Legends of the Smoke Jaguars Chapter 201

"You should not be here," Tachna hissed.

"You cannot deny my right to interrogate the prisoner!" Huacho protested.

"The heathen's tongue contains many poisons, to glean truth from falsehood is the Headsman's task."

"As Prowlmaster I must know what secrets this one hides!"

"You shall be regaled with relevant facts, but your mind may be clouded by webs of deceit if you linger."

"And yet they may remain?"

"Blazing Shadow may have been tainted by corruptions subtle, to judge them is also a Headsman's task. Better that you leave, essential even."

Huacho glared at Vitcos, but then turned and departed the chapel-barracks. The Hound Sinister's plate was badly scored, evidence that the fighting had been hard indeed. Vitcos did not doubt it. The signs of heavy fighting had been everywhere as Blazing Shadow crept back across the line, sneaking their prisoner through the raging conflict. In a mere night the Orruks had pressed far indeed, pushing through the Rathaus despite ferocious opposition. The piled bodies of dead soldiers were matched only by the ragged corpses of civilians, the Orruk making no distinction between fierce warriors and helpless innocents. Few living would remain in this city after the victory came, none if it ended in defeat.

Getting through the battle had been no easy feat, but Blazing Shadow had carried their prisoner past embattled clashes and raging combat alike, without either side being suspicious. The Storm Heralds were making up for their earlier absence, reaping a stunning tally of Xenos skulls but all the bravery and skill in the galaxy could not deny hundreds of thousands of foes throwing themselves at the defenders. Ground had to be given up time and time again, selling room for enemy blood. It could not last, another day, two perhaps and the Imperials must abandon the western city entirely and blow the bridges. Then it would be a question of how greatly they had reduced the Orruk's numbers.

Vitcos should have been harrowed by the prospect but his soul had no room for sympathy. The shocking revelation from Tvos had upended his life, making a mockery of all he held dear. He'd tried to dismiss it as the ravings of madness, but the weight of truth was undeniable. Certain phrases in the Testimony became troubling when the origin was clear, whispers in corners and sly glances of suspicion. Vitcos had spent the journey replaying a thousand conversations in his head, wondering which of them were veiled suggestions of heresy and which blithe remarks. He didn't like the tally he was forming.

Sechura sniffed, "I presume Huacho does not know?"

Techna's exposed face was pale in the dim light of the barracks as he uttered, "The Hound Sinister does not need this knowledge and will never learn it, even if I must remove your tongues!"

Ilquitio looked morose, "So, the unthinkable becomes undeniable."

"The truth points to itself," Vitcos sneered, "So much becomes clear, everything unfolds before us, the Smoke Jaguars are devil-sons!"

"Not entire!" Tachna snapped, "The blood of Corax is ours too!"

"Who else bears this burden of dark revelation?!" Vitcos snapped.

"That is not for you to..."

"Who?!"

Tachna bit down a retort and sighed, "Shade Lord Teotihuacan, the Genewrights and Headsmen, and a select few Firsts who stumble into knowing by mischance. It is the role of the Headsmen to safeguard this secret, and if I had known what Orkamemnon hid then Blazing Shadow would remain in blessed ignorance. The ways of Imperium may be blunt but inspiration struck when they spake: Blessed is the Mind too small for doubt."

Vitcos glared, "How can this be our history?!"

From the corner the prisoner Tvos offered up, "In the writings of Methuselah it was documented two forces of Space Marines were trapped by a warp storm. One loyalist, one traitor. Surrounded by Orks they were forced to combine in order to survive. The Psyker Xavaar was VIIIth Legion..."

"The fountainhead of Shade-seers was a devil-son?!" Vitcos spat in disgust.

Tachna could only confirm, "His name lives on, but his origin is hidden. As was Arkqas and Sedaxus."

Sechura sat bolt upright, "The giver of laws and author of Testimony too?!"

Ilquitio sounded disgusted, "My eyes are cursed, the pain of light is a disease born of twisted blood!"

Tvos nodded, "Sensitivity to light was a documented weakness of the Night Lords."

"And Curze's madness?!"

Tvos paused, "Disposition to megalomania and paranoia may be inheritable traits. Strange that this lingers in your genic codes. I would love to sample your genome and study how hybridisation has changed you."

Blazing Shadow shifted, none of them pleased to hear such blasphemy. Vitcos understood it well. All his life he'd been shamed for his origin, now he discovered that those sneering at him were equally tainted. He'd suffered injustice and scorn and thought the fault was his, but in reality his so-called betters were no worthier than he. The Smoke Jaguars were polluted in spirit and in blood, their shame was eternal.

"Be silent!" Tachna snapped, "Vticos, I would not have chosen you to hear these words but it is past the hour of regrets. You must troth silence on this matter, unto pain of death."

"Who are you to judge me?!" Vitcos snapped back.

"I am a Headsman!"

"Of corrupted blood and lying tongue!" Vitcos rejoined, "You knew of our collective shame and yet dared to stand in judgment over me. You are no better than me!"

Tachna's anger was plain as he spat, "You were always an ill-made thing Vitcos. Weak, immoral and grasping. It was plain from the start that you had not the character to bear the enormity of this knowledge. You should have died before joining the Doans, but spite drove you to live. That you rose to be a First is an affront, that you now own epiphany is a travesty!"

"I should strike you down for that!" Vitcos hissed as his hands lingered near his Chakrams.

"Spill the blood of a Kinsman, even you would not dare that," Tachna growled.

"You cannot dream of what I dare. What crimes has a Night Lord not indulged?"

"You are no match for me," Tachna whispered threateningly.

"We have never tested our merits; we may yet learn to be surprised."

