Ruins of the Imperial palace, M31
The sounds of many thousands of workers toiling to clear through rubble, armor, and corpses echoes, audible even here deep within the palace, near the throne room. The sounds almost became a rhythm, the heartbeat of a new Imperium rising out of the carcass of the old. Sobek wondered what the new Imperium would become, if it could overcome the mistakes the old one made or not. "How can we?" He thought to himself.
They had lost so much already, trillions were dead, tens of billions traumatized, entire systems depleted. And for what? Simply to slay one another for grievances both real and imagined. Sobek didn't understand why his brothers betrayed the Imperium, and he likely never would. The mere thought of them and their sons selling themselves to the devils beyond the veil. Out of twenty sons, twenty beings far beyond humanity, two were lost, eight betrayed humanity, leaving only ten.
That was what brought him here to today, to a large but remarkable room in the imperial palace. The decor was once opulent, as was much of the palace, but the rigors of siege had stripped the room of its metallic sheen. Dust, dirt, and scorch marks darkened the room, setting a dim mold which was further accentuated by flickering lumens stuttering from fours ends of the room. The low visibility would be of no issue during this particular meeting, despite slightly annoying him. For those attending had little need of anything more than the barest bit of light to see.n
Sobek walked slowly into the center of the room, taking a seat at a massive round table, built specifically to seat himself and his brothers as well as their guards and any dignitaries that would accompany them. As he sat there, exhaling a deep breath, he thought of those who wouldn't attend. Othniel, Primarch of the Fear Mongers, was dead. His sons had told them of this, speaking of his honorable sacrifice to save his sons and people from the clutches of the Rising suns. Argentum was mortally wounded on Mars and placed in a dreadnought, kept for the time in a stasis sleep. The worst fate however, fell to Phoebus, who took father's place on the golden throne. His brother's screams still haunted his dreams, even after his voice was muted.
Out of twenty, so few remained. The thought of watching his brothers die one by one sent chills down his spine. His fist clenched as he suppressed such thought, for he had to endure. He had to preserve the dream, however he could. One by one, his brothers or their legions representatives entered the room, each taking seats around him. A tense silence fell upon them after greetings and formalities were exchanged, even though he could tell the spirit of brotherhood and fraternity was dead and gone. For trust was in little supply in this age of darkness. Sobek took a second to look over them all, he could tell just how tired they still looked even though it had been a week since the official end of the siege. He saw withered eyes, dented and dulled armor and scars both physical and mental.
They all looked to him for guidance, he was the Warmaster after all. But what was he going to say? He was just as lost as they were, the Emperor was gone, Malacador and Valador had left
them to pursue their own agenda. What else was there besides rebuilding? Well, there was one thing or perhaps a series of things that they could direct their anger towards, something that could unite them. His posture relaxed as he considered what his brothers were no doubt preparing for. They would take vengeance and chase the traitors to the gates of hell itself, and let them beg their gods for mercy.
What made him pause however was the sacrifices that would be required to do so. They had already given so much, how could he ask them to give any more? The looks of his assembled brothers and their sons as well as the fury that laid in his own and his sons answered that question. For a brief moment he thought of what precedent this set for the Imperium, to begin its proverbial life with war and bloodshed. But alas he saw no other way.
"It is time for the hunt to begin" he thought to himself….