"Following the reports on the defeat of the Dacian Army and the surrender of the Legadonian Entente, it has been decided that the greater good of the Federation requires us to put aside our righteous distaste for all things related to magic, that tool of oppression of the bourgeois and the aristocrat.
People with knowledge of the occult are to be reassigned from the lageri and given a chance to serve the Federation despite their crimes against Communism. They will work under the direct supervision of the Commissariat to develop methods by which the Empire's so-called Wunderwaffen might be countered, in order to defend the People from Imperial aggression."
Excerpt from the decree establishing the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People, signed into effect by General Secretary Josef Jugashvili on December 12th, 1924 (access restricted to members of the Politburo).
"Agent Natasha has disappeared from the room assigned to her. Guards reported hearing strange noises in the night, followed by sounds of violence and the breaking of glass.
By the time the guards entered the room, they found that it had been torn apart, with the concrete walls covered in what seemed to be claw marks. There was no trace of blood, and upon further investigation, the window had clearly been broken from the inside as something was thrown or jumped through it.
Due to the late hour, there were no eye-witnesses, and the snowstorm which covered the capital at the time prevented any footprint or other sign from remaining outside. The guards tasked with keeping watch over the building were interrogated, but didn't notice anything : after pushing them further, it was discovered they hadn't been performing their rounds properly but taking refuge from the cold weather. They have been appropriately punished for their lack of devotion to the Federation.
Considering the report of Agent Natasha's last mission, it is our belief that she fell victim to some manner of Imperial operative sent after her following her heroic mission in the heart of the Empire. While her loss is tragic, we should be redouble our vigilance in securing all future efforts to match the Reich's weaponized magic.
In addition, it might be appropriate to send a message to the Empire's spymasters that we will not tolerate their assassination of one of our most valued assets on our own territory. To that end, I suggest a purge of the known Imperial informants within the Federation, whom we have so far allowed to ply their craft in order to monitor them. This is even more important since such agents are sure to be called upon by our foreign adversaries to locate the item which was retrieved during Agent Natasha's last mission."
Internal report of the Committee for State Security, February 5th, 1926.
"Esteemed Comrade General Secretary,
As is ever the case with the degenerate aristocrats who propagate the Imperialistic ideology, their claims that magic is a complex matter are nothing more than lies meant to keep the People from seizing their destiny with their own hands. The artefact our brave agents liberated from the greedy hands of the foreign oppressors, once translated from Imperial to Russy, is simplicity itself to use, requiring none of the corrupt academic learning which has been used to oppress the People for so long.
The artefact in question is a compilation of various magic rituals, centered around the mastery of life itself. Several of them seem especially promising, and thus, we humbly request for the facilities and resources needed to perform small-scale testing, in order to better learn their effects (as the descriptions of the book itself are frustratingly vague, as one would expect from the bourgeoisie trying to conceal their advantages behind a veil of mysticism and superstition).
The artefact has been sent to the Institute which, in your wisdom, you ordered assembled following the callous demonstration of the Imperial Wunderwaffen against the forcibly conscripted Dacian workers. Under the gentle guidance of the Commissariat, there is no doubt that the researchers who were given the opportunity to serve the State in spite of their bourgeois deviancy will be able to turn the knowledge previously hoarded by the aristocrats to the service of the People."
Excerpt from a message addressed to General Secretary Josef Jugashvili, February 12th, 1926.
"The new facilities are proving perfectly adequate for our needs, as expected of the Party's great wisdom and genius allocation of resources. The isolation of our research camp will help prevent any traitors to the Party from discovering its location and sending it to their foreign masters, and the battalion of brave soldiers assigned to guarding the facility is more than adequate to our needs.
The mana-capable individuals recovered from the re-education camps have been very cooperative with our research. They have only needed correction from the members of the Commissariat of Internal Affairs a handful of times when they first arrived at the Institute, and have been very obedient since.
We have begun experimenting with the simplest sections of the book, with promising results. However, additional mana-capable individuals would be a tremendous help in accelerating our mastery of the Imperial mystical weaponry for the good of the Federation."
Excerpt from a report of the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People, February 15th, 1926.
"Another three mages died today, none of them well. One of them, a disciple of the infamous court mage Grigori, cursed us all as he was being eaten alive by some kind of black sludge – his imprecations were only silenced when we detonated the explosives lining up the chamber, before sending in the cleaners with flamethrowers.
This makes it twenty-three mages we've lost since that damned book was delivered to the Institute. And while the cantrips we've figured out are fascinating from an academic standpoint, growing flowers and controlling vermin aren't what our superiors are interested in. They want superweapons of their own, something to match the Empire's Wunderwaffen. That's all they've ever wanted from us, why they pulled me and the others from the camps.
