Day 250
"What do you see out there?" Purilla asked. She floated in the endless, starlit void of the Domain, through which a sliver of raw color slashed through it, like a fracture in space. She saw it only from a distance, much like the jagged slash through the Materium that was the Cicatrix Maledictum.
I see daemons, many unaligned in the Great Game, prowling the waters. The same as always.
"The Warp is ever-shifting," Purilla said, her brow furrowing slightly. "Yet, you always see the same things."
I see them trying to disguise themselves as other things, though I couldn't say what. I just see them as they are.
As though in emphasis, something colorless floated by. It was shifting from a solid, to a liquid, to a gas in her eyes, manipulated by Tide's invisible tendrils like clay. The comparison brought a thought to mind.
"Have you tried shaping the remnants of the daemons?" Purilla asked. Tide did not seem surprised by the question, nor particularly enthused.
I have, if only to see if I could, to no effect. Beyond applying it like a salve to a wounded soul, or adding it to the Ork gestalt to enhance our greenskinned guests, it is of little use to me.
"Could you show me you shaping it?" She asked, a hint of her eagerness entering her voice. She could feel his reluctance at the idea or, perhaps, at the reasons she had for the request.
You have been increasingly eager to test your powers, and those of this Warpstuff, as of late. While I do not wish to hold you back, caution is the height of wisdom when dealing with the Warp.
Purilla pursed her lips. "I… I know. Its just… being connected to you has made the nightmares stop and… And I don't hear whispers whenever I use my powers anymore, even doing things that I'd have struggled to previously. I want to know how far I can go."
I understand that. I too wish to know what my own limits are, but experimenting with powers of the kind we both possess can be dangerous in this universe. Not just for ourselves, but for those around us, who rely on us. What if your powers lured a daemon strong enough that I could not defeat it and it consumed your soul and those of all within the Domain?
Purilla nodded, if reluctantly. "I just… I want to help. I'm not a fighter like the Sisters of Battle and you don't exactly need me for reading people's souls or minds. I don't want… to feel useless."
She felt Tide all around her, felt the sincerity in his next words.
Purilla, you do not owe anyone anything. You do not have to be useful to anyone. If anything, this galaxy owes you much more than you it.
"I… I understand," Purila lied and she knew Tide saw through her, but he said nothing more about it. Instead, she still felt his reluctance, but it was supplanted by something else.
Very well, you may examine a small amount of the Warpstuff. However, if I detect even the slightest hint of danger to you or to the souls in my care, all experimentation ends.
She threw a pleading look out into the void and felt the equivalent of a sigh.
At least until proper safety measures can be taken.
And with that, an invisible tendril that she felt like feeling the ripples movement underwater could cause slipped in front of her, dragging with it what looked, at least to her perception, like a teaspoon of the Warpstuff.
At first, she just studied it with her physical eyes, floating around it to view the floating substance from multiple angles.
It shifted and changed in her view, yet remained the same in many ways. At first, it was a liquid, colorless, just floating there almost like water spilled in zero gravity. And then it was solid, like shards of tiny crystal or snowflakes, flitting about like in a breeze, yet still almost translucent. Finally, it became gaseous, swirling around itself like a tornado small enough to fit atop her hand. Assuming, of course, that Warpstuff could even be measured in the physical sense.
"Can you try shaping it?" She asked. She could feel Tide's curiosity on the subject as well, though it was still accompanied by a great amount of caution. Nonetheless, he acquiesced.
Slowly, the Warpstuff took on a new shape, though it still shifted between the states of matter without any noticeable pattern. Tide shaped it into a winged serpent, one that fully stretched wouldn't have been longer than even her pinky finger with wings the length of the space between her knuckles. It was little more than a statue, keeping that shape only by Tide's effort.
This time, she did not look with her eyes, but with her mind. She reached out towards the serpent, feeling the power that rested there. She had not touched anything like it before, a pure… emptiness. A vacuum, waiting to be filled, a potential waiting to be unleashed.
Purilla.
She opened her eyes at Tide's warning tone and realized, with a start, that she had been reaching out towards the serpent with her pale hand, as though trying to touch it. Her hand snapped back like it had been burned. "I-, I didn't mean to-."
I understand. Perhaps we should end the experiment here.
"No!" Purilla cried out. "I felt like we were about to make a breakthrough!"
Purilla, not knowing what you're doing is bad enough when dealing with the Warp. Not realizing what you're doing is liable to get you killed, if not worse.
She felt the sincerity of his concern for her, but she shook it off. "I can handle it, I'm sure I can!"
Magnus the Red was sure he could handle it. Horus was too and so was the Emperor. None of them have a fate that I wish for you to share.
"I…" Purilla sunk to her knees, reality forming a floor underneath her as she did so. She hung her head. "I just want to help…"
And you are helping. When I view the Warpstuff, all I see is an odd substance that I can move around. Your eyes were able to perceive shapes, states of matter.
She glanced up, finding herself now within the hollow-tree room, Tide's tree form kneeling in front of her, one bark-covered hand on her shoulder.
"This line of inquiry clearly shows promise," Tide said and she looked at him with hope shining in her eyes. "Just… take it slow, please. For your sake and for mine."
She nodded in acceptance, but just then a thought occurred to her. "You weren't able to see the shapes?"
Tide's head tilted at her, branches swaying softly. "I forced it to take the form of a winged serpent, but the snowflakes you saw, the tornado, I did not see any of that. I only see the Warpstuff as just that, the substance which daemons are made of. Nothing more."
"So… what if that's also true of the things in the Warp?" Purilla asked with growing excitement. "What if you only see the… the basic elements of everything, what they're made of!"
Tide leaned back, considering her words. He rose and took a seat atop his chair and she took her own across the table from him.
"I'll admit, my understanding and sight, when it comes to souls and the Warp, is less than perfect," Tide said slowly. "Though, that's something of a leap to assume I only see what they're made of. I see how they interact with one another