As my world descended into darkness, I felt myself begin to topple onto the frozen ground. When I woke again, I was laying on a smooth surface of blue crystal, and before me, I beheld a towering sturdy door that was in the process of crawling inwardly open at its midpoint. The noise of the opening gateway somehow resembled the cries of tortured children interspersed with laughter of madman.
I leapt to my feet, and I discovered that I was not in my normal body! Once again, I was wearing the Judy Garland-as-Dorothy Gale body with my blue and white checked pinafore dress and ruby slippers. From the surreal appearance of the yawning door before me, and my changed body, I quickly deduced that I was once again in the Warp!
The giant door was now completely open, and a long corridor with endless branching nodes lay before me. Any choice I could make would probably lead to me fucking up, I thought with irritation before saying, "Alright, Tzeentch. What do you want now?"
"You're such a damn piece of work, Erika! Maybe I just wanted to say hello? But, I suppose I enjoy your irascible temperament, considering that many of my Princes are also existential disasters too! Goodness, you should see what I have to deal with when Magnus and I have game night in the Warp!" a supernatural evil voice echoed with ghostly polyphony across the endless rainbow-blue crystal halls.
Something that resembled a jagged tear in reality appeared before me in the tunnel beyond the gateway, and in a dramatic (and somewhat comedic) entrance, out climbed Tzeentch's blue-white skinned and golden-eyed inhuman humanoid avatar. As usual, he wore a perfectly tailored black suit, and the universe's most dangerous smile. The Chaos God pranced happily ahead, and spread his arms in a friendly gesture before me. "Hiya, Erika! How's your silly little Isekai jackpot adventure going? I just saw that you've figured out the lovely appeal of bloodstones! 'Yay you' indeed!"
"Why am I here, and why do you keep putting me in this body?" I asked, smoothing out my blue and white checked dress.
"Why not? I think it's fun! I think since you're essentially Dorothy Gale in this story that you should look the part when you're in my realm. You look just adorable this way, really! Maybe when you become a piece of me forever I can make this your Warp-y form instead of that weird white thing I have lined up now?"
Hearing the god talk like this was super threatening, and I stepped backward. Tzeentch, in response, curled his lips into a pout before grinning evilly in my direction. With a snap of his fingers, the crystal hallway instantly dissolved into vapor. I now found myself floating before a multi-colored, multi-tentacled leviathan that resembled an amorphous Lovecraftian wad of writhing chewing gum decades in length! It was so big that I could neither see nor even perceive the gargantuan figure's entire impossible form. I realized that I was being held up and studied like a tiny fascinating insect in the grip of a monstrous toddler. As trillions of changing eyes fixed upon me, amused and utterly inhuman laughter began to hiss around me in an unholy susurrus. The profane noise sounded like an entire civilization of lies chortling in a discordant symphony, swirling around and through my soul as if I had no substance whatsoever!
The god spoke millions of blasphemies that then washed through my soul like a wave, and then something unusual happened. A whisper of forbidden knowledge and powerfully malignant energy brushed against me, and suddenly, the hand I had out before me contorted and changed to a six fingered white-skinned daemon hand!
A presence came over me, and I began to speak, but not of my own willpower!
"-Iffff y-you're wondering, then the answer is yes; I can ascend unwilling subjects. It just takes a wee bit more effort and energy on my behalf, and you're gifting me more and more each day!" I found myself vociferating in Tzeentch's monstrous voice in an unholy language as he continued holding me aloft! He even turned my alien hand around to point at my own chest! "Did you ever hear the tragedy of Primarch Angron the angry? It's not a story that the nerds of Games Workshop would tell you! Actually, they would, but I was just making a joke!"
This eldritch abuse and teasing by the Chaos power upset me, and I found my own power now instinctually blazing out of me in a nova, pushing Tzeentch's influence out of my soul! The god's multitudinous eyes squinted at me in irritation when I began to shine, their pupils constricting. A low frustrated moan echoed through the Warp like a roar of thunder.