Tension hung in the air and Blazing Shadow looked on as the stand-off grew fraught but then Transhuman ears detected a heavy tread outside. All eyes drifted to the door, which slid open to reveal a massive war machine lingering outside. Aapo, the Eldest, his bulk filling the doorway entirely. The Living-dead bowed as best he could as he squeezed into the Chapel-barracks, the girth of a Castraferrum Dreadnought making it feel suddenly very cramped. Vitcos swallowed as he saw the length of the Chord Claw's cutting edges and wondered how rash he had been to openly threaten a Headsman.

Surprisingly Tvos spoke up, "Aapo, I knew you would come for me sooner or later."

"You know me?" the Eldest's rumbled voice filled the tight space.

"You are the last of those who fought the Bronze Beast, my former master, that you would track me down was inevitable."

"I don't even know who you are," Aapo sneered, "That you have information about our foe is all that matters. Headsmen: take this one away and extract all he knows of Orkamemnon."

"I have Gaes here!" Tachna protested.

But Aapo growled, "Heed these words well and obey: Go Away."

The Headsman froze for an instant then turned and grabbed the adept by the neck. The Terminator's strength was boundless and easily dragged the heathen out, leaving the barracks behind. Vitcos was not assured, the Living-dead surely knew the dark secret, any hope of it not behind so was a jest. It was also obvious that the ten Kinsmen of Blazing Shadow would not be able to withstand Aapo's wroth should the Dreadnought deem them unworthy keepers of the secret. Death would follow swiftly after if such came to pass.

Aapo's mechanical voice filled the barracks, "You learned of the Dark One."

It was no question and Vitocs swallowed, "You mean to end us?"

"End you?" Aapo puzzled.

Ilquitio ventured, "This discovery would be the end of all Smoke Jaguars, if it became known to the Serviles of Terra."

"And do you intend to tell them?" Aapo probed.

"Never!" Sechura refuted.

"Then you can keep your heads."

"Your intent is a faze of illusions," Vitcos lamented.

Aapo sighed loudly, "You think you are the only ones to stumble upon this shame? Rarely has an entire Prowl learned of it as one, but unprecedented you are not. Many times have I steered a troubled Kinsmen through these perilous rapids. I too once stood confounded as you, when I was flesh and blood and learned the truth from Xavaar the Skinned Man himself. Ask me your questions, so I may offer you comfort, as it was once offered to me."

Ilquitio spoke up first, "Sedaxus walked in midnight-clad?"

Aapo confirmed, "Sedaxus, Arkqas, Xavaar did, but Engar and Damolos were Deliverance-born. Much is forgotten, even by me, but Xavaar claimed it did not define them. They had no choice where they were born, but they chose each other, they chose to be Smoke Jaguars."

Sechura asked, "How have the metal-men of Mars not uncovered this?"

The Dreadnought answered, "Many Chapters have deviant gene-strands, our oddities are tame compared to the fangs of Fenrisian wolves or the skin of Salamanders. But mostly it's because we have striven ever to be of service to the Golden Throne, our loyalty is beyond question and our usefulness precludes sharp questioning. Shade-Lord Damchak may have died foolishly, but his life was dedicated to making the Smoke Jaguars equal to any other Chapter in the eyes of men."

Vitcos crossed his arms, "So you wish us to forget what we have heard and pretend not to know of the polluted blood in our veins?"

"I wish no such thing!" Aapo barked testily.

"The ears may hear but the mind understands not," Vitcos frowned.

Aapo explained, "You have been told we are twinned in soul, but you never comprehended what that meant. Hope and fear, justice and vengeance, light and dark. We stand between the veils of midnight and the noonday sun; creatures of twilight are we! Fear is our weapon, wielded in service of hope. Both aspects of our nature must be embraced to the fullest. Do not hide your faces in shame but face the foe boldly and know ever that the most feared warrior on the battlefield is you!"

Vitcos was confused, "You wish us to act as Night Lords?"

"Dolt!" Aapo spat, "The Testimony teaches us the vile VIIIth forget their purpose, they let fear become the goal, not the tool. Even in our long exile we remembered that fact. One must be monstrous in order to fight monsters, but only in service of others. We walk into the darkest places the galaxy has to offer, so that others may stand in the light!"

Vitcos was unsure if he could do so, but Ilquitio gulped, "Then we are not doomed to our gene-sire's madness?"

Aapo replied, "No fate is certain, no future writ in stone. The choice between madness and greatness is yours alone."

That snatched at Vitcos' attention, "Choice and chance are the levers of the universe, not fate and destiny!"

"Indeed, and in this hour you must choose who you wish to be?"

"I choose the light!" Ilquitio proclaimed.

Sechura sniffed, "I choose whichever path brings me more Orruk heads."

Vitcos lingered a moment then said, "I choose to survive, to not lay down and die in the mud as a craven. I choose the path of life and victory, not shameful defeat and death."

Aapo approved, "Then you are Smoke Jaguars all, trothed in blood and murder. Do not run from the evil in your hearts, embrace it! From the darkness we arise, to drag the unworthy into hell. Our thirst for vengeance cannot be stayed and no heart-foe can escape our claws. Those who prey upon mankind shall never rest easy, for our hunt shall never end so long as the wicked breathe!"

Blazing Shadow rapped their fingers against breastplates in approval as Ilquitio lifted his chin proudly, "How shall we begin?"

Vitcos smiled coldly, "As our Kinsman suggested, by reaping Orruk skulls!"

Sechura's grin was joyful as he crowed, "My cup overfloweth!"

"Drink deep of the wine of vengeance," Vitcos urged, "Let Orkamemnon beware, for the children of misrule are loosed!"