Chapter 7.2 On Wings of Blood

Corvus sliced another 'Daemon' in half, these strange beasts that came again and again against him and his sons. Around him bolters rang out with a percussive pattern that blotted out all thought and focus. All around him his favoured sons collapsed to the ground with axe wounds covering their shattered bodies. They were fighting valiantly, but the enemy seemed numberless.

'Blood'.

It came again, the words. Corvus stared at the red liquid flowing from his sons' broken forms. Somehow it seemed right, it seemed necessary. But there was no time to think or process, only time to fight, to slay, to remove limbs from bodies. He needed Vengeance, revenge on those who were needlessly slaughtering those who followed him.

'Blood.'

The Landing had been textbook, the investigations had been thorough. Everything seemed to have been going according to plan. The Nephilim had not shown themselves, but it was clear something was very wrong as had been reported. The troubles really began when the first wave of scouts failed to return.

'Blood.'

The second wave of scouts failed to return as well. As did the third. And the fourth. Corax had no interest in leading his sons into a trap, but clearly there was some kind of force large enough to pick off his advanced parties and only by using the full Legion's strength could there be hope of overwhelming the enemy.

'Blood.'

Then the mortals went mad. The Astra Militarum units begin infighting with the Astartes, attempting to rend and tear the armour off the Legion warriors. Corax didn't know what had caused this internal rebellion, but it had broken the support units and in the end he was forced to put the majority down. His claws were still bathed in the blood of the mortals. The Titan support had not been deployed, and given the damage done to the baseline humans by this world, Corvus was reticent to unleash them in fear the Titan weapons would be turned against his own forces.

'Blood.'

And then they came. They were not like the Nephilim the reports supplied by Lorgar had reported. They looked more like human beast hybrids, wielding axes, chains with hunting beasts. They did fall when provided with sufficient force, but some were tough. Their numbers seemed endless, and their weapons cut through the advanced ceramite of his Astartes like paper.

'Blood.'

And so they kept fighting. And fighting. And fighting. Waves after waves of monsters tearing through his sons. Some larger beasts had appeared, creatures with great black bat-like wings that cleaved through Raven Guard like meat at an abattoir.

'Blood.'

Branne Nev collapsed beside his friend and Lord Corax. Then Solaro An. Then Alvarex Maun. One by one his friends of Deliverance and his trusted loyal commanders fell to the onslaught of Daemon hordes. Corax was overwhelmed by the sorrow of the loss of his most beloved sons. That sorrow turned to a rage, a burning rage that completely overwhelmed his senses. It was as if Corvus disappeared, replaced by a creature of pure uncontrolled Vengeance. His claws sang out for more blood, for more death.

'Blood.'

Corvus let out a roar of anger and charged into the frey, hacking and slicing and destroying everything in his path. He didn't care what he was fighting, everything became a blur, there was just slicing and rage, and death, and blood.

"Impressive!" laughed a tall winged figure, "Most impressive. My Master will not be displeased with you at all, little bird. You are not the feathered one I wished to clash blades with, but you will be a suitable replacement none the less!"

Corvus couldn't speak. The rage was too strong, the blood too loud in his ears. He had lost so much today, his sons were dying for no reason. This wasn't a war, this was pointless slaughter, and if his enemy wanted pointless slaughter, slaughter is what he could give them. The Raven would have his vengeance, these monsters would fall before him.

Ka'Bandha was enjoying himself immensely. The Angel has always been his desired plaything. He had been watching the children of Blood for a long time, knowing his strength would see them fall. When that chance was robbed from him, the Greater Daemon of Khorne raged for an eternity.

Now though, he found great amusement in the flock of birds that had fallen into his clutches. They had a wild desperation of those who had nothing to lose but their chains.

The irony that with every move they wrapped the chains of Khorne tighter and tighter around their wrists was delicious.

"Come little birds! Shed your blood for my master! Bath in it! Become one with the flowing ichors!"

At the edge of the battle atop a high outcrop overlooking the carnage Erebus and his Raven Guard companions watched the slaughter, some with disinterest, some like Erebus reveling in the chaos. The rebels had the symbols of the Chaos Gods emblazoned on their pauldrons as Erebus had instructed, and this kept them safe from the turmoil below. The same could not be said for the warriors engaged in combat.

"Won't be long now…" hissed the Word Bearer, "The ritual is well under way. None can resist the will of the Lord of Blood for long, especially when emotions are running this high…"

"How is this all supposed to end?" asked Alastor Rushal, giving Erebus a distrusting side-eye, "How do you control a Primarch that has gone mad with blood-lust?"

