming her in missionary position, in her second attempt, she made sure that he depleted all his energy into showing his fragile dominance, which in fact did surprise her at how he was able to withstand for this long, especially by carrying her around, but this time.. It was her turn to show her what a howling banshee could do and that Aeldari were tougher. She leaned back a little with her lewdy face still visible as she licked her lips, then began to.. Smirk. Having his prey at her mercy.
The poor young Kalevan man, who thought that he finally pleased his xenos woman thoroughly, realized that he would have to be able to withstand this last, third round. After all, Liriel was not a human. She was an Aeldari, whose biology and physiology were vastly different from those of humans, and Niko quickly realized this but was not willing to simply give up, despite losing his virginity. He still had some fuel left in his can and wouldn't dare show weakness towards Liriel. Despite his efforts, Liriel saw the look of nervousness blooming on Niko's face. She smelled his doubt and began to exploit it.
As his hard, throbbing member was ready for the taking once again, she lifted her rear and prepared to take his member within her depths, but then, much to Niko's shock as he widened his eye.. She slowly sat back down on his shaft as her lips rubbed against it. He bit his lower lip and began to pant heavily, lost in the oceans of moans, due to his member being very sensitive after handling for two rounds, and even then, Liriel's hunger was asking for more. She did not need to speak. Only, act. And act, she did.
Grinding her wet soaking lips across his shaft without giving him relief through penetration, she thrusted her hips faster and watched how Niko, with his trembling hands, gripped her rearcheeks, and stuck out his tongue while unleashing his grunting, squealy moans, resulting in him taking a very desperate look at Liriel, who had a smirky smile written all over her, before she shook her head, gripped his hands, and shoved them back at the bed right next to the side of his head, leaned forward, and watched him trying to desperately lift his hips to stick his member into her heat-radiating warm hole that the teasing would stop.
She kept her eye contact as her fiery amber eyes remained locked on his eye, but the reason for his gasp was the fact that she lifted her rear into the air and gently allowed his tip to slide in as Niko opened his mouth slowly and felt how her heat increased and spread from his tip to the rest of his shaft. He desperately wanted to thrust. He wanted to so intensively, desperately, stick his member into her wet hole as he started to tilt his head left and right, squealing with moans with his sensitive tip being stimulated, and started to beg while stuttering. He simply had no strength left in his hips to make a thrust upwards, and especially when she was bigger and taller, he couldn't simply thrust upwards. She had Full command over him, and frankly speaking, he teased her by her ears in the beginning, and that itself was a funny mistake for Niko.
He collected all these words with all his mental being and unleashed them, but all in vain as she leaned her torso back and placed her finger on his lips, forcing him to tilt his head and stare right up at her, smirking and licking her lips. "My... Poor.. pecker..." His mind thought as he started to breathe heavily, with his member still hard as hell and throbbing in full content, since it was sensitive after he mated with her MULTIPLE TIMES.
He simply refused to give up and appear as weak. He had to endure, even though Liriel could see that his lover was struggling. "I.. Never knew her hunger was.. Like this.." He thought in his mind. He did not expect her to be a virgin either, but she was. And now, it felt like he had unlocked the box of Aphrodite, not Pandora. As in, he unlocked that door within Liriel, which allowed her to wield her hunger, which she did not know she had, and Niko did not expect. Liriel's hunger controlled her, and her mind was locked, while Niko was well aware of how energetic his Eldar woman was.
He would not admit it.. But he was secretly enjoying this. Seeing her being dominant, in control and like a true lioness who pinned her partner down and knew what to do to make him squeal and squirm. He knew that she wanted him to beg. But he refused to, holding out with all his might.. But he felt the cracks appear in his defenses as she began to literally, with his tip still swimming inside of her, start to wiggle her hips in circles, with her walls softly massaging his overstimulated, sensitive tip and forcing his moans to become way deeper and louder, with a hint of groaning, his head tilting left and right, as Liriel pushed him further into submission. Later on, as soon as she leaned forward and bit his neck gently, he gasped and shivered as Liriel managed to find his weak spots.
The cracks in his defenses were only getting worse, second by second. As he opened his eye and looked at her with a facial expression of pure, lustful hunger, his heavy breathing only intensified as Liriel held his hands down the bed and didn't let him move. He was exhausted, and his hip muscles were screaming for relief, which resulted in him not being able to just shove his member in further. His heart kept racing, and racing, as he came to the proper realization that he should not forget about the fact that Liriel, was a xenos woman. She was built differently, and what he experienced at the moment was a dozen times stronger for her, which explained how energetic and alien she was.
His teeth clenched as his sensitive tip was receiving proper treatment by her wet, warm entrance, and to top it all off? The look on Liriel's face.. She was in pure ecstasy, and she was literally going to eat his energy to the last amount. Taking every last ounce of strength and energy that his melting brain could produce, he proclaimed something that he would definitely remember as a grave mistake. "HHhh...aa-aa-a-ah.. Mmnff.. Im.. No..Not... B..Begging..!"