As quickly as this happened, I was now back in the crystal hallway, and Tzeentch was standing before me, wearing a dramatic frown. Once again, I was returned to my Dorothy Gale body. It was extremely rare to see this entity not wearing his ever-present mad mocking smile, so when he wore an unhappy expression, the god became even more intimidating. "Is being my Prince such an awful prospect, Ms. Serious? I'm a god! People murder and corrupt entire sectors in my name just so they can catch my eye and have me sneeze in their general direction. Meanwhile, you have my attention to the point where I speak with you directly! In fact, another one of me is in my throne room telling the other pieces of me how much hope and change you're feeding us and how delighted we all are with you, even after you were nasty to me just now!"
Tired of this, I summoned my Corona again in a protective measure against further Chaotic bullshit, which actually caused the god to step back this time. He rolled his eyes at my light, not genuinely offended. "Oh, come on! No need for all that gold nonsense, Erika," Tzeentch laughed coldly. "I was just playing with you... for now, at least. Anyway, you're here for a reason. I like you, so I feel like giving you a little galactic update on how you're messing up this reality so far. It's a nice exposition point for your readers that are joining this story later in the book."
"What story?" I asked, growing irritated with the evil god.
"Don't worry about it for now, sweets," the god said with a knowing smile. "Oh, and I'm also so pleased with all the prayer energy you're spawning that I want to show you all of that as well! Consider it your bonus!" Tzeentch waved his hand, and the crystal passageway vanished again.
Instantly, I found myself floating next to the god in space, but I was breathing normally. I was still in my Dorothy Gale form, and my dress began to fan from the lack of gravity. Tzeentch pointed over my shoulder, and turning around, I saw something incredible. A roiling bruise of unreality was screaming across the black backdrop of space in a massive mostly-red ovoid scar. The gouge in the void resembled what I imagined a portal to hell would look like, and it was roughly three times the size of the moon as seen from my home reality. Licks of multicolored lightning passed about the evil scar; I sensed a feeling of loathing passing through me as I observed this phenomena. This sense confirmed to me that it was a Warp Rift. Nearby, an Imperial ship seemed to be floating in close proximity to where we hung in the void. I could tell that this vessel was filled with Imperial scientists and astronomers who were studying this new cursed bruise in reality.
"Listen!" The god said boisterously and snapping his fingers. My skin tingled, and then, I realized that I could hear short bits of conversation from within this vessel.
"... and they're calling it the Phoenix Anomaly. Just heard the news this morning. I'm glad that Terra is still there after all that..."
"...something about a gold woman astride a phoenix?"
"...in his dream. Put it down in Warp effects. I don't like looking at it. It feels like I'm being watched, and..."
"Look familiar at all? I mean, the rift, not that dumb ship filled with Imperials over there. This was your first stop, my cute little destroyer, my little scion of entropy. Behold Levant, or what used to be Levant! The Imperium calls it the Phoenix Anomaly now. The initial reports are saying that it is similar to the Hadex Anomaly. Did you know that Levant wasn't empty before it was swallowed by this rift? But, the millions that died during its collapse were just country bumpkins no one cares about, so no big deal. My childer and I got to have a nice cookout in my realm after that too!"
"This wasn't my fault!" I protested at the god. "You put me on that damn world! It was eventually going to blow open in a rift at some point anyway, Null told me!"
Tzeentch shrugged. "The point is that you were there, and the world blew up afterward. Everything functions according to my plans, so I guess blaming me for this is fine." The god shrugged sheepishly. "But, this next one, well, that's definitely all you if you believe in free will!" The god grinned, his malefic gold eyes glowing with a predatory shimmer in the dark of space.
With a wave of his hand, we now floating in space before what appeared to be a shattered planet. Small sleek Necron crescent ships dipped and dove between massive rocky chunks the size of continents drifting in space. Even the faint red glow of the world's exposed core was visible.
"Welcome to Kolch! Or, what's left of it at least. Kolch broke into a bunch of pieces after you made an especially messy translation into the Immaterium because you really wanted to catch all those silly mercenaries. Kolch, or Nome, as the Necrons call it, was the primary Tomb World for the Nome dynasty of Necrons. I'm sure you know by now that the Nome King hates you for stealing his shit and breaking his planet."
I shook my head, genuinely feeling guilty at what had happened here. I attempted to deflect with, "So are you just going to drag me to the Warp in order to shit talk me all the time? Did you do this with Sebastian too? No wonder he couldn't stand Chaos if he had to put up with all this bullshit all the time!"