We suggested re-establishing the aerial mage corps months ago, but that was rejected, on the basis that those didn't do the Entente and the Republic a lot of good when the Imperials came knocking. Of course, aerial mages would still be useful to the Federation Army, but the real reason is that Comrade Josef is still terrified of any power he cannot directly control, and that giving computation orbs to people you sent to the lageri along with their entire family isn't a good idea.
Since, unlike the rest of Russy, we've been given access to the unredacted reports of the Party's spies abroad regarding these things, I can well understand their interest. For now, the Imperials are too busy protecting their territory from the Albish and playing nice with the rest of the world, but that cannot last. To think, not thirty years ago our two countries were some of the closest allies this world has ever seen ! If not for the Revolution, we might just've asked the Imps for their secrets and they would have shared them with us.
Well, maybe. Most likely, I'm just being too nostalgic. That, or drunk. The vodka in this place is disgusting, but it does have a nice kick to it. One or two more glasses and I will stop seeing that poor bastard's face as he dies – a couple more and I probably won't survive the night.
Our boss is pushing for us to continue with the experiments, despite the risks. He is terrified of what will happen to him if he can't report success to the higher-ups, and much as I want to, I can't even blame him for it. Each and every one of us got checked by the Committee for State Security before being assigned to this facility, and we all know the penalty for failure.
I have no idea how Division Y managed it. Supposedly they had years, decades even. I have only been allowed access to partial copies of the book we are using (which, despite what the political officers say, was clearly stolen from the Imperials and not 'found among the possession of the executed oppressors'), but the people I've talked to are clear that it isn't some centuries-old manuscript. It was made – printed – recently.
Even assuming that it is a collection of older records the Imperials managed to dig out from some forgotten archive, the sheer variety of rituals and spells in there (though they all share a clear central theme) is astonishing. If only we could properly take the time to study them in order, I think we could genuinely do a lot of good with it. But that's not what our masters want, and they have no patience for proper study – or, as they would call it, 'the natural laziness of the academic classes'.
Idiots, all of them. Well, no. They aren't all idiots. Uneducated, cruel and fanatical, to be sure, but not stupid. They wouldn't be as successful as they are if they were stupid. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that to make being beaten by them in the Revolution feel less humiliating, and the entire Federation is actually led by a bunch of lucky morons with bestial cunning. Who knows. In any case, they are the ones with the guns, so we have to do what they say.
We are going to try something from further into the book on the next new moon. If we can't show results, the Commissariat will make us regret ever being born.
I don't expect that excuse will serve me well when I end up at the Pearly Gates, but like everyone else here, I am too much of a coward to do anything else."
From the private writings of a researcher at the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People, February 24th, 1926 (thrown into a coal stove immediately after being written).
"My efforts to locate the stolen artefact have, so far, failed to uncover anything of immediate use. It is clear that something has changed in recent weeks, however : my contacts have observed several individuals known to be mages, who were exiled to prison camps in Sildberia, returning to the capital under armed guard. While it is possible Jugashvili was spooked by tales of our Wunderwaffen into changing his stance on mage use in the Federation's Army, I think it more likely they have been recalled as part of whatever new organization is responsible for studying what was taken from Castle Schwartzstein.
Tracking down these mages seems to be my best chance of locating the Kindermärchen. I have spread their description among my network, and will also keep an ear out for any unusual supply movements. Still, I don't expect much result anytime soon : the Russy counter-intelligence has cracked down on all foreign activity upon its soil. At least three of my Imperial colleagues have disappeared in the last month, along with several others I strongly suspect to have been working for other powers – and, of course, at least ten times that number of entirely innocent Russy citizens. They were all arrested on 'suspicions of activities against the State in service of foreign interests', and I do not expect any of them will ever see the light of day again.
Listed below are the codenames of the Imperial operatives lost to this recent purge. Please see to informing their relatives in the Reich. It's a small thing, but it's all I can do for them now, and we all promised we'd do that much for each other should it come to this."
Excerpt from an encrypted missive left in a dead drop west of Moskva by an Imperial Intelligence operative, February 26th, 1926.
Researcher 1 : "Alright, it's still the new moon. We have only two more shots at this before needing to wait another month, so hopefully the results will be better this time than yesterday."
Researcher 2 : "It could hardly go worse, anyway. The cleaning team are still scrubbing the other location. The fact they keep puking isn't helping."
Researcher 1 : "Quiet. Final check, is everything ready ?"
Researcher 3 : "The circle has been drawn in silver as per the book's instructions. We have checked the sigils three times in the last hour and corrected a couple of minor imperfections found during the second check. Everything is fine now."
Researcher 1 : "Who did the first check and missed them ? Make sure they are punished. The General Secretary expects better from us."
Researcher 3 : "… yes, Comrade."
Researcher 1 : "Bring the mages in."
[Pained, fearful moans and quietly murmured protests.]
Researcher 1 : "Shut up ! You have all been granted a second chance at serving the People, despite your transgressions and participation in the Bourgeoisie's oppression. You should all be grateful. Take your places around the circle, one in each of the five square. Move along !"
