So I had a little teaser for an idea that I was working on. I think that this next post will be the last one here- then I'll probably put it on A03, or maybe on SB? IDK.
Caiphas Cain, Daemon of the Imperium: How it all began.
I should go back to the beginning- back to when I was Damned (1). At the time, I was stationed with the Valhallan 12th artillery regiment (2)- a cozy position far from the front lines. Or so I had been told. My first deployment resulted in me gaining a rather unfounded reputation as a hero, having been forced to confront a large group of Tyranids that I had been running away from. My near-death, and ensuring victory, along with my opinion that shooting troops for minor infractions only made you die a heroic death suspiciously far from the front lines (3) had turned me into something of an idol for the regiment. While this had made it less likely that I would be shot in my sleep, it also had the negative side effect of me being forced to lead from the front, and risking my then-mortal life more then any artillery soldier would be expected to. This snowballed into an ever-growing reputation among the men, which brought me back to here. Swakensberg.
At the time, it was a little-known resort world. Now the biggest Emperor-botherers use it as a major cardinal world, and His Holy Psychopaths with hard-ons for mass slaughter of innocents (4) use it as a place to conduct insane experiments that more often than not result in me having to tell them to cut that shit out (5), and also… other things.. Currently, it was in a civil war between chaos factions- at the time, it was thought that the only fighters were Tzeench and Nurgle. They had united just enough to overthrow the governor, which was more of a service to the Imperium than a disservice. Then, they turned on each other. Currently, the planet was under the control of now-general Malhome- a PDF commander who had used the uprising to purge the military of the former governor's inbred family members and hangers-on, and seized control after using a significant amount of las-fire to kill off the rest of the governor's family, and then announced his loyalty to the Throne, and also was very happy to send the wider Imperium proof of corruption (6). Thus, the 12th had been deployed. Currently, me, and a few of the younger troopers had gone to 'scout for the Enemy' in the city. In other words, I was using my authority to allow ourselves a bit of reprieve from the boredom. I had long since run out of casinos that would accept me, and the last brothels had been closed with extreme prejudice after the discovery of exactly how they got their… entertainment. We had commandeered a Salamander, and were driving through the streets. We eventually came to a stop at a small shop, where one of the people there was selling 'oddities and baubles' looted from the previous governor's supplies. As I browsed, I noticed something that caught my attention. A perfectly smooth black stone, nearly pulsing with hatred. My first instinct was to confiscate it, but I had built a reputation. So, I approached the seller, who wore a ridiculously large hat that covered much of his face. He also seemed fond of clown makeup.
In all honesty, that should have been the first hint that something was up. (7)
"Welcome to the Laughing Shop, where we are determined to put a smile on all of our customer's faces!" the owner replied, grinning at me. "I see you have your eye on the Darkstone!"
"The darkstone?" I asked.
"Oh, indeed! According to legend, it houses a being of great evil!" he replied, grinning and nodded. "And not a human soul, but a Xenos one too!"
Now THAT caught my attention even more. A spirit stone. "How… how did you acquire such an artifact?" I inquired, hoping that my shock wasn't showing.
"I have my ways," the seller replied cryptically.
"Why's it black?" I asked.
"I told you- it houses a dark and evil soul," the seller's face fell- and for the briefest of moments, I caught a look of pure, unbridled hatred on his face as he looked to the stone, but it was gone before I was sure of it. "I don't know why the Governor had it, but he did," he said, shrugging.
I realized that I had to take this away from the man. "I'll buy it. How much?"
"Oh for you, my friend? How about…" he gave a price that, at the time, made me think that he wasn't aware of what he had. Like the idiot that I am, I purchased it, and slid it into one of my coat pockets. I walked away, and back to the group, who were, for the most part, flirting with an attractive seller of various baubles.
"Who was that, Sir?" Jurgen asked, as I got back to them.
"Honestly, I have no idea," I admitted, shrugging. I decided that I'd turn in the so-called 'darkstone' the next day. Today was to be a day of relaxation, fun, and little to no worries.
Oh how wrong I was.
*****
The next issue was that we had to leave the city and head to an observation post. However, we had the unfortunate luck to come across some Nurgle cultists, and while it was short work to mop them up, the roads were impassable, so we had to go into the forest. That was a long haul that made me curse my luck yet again. However, we eventually came across a sign of civilization- that being a really, really large wall.