Liriel might not have understood what he said.. But she clearly understood by his loud tone that he was not willing to give in, despite the lustful, teasing treatment he was receiving from his xenos lover. Liriel spoke nothing, neither by her lips nor inside her mind, and Niko clearly took notice of how her gaze of an apex predator stared right into his soul, because as soon as he blinked once, her face was already a few inches away from his, and that alone forced him to widen his eye in nervousness and swallow his accumulated saliva, which moisturized his dry throat. Liriel's fiery amber eyes stared straight into his soul, and now he was really regretting raising his voice at the howling banshee, who was intimidating by her sheer size and well-built body alone.
Her eye contact remained, and he began to sweat profusely, not knowing what to expect, his mind filled with so many thoughts. He was completely pinned down, Liriel's bosoms pushing against his chest like a pair of warm, soft, big cushions, while his heart raced and never calmed down since he was preparing for what was about to come... And what did come flying his way? Something that would force his moans to explode into the purest form of oblivion.
Not even a second passed by as his nervous, heavy breathing changed into a loud form of gasp, forcing his mouth to open up to unleash his loudest moans possible.. Because Liriel, who was busy swimming in the lustful clouds, leaned her torso up and had a serious facial expression written all over her face as she began to.. Literally, take control of her vaginal muscles and begin the contractions, sliding the top of his tip all the way inside, and then squeeze it with constant contractions while biting her lower lip.
Niko felt how his overstimulated tip was being literally stroked alongside the foreskin that surrounded it, with pure smoothness, up and down.. Up and down before it began to speed up, and Niko started to uncontrollably arch his back while the pleasure overtook his body, being left with only two choices. One, endure this edging until he blacks out, or second, just give up and accept her superiority as an Aeldari, even on the bed. He was doing his best, but her vaginal contractions were taking hold of his poor member, as she had already found one of his weak spots after he found her in the shape of her knife-ears.
Niko rolled his eye up to his temple and desperately moaned his soul out as Liriel was stimulating his most sensitive spot. He rolled his eye back at her and saw that she was literally, and quite playfully, smirking and silently giggling. He felt truly weak in front of her.. He thought that what he did for two rounds would be enough to give her the night of her life, but he knew that the mating process was far away from being over, and his defensive walls started to crumble and break into dozens of pieces. He would soon totally black out from overwhelming pleasure, and he really was on the verge of giving up by this point, with his entire brain melted and fried up into nothingness.
Liriel watched how her human lover was struggling to keep up with her dominant aura, squealing and squirming around helplessly. He clenched his hands into fists and tightly clenched his eye before opening it again and staring at her, hiding his desperation. She knew perfectly well that he wanted the teasing to stop and for her to finally sit down on his member, but she wanted to hear that voice... The voice of submission.
And then, adding more fuel to the fire, the howling banshee did something that Niko would remember as being the best and probably the most torturous and pleasurable experience of his entire Emperor forsaken life. Liriel gripped his hair and forced him to tilt his head backwards, exposing his throat in the process, which she gently bit. He squealed and instantly gasped as Liriel began to use her superior stamina and wiggle her hips in circles, with his tip still getting constantly squeezed. It was then that Niko's mind completely exploded, and he gave in to submission to Liriel's pure dominance by moaning as loud as possible after unleashing a sudden gasp, opening his mouth wide as the lioness named Liriel, kept her young human man pinned down submissively after literally teasing him to heavens.
Unleashing a lustful scream, his defenses finally fell into oblivion as he began to beg, and beg hard he did. Feeling like he was going to black out if he didn't show his submission to Liriel's femdom spirit, he gathered all his mental strength into a few stuttering words that he barely managed to spill out of his mouth after multiple loud screaming moans. "Aaaa-aagghnn! I.. G..Give.. NNhhnngg! Give U..Uppphhh...! I g-give uppphh!"
The howling banshee heard his begging of desperation. The tone of his voice screamed "Submission" while Liriel grinned further while biting into his throat with a gentle placement of her lips against it. She made sure to gently let her lips travel from his throat all the way to his lips before licking them, stopping the squeezing of his tip and the wiggles of her hips in the process, watching how Niko desperately began to heavily pant, his tip swiftly pulsating within her heated and wet entrance. He tilted his head and looked at her with just a single expression that made her feel quite heated up.
Submissiveness.
With the satisfaction that she received from domming her human lover, she softly ran her fingers through his hair and then planted a little kiss on his forehead before softly taking his hands and squeezing them as Niko confusingly stared at her fiery, hungry eyes, not knowing what to expect. Squeezing his hands while he lied on the bed in a submissive manner, she instantly lowered her heart-shaped, perfect rear down against Niko's waist and, as a result, forced Niko to gasp, widen his eye, and open his mouth widely as his member slipped all the way in within her wet, warm, tight, ridgy, squeezing, moist cave depths, and the banshee howled, followed by Niko's screams of pleasure.
He felt how his entire length began to be literally milked by her vaginal walls as she rapidly lifted her rear and slammed it back down against his hips with a wet, lewdy noise of penetration. She did this with such agility and speed that Niko could not express anything properly, as her superior stamina allowed her to ride his member like a wild rodeo, while his hips felt like they're getting constantly pounded.