Researcher 3 : "Everyone is in place. Beginning in three, two, one, now."
[Sounds of synchronized chanting from the five mages, slowly escalating to a crescendo.]
Researcher 2 : "For the purpose of the recording, the circle is starting to glow. The glow is intensifying. We have passed the mark where something went wrong yesterday."
Researcher 1 : "Good. Continue."
[The chanting reaches a fevered pitch, as the mages start screaming the words of the incantation. For several seconds, there is only white noise on the recording.]
Researcher 1 : "It … it's done. The mages are still alive and appear unhurt, though they have all passed out. Medics, get in there and check on them."
Researcher 2 : "Mana emanations are stable. The ritual seems to have been successful : something has appeared within the circle. But … what the hell is it ?"
Researcher 3 : "It looks like … a leg ? That's definitely a hoof of some kind at the end there. But it's not connected to anything."
Researcher 2 : "So … it worked. The book said this was supposed to [sound of pages ruffling] 'bring a piece of the Endless forth, that all may feast upon its bounty and grow strong from it'."
Researcher 1 : "Then I'll have to ask our superiors to send us some more re-educated volunteers."
From the audio recording of the second iteration of experiment Matushka, performed by the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People on March 15th, 1926.
"Our experiments on Object K, which was created as a result of the Matushka experiment, are going very well and show great promise for the Federation.
Every time we cut into Object K, it regrows the lost mass within seconds. This blatantly breaks the law of conservation of matter, implying that law may just be another example of Imperialist propaganda, meant to keep the People down by indoctrinating them into believing the scarcity of resources that led to their misery was an inherent part of existence.
After testing the effects of consumption of the meat obtained this way first on rats, then on non-mana-capable volunteers, we were able to establish that this meat, which we've called Izobiliye, does not have any harmful effects – much the opposite. Although the volunteers describe the Izobiliye as an 'acquired taste', it didn't take long for them to start devouring their assigned portions with gusto. According to our medical personnel, the volunteers, who have been eating nothing but Izobiliye for the past two weeks, show no sign of malnutrition or any kind of nutrient deficiency.
Therefore, the Institute has, in effect, discovered an infinite source of food. It is no surprise that the Imperial dogs chose to use this knowledge to create weapons of mass destruction instead of solving world hunger, as the power of the aristocracy has ever relied on their control of land, from which comes the food the People need to live. Yet, despite the tremendous potential of the Izobiliye, it is only one aspect of the results of the Matushka experiment.
In addition to the 'meat' of Object K, its 'blood' also possesses incredible abilities. While it can be drunk, we have found that injection directly into the bloodstream causes a quicker effect (and bypass the gagging reflex of most volunteers, as the liquid, for all its wondrous properties, tastes apparently quite foul).
Any sickness is healed within moments of the injection, including long-lasting diseases and injuries. During one test, the volunteer regrew a toe lost in an accident years ago : further experimentation revealed that the Panatseya can even regrow lost limbs, although the process is very painful (and the pain cannot be suppressed by medication or alcohol, as their numbing effects are cancelled by the Panatseya as well).
Repeated injections of Panatseya in healthy subjects, combined with a diet of Izobiliye, result in more permanent changes. Within a couple of weeks, the subjects display prodigious strength and speed, as well as the ability to regenerate even without further Panatseya injections. These, we believe, are the first true supersoldiers of the State, worthy of its greatness : the Leshy, whose loyalty to the Party is guaranteed by the slight diminishment of their intellectual faculties and their complete dependency on a steady diet of Izobiliye, as mundane food no longer suffices to sustain their enhanced metabolisms.
While our singular instance of Object K appears to be infinitely self-regenerating, there are technical limitations to how fast the bounty of the Party's ingenuity can be cut from a single source. We are ready to perform the Matushka experiment again, in order to increase production of Panatseya and Izobiliye for mass distribution."
Excerpt from a report of the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People, April 26th, 1926.
"Upon reviewing the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People's report on the Leshy, their deployment in the field has been approved. To guard against a possible Imperial decapitation strike using their own inferior supersoldiers, the first units to go through this process will be stationed in Moskva, under the command of the Committee for State Security, and tasked with the protection of the capital and the leaders of the State.
The Institute is to continue expanding the production of both Panatseya and Izobiliye, with the aim of converting as many as a hundred thousand soldiers to Leshy by the end of the year. A list of approved units will be compiled by the Commissariat, who will assist the experts of the Institute and assuage the worries and fears of any ill-informed soldier.
In addition, the production of Izobiliye must be industrialized to augment production to the point it can be used to ensure none of the State's children are left hungry, despite the machinations of foreign powers to prevent the Communist Utopia from reaching its true potential.
Finally, the Institute will continue researching the remaining contents of the tome liberated from the Imperials' greedy hands, in order to find new ways to make this lore serve the State."