"Why is this in the middle of nowhere?" Jurgen asked, looking up at the wall.
"Logger's outpost?" one of the men- Mulenz- said.
"Then why would it be so high?" Jurgen responded, still looking upwards. "And I'm pretty sure this isn't a fortification…"
"Keep weapons at the ready," I ordered. "Hopefully these aren't Nurglite or Tzeenchian cultists." I was right… in literally the worst way possible. A feminine scream rang out, and all of us turned rapidly to the sound.
"Come on!" Mulenz shouted, raising his weapon and taking off in the direction of the shout, and leading us to likely danger. I, of course, had to follow him. What hopped out of the woodwork was a woman dressed in torn clothing.
"Help!" she begged, leaping into my arms, which nearly caused me to stumble. I would have loved to help, but I was held at bay by 50 kilograms of panicking female. While she was incredibly attractive, what caught my attention was more of those Nurgle soldiers. With my free hand, I fired my las-pistol. That snapped Mulenz, and the other trooper, Greer, out of their stupor at seeing such a woman in such a shape of undress, and they opened fire on the forces of Chaos that they could see. The attacking cultist took a beating, before finally expiring. A second one was put down with ease.
"Krystabel?!" another voice, that sounded like the feeling of bathing in chocolate, rang out. Another beautiful woman, this one slightly older, was racing out of the building. Around her were a dozen or so more women of Krystabel's age, each one slightly less beautiful then the older one, but very easy on the eyes. Something was up. "Oh thank you!" she shouted, noticing us. The other girls gathered around the other troopers, even Jurgen. His eyes were suspicious. So were mine. No one ever got that close to Jurgen unless they had to, especially not beautiful women(8). I caught a look, and he mouthed 'talk later?'. I nodded once. My mind then went back to the oldest woman.
"Who might you be?" I asked her. She smiled, which put my mind at ease… for a moment. The blackstone got a little warmer in my pocket.
"My name is Emeli Dubois," she said, curtseying. "And you are?"
"Ciaphas Cain, Imperial Commissar, attached to the 12th Valhallen Artillery Regiment," I replied honestly.
"The Imperial Guard? Are those… things…" she looked at the Nurglites in disgust, "really that bad?"
"Worse," I replied.
"Then we shouldn't waste a moment. Follow me. We'll let you stay the night." With that… she led us away. Away to the damnation of all of us… save Jurgen, of course.
*****
The place of Damnation was called the Saint Trynia Academy for the Daughters of Gentlefolk- an all-girls school. Evidently it was for the older women- those having just turned 18 or older. The other two troopers were more than happy to join them for dinner. I also wanted to, though my palms were itching. "I'll have to discuss with my aide," I replied, grabbing Jurgen's hand and walking to a more secluded corner of the room.
"You feel it too, sir?" he asked.
"Something is definitely not right here…" I muttered. "I think that the cults are going after this place… and Nurglites wouldn't use fifty cultists for an undefended group of schoolgirls…"
"And there's the way the other troopers are acting… it's too much. That and the ladies. No one likes me that much." He said this with conviction, and without sadness.
"As much as I'd say that no one has given you the chance you deserve, you're right. They threw themselves at you… Frak."
"Sir?"
"I don't think they're normal… stall them," I ordered, racing down the hallways. I slid around the rooms, checking things. I kept an ear out for anyone, as I looked around. "Such a big place… but so unpopulated…"
"Truly, a mystery of the ages," a familiar voice mused. I spun around, only to see the face of that seller… though his hat was off, revealing pointy ears. "Of course, it's… say… six times the fun when you only get the clues… though I imagine Emeli won't like it. She's thirsty."
"You're not human," I realized, backing up and drawing my laspistol.
"Indeed I am not, Ciaphas Cain!" The Xeno replied happily. "I follow the path of Cregorach, the Laughing God- specifically, the path of Weaving Shadow"(9). He bowed. "Pleasure to meet you."
"A Harlequin? Here!?" I thought back to the lessons taught at the Schola about this particular band of Eldar. The best way I had heard them described were malevolent clowns, following the last free god of the Eldar. They, like all Xenos, could not be trusted, for they always had their own goals… but there was one exception.