The god guffawed, still not taking me seriously at all. "Just letting you see the whole picture here since I like you, that's all! You sure seemed to enjoy that mercenary chase, and so did I! You even delighted one of my favorite Lords when you chased that feisty little black rabbit into his living room! He's telling me that he's knitting you a present, by the way. He's also enjoying himself as he weaves the lives and memories of mortal souls that were taken from this next world I want to show you!"
The scene changed again, and I was now floating above a lush earth-like world with a vast ring. Tzeentch turned to me, and pointed toward the planet floating before us like an excited child, almost vibrating with energy. I did not recognize this world, and my confused expression caused the Chaos God to laugh heartily and shake his head.
"You don't recognize Rhadabus? While you didn't visit this world physically, your projection did, and it caused a revolution when you killed that Inquisitor guy! It was great! All that hope and change sure is yummy, I must say! This entire world is in the process of realigning itself away from the worship of the Emperor, and instead, it now calls prayers out to a certain God-Empress of Retribution. Listen..."
The god waved his hand, and now, I was on the planet and floating before a large gathering of people in white robes as they sang strange hymns within a burned forest in the middle of the night. A ring of torches on stakes illuminated this burned area, and gave the scene a very hellish feel. The people swayed and raised their hands skyward as they crooned and whispered their supplications and yearnings. This strange event looked like an organized gathering of a sort, and when I listened further, I realized that their words were now eliciting a strange swimming feeling in my chest.
These Rhadabans were praying to me...
Their words of power were now energizing the local Warp like a whispering dirge, and an uncomfortable shiver passed up my spine as I could now perceive that the low roar of prayer-song was swirling around me in an ethereal whirlwind of holy exultation.
"Hear us, oh great God-Empress of Retribution! We are your children!"
"Oh divine God-Empress, the truth and the light, the Alpha and the Omega!"
"We beseech your blessings! Look upon us and smile at our devotion, oh beautiful divine angel!"
I gasped, and I realized that I was clutching my heart. This was somehow both the most wonderful thing to hear, and the most awful! Tzeentch, who stood beside me, continued to grin sadistically. Witnessing my disconcerted expression, god then reached over and poked my head with a long finger in an irritating manner, causing me to reflexively cringe away.
"Oh, lighten up, scaredy cat. Prayers are great! They can empower you! I eat countless trillions of prayers for breakfast, and you don't see me complaining. Speaking of that, you're not the only one getting prayers on Rhadabus today either," Tzeentch chirped. "Look!"
My point of view changed again, and now, I was observing a blurry image of a familiar dark soul as he raised a jagged knife in a dark hand above his head. This individual was a massive and extremely muscular shirtless man with long black hair and faintly fluorescing runes that shimmered on his lightly tanned skin. The scene further came into focus, and I could now see that there was an unconscious nude woman that lay before him. The nude lady was tightly bound, and she was curled up upon what was either a heavy stone table or an altar. Her head lay upon what appeared to be a large blue book. I blinked and, and as the scene further came into focus, I realized that this was Word Bear! The evil Word Bearer sorcerer was whispering words of praise to Tzeentch. The god watched with glee as Word Bear muttered his profane prayers over the bound (and I could tell, drugged) woman. He inhaled deeply as if savoring the scent of a delicious meal, and for a moment, the god seemed to glow with satisfaction.
Tzeentch then appeared next to Word Bear, who continued to offer prayers. The two of us seemed to be invisible as the wicked man didn't see us. Tzeentch winked at me as he placed a pale hand wreathed with multicolored light against the book under the woman's head. The god leaned in, and whispered something into the Chaos Marine's ear that I could not hear. Whatever it was, it made Word Bear smile ecstatically, his amber eyes almost luminous. "Praises to the Architect of Fate, the Author of destiny! I offer this soul to you in praise of your wisdom!" the Chaos Marine sang out into the dark interior space of wherever this was. The knife came down, and I cried out!