Excerpt from Order 207, signed into effect by General Secretary Josef Jugashvili on April 30th, 1926.
Researcher 1 : "Everything ready ?"
Researcher 2 : "Yes. Each of the three mages ate Izobiliye for breakfast and they are raring to go."
Researcher 1 : "I'll bet."
[Sounds of synchronized chanting.]
Researcher 3 : "Everything is going fine so far. The circle is starting to glow – I told you getting the blood would be worth the paperwork."
Researcher 1 : "Yes, yes, we know. I'll make sure your name is mentioned in the report. But just not exploding isn't good enough."
[The chanting reaches a fevered pitch, before abruptly cutting off.]
Researcher 2 : "That's … a lot of smoke. Activate the ventilation … Alright. It's clearing up. Let's see what an 'agent of bounty and grace' looks like."
[Soft singing starts to be heard. There are no words to the song, but it is undeniably beautiful.]
Researcher 2 : "Is that … is that a satyr ? I mean, it has horns, and its legs look like deer legs, don't they ?"
Researcher 1 : "Yes. It's … it's beautiful …"
Researcher 3 : "Are you smelling that ? It smells like … like …"
[Sounds of objects being dropped to the ground – including the recorder. Several minutes of undistinguishable noise, before a sudden chorus of scream, and the end of the recording.]
From the audio recording of the first iteration of experiment Rebenok, performed by the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People on May 15th, 1926 (also the day of the recording's destruction, as well as the death of a third of the Institute's personnel).
"Comrades,
All is well. The researchers are doing good work. The production of Panatseya and Izobiliye is increasing beyond our current predictions.
Soon no child of Russy shall ever know hunger or sickness again."
Excerpt from a report written by the Commissars assigned to the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People, May 20th, 1926.
"COMRADES REJOICE !
Thanks to the great ingenuity of the Party's brightest minds, the days of famine caused by the incompetent leadership of the bourgeoisie and the sabotage of the traitors to Communism and foreign agents, are over !
Through the power of Communist Science, our devoted Comrades have succeeded in creating a limitless source of meat, the Izobiliye. And by decree of the compassionate and loving General Secretary, this wonder will be made available to all the people of Moskva, and soon the entire Federation.
The Izobiliye contains all the nutrients needed for a body to stay strong in service to the State, and can be prepared in a variety of ways to add a little diversity to the plate of the dedicated worker !
To taste this miracle of Communism for yourself, all you need is to present yourself at one of the distribution centers listed below with your membership card of the Party, and you will be allowed to take away as much food as you can carry !
Eat all the food ? No problem ! You can come back the next day and get more !"
Official public notice published across Moskva by the Office for the Public Good, May 27th, 1926.
"The hour is almost at hand. The Summer solstice approaches, when the realm of the Dark Mother is closest to our benighted reality. Soon, She will walk among us.
By telling the Party's higher-ups that we were going to create another, larger instance of Object K near the capital in order to facilitate the logistics of distribution, they were all too willing to assist us in securing an appropriate ritual site. They even provided us with all the authority we needed to obtain the ritual components.
The Circlet of Life has been crafted in accordance to the sacred rites described in our holy book, each of its three parts – the circlet, the headpiece and the clasp – forged from the melted jewellery of slain aristocrats and the bones of those in the Institute who didn't embrace the Truth even as we forced Her flesh and blood down their ungrateful throats.
Our operatives have acquired the ancient ritual knife from the warehouse where it was stored along with the other possessions of its previous owner, a noble who had no idea of the true nature of the curio. Nobody questioned them once our converts from the Commissariat flashed their badges and claimed the items within were needed for the Good of the People.
The knife is exactly as the Mother's envoys described it to us, still resonating with the echoes of the wondrous deeds it was used in thousands of years ago, when last men were wise and blessed enough to worship in Her temples. As I held it in my hand, I felt the cold radiating from the bone blade (human bone, if I know my ivory, which I do), and felt as if I could hear the prayers of our ancestors in the distance.
It is a beautiful thing, and with it we will change the world.
Not as beautiful as the children of the Dark Mother we called into this world, of course. They have been safely smuggled to the ritual location, and provided with all the luxuries beings of their station deserve (which should keep them busy and stop them from wandering outside until the need for discretion has passed).
Thanks to our new influence, we were even able to secure a location to perform the ritual within the capital itself. Through our deliveries of Panatseya, we have gained access to all of Moskva's hospitals, and are ready to seize the infants we'll need for the Great Undertaking.
While some part of me still thinks their sacrifice is regrettable, I know that is only the remains of the false morality we were all taught speaking. Their blood will usher in a new era for all of Russy, while they all become one with the Mother, and will live forever within Her, granted endless rebirth in Her service. Such a thing is not to be feared nor mourned, but celebrated.
All the preparations are complete, and the only ones with any clue are either part of our congregation or blinded by their greed for the Mother's lesser gifts, while those with the power to conceivably stop us are half a continent away.