"We have a cage prepared for him," replied Erebus dismissively, "It won't hold him forever, but it will last long enough for us to get him to our destination."

"And that would be?"

"The Warmaster and his gathering of supporters," smirked Erebus, "He will not be able to resist the piles of skulls and the rivers of blood that the Warmaster is destined to bring forth. He will be brought to the main force of the Warmaster, along with his maddened sons and let loose."

"What about us?" asked another Raven Guard.

Erebus waved a hand as if the question had as much value as the air itself.

"Do as you please. Your Lord will no longer notice your absence. You can come with us, and join in the war, gain glory and the notice of the Warmaster himself… Or run. Flee. Hide. Cower from any thoughts of retribution. But come with us, and I can continue to show you wonders undreamed of."

"I do not trust your sorcery, Erebus," said Rushal, "It reminds many of us of the horrors during the unification of Terra."

"And you think the Emperor does not employ such sorceries?" asked Erebus, "Or did you think his assent to power was merely a coincidence?"

"Speak for yourself, Alastor," said another Raven Guard, "I grow tired of being amongst the lesser ranks. I will take whatever our friend has to offer. He is already freeing us from the shackles of our Primarch. I want to see how far we can go."

Erebus clapped the Astartes on the shoulder in a comradely fashion.

"Now here is a smart fellow. The Gods will be very pleased to have you at their side."

"When the exiled ones return, our numbers will be even greater," added another Raven Guard, "The power will be ours to command, as it should always have been."

"I will have no part in the warp antics" growled Alastor, "I was interested in escaping the Primarch's thrall, I have no interest in warp depravity. I will fight for the Warmaster, on my terms, but don't expect me to start worshipping any deities."

"You'll find yourself in good company with Magnus and the Warmaster then," sighed Erebus, "Neither believe in Gods as deities. But they believe in the powers of the warp and what they can affect."

"I'm not going to deny the use of Navigators or other psykers," replied Rushal tersely, "But I am a soldier. I fight with my arms and armour. I'll leave the witchcraft to others."

"As you will," said Erebus with disinterest, "Now! Look, look! The crescendo of the opera!"

In the distance, there was a red flash and a daemonic laugh. Ka'Bandha roared with amusement as his form began to distort and fade, slipping back into the warp from whence he came. His work was complete, and the piece of the Primarch's soul he had ripped from the Raven vanished with him.

Left in the Greater Daemon's wake was a blood soaked titan of metal and rage. Corvus Corax's eyes glowed with a red fire, his limbs twitching with the need to fight and slaughter more. Inside his head, something that remained of Corvus' spirit tried to fight back against the rage and madness that now infested it. But the dark rituals of the Word Bearers had taken their tole.

"I need… I need… blood…"

In an instant, Corvus sliced down the nearest Raven Guard. Then another, and another. His body was out of control, his burning eyes seeing nothing but the blood he could spill.

"Ah, time to bring the show to a close," muttered Erebus, "We can't have the Bloody Raven slaughter his entire Legion before the encore! Activate teleport beacons."

In a flash, the Primarch was gone, his sons staggering around in confusion. Some of the Raven Guard began fighting with each other, with the mildly sane clutching their heads desperately trying to maintain some kind of control. The blood lust infused their Primarch's infected gene seed and overwhelmed their senses. They were lost, every single one of them.

"The Legion is yours, my friends," bowed Erebus to his companions, "I don't think anyone will challenge your commands as long as it leads to them spilling more blood. Most of the command hierarchy has been gutted, and with those that remain there isn't exactly a great deal of cognitive ability…"

"Why should go with the Warmaster now you've deliver us the Legion?" questioned Rushal, "We could simply take our forces and leave for our own ends."

"Because you'll never keep your Primarch under control," replied Erebus matter-of-factly, "He is a weapon now, and if you do not use it to cut something it will cut you. The Legion might be bound by the blood, but they will still need something to occupy them. Can you deliver the distraction they crave? You will need to fight something eventually. Gaining favour with the Warmaster by providing your Legion is your best hope of personally gaining from this situation."

"Fine," concluded Alastor, "As the elected representative I hereby take command of the Legion and put it at the disposal of the Warmaster. Any objections?"

Silence rang out from the rebellious Raven Guard.

"Excellent," smiled Erebus, "Then our business here is concluded. Let us bring the Nineteenth Legion to Prospero, and let us prepare for the assault on Terra…"