Niko tensed up as his moans became deeper and louder, his tongue slipping out of his mouth as he tilted his head backwards, and then, unleashed his entire supply of oxygen from his lungs as soon as he was split-seconds away from a massive, incredible orgasm. Watching her human lover being completely dominated and unable to hold himself back from the iminent "explosion", the riding felt like it would never stop, with Liriel's moans getting louder and deeper, then way louder again as she couldn't hold herself together, and finally, Liriel's wild riding was reaching its peak, with how loud her rearcheeks slammed down on Niko's thighs to the point of him being unable to walk or even stand up to begin with. And now, with both individuals unleashing their massive moans of pure, ecstatic, heavenly pleasure waves, the ride finally came to an end, as Liriel...
Felt her first, enormously powerful orgasm and came.. Alongside her mate. A total SNU SNU.
By the heavens.. The screams of excitement, the moans of ecstasy, and the pure, blissful mating experience that both of them experienced during this entire session were unimaginable, beyond their pure comprehension. Liriel was quite like a waterfall as she held Niko's hands in a tight grip. Their thighs became soaking wet, and Niko arched his back multiple times, alongside his waist, as his tip began to splurt out what remained of his cumload from his balls straight into Liriel's entrance, striking her cervix, his member pumping all that hot, steamy semen, which he surely left deeply inside of her, resulting in most of it splurting out of her and mixing up with her own juices in the wonderful fashion of a cocktail.
He held his tongue out and stared at Liriel with his eye slightly closed, while she stared back at him, her mouth open wide, both of them completely overtaken by lust, love and thirst for each other. Liriel's muscles contracted way faster and never stopped, milking his member completely from every ounce of semen that his balls could literally produce at this point. They swam in the cloud nine, their bodies receiving shockwave after shockwave of unimaginable pleasure that they only got to experience this one night, on a completely strange world, where Liriel felt no pull of she-who-thirsts and felt the taste of pure freedom, and Niko, who called this world his new home, expressed his own freedom.
Liriel's climax was extremely powerful as she shivered, trembled and slightly made a few bounces on the way, much to the overwhelming pleasure of Niko, who tried to catch his breath from moans. While Liriel was receiving multiple shockwaves throughout her entire body, she held her breasts, squeezed them, and stared at the ceiling of their little shelter while expressing her strong emotions during this hot mating session. Niko's throat was already dry as the desert that they were in, and so all he could do was to endure having his overworked member constantly milked inside of her wonderful body. His balls began to quite slightly ache as every droplet of his sperm was squeezed out of his hard, pulsating member, and Liriel enjoyed feeling the warmth that his seed spread throughout her body after he came inside her, for the Emperor knows how many times as he couldn't count from too much excitement.
Niko felt the fatigue gripping every fiber of his body's muscles while his member was being constantly milked. He couldn't raise his hands and couldn't move his hips either, as they felt completely numb while the howling banshee was howling her soul out as her climax lasted what seemed to be a minute after minute, with Niko trying to arch his back as the Aeldari woman that he loved was causing him more pleasure than he could ever express it as he felt his member being pumped, cumshot, after cumshot. He simply gave up with his resisting attempts and tried his best not to black out while she felt his hard member pulsating within her depths and coating her walls. She simply felt her body becoming so sensitive that her orgasm looked like it would never end.. But everything has its limits.
The volume of Liriel's moans turned down as they became softer, being replaced by her heavy panting as she placed her hands on Niko's chest, slowly raising and lowering her rear on Niko's member, causing him to shiver and squirm further as he could only stare at her with his weakened eye and his tongue dripping out from his mouth, accompanied by heavy breathing. Then, after a long minute of staring with heavy panting, she slowly leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on his lips, which he accepted without any resistance.
As she broke the kiss from Niko's lips, she licked the saliva off of his lips and slowly lifted her rear upwards before his member popped out of her, already being flaccid, tired and deprived of every ounce of his fuel, covered in a mixture of her juices and his own thick, steamy "yogurt" which leaked and dripped from Liriel's "cave". Afterward, as they both panted heavily, Liriel planted her forehead against Niko's and held onto him with a tight, lovely embrace.
Niko, sensing the sweetness of her body's warmth spreading all over his own body which was already covered in the moisture of his sweat, couldn't do anything else than to breathe and get the much-needed oxygen into his brain as his senses and proper thinking started to come back to him, while he kept his forehead against hers. Liriel gently placed her hands on his cheeks, and kept straddling him, her chest against his, her forehead gently pushed against his one. Niko's hands were shaking, but he, through all his willpower, managed to lift them up, and wrap them around Liriel's back, hugging her, and unwilling to let go.
They remained like this for what felt like an eternity, exchanging warmth, the feeling of each other's bodies, and sealing their destinies together for as long as they were alive. As their breathing stabilized, they felt the aftermath of their postcoitus, and the gripping fatigue and relaxation kicking in... And now, their first ever sweet, love-making moment of passionate intimacy this night, which was brewed for days after days of going through hell together, ever-so filling the vase with love within their hearts, and their feelings which got stronger and stronger...
Finally came to a wonderful end.