Instantly, I was now back outside, and facing another group of Rhadabans wearing white robes offering prayers and flowers to what appeared to be a rough statue of brush and debris in the vague shape of a woman in another burned forest with blackened trees. The light here was different, and it appeared to be daytime here, possibly midmorning. This was probably another location on the same planet. A rhythmic tapping sound caught my attention, and my eye was drawn to a group of workers chipping away at a massive rough white slab. Platforms of rickety scaffolding surrounded this tall pale stone which loomed overhead at about ten meters in height. They appeared to be carving a statue, and all the workers were smiling. Some even whistled as they chiseled and carved. Unfortunately, I could not appreciate this as I was still somewhat stunned from seeing someone get sacrificed to Chaos a few seconds ago on top of hearing more prayers in my name, and I doubled over, dry heaving.
"You doing alright there, champ?" Tzeentch quipped. The Chaos God's humanoid form appeared beside me as I tried not to vomit. Seeing this, the god actually briefly patted me on the back, which somehow made me feel instantly better. This time, his touch also caused a strange and brief giddy feeling to pass through me like a dark rumor. Feeling Tzeentch touch me in a familiar way again like that again was viscerally upsetting, and I shied away, clearly uncomfortable. The god appeared playfully offended. "Oh, lighten up! What is with you today? I'm just a Chaos God! Nothing too dangerous!" Tzeentch chuckled mockingly, clearly pleased at my distress. "So, anyway, Rhadabus! Look at all this! Isn't this so great? Your cult is centralized in this specific spot on that planet at the present, so we're both eating good in this neighborhood! Listen!"
With another wave of the god's hand, I could now hear the prayers of Rhadabus in this location.
"Hear us, oh great Dark Queen of Retribution, bless Rhadabus and the angels of the great Dark Queen!"
"The true God-Empress shall vanquish the false Emperor! The Dark Queen of Heaven will liberate us from the Imperium!"
"Praise the White Cardinal! Praise the Sons of Retribution! Praise the God-Empress!"
Once again, the sensation of these whispered wishes whirling around me was strangely energizing, and my halo emerged in a slight involuntary flicker. This heightened perception was quieted after only a few moments with another gesture from the god, who watched me as I continued to struggle in my revulsion at what I had seen earlier. "Presently, these guys are hard to hear where you are since you're far away from them physically. But good news, once your cult gets to be more widespread, you'll have prayers and soul energy streaming in from everywhere! Won't that be something! I wonder if you'll go the Sebastian route and start punishing people who worship you? You know, that poor guy had incredible insomnia near the end of the Great Crusade due to all the shenanigans the Word Bearers were pulling!"
Without giving me time to say anything, the god waved his hand and transported us to yet another location, which was now apparently in the middle of nowhere again in space. "Not much to see here, really, so this isn't that fun. This was where the world of Nubua once existed. With your visitation, that entire world was annihilated."
"That also wasn't my fault!" I protested again. "That world was cursed and dead, and the people of Nubua wanted to be unmade!"
"Yeah, yeah. Technicalities! But again, consider that you were once there, and then, soon after, that world met its end. Anyway, onto another planet! This one is definitely more exciting!"
We were now standing in the ruins of some kind of large bombed out building. It was daytime, and the sky, while cloudless, was wreathed in smoke from a nearby fire. Distant screams, weeping, and cries of pain could be heard. "Look familiar?" the god asked, his voice dripping with venom.
I examined the area, and due to my ongoing sense of existential horror, I did not immediately recognize where I was. I saw toppled gold pillars, broken marble, and shattered furniture. It appeared to be midday; the sun was high but obscured by acrid clouds of smoke billowing from nearby fires. Distant cries of pain could be heard. As I continued to study the devastated landscape, I witnessed a terrible sight before me on the broken stone ground. Near where the god and I stood, the mangled corpse of a little red-haired girl lay in bloody pieces on the cracked ground. The corpse appeared to have been both partially skinned, mutilated, and even drawn and quartered! She had been viciously torn to pieces, almost appearing as she had been savaged by a mad butcher!
"Yeah, you've seen her before, Erika," Tzeentch purred nearby. "And you've been here before too."
This was too much! I felt bile rising up in my throat when I then recognized both the little girl and her mother laying nearby, also similarly mangled and in bloody shredded pieces. On top of the smell of smoke, the metaphysical scents of suffering, violence, despair, and agony suffused this terrible place in a cloud of pain. The laughter of daemons capering in the Warp behind this world could now be heard as the beasts merrily feasted on the untold suffering and terrible change surrounding this location. I realized that I had indeed been here before...