The people of Moskva have tasted the boons of the Mother, and now it is time for the seeds we have sown to bloom, that all may bask in Her glory."
From a piece of paper left on the table of the Institute For The Subservience of Extranatural Affairs To The Good Of the People' mess room, June 20th, 1926.
June 22nd, 1926 – Moskva
Comrade Josef's first indicator that something was amiss was when the screams didn't stop.
Screaming was hardly uncommon in Moskva. Sure, most people had learned that it wouldn't help them by now, but the human instinct to make noise when you were in danger in an effort to get help was hard to suppress. So, when the Committee for State Security arrested someone in the streets on suspicions of anti-national activities, or when one of Loria's hunting parties found someone who suited their commander's depraved tastes, screaming was only to be expected.
However, this time the screams weren't abruptly stopping as their source was beaten into unconsciousness or otherwise silenced. And while Josef wasn't adverse to the sound of screaming – indeed, one of his favorite methods of relaxation was drinking a glass of alcohol while reminiscing on the screams of the enemies he had defeated on his path to absolute power in the Federation – this was beginning to get on his nerves.
He had been in the middle of some lovely daydreaming about the Federation's future now that the Institute had started producing results : an entire nation of strong, healthy, loyal workers, fed by an endless flow of Izobiliye. With no more need for agriculture, he and those he chose to keep their full intellect would be able to truly industrialize the country on a scale undreamt of by the corrupt capitalists. They would built a perfect utopia, one which would spread across the world, until all were united under one rule – his rule.
But the screams had disturbed that wonderful vision, and he was starting to get angry.
"What is all that ruckus about ?" he grunted after several minutes of the screams only growing louder.
Irritated, he got up and started walking toward the window of his office, which was both reinforced and barred. He was halfway there when the ground suddenly shook, with enough strength to throw him to the floor, where he laid for nearly an entire minute, until the earthquake subsided. Thankfully, no one had seen him in such a disgraceful position, so he wouldn't need to have any of his aides or guards executed to ensure their silence – he so disliked having to train their replacements.
Standing up, Josef resumed his trip to the window, glass shards cracking under his boots, and pulled the curtains away. The screaming had only intensified, and as he looked upon Liberation Square, he finally saw why.
There, right in front of the Kremlin, people were running, chased by black shapes that moved too quickly for him to get a good look at them. There was smoke in the distance – something was on fire.
What the hell ? This wasn't someone resisting arrest like he'd first thought, or even a riot. This was something else entirely, he knew it in his bones, but what, he had no idea.
Josef couldn't say how long he simply stood there, gaping as he watched chaos spread across his domain. Then the door to his office banged open, and he jumped around, hand moving to the gun at his hip. It stayed there when it saw it was Loria, the leader of the Commissariat of Internal Affairs. The small, fat man was sweating heavily, and the squad of guards behind him looked equally afraid.
For a fleeting moment, Josef wondered if this was a coup, if Loria had somehow managed to get the support needed to overthrow him and this whole madness outside was nothing but a distraction. But he discarded the notion immediately. No one in his inner circle would prefer Loria to him as supreme leader of the Federation : Loria's character and habits were just too repulsive. It was the main reason Josef trusted him with control of the Commissariat.
"Comrade Secretary !" gasped Loria. "I'm glad to have found you. We need to leave, now !"
"Loria ? What is going on ?" asked Josef.
"I don't know, but we aren't safe. There are – well, I don't know what they are, but dangerous elements appear to have infiltrated the capital. Some kind of ploy by our Imperialist enemies, no doubt. We need to get you to safety !"
Josef hadn't survived through the Revolution, the Civil War and more assassination attempts than he cared to remember by being slow to take action when required. There would be time to figure out what exactly had happened, and who to punish for it, later. Preserving his own skin was more important at the moment.
"Alright, let's move," he grunted. "We will regroup in the underground tunnels and see if we can figure out what's going on. You have called for the Army to come in ? If this is an Imperial attack, then we need the Leshy units in the city right now."
"I don't know," admitted Loria, sounding as frustrated with the whole situation as Josef felt. "The radio isn't working, apparently."
"Brilliant," muttered Josef, and then they were running through the Kremlin, toward the nearest passage leading to the underground tunnels.
As they filed in through the narrow entrance, an inhuman shriek echoed across the entire Kremlin. Everyone froze for a second, then they heard the sound of heavy footsteps, becoming louder and louder.
"Stay here and deal with whatever that was !" shouted Loria. The soldiers hesitated, then remembered what either of their two charges could order done to their families if they disobeyed, and turned to face the source of the noise.
Meanwhile, Josef and Loria went down the stairs into the tunnels and kept running. There were rooms deep in the tunnels which had been prepared to serve as bunkers in case of emergencies, with power generators, food and water where someone could hole up for weeks if necessary, and whose reinforced doors could withstand an attack spell (or at least that's what the architects had promised Josef).