If you were fighting alongside them against the forces of Slaanesh, they would not betray you. Oh, sometimes you would wish they would, or you thought they did, but the plans always hurt Chaos in the end. That, and the fact that he was mentioning other things…
"This school is a Slaaneshi cult, isn't it?" I asked him.
He gave a nod, his smile dying. "A particularly powerful one, for one so small," he stated grimly. "And their leader has earned much favor from She Who Thirsts."
"Why do you call Slaanesh she?" I inquired.
"I know of your species' calling of her the Prince. It is as right as it is wrong. She is both and neither… but as I am not a Solitaire I would much prefer we move on."
"What do you want?" I asked. In response, he pointed at my coat pocket.
"I imagine you know what the Blackstone really is," he told me. I nodded. "I also imagine that you're wondering why I gave a spirit stone to a human." I nodded again. "It's because that one deserves death."
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, shocked.
"The monster in there… he was the Last Emperor of the Empire of old… and the founder of the first Pleasure Cult." There was more venom in his voice than in any Catachan creature. "The best way I can describe what he is to us is that it is like you are holding the soul of Horus Lupercal, along with the soul of Abaddon the Despoiler."
Well, that did not fill me with confidence. "Then why not smash it and be done with it?" I asked him.
"Were one of us to smash a spirit stone, no matter how vile the soul within is, we would be hunted down. Nor can we use it to bargain."
"Bargain?" I asked.
"She Who Thirsts desires that soul above all else. Above the souls of your Primarchs. Above the soul of your Emperor. That one caused her creation. That one escaped her grasp. With it, you can call her directly, and bargain."
"Why would I want to bargain with a Warp god?!" I spat.
"I'm sure you'll think of a reason." With that, he vanished into the wall, through some Xenos magic (10), leaving me alone in the dark. Then I heard footsteps- heavy booted ones. I hid behind the corner, as a familiar odor assaulted me.
"Jurgen!" I whispered. He raced around the corner, almost wiping out from the rug sliding out, and turned to face me. "What's going on?!"
"The girls did something to the others," he told me, aiming his lasgun down the hallway, and doing a quick sweep. "I managed to throw it off, and escape. They're heretics!"
"Slaanesh worshippers," I clarified. "What are they planning?"
"I… I don't know, sir. But I think I saw where they went."
"Show me."
*****
I followed Jurgen to the dorms, where, in Emeli's room, I saw a wall slide out a ways. I pushed it open, and revealed a secret passageway. "Stay close to me," I told Jurgen, as we crept through the tunnels.
"Should we call in an artillery bombardment?" he asked me.
I thought for a bit, before shaking my head. "We need to make sure that a bombardment would actually have an effect first," I told him. Some Chaos creatures would shrug such an attack off. He nodded, and we crept down the stairs. "Jurgen… count the stairs," I told him.
"Sir?"
"Just a hunch," I told him. He nodded, and I heard him mumble the numbers as we descended. Down and down and down we went. As I did, I filled him in on the encounter with the Xeno. Finally, after several minutes, I reached the last step, and came to be beside a door coated in symbols of Chaos.
"Six hundred and sixty six," he told me. He placed an ear to the door. "I hear something in there. Something about… immortality?"
"An ascension ritual!" I gasped.
"A what?"
"They're trying to get their god's attention to ascend one of their own!" I realized, raising a boot, and slamming it against the door. I'd have normally sprinted straight up the steps and ordered a bombardment, but Princes tended to laugh at such trivial things. As for how I knew of such things? There had been a Radical inquisitor who filled in for the teachers one day, and had decided that we needed to know what exactly we were facing (11). The door was thrown open, and for a moment, I was horrified. There were at least three dozen cultists chanting, Emeli in the middle. Mulnz and Greer were frozen in the middle, chained to a pillar, each of them thrashing and crying out for The Emperor. There was a pulse, and one of the rows of cultists keeled over in ecstasy.
"Holy Emperor… are they going to steal the souls of the planet?!" Jurgen whispered in shock. I wanted to laugh, but that was a very real possibility (12). More importantly, I was right there. If the range of the sucking of souls wasn't that size, I was still almost certainly in the crossfire. I fumbled for my coat pocket as the second wave died. The third wave, and the troopers, died as I raced away from Jurgen. Just before the final pulse, I did the dumbest thing I've ever done.