This was the city of Evna in Tar Vigaz. This was Langwidere's palace! I had met the mother and her daughter in the palace!
"Correct!" the god said with a quick read of my mind. "Welcome to the city of Evna, mere days after your flight from Tar Vigaz," Tzeentch said cheerfully. Sick again, I struggled not to vomit as I staggered on the cracked ground, breathing deeply in horror. A raving and severely burned man mumbling wide-eyed prayers to me suddenly wandered into view. It seemed that, like the last locations, I was invisible here, as the man simply walked through my projected form, which caused me to briefly cry out. The sadistic god beside me continued to smile, amused at how uncomfortable I was. "Poor space Las Vegas has seen some rough times. If you can believe this, it actually could have been worse! The Necrons, after losing some of their vessels to their mad Nomish Overlord's fun little dash to destroy you for breaking his planet, ended up only staying on this world for a few hours. The Flayed Ones that followed the Nome fleet decided pragmatically to have a quick bite to eat here as an appetizer and then, they took the rest of their dinner to go where their wasn't an Imperial warship. They left a lot of souls behind, as you can see!" The Chaos God avatar nudged the little girl's mangled remains with a black dress shoe. "And listen! Look what's starting to happen here too!"
I still couldn't speak. The sensation of people praying whispered through my form again. I realized that I could now discern what was being said here.
"Come back to us, oh holy God-Empress! We are sorry we were misled! Please forgive us! We repent, oh holy one! We sinners of Tar Vigaz repent! Come back to us, little sister! Come back, save us, deliver us..."
I gripped my head, overwhelmed. The amount of human suffering and prayer that was now suffusing my being was beginning to cause me a sense of visceral horror on top of my physical nausea. The part of me that was the Divine Retribution's influence was greatly distressed at what I was seeing. Feelings of both guilt and anger caused my halo to flash with irregularity. I fell to my knees, and began to dry heave.
Tzeentch's happy malevolent voice interrupted my crisis. "So, guess what? The Inquisition saw all this Necron fun from above, and once they realized that Langwidere wasn't on the world, they flipped a coin in order to decide whether or not to shell the cities that were still being menaced by slower-to-evacuate Necrons, or just to simply exterminatus this world to forget the whole thing. Yours truly decided to be nice, so this world got the luckier outcome with a little push of fate! You need prayers, and I like helping you!" The sound of a hysterical man crying in agony nearby filled the area, and more prayers noisily assaulted my consciousness.
"Please come back to us! We were misled! Please, oh God-Empress!"
"Save us, God-Empress! Save us! Save me!"
"They took my children! God-Empress, save my children!"
Before I could say anything in protest to the wicked god standing over the corpse of the little girl, I then saw a man wearing an Imperial-styled red and black cape with tall leather boots and an Imperial rosette dangling from his neck walking through the area of the destroyed palace. This man walked with authoritative purpose through this terrible scene. Studying this man, I realized that I recognized him as one of the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors aboard the Imperial ship advancing upon Tar Vigaz when I was trying to run away through the Warp Gate. Oh great, the Inquisition, I thought. With shaky legs, I tried to stand up straight. This man was attended to by dangerous-looking armed henchmen (which also included some women) who were also dressed as Inquisitors; it appeared that they were surveying what remained of the palace with detached, indifferent expressions.
The god poked my shoulder. "Oh! Check this out! This was bound to happen at some point!" Tzeentch said with a giggle.
The group of Inquisitors found the bedraggled burned man I had seen earlier. He was crouched behind a destroyed wall, gripping his hair (and apparently tearing it out by the root) in reddened fingers as he maniacally prayed to me. The Inquisitors had paused their survey, and were now standing over the man. Each of the severe individuals glanced at each other.
"Fifth one this morning," one of the men observed coolly. "Another lost soul going on and on about a 'God-Empress'. We've already got a few lined up for enhanced interrogation techniques back on the Reasonable Solution."
Oh no. The Inquisition! The fucking Inquisition knows about me for real now! I thought, unable to form a cohesive sentence to express my horror! They know I exist! Shit!