Their connection this night was extraordinary.. As their bodies finally calmed down, they truly felt connected. They were connected thoroughly, as every atom in their bodies was being pulled against one another like the strength of the cleanest magnet, ensuring that their first ever moment of pure, passionate, and love-filled intimacy was sealed into their minds for eternity. It was then that they allowed themselves to sink into their thoughts, as Liriel's mind was also returning to her, much like Niko's.
Liriel felt the shaking, shivering hands of her human lover and opened her eyes for him as he opened his. They looked at each other with what one could describe as a romantic endeavor of two members of different species expressing their never-ending love for one another after going past their beliefs and realizing what their hearts truly desired and wanted for one another. Niko playfully nuzzled his nose against Liriel's, forcing her to silently giggle, before she leaned over to his ear and whispered. ".. My.. Niko.." She said this in low gothic with her soothing, angelic voice, which forced Niko to blush very deeply as she then decided to softly grab his arms and travel her hands straight to his, squeezing them in a romantic, lovely fashion. Niko may not have realized what her gesture meant, but by saying these simple yet meaningful words and showing genuine, passionate care, Liriel was sealing the fact that their souls.. Were now fully connected, and that he.. Was her mate. Forever.
Lying down on her back straight on the bed, she pulled him to herself by gently pulling him by his arms and lied his head down on her chest before wrapping herself around him in a loving embrace, since she realized that he was beyond exhausted, and he couldn't move too much due to numbness in his thighs, and experiencing the climactic shockwaves spreading throughout his body, as much as they spread throughout her. Afterward, as he gently laid his head down on her chest, just right on top of her cushions, Liriel saw her beautiful red hair dangling and falling on his face. She softly proceeded to move it away from his face as his right eye was slightly open, sinking in his thoughts, but he was smiling.. Smiling and genuinely experiencing something that would be deemed the most sincere display of love, he proceeded to lean his head up a little bit and take a good look at her as she looked down at him, with the warmest smile he has ever seen on her beautiful, elegant face.
"..L..Liriel.. I.." He was speechless. He simply could not fathom gathering any words together as she began to caress his head with her hand, slowly, gently and smoothly running her palm all over the top of his head before she blew a deep kiss right on his temple and kept his head against her chest, her legs holding him in the softest possible comfort in the shape of a leg-lock, while he laid on top of her, and they enjoyed their lovely cuddling session. Niko's cheeks were unable to remove their redness, same for Liriel. Niko looked at her, smiling and firmly tightening his arm wrap around her body, embracing her, because he really.. Did not want to let go of her, especially after the session of sharing their passionate love for one another and losing their virginities for each other.
They were simply.. Filled with the oceans of love, something that they truly missed, especially Liriel, who never experienced it, and Niko, who has dearly missed it. He felt genuinely wanted in this cloud of bliss. As for Liriel.. Her chest felt the sensation of "butterflies", in response to the excitement that she felt tonight. She never experienced genuine love like this, and Niko showed her what being a mate truly feels like, and hence.. Her heart truly could not bear to live without him, and she would fight the entire galaxy alone just to keep him close.
As he lied his head on top of her chest, tightly cuddling onto her, he seriously felt like he had achieved something truly meaningful. He thought he would find it on the battlefield, but unfortunately, he found only sorrow, sadness, death, and a lot of rage.. And the Loss. A very strong loss. But now? On Merlorian, as if the fate itself cursed at him, the destiny that he paved, allowed him to meet a woman whom he genuinely fell in love with.
His mind raced with many thoughts, which still had a hint of concern buried deep within him. Those concerns were just the fact that he was not worried about anyone to finding out that he has consorted, connected, and fell in love with a xenos woman, and got intimate with this xenos woman.. His mind felt slightly worried not for himself.. But for her. What would her people think? Would she be cast away? Would those who miss her back in her craftworld neglect her and point their fingers at her?
"Does not matter!"
This single fiery thought crossed Niko's mind and went straight into his heart as he began to sink in more thoughts and speak with himself within his mind, pushing aside these pesky, unneeded worries that were all for naught.
"I am her partner, and in order to protect her, I will march straight into hell itself, even without my second eye, or crawl if all my limbs are torn to nothing, just to.. Keep her safe. God-Emperor, if you truly understand humanity.. Then do not judge those who have the light of freedom within their hearts, and they will not turn away from you. Your teachings tell us to hate the one who does not look like us and to treat them as enemies.. Not her. Just not her, she.. Is far away from that list. I love her.. To death and beyond.. Just give me strength to safeguard her, oh God-Emperor.. I will lay down my life for her and pledge my soul and heart to her embrace." Niko thought and shut down all the bad thoughts into nothing but the abyss of emptiness, leaving them scattered and to fend off for themselves, as he swore by everything he possessed, to...
Protect her, for she was his and only his.
As Liriel began to gently caress his cheek, brushing her fingers against the soft surface of his skin, especially his scars on the left side of his face, she sank deep into her thoughts and spoke to herself while treating her human partner with love and care. "I cannot.. Believe how.. I fell in love with him.. With him, out of the countless people of my own kin, my destiny led me to him. Isha.. Our great mother, if you hear me.. I.." She laid her cheek right on top of Niko's head while caressing his cheek. "Many, many days ago.. I looked at him as being nothing but a simple mon'keigh that would be a tool for my goals, someone, who is extremely naive, foolish, stupid even.. But.." She closed her eyes, and having no regrets settled in her soul, she proclaimed her words from the bottom of her heart.