"SLAANESH! I'VE COME TO BARGAIN!" I shouted from the top of my lungs, holding the Blackstone. Emeli was the only one left, and she saw me. Her gaze went from furious to terrified. The ritual paused, the waves of excess wafting around. And then…
"You have my attention, Mortal." That one sentence almost drove me to the floor. I could do nothing but hold the stone in the air. Then, I just barely managed to recover my wits, as a familiar odor grounded me (13).
"I… I offer you the Blackstone… in exchange… leave this planet alone! For all time!" I gasped out.
There was silence, Emeli frozen in utter horror. Then, she screamed. Her body contorted and flowed, the corpses of her fellow maniacs following suit. From this came the form of another Eldar- this one a female one. She was beautiful- there wasn't any other way to describe her. Jurgen's brow knit.
"Well? Is that it?" she asked, walking towards me, but stopping a good ten feet away. I knew that if I took a step forward, I was dead. "I can offer you more… so. Much. More."
"Keep the planet from the others as well," I added. "Make the Warp here free of your taint- you and your others."
There was a smile- one that made me feel incredibly elated. "Agreed." I held out the Blackstone, and tossed it. The figure caught it, and the casing dissolved. I heard the anguished scream of an Eldar cry out once, before a black mist came from the stone. The avatar opened her mouth, and the mist poured into her. With a very sensual moan, the Eldar rubbed her stomach. "At last…" she purred. "And I will uphold the bargain. My presence will remain away from here- even the Eldar will be safe from my Thirst here- but only as long as it remains in the hands of the Imperium. Do be a dear and let them know that, please. And maybe if they're humble enough, that protection will grow. Oh, and it applies to the whole system." With that, she strode back to the center of the ritual, moving her body sensually. Neither of us could take our eyes off of her, as she stepped into the portal, and it collapsed.
There was a full ten seconds of silence.
"Do we call in the strike now?" Jurgen asked.
"Yes, let's get- URGH!" I clutched my sides, and collapsed, rolling down the steps. I faintly heard Jurgen call after me in concern. The raw energy of the room still grew. It grew in great strength.
"You… you swore!" I spat. But then again, I had been dumb enough to bargain.
"I did… but there was one thing you didn't bargain for…" that voice whispered.
"And… that is?" I spat.
"What Emeli wanted."
Pain unlike anything I had ever felt ripped through me. Every nerve was burning with sheer agony. I screamed. I screamed louder and louder. Eventually, my voice gave out, but the pain just. Wouldn't. Stop. I was determined to hold on for as long as I could. Jurgen was nearby me- I could barely smell him. How long would this last? (14)
"Give in, and it will be over," Slaanesh promised.
"Emperor… protect Your servant…" I wheezed. I refused to give into the pain. My instinct for survival outweighed everything else. I looked at Jurgen. "Get me to the Salamander!" I begged. I felt myself being lifted like a sack of potatoes, and found myself over his arm. The pain would not stop. Each step I felt him take was like an eternity. But through it all, I refused to give in. I began to mumble prayers, if only to focus on my own voice, rather then the call of the Warp.
"...Fulgrim gave in before now… what are you?" the voice of the Chaos god whispered in my mind.
"I am… a worshiper… of Him… on Terra," I grit out, as we, at last, exited the staircase. Jurgen raced to the Salamander. Upon seeing it, I told Jurgen. "Call… it in. Level… it all," I gasped. I only barely heard his words. He revved the engine of the Salamander, and swerved away. That was the last thing I remembered, as I slammed against the bulkhead, and passed out.
*****
The following is a similar account as the one above, but this one was given to me by Jurgen. As a Blank, what he saw would be of unparalleled importance to knowledge of our Great Enemy.
The Commissar held his hand around the stone. "SLAANESH! I'VE COME TO BARGAIN!" he shouted into the air. Emeli was the last one up. She looked quite surprised to see him.
"U-Uh… I-I'm listening…" that voice was that of a woman who sounded quite nervous. Cain was undoubtedly as shocked as I was, as I moved closer. However, he recovered quickly.