Tzeentch smirked at my turmoil, and pointed at the Inquisitors who loomed over the madman. "This is going to start happening more and more, Erika! It was only a matter of time!"
The Inquisitors continued to speak amongst each other as the man raved to himself, his eyes fixed in a billion yard stare. The poor man was so lost that he didn't even seem to be aware of the small group standing over him. With a dismissive sniff, the leader of this group observed, "Peculiar. Many of them rave similarly. They insist that some kind of psyker witch or entity by the name of 'Retribution' visited this world, and that they were warned that their sins would no longer be tolerated. They call her the God-Empress, of all things."
"And this is definitely not about Langwidere?" the leader of the group asked.
"No, Lord Ariaz. Still no sign of her. Psykers still insist she's off-world. We are attempting to contact Mars, but with the new rift, we're having trouble."
"They're not going to be happy."
A tall woman with long blonde hair sighed with huffy irritation. She brushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder like an irritated Karen. "Aside from that, this one is clearly too injured to be of much use. The burns and his shock has stripped his sapience away." She glanced toward Lord Ariaz, who nodded very slightly, and turned away from the raving man, who continued to pray and mutter. "Would you do the mercy, Aval? We still have a lot of ground to cover today."
One of the accompanying Inquisitors quickly reached for a pistol, and casually shot the man in the head. He fell upon the ruined ground.
And now, Tzeentch and I were floating along the crystal corridors of his labyrinth again. I was now shivering. "Anyway, that's that, Erika. Just keep it up, and..."
The god transformed into his giant evil Chaos God form again, and again, I was being held by a cluster of black tendrils before a monstrous mass of amused eyes and mouths that spoke words that sounded like the calls of millions of dying birds. One of the horrible black pseudopods was actually wrapped around my neck and pressing against the base of my skull this time! "Keep feeding me hope and change as you tear across the galaxy, and you will prosper!"
Something snapped in me, and my Corona blazed up around my form again in a very bright cocoon of light. The tendrils holding me dissolved, burned away by my fire. I felt that I was now larger, and no longer in my Dorothy Gale body. Instead, I stood tall in my giant furious gold form, radiating light and defiance against the unholy eldritch who would dare mock me! This caused the eyes of the god to register genuine surprise, and the leviathan even flinched backward, with nine eyes seemingly burning out from my light in sizzles of ichor. When I spoke, the words passed from me in my resonant voice, and they came unexpectedly from a mysterious place deep within me. "I don't serve you and I will never serve you, abomination! I serve mankind!" I roared like a dragon through the Warp!
There was a pause where the god actually seemed to be surprised, and not in a good or playful way. Then, I watched as the innumerable surprised eyes of the Chaos God then narrowed, and a long low rumble of threatening laughter shook through me like a tidal wave. The burnt eyes regenerated easily before me.
"Careful now. I would look toward your predecessor before you commit to playing this dangerous game with me, Anathema," the terrible voice purred with danger as I began to fall through whatever watery air surrounded me here. "I enjoy you, but don't push it. One day, you'll be a part of me, and I'd like for us to stay friends. See you later, my dear."
With a gasp, I came to as I was being carried inside the Divine Retribution's threshold by a very worried Space Marine clad in a dark body glove. It appeared that we were just inside the entryway to the ship. Lian was looking downward at me while wearing a very worried expression on his face. My force staff was held in the crook of his arm. "Oh!" I exclaimed, gaining my bearings. I realized that my Corona was lit, and I drew it in.
"Tell us to exterminate the aliens!" I heard Alberich immediately demand nearby, also stepping just inside the entryway where Lian held me. "Meine Führerin, give the order! I have pinpointed their location!"
"Give us the order!" Virgil also pleaded from somewhere nearby.
"Lian, put me down, I'm fine. Just... just had another psyker moment," I said, my stomach lurching. The Fallen Paladin followed my request and gently set me down on my feet. "Me fainting has nothing to do with the aliens, okay?"
"They tried to kill the Omnissiah!" I heard a voice scream in protest from outside in the snow. "The insult! Horus is responsible once again! The evils of Kelbor-Hal shall be avenged!" I could now tell that the rest of my crew were either still outside or on the gangway. They were concerned and confused as to what they should do.