They were maybe two hundred meters from their starting point (Loria wasn't much of a runner, even with fear pushing him) when terrified screams and gunfire reached them. The fight only lasted for a few seconds before quieting down – and, somehow, Josef didn't think his incompetent guards had managed to take down their attacker.
Josef didn't hesitate. He drew his pistol and shot Loria in the knee, before turning and running, leaving the head of the Commissariat to slow their pursuer down, ignoring his cries of pain and pleas for help. Loria had been a valuable subordinate, but nothing was more important than preserving his own life, and the other man would only have slowed him down anyway.
He ran, silently (he wasn't going to waste his breath) cursing himself for letting himself get out of shape since his takeover of the largest country in the world. In his youth, this wouldn't have been nearly as tiring, but now he was starting to feel tired after only a couple minutes of running –
He stopped right after the tunnel took a sharp turn to the left. The passage was blocked a few meters ahead : the ceiling had caved in, and something which resembled a cross between black roots and pulsating veins had completely filled the space.
Josef was about to turn back and take his chances finding another path through the tunnels when he heard breathing coming from behind him, and the sound of footsteps on the concrete floor – and these were not human footsteps, he was sure of it. The smell of it reached him first, and he had to keep himself from emptying his stomach as fear froze him in place. The smell was flowery and musky, sweet and bitter at the same time.
The thing, whatever it was, stopped. Then it spoke, in a chorus of several voices that were in perfect unison :
"Turn around, Comrade. Look at me."
Slowly, as if trapped in a nightmare from which he couldn't wake up, Josef turned back and saw the beast which had hunted him down the evacuation tunnels.
It was huge, needing to bend to fit into the tunnel. Its skin was black and leathery, parts of it shining under the illumination of the lightbulbs placed at regular interval on the ceiling, others covered in short fur and drying red blood. Four long limbs with too many joints, each ending in a clawed, disturbingly human-seeming hand, grew from a torso covered in a dozen teats that were leaking a pink fluid. Each pair of teats was separated from the rest by another bestial mouth from which purple-black tongues lapped at the horror's own milk in a grotesque cycle of self-feeding.
But as hideous as its body was, it was its face, draped in a mane of long red hair, which draw the gaze of the General Secretary. Its eyes were slit horizontally, like those of the goats Josef remembered seeing during his childhood in the countryside. But no goat, no matter how smart his owner claimed it was, had ever possessed the spark of intellect he saw in the four black-and-gold orbs that stared back at him from atop the creature's wolfish muzzle.
To his own horror, Josef found that his body was reacting to the monster's presence, drawn to it despite its hideousness.
"Comrade General Secretary," it said. "Why are you not happy ? Mother Russy is here. She will guide all her children to greatness. The People will be made anew, stronger and better than ever."
"What are you ?" he managed to say between clattering teeth.
"You don't recognize me, Comrade ?" It cocked its head to the side. "I am Natasha. Mother Russy's daughter, herald, and carrier."
'Natasha' ? He recognized that name. It was hardly uncommon in Russy, but he remembered seeing it on the report about the book stolen from the Imperials – the very book which the Institute had used to … make … the …
Oh.
This wasn't the Imperials' doing at all, was it ? This was the Institute's work. These despicable vermin he'd pulled out of the lageri had betrayed him and unleashed this … this abomination upon Moskva. He knew he shouldn't have let them live after the initial purges, shouldn't have brought them back, even to find defenses against the Reich's Wunderwaffen. He should have trusted in steel and machines, rather than run back to the bourgeoisie's occult methods.
"At last you understand," the monster crooned with its many mouths, before rising its left … hand ? Paw ? Whatever it was, it held a haunch of bleeding meat in it, which Josef recognized as raw, unprocessed Izobiliye. He hadn't touched the stuff himself, of course – he didn't need to, someone of his rank being granted access to the best food in the entire Federation. "Will you not eat of Her flesh ? Will you not drink of Her blood ? Will you not join Mother's children ? There is a place at Her feet waiting for you. This is all thanks to you, after all. Why did you not partake of Her bounty, even as you led so many others to Her embrace ?"
"I," he spat, anger briefly – so briefly – rising to surpass his horror, "serve no one !"
"So be it," it growled. It didn't sound angry, nor even disappointed. If anything, Josef fancied it sounded … pleased ? "Then your flesh will serve as sustenance for Her children."
Josef raised his gun, but it was knocked out of his hand with a desultory swipe of the creature's claws, which also ripped his arm to bloody ribbons. He screamed, first in shock, then in agony as the pain of the injury hit him.
It took several minutes for Comrade Josef Jugashvili, General Secretary of the Russy Federation and architect of years of systematic oppression and terror across the country's vast expanse, to finally die. The creature which had once been Agent Natasha took her time in devouring him alive, and long before he finally bled out, he begged for a chance to change his mind and serve the Dark Mother in any way She desired, tears running down his face even as other liquids ran down his legs.