"I… I offer you the Blackstone… in exchange… leave this planet alone! For all time!" he got out. Then, Emeli began to contort and mush with the corpses a bit. What came out of it was an Eldar woman. She looked rather pretty, I will admit. What was surprising was how… nervous she was. Were I to describe it, I would have to say that she looked like a shy virgin from a porno-slate, unused to having a man see her. She was wearing slightly risque undergarments, and was blushing up a storm. She hurried over, tripping over the first row of corpses, but recovering. She stayed ten feet away from the Commissar, but didn't seem to notice me. I kept my lasgun trained on her.
"Was… w-was that it?" She asked, sweat pouring from her brow. "No… no, that's not enough… I'd be so selfish if I just took it for that!" she was wringing her hands. "Anything else?"
"Keep the planet from the others as well," The Commissar added. "Make the Warp here free of your taint- you and your others."
The Eldar put a hand to her chin, thinking. "I mean… yeah… that's more fair… not much I can do for your god… b-but… I think I can do better! Yeah! I'll extend the protection to the entire star system! That's… a lot of space! Heck, I'll even let the Eldar off the hook here… wait… but then they'd take it over… better idea! The deal only still stands while your Imperium controls it! But they'd still act like they'd own it… well, if they lose the sticks up their asses and work with your people the area may grow! Is that good?" She sounded really, really bad at making deals. Honestly, it was a little sad. This was what the Traitorous Primarchs had fallen for?! Emperor forgive me, but I wondered if He on Terra had made an army of simpletons! She then nervously backed off, before running towards the center, holding her face in her hands as she furiously blushed, tripping, and falling in. Then the Commissar collapsed. I carried him out of there, and called in the strike. While I was driving, I heard a 'thump,' and realized I hadn't strapped the Commissar in! I did so, but I found a golden Aquila around him, with a note in golden ink on it.
'Wear this, and you will remain yourself'.
I kept it on him as the shells fell. I'd have to ask him what happened when he woke up.
Boy was that a surprise.
1: There has been much debate on whether Ciaphas is truly 'damned', despite being a Daemon Prince.
2: The Regiment has been cleared of heresy or the taint of chaos by Lord Inquisitor Karamazov's own personal inspection.
3: Or, to put it bluntly, they're lynched by their troops for killing them for no reason.
4: Not the most kind term for His Majesty's Most Holy Inquisition… but also not the most inaccurate.
5: As the one who struck the Bargain, Cain is the only Daemon able to manifest on the planet. Since many of my more insane colleagues' experiments usually would result in daemons everywhere, Cain ends up getting summoned, much to his annoyance.
6: Many in the various sub-branches of the Inquisition are of the opinion that now-governor Malhone was at one point touched by Khrone, but had turned that malignus power towards fighting for justice. Considering that the PDF showed signs of Khronate worship in the early phases, this may have been the case. Recent experiments have shown that while it is possible to be a servant of both the Emperor and the Blood God, it is an extremely delicate balance, kept only by exercises that are on par with Astartes training, and the wanton slaughter of unjust nobility. On another note, I have heard that the Swakenberg 8th, 18th, and 88th regiments have successfully removed another governor who was bribing the local administratum to ignore missed tithes.
7: Cain was not a member of the Ordos Xenos, so he was not aware of the common ways Xenos infiltrate human society. However… I probably would have fallen for it too.
8: As Jurgen is a Blank, the normal reaction to those not a psyker is, at best, total apathy, and at worst, murderous hatred. His appearance and smell do not help matters.
9: Unfortunately, the only thing that The Order Xenos knows of this group is that they exist.
10: Most likely, a Webway portal.
11: The interesting thing to note is that, of Ciaphas' graduating class, none of them willingly fell to Chaos, and were more capable of sniffing out the foul worshippers of the Great Enemy. Lord Karamazov has since decreed knowledge of the Four be focused on more in the Schola, and the number of commissars who have fallen to chaos has fallen by four-fifths.
12: At worst, the ritual would have only scoured half of the planet, but that would have been enough to cause a warp portal, and that would have to be dealt with, if not by at least an entire chapter of Astartes, then through exterminatus.
13: This odor seems to be the physical manifestation of Jurgen's Blank ability. To keep yourself safe, keep within the odor when dealing with Chaos… but be sure to bring nose clips.
14: It seems that the length of time before giving in is directly related to the strength of the daemon in question.