Null raised his voice to be heard over the wind. "Tell us what-"
"Fuck's sake, don't kill anyone!" I shouted as best as I could while leaning against the warm plated metal of my vessel. My stomach was really turning right now, and I realized that my Key was warm against my skin under my shirt. It felt like it had devoured a soul. I swallowed heavily in my attempt to not spew all over the inside of my shiny pretty soul-eating ship. Images flickered through my mind's eye in an unwelcome slideshow of eldritch horror as I remembered seeing Tzeentch's "god-form" along with the flayed and eviscerated corpses of Tar Vigaz. The bloodstone burned with a weird chill in my pocket. I removed the jewel, and in my palm, I saw that it was faintly glowing with what appeared to be residual power. I quickly returned it to my jacket pocket, and no one asked me about it.
Lian, Virgil, and Alberich remained standing close to me, and all three wore expressions of grave concern. "Please tell us what to do, my leader," Alberich requested, his blond hair ruffling in the wind.
Outside, I could hear that Jinnicky was still ranting about how this was all Horus' fault. He was apparently on the gangway behind Null, but I couldn't see him from where I stood. I sighed. "I really just fainted; the aliens didn't do it."
"Your hair, Inheritor," Virgil's voice observed behind me.
I turned around, and saw Virgil standing nervously before me, his holographic form flickering as if unstable. The astropath pointed toward the black half of my hair. "A new streak of white. Did you... 'go' somewhere?"
"Not talking about it right now, but yeah, I did," I informed the astropath.
I felt that something was happening behind me, and I turned back around. Even that action made me dizzy. I saw that a small halo of energy had alighted around Alberich's head, and the German psyker looked upward for a moment. Alberich then turned to me and said, "The aliens. They ask if you are well."
Everyone was looking at me expectantly. "Fuck, let me deal with this," I groaned, tired of being a psyker and tired of being an Inheritor. I was tired, sick, and I didn't want to be here. I just wanted to rest. I reluctantly closed my eyes, and focused on finding the energy of the elf xenos again.
Despite my current state, I was easily able to find the alien psyker and his friends in the hills. His soul radiated relief when he sensed me. The bearded elf said, We worried that you had been set upon by the wicked metal one, or maybe the shades! The metal one we despise, he is dangerous, and you should restrain him! He is murderous! Are you-
I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry about anything; I'll make sure Jinnicky behaves. You're safe from him, I promise. We should talk in person. How far is the walk from where you are to here? It's shitty outside, and you guys are up in the hills. What are your names, anyway?
We are capable of singing the snow away, the man telepathically explained. Weather is not a difficulty for us, and we are not far. My name is Yamac, and I am a mage. My companions are Agruzbrar, who is our pathfinder, and the woman you may see is Azsabrina, who is both my sister, and a Tonal Architect.
Okay, that's great, I said, instantly forgetting most of their names and feeling my nose bleed all over my lips and chin. Yikes, I've really overdone it today! I'm Erika. There's a lot more of us here too. How about you guys come here in like an hour if you can? I'll make sure the guy you don't like doesn't cause problems. But, don't rush it. The snow sucks.
I sensed brief confusion from Yamac as he had no knowledge of how long an hour was. I explained that it was approximately 1/24th of a day here, and then, he quickly understood.
Very well. We can visit you in approximately an hour. We have looked forward to friendly newcomers to this land for ages. We are eager to meet with you, Erika.
I wiped my nose with my cuff, and took a step to look outside the ship. Null stood on the gangway a few steps down, and behind him, I could see Jinnicky twitching and muttering to himself. Null had a tight grip on the spider Magos with one of his mechadendrites. Directly behind Jinnicky, I could see Kaas standing at attention. I noticed that Skitarii also had a metal hand firmly gripping Jinnicky by the shoulder. Ennoia and Zok were watching the situation from the ground. I cleared my throat, and projected my voice to be heard: "Okay everyone. I just talked to them. The xenos say that they can 'sing' the snow away, whatever the hell that means. They'll be down here in about an hour. Does anyone know of any aliens that have some kind of singing powers or tech?" I guess I could have just asked them what they were. Oh well. I'll do that when they get here. I wanted at least a little break from using psyker powers.