"...I love him."
"Great mother, if you hear me.. Please keep us both safe in this hard, arduous endeavor and settle kindness in the hearts of my people, so that when I take him with me, by your blessing, to the bastion of your tears, our dear home, our Ulthwe.. Do not get separated from him. Give the children of Ulthwe your light of understanding so that they accept him. Nevertheless, no matter what happens.. No matter what anyone says.. He is my mate, whom I chose willingly, and I will not betray him"
Liriel whispered within her mind, praying to Isha for safety. As much as Niko was concerned for her, she was, in fact, concerned for him. She knew that she had to expect mockery, insults, threats, and curses, for even thinking about walking side by side with a mon'keigh, showing clear signs of him being her equal. She worried about his safety, but she knew that he simply had nowhere to go. He could not return to his homeworld, and his little house had to be abandoned. He abandoned it just for her. For her only. It made her feel slightly guilty now, but knowing from the bottom of his heart how deeply he loved her.. She knew that it was Niko's own choice, and so the guilt disappeared, but the concern for his safety remained... But it would not hold her back.
"I swear by everything that I hold dearly within my heart.. I will protect you, Niko. I will keep you safe against the hostility of this galaxy. No mon'keigh, nor my people, will take your life as long as I breathe and stand by your side." She said, firmly reassuring herself with the lengths of how far she is willing to go in order to keep him alive. To cherish him.. To love him. However, she would definitely have a lot of explaining to do for those who came to rescue her, if they manage to return. But she was a strong individual, and she would not abandon him. No matter what happened, she would stand in front of him, while her people would possibly, and maybe, stand facing her with bale eyes, let alone any hostile mon'keigh.. If they ever dare to try and hurt him.
And so, the two lovely birds, wrapped in each other's wings of warmth and connected by love and affection, swore to go to the farthest lengths to keep each other safe, no matter what happened.
Liriel slowly closed her eyes and started to drift to the fortress of dreams, knowing that she was not alone in this world anymore, for this is the world where she had found her mate against the strings of fate by forging her own destiny, against all her expectations, against every possibility. She had found a mate, a young human who accepted her for who she was, did not judge her, and loved her just the way she was, clean and pure from that blinded zealotry that his people are always so keen on following.
"... Liriel..?"
She slowly opened her eyes after hearing the soothing voice of her mate, whom she connected her soul with. He was weakly looking up at her and was lit with that marvelous, charming smile that he absolutely loved to express in front of her, since she was everything that he had besides Akila. She looked back at him and smiled back as she ran her thumb across his cheek, which she then traveled her caressing motion towards his ear. He kept blushing even under extreme amounts of fatigue after literally being milked dry, but he pulled his last ounces of energy to say the words that he had held within his heart for quite a long time.
"I.. love.. you."
Liriel heard him saying these words so warmly and joyfully, and even though she could not understand Low Gothic perfectly, she already felt what his words consisted of, judging by how deeply and fully they connected on this beautiful night, with each other's souls uniting in a glamorous way in the shape of intimacy and mating. She smiled wider, kissed the top of his head, and was about to say something. "I.." But then she noticed that he was already sleeping peacefully right on top of her. Liriel blinked a few times and silently giggled at how she looked away for just a second, and after looking back, Niko was already dozing off and flying to the fortress of dreams itself.
She held him and turned on her side before putting her leg over his waist and holding him in a tight, snuggly and cuddly position, his head against her chest, while his arms were holding her in a tight embrace since even in his sleep, he refused to let go of her. She moved his hair away from his temple slightly and gave it a deep, warm kiss before resting her cheek on top of his head and her hand around his neck, tightly holding him to herself. She surely felt surprised that, even in her state of slumber, Niko's grip around her was tight. It just proved how much he loved her and how strongly their bond grew this night after a complete connection. Liriel closed her eyes, and for the first time after what seemed like an eternity.. Liriel slept with a smile on her face.
"Rest well, my love.. I love you"
These words came out as a soft whisper into Niko's ear while they both cuddled in their small shelter, the warmth of the campfire burning bright. But what burned more brightly was their connective warmth, which kept their bodies away from the cold. Liriel eventually fell asleep just after a minute of having her eyes closed, and now both lovers, covered in the warmth of each other's bodies, rested as one.
As one couple, they would have to face a lot more challenges ahead of them, which fate has prepared for them after failing to re-attach its strings upon their souls as they managed to forge their own destinies in a very cruel, brutal and unforgiving galaxy where hope was just a dream and something that could never be achieved. However, Liriel and Niko fought with their fates and came out as the victors of the battle, but the war against fate would still continue. Except this time, the couple was confident, strong and defiant in the face of all possible odds. They would climb every obstacle, helping each other in every difficult situation.
As the two love birds slept throughout the night, huddled together in a tight, cuddly fashion, something.. Mysterious started to happen between the two of them. Some kind of crystals began to appear just above them and then started to slowly fall on top of them like snowflakes at the beginning of winter. They were shiny and white with a mixture of cyan color, and they were dropping out of nowhere just above them both.