But the Dark Mother granted no second chance to those who refused Her generosity. She hardly granted any first chances at all.
"If you found this recording, RUN. Go West, toward the Reich, and don't stop to read the rest until you are safe behind the guns of the Eastern Army. Then call Division Y and tell them everything they have must be sent to the East as soon as they can, and pray that it will be enough.
I am recording this while riding away from Moskva as far as my legs and this bicycle will carry me on what passes for a road in the Federation. I don't think anyone will check the dead drop I intend to leave this message in, but just in case, here is what I know :
Moskva is lost. Everyone still in the city is either a monster, dead, or will soon be one of the two. I don't know how or why it happened, but I suspect that mystery meat which was made available to everyone last month. Mercifully, I remembered Division Y's warnings and stayed well away from it apart from my attempt to secure a sample to send back to the Fatherland, but everyone I knew who partook vanished when things went mad. As I ran out of my apartment building, I saw broken doors from homes of people I know had eaten from it, and they were broken from the inside.
It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together and understand where the monsters are coming from. There are thousands, tens of thousands – hundreds ? – of them in the Russy capital at the very least. I can't describe what they look like in detail, because I didn't risk getting close to them, but they resemble beasts and men, mixed together in a most unholy fashion. They are hunting people, either killing and eating them or dragging them elsewhere for God knows what purpose. I also suspect that these monsters, or at least some of them, possess some kind of mind-controlling effect similar to that displayed by the Eikons in Ildoa and Bovariastadt.
On one occasion, I saw them approach a group of survivors who inexplicably laid down their weapons before following them, like cattle being driven to the slaughterhouse by nightmarish sheepdogs. Guns don't do anything to them, and the high-caliber weapons I saw a squad of the Federation's Army use against them barely slowed them down before they overran the poor bastards.
In addition to the monsters, Moskva is overrun with some kind of strange, black vine that grows at impossible speed. I saw with my own eyes a growth snake up around an entire building in the time it took me to run down a street, before crushing it to pieces along with everyone trapped inside.
But the monsters and the carnivorous vegetation aren't the problem – or at least, not the main problem. I trust that Division Y can handle them, just as they have handled every creature conjured by the enemies of the Reich since the Great War really began. It's the Dark Mother that terrifies me most for the future of the Empire. I don't know how I know its name, but I do, God help me. It is a giant thing, towering over the tallest buildings of Moskva. Its sin-black bulk is so large that it blots out the sun. It bleats with a thousand mouths full of flat, herbivore teeth, and I can still hear it even now, dozens of kilometers away –
I am losing my mind. May God protect the Reich. May God protect us all.
May God protect me –
[Sounds of bestial growls, impact, then screaming, before the recording ends.]"
Unencrypted recording, abandoned on the side of a road to the West of the Russy Federation's capital, next to a pile of human bones covered in tooth-marks, June 22nd, 1926.
"Today at approximately 10 in the morning, every instance of Project W on Castle grounds suddenly shifted to their war-form, regardless of their surroundings, and started screaming – including those whose biology would normally make such a thing impossible.
In each case, it took several moments for them to calm down, and there was some damage caused in several cases, though thankfully no one was hurt apart from the Werwölfe themselves, who promptly regenerated. Upon interrogating them to ascertain the cause of this display, they unanimously declared that the eldritch entities with which their human essence are fused suddenly experienced a great moment of atavistic terror, which overcame even the strongest-willed among them. Upon asking them what the source of that terror was, they were unable to provide clear answers, but all of them pointed to the East as the source of it.
The Untoten felt a similar disturbance, though their reaction to it was much less violent than the Werwölfe. The Puppen, however, fell unconscious (using the term loosely), apart from Evelyn, the first of their number, who claimed that she 'couldn't sleep, as [she] needs to take care of Gehrman'.
The Professor is currently working on coaxing the rest of his creations awake : they are all still alive, but appear to hide within their shells out of fear. He is convinced that their return to active service is only a matter of time; until then, we have sent orders for the instances of Projekt P which were sent to the Eastern border (and which, as far as we have been able to ascertain, suffered the same fate) to be brought back to Castle Schwartzstein with all haste.
It is clear that something has gone terribly, horribly wrong in the East. This, I fear, is what the Director has been worried about these last few months. We can only hope that our preparations will prove equal to the task."
From a report of Division Y, written at Castle Schwartzstein, June 22nd, 1926.
June 23rd, 1926 – Kingdom of Ildoa – Unified States Military Base
Nicol Teslus frowned as he looked at his instrument's readings. He had checked his calculations three times, and the device itself ten. Yet the results refused to change, meaning that he had to admit they were telling the truth, however unwelcome it might be.
Well then. This … this wasn't good. Actually, scratch that : it was an absolute bloody disaster.