My eyes went to Null, who immediately shook his head. "If these xenos truly resemble bearded Aeldari in form, then I do not know what they are. I have no knowledge of such aliens that utilize singing technology through my accessible memories. But, I remind you about the survey drone outside. We must investigate it as soon as possible. The snow is falling steadily, but not heavily at the present. Maybe a short rest would be suitable for you to recharge your systems, and then, we can visit the drone. We can get the Sweet Song unloaded in the meantime."
Behind Null, I saw Jinnicky begin to protest. This was halted by a threatening gesture from Null.
I patted my bloody nose again. "That sounds like a good idea. Just let me get one of those psyker glucose tubes. That'll fix me up. Okay, listen everyone: I'm on break for about 45 minutes. You guys work on getting all the materials off of the Sweet Song, and I'll be back here soon and hopefully not bleeding all over the place anymore. After that's done, we'll make a team to greet the xenos and investigate the drone."
As my crewmembers departed to attend to my instructions (with Virgil now standing on the gangway to watch Null again), I turned to Lian, who stood faithfully nearby. He held my force staff, and handed it back to me. I nodded a thanks, and asked, "Hey, how long does it take to put on your armor?"
"We of the the Great Brotherhood of Light are trained in solitary power armor equipment in situations where time is of the essence. I can be in my armor in approximately forty minutes. It is greatly preferred that I have the time to offer the necessary prayers and blessings to each piece, but that is a lengthier process of approximately three or more hours."
"Well, get started again. I'm bringing you along on the alien meetup team," I said, leaning against the walls of the passageway. "I'd like you to tag along with the drone too. Bring your sword just in case."
Lian saluted me, turned around, and left, making his way to his quarters. I also began walking back down the passageway, and into the ship. Null's 99-Z servitor always had these little psyker rations, and they seemed to rejuvenate me, so I decided to go and find her.
As I entered the round room juncture point from the passageway, I ran into Rasputin, whose long grey hair was damp. He didn't stink, and it appeared that he was actually clean and reasonably sober.
"Nice of you jump to my request to help when I asked everyone to go outside," I growled sarcastically, not in the mood for this guy right now.
"I had a premonition that I would not be needed, tsarina," the Mad Monk offered dryly with his lascivious smile. "But, I am here now. Order me as you please."
"Go outside and help with the rest of the unloading," I instructed, brushing past him.
"Does the terrible gold burden you carry injure you?" Rasputin softly asked with a purr.
My breath caught, and I stopped walking. I turned around, and saw that the Mad Monk was smiling. I had heard that line before, but I couldn't immediately recall from where. It chilled me to hear it regardless.
Not willing to investigate my memories right now, I took a breath, turned around, and continued walking. "None of your business."
"Your hair is changing. Another streak of white. You're now more than half white," the Mad Monk observed behind me as I made my way down the main corridor to search for 99-Z. "Pretty soon, you will be all white if you don't watch yourself. I grow concerned."
"Yeah, well, it looks like it's going in that direction, huh?" I snarked, continuing to walk ahead, not slowing down.
Truthfully, what I really wanted to do was to keep walking away from all my problems until I reached Molech, but for now, avoidance of my problems and a psyker ration would have to suffice.
Elsewhere:
Deep in his throne room in the Warp, the god watched as the presence departed, and he smiled, pleased. The plan of plans was coming along nicely; all the threads of fate wove in a pleasant pattern through time and reality before his divine eye. The entity then turned, and looked downwardly upward and through the veil of reality with countless smiling eyes. The god beheld the Word Bearer reading these words in the book as they configured themselves on the page. The sorcerer's smile slightly dropped, and he became unnerved as he read this very sentence.
The Word Bearer shuddered when he recognized the direct eye of a Chaos God directly fixing upon his essence, and his breath was taken away.
The god laughed, amused. The entity began to speak directly into Word Bear's mind, and his whispered maddening voice was the song of a thousand dying stars. The sorcerer's ears and eyes began to bleed black fluid.
"The price for the words in this tome has increased. You need two devoted souls per revelation from now on, Harry Smith, Dralthus Phaeron grandson of Kor Phaeron, Word Bear of Evna, and now, White Cardinal. You should also be reminded that all roads bend to my embrace, and all games conclude eventually in my favor. In the plan of plans, you were always saved in my hell."