Then, a strange essence started to resonate within their chests, shining in a bright yellow color. And even then, none of the two surprisingly woke up, being overtaken by fatigue and locked in a peaceful state of deep sleep because of it. As the essences radiated from their chests since they were so close together, the essences themselves forced Niko's and Liriel's bodies to luminate in a yellow-white color from head to toe, as if the heavenly skies themselves were shining upon them. Even then, none of them woke up, but only tightened their embrace for one another, with the crystals slowly dropping on top of them. However...
What kind of mystery were they experiencing?
The spirit remained cross-legged on the soft grassy ground, meditating in peace. The last moment in which she felt any pain whatsoever was when she pushed Liriel back into the mortal realm as Niko was dying. But now, she already knew that Liriel did what her destiny had brought her to do without following the notion of fate, which only brought disasters to mortals. She remained still beneath the beautiful cherry tree, which began to blossom as the petals fell on her hair. She still retained the form of Alexis Kauno, who was dear to her master, Niko.
She opened her eyes and looked at the sunset, staring straight ahead while the wind blew her hair in a beautiful rush of wind that started to blow against her face. Then she looked at the skies and saw them turning dark, with the stars bright in the sky. She let out a sigh and spoke.
"Saaldun."
She said, before the figure that appeared behind her replied to her calmly and with proper manners.
"Nal'ya.
The figure replied. The spirit smiled, slowly stood up, and turned around, only to be met with a figure that seemed to be in the shape of Farseer Elidyr. She looked up at him, let out a deep sigh, and smiled. "What are you doing here, Saaldun? How is your mistress?" She asked before he replied. "Liriel Valdan? Stronger than I have thought.. I could not have figured out what happened to her like a-" Nal'ya interrupted. "She intervened in my master's mind when he was unconscious and suffering from illness."
Saaldun, who was the spirit of Liriel Valdan, all unbeknownst to her, raised his eyebrow as his form constantly changed from Farseer Elidyr to many different forms. He, as a spirit, was a bit lost, but he stopped at his form of Elidyr and looked at her. "I knew this had to do something with the.." Saaldun stopped, rubbed his chin and looked down at the ground as Nal'ya raised her eyebrow since she still had the form of Alexis Kauno.
"Speak, my friend." Saaldun looked at her and then leaned his hand forward. "Take my hand. You cannot possibly tell me that you did not.. Feel it." Nal'ya closed her eyes, sighed deeply, and then opened them up again. "I felt it, Saaldun. But am I missing something?" He nodded. "You are. Take my hand, please." Nal'ya slowly placed her hand on the palm of Saaldun, and then he took the shape of a black, dusty, levitating cloud with yellow eyes and lifted her into the air as the shape of a hand from Saaldun still remained within a tight grip of her human form's hand.
Then Saaldun took her to the skies before they both traveled through the universe, passing by galaxies and stars alike at lightning speed. The beautiful surrounding light from the galaxies and stars alike turned into a bright, blinding color until Nal'ya and Saaldun stood in the presence of a yellow glowing ball, while the galactic skies surrounded them both. She held Saaldun's hand and watched as the unknown shape of a ball was surrounded by blue-colored spirits. Nal'ya couldn't see any of them from being too far away, but straight out of nowhere, more and more of the blue-colored spirits appeared and surrounded the glowing ball, which was too bright and resembled a newborn star.
"What do my eyes see here, Saaldun? Is this what.. I think it is?" She said, quite shocked at what she was seeing. Then, Saaldun's smokey form pulled her closer and closer until she saw... It.
She saw the yellow ball and what it resembled. The yellow circle was nothing else but Niko and Liriel embracing each other, their eyes closed, both without clothes, while they both remained bright and quite blinding to the spirit's eyes. "By the entities.." She whispered before looking down at the bottom to take a look at the blue-colored spirits.
The spirits who surrounded the glowing couple, were kneeling down simultaneously, and then, Nal'ya took a closer look and saw that these spirits, resembled.. The Exodite Aeldari. They were those that inhabited Merlorian long, long time ago, and all of them were kneeling to the couple from all sides. Apparently, those crystals that fell down upon Niko and Liriel as they embraced and slept were the spirits of the Exodites that inhabited Merlorian. There was a hidden symbolism in this situation, which Nal'ya had to decipher. "Do you see it now, Nal'ya?" Saaldun asked.
Nal'ya couldn't help but smile at the realization that Liriel finally did the right thing. She allowed her destiny to take the lead and push the fate aside and far away from her. "Heavens almighty.. The fact that they completely shattered the so-called barriers between the two species in a galaxy full of war and threats from all sides.. It's amazing. I was doubting that she would succeed, but how wrong was I.. Liriel and Niko, an Aeldari woman and a human man, proved to the entire galaxy that the love can truly bloom and that it is not impossible to peacefully coexist." She told him while softly smiling at what she was seeing. And what was she seeing?
The full, deep connection of the souls between the members of two different species.