"Excuse me ?" he called out. "Yes, you there. Come here, please."
One of the aides running around across the field laboratory of Research Group 51 rushed to Nicol's side. He had to admit, there was something satisfying to seeing someone respond to him so quickly.
"Yes, sir ?"
"Could you get me General Hutton, please ? Unless I'm mistaken, something has happened that I think he'll want to be informed of."
"… are we in danger ?" asked the aide, looking a lot more nervous. "Should we evacuate the base ?"
"Hmm ? Oh, no," Nicol replied absent-mindedly, before adding : "Well, we don't need to evacuate the base. Not yet, at least. I'm afraid we are in danger, though. Tremendous danger, as a matter of fact, but evacuating won't make us any safer. I'm not sure running all the way back to the States would be enough, to be frank. That's why I need to talk to the General. Now hurry up, please."
"I … very well. I'll get the General right away."
Nicol watched the aide walk out of the workshop at a brisk pace (nobody ran inside the workshop, not if they were smart, and much to the inventor's quiet joy, everyone in Research Group 51 was smart in some way or another). Then he turned back to his workbench, clearing it and putting a fresh sheet of paper on it.
"Right then," he mused to himself as he pulled a fresh pen out of the box. "Now, how can I explain to the good General in terms he will understand that the Apocalypse is upon us, and that our only hope to stop it may be to join forces with the very people we were sent here to keep in check ?"
"Thousands of Russy refugees are fleeing through the border. Despite our initial fears, this is not an invasion : these people are all civilians, and there are many women and children among them. The first arrived at the border two days ago, having managed to acquire mechanical transportation, but the vast majority are on foot – strangely, none of them are using animal-powered vehicles.
According to our translators (who, by the way, would appreciate reinforcements to help deal with the flow of civilians, only a tiny fraction of whom speak Imperial), they are fleeing from hordes of monsters rampaging across the Federation. Most of these monsters, they claim, are coming from the East, but others are apparently being birthed by farm and wild animals, all of whom have been driven into a frenzy and attack all humans on sight. Even here on the border, our horses have been thoroughly spooked since the 22nd, and we've had to put down more than a quarter of their number.
We have set up lines of evacuation to move them to nearby Imperial villages and cities, and organized humanitarian efforts to provide them with shelter and supplies. There's been some grumbling from the civilian population at the presence of these unexpected visitors, but nothing we cannot handle with a few carefully orchestrated leaks regarding what we think is going on in the Federation.
This is most likely related to the phenomenon reported by every mage deployed on the Eastern border on the 22nd, and the threat foretold by Division Y. At the advice of the Division's representatives, we have sent scouting parties, both aerial mages and on foot, to learn more about the nature of the threat. As of yet, none of them have returned, but that is to be expected, as it has only been a handful of hours since their departure by the time of this message's sending.
I am aware that doing so without the authorization of Berun might be regarded as breaching the treaties between the Reich and the Federation, but given the involvement of Mythos weaponry, I made the decision that time was of the essence and acted on my own authority. Should High Command decide that my actions were in error, I ask that I alone bear the responsibility for them, as my subordinates were only following my orders."
Excerpt from a top-priority transmission from the headquarters of the Eastern Imperial Army to Central Headquarters, June 30th, 1926.
AN : Well, I did promise that the Federation's dabbling with the Mythos would make the Beast Scourge of Yharnam look like a mild flu. Do you think I succeeded ?
Fun fact : according to my admittedly cursory research, in 1926, Moscow's population was around 2 million people (apparently the Soviets did a census just that year : isn't that convenient ?). Our poor Imperial spy didn't get to see all of the disaster while running for his life.
Six months might seem like a short time for the Federation to mess things up that badly, but with the Institute already existing by the time Natasha shambled back to the Federation with the Kindermärchen, the Federation's leadership not-so-secretely terrified of the Wunderwaffen and pushing for quick results, and the fact that a high-Class entity manipulated the whole thing, I feel it works.
I based my portrayal of Josef Jugashvili on how he is portrayed in the official English translation of the Youjo Senki novels. If you have read the novels, and would have enjoyed seeing Loria's death on-screen, I thought he didn't deserve such an honor and had him unceremoniously disposed of by dear Natasha on her way to the General Secretary.
The inspiration for this chapter was the scenario "Mom's Coming To Visit" (yes, that is what the authors called it) from the CthulhuTech book Damnation View - specifically, what happens if the player characters fail catastrophically in preventing the cultists' ritual and Shub-Niggurath manifests in the Northwest of the United States.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to your thoughts and reactions. Especially your theories as to what is going on with Teslus in that last scene, but I am also open to suggestions on how this new stage of the Great War will unfold from a strategic perspective, or ideas for "unit types" for the Progeny (which is the name I'm giving to the Dark Mother's horde of monsters).
Next : reactions, scouting, and diplomacy in the shadow of the End Times.
Zahariel out.