"I pulled so much strength to convey her a message in her dream when she was unconscious, and I have yet to recover from spending so much energy.." Saaldun told her before she placed her hand at the top of what appeared to be his head in his levitating form. "Worry not, Saaldun. We are guardians of our masters and mistresses souls. It is our duty to let them know the reality without breaking the bonds of fate, but just to make sure that they pave their own destinies and follow their paths thoroughly. Look at it.. Look at all of this.. Look.. At them." She told him. He looked at his mistress as Nal'ya looked at her master.
"What do you think it truly is, Nal'ya? What do you honestly and truthfully think, this symbolizes?" He asked her, turning back into the shape of Liriel's uncle while holding Nal'ya's hand. She looked at him, smiled softly, then looked back at the glowing figures right in front of her and said her sincere words.
"This is the result of my master's freedom that he achieved when he settled upon Merlorian, Saaldun. And this is a result of your mistresses' freedom, when the evil-being, the queen of pleasure and excess.. Couldn't reach her hands for your mistress. Being able to taste freedom brought my master and your mistress closer and closer. When she intervened in my master's mind, she received nothing but truth from me. I knew that she would do everything to save him... However.. To see how she connected with him? I had my doubts, but as I said, I was wrong." Saaldun raised his eyebrow and silently laughed.
"By the heavens.. I knew how reckless my mistress could be. After all, I am her spirit, and she does not know." Nal'ya looked at him. "It is better that she doesn't. My master does not know about me either. I did tell her that she may have one specific spirit.. But I think she thought this was unbelievable." Saaldun agreed with a nod, then looked back at the glowing couple alongside Nal'ya. "My master opened Liriel's heart, Saaldun. He did this through his actions and his affection for her." Saaldun was quite surprised. "Mortals are such.. Puny creatures. They senselessly kill each other and never create eternal peace. And yet, they refuse to be judged. Are we not those that see what they do and how their actions fill the never-ending storm of the warp?"
Niko's spirit looked at him. "My master has proven you wrong, Saaldun. I know you originally foresaw the.. Bad, things that would happen to your mistress, and did what you could to make sure that she tries to unite with my master to prolong her survival, but you clearly forgot one specific power which my master can embody upon the one that he truly, and deeply, cares about and loves." As she said this, she pulled herself and Saaldun closer to Niko and Liriel's glowing figures, and then she softly placed her index finger on Niko's temple before her fingertip started to glow as well, as bright as a beautiful star in the sky. She ran her finger across his temple as if affectionately caressing it, and then Saaldun truly had to ask her what she meant. "And that is?" Nal'ya looked at him, smiling very warmly and softly, straight into her spirit-brethren's eyes.
"Something that can push any negative thought aside and get rid of loneliness. Something that forced him to throw his life on the line to protect her. The power is so strong that it can be as deadly as it can be virtuous and warm. The one thing that made them both united. Your mistress barely knew or felt this quality and power, as it was in its infancy. Something that forced my master to give his soul and his heart for her sake. Saaldun, you may be younger than I am, but never deny, nor forget, that there is a thing in this universe, which unfortunately, many fail to grasp, but only a few are worthy to ever wield it." She told him before he got slightly concerned. She noticed his growing curiosity, and then he asked her just a single question. "What even... What even is such a power, Nal'ya?" She kept smiling and took both of his hands, staring straight into his eyes.
"Such is the power of love, Saaldun."
Update Record/Progress:
Review Responses:
Pottingerzach - Hah, that's correct XD and Eldrad will play his role within the story, as you may have noticed within this one that he is quite serious about his intentions.
ian12091995 - I'm glad to hear that you've found something exciting to read, dear reader. Buckle up for the ride! It's gonna get quite intriguing.
Wattpad User D - Appreciate the in-depth review! I was referring to the lemon scenes yes, but as you can see in this chapter alone, it has finally happened and I hope I made it quite exciting! And now regarding the rest. Yeah well, we can only guess how deep the system of relationships go within the craftworld or let alone how screwed up it is. You gave a great example of it, since this Farseer truly would rather come up to a human community rather than stay at her original spot. Now I do find it interesting how you put out an image of Liriel helping Alexis getting back, but I prefer that she remains as somone that Niko can always remember. She has found her peace on Traxon III, deep beneath the soil. So may she rest in peace. And thanks for reminding me to put the warning there pally, I greatly appreciate it.
ReaderAeldariX - (Will reply to this one with your later review)
Argent345 - Thanks pally!
A Sole Reviewer - Oh my dear reader it is you! Glad to see your interest for the story is back. It seems the story did have quite an effect on you, especially those that made you tear up. Thank you a lot for kind words. I can tell you in all honesty that the reactions will be clearly shown from different groups, and how their live will be after everything settles down. I got it all planned.
A Fan - Oh wow, I appreciate the in-depth review over here, dear reader. I will say that what you wrote is quite impressive and in fact there are things that might or might not happen. I will tell you in all honesty that Merlorian might in fact have the same path of Fenris itself. It is a spirit world which packs a lot of mysteries that show themselves and it is up to the characters to know what is happening. Honestly you made a lot of great points here, I will tell you that.
Guest - Much appreciate it, dear reader! :D
A Fan - The connection of souls is packed with mystery as you have seen in the ending of this chapter, dear Fan. I do have a solution to his short life span, but how it will be executed? Only the future chapters will tell. And while Eldar can live centuries to millenias, humans have very short life span, so that is understandable why they wouldn't bond with a human being, but hey, mystery reveals itself at the end of the day, and it is all up to us to think about how the things will unfold for our protagonist, especially when he has connected his soul with Liriel. From the reactions of certain groups, to the unexpected situations that are yet to be seen. Another appreciation to your great in-depth review.
Footer - Thanks! Hah, that twist of betrayal was something I left for the most unexpected situation. And about the intensity of the chapters, it is also kind of my fault for not mentioning a recommendation, which is, to read my story through a bookmark. As in reading it bit by bit, like a book from a library. Reading everything at once can be overwhelming, but I left a recommendation on this chapter's summary. This one is an exception of a chapter that I hopefully won't repeat. I got quite excited with this piece. Thanks again pally!
A Fan - Interesting, very interesting. Might have to check out that story when I find the time. And I can honestly say that Isha is definitely feeling upset about the lost knowledge that her children do not have anymore. It's quite sad and makes me shake my head. As for Julius Kasim? The man is literally so overconfident and assured of his beliefs and position, that nothing really can bother or tempt him. I can honestly say that it truly is a miracle how he hasn't fallen to Chaos, but he is so keen on believing in himself that he does not care about anything else, but his own results. He's a strange, yet mysterious villain, and now, he is gonna get REALLY serious.. Who knows what fate awaits him at the end? And about the battle on Traxon III. I vibed to Sabaton songs and especially the Lost Battalion while writing it, so you surely have a taste for great songs there buddy :D But damn son, I specifically made the death scene of Alexis very saddening. After all, it is Niko's worst moment. I thank you, dear Fan, for your in-depth review.
A Fan - Hey there again, Fan! I appreciate you telling me about trigger warnings. I made sure to put them right at the first chapter so that newcomers are aware of what the story contains. So, much appreciate it. Now regarding the stories, I thank you for recommending me them, because now at least, I can surely read plenty of them as this chapter is released. And yep, story is out in AO3! I thank you for writing so many great reviews.
.Weeb - Hahah, I love Sabaton my dear reader! Can't go a single day without blasting one of their songs. And as you may have seen, he has received quite amount of torture of his own and pure humiliation in just a day :D
ZhungFak - To me personally, dear reader, I like the concept of two soldiers of different species being virgins. I can tell you that this won't be the only one so let's not feel shame yet eh? :D I will have ideas for future when new stories are brewing in my mind. I like your in-depth review and you made quite good points there.
UnBotRuso - (Answered in PM)
Priest of Isha - Hahah, that's right, dear reader! Now we get to see the damn retaliation from Elidyr's friend who made sure that Kasim runs with tail between his legs. And thank you for sweet words, I appreciate it!
AndyH - Thanks for great advice, buddy! I was also honored to talk to you in PM :D
OneZeroOne101 - You made a great point here, dear reader. Both races in fact would not tolerate such a thing, but there are gems among the stones, so there are those that are tolerant, but their reactions is yet to be seen thoroughly. In future chapters, we shall see how the Aeldari of Ulthwe react to this... Or will they decide to hide it instead.
Guest - Agreed, agreed and again, agreed, dear reader.
existence - Thanks pal!
ReaderAeldariX - I am glad you are feeling better, dear reader. I do understand that you got emotionally drained by the events of the story, but I assure you that there will be better moments in here. I appreciate your in-depth review, but yet again, it is my fault for not recommending my beloved readers to read my story through a bookmark, as in bit by bit, not everything at once, because my story is like reading a book where you bookmark a certain spot and read it later. So don't blame yourself. I needed to be more wiser with this. Now, I will tell you straight away. I watched Re:Zero long time ago, and I loved it. Absolutely one if not the best Isekai themed anime with great plot and story in general. Back then I kinda felt traumatized by Rem's death scene, so I know what you felt here. I honestly made Alexis Kauno's death to be "stinging" to the heart so to speak. After all, it is Niko's worst memory. And I agree with you. Kalevan Silver Spears, are known to be valiant with their defensive doctrine. To protect and save the innocent, no matter what it costs. Honestly the aspect of many protagonists not being virgins is strange to me too, but I am glad I made both of our heroes to be virgins. I just like it that way. Again, I thank you for your in-dept review, and I thank UnBotRuso as well as others for great input and points. I did make sure to only leave review replies in this current response section. Also people can PM me if they want a longer discussions. So hit me up any time, dear reader!
A Fan - Thanks for the recommendation!
Asduriel - Woah thanks pally! Billy has been a great help to me and I am glad that you decided to check out my story. And well, some will mind, some won't, when including the human and eldar breed there from long time ago, but seeing how GW and BL rolls by twisting the lore to the point of my brains getting melted away, I'd rather keep my lore where I see it fit. Thank you for your kind words and the criticism!
Githott Zomreir - Great points there, dear reader. Honestly he is a strange being who is just so confident with himself, that nothing can tempt him, maybe yet, but we shall see how his fate unfolds in the future.
TheChristianPrimarch - Thanks for your great review buddy! Now that you and I have become battle-brothers and you have released your story, I'll put you as a recommendation to the summary. Don't mention the damn Nastase since we talked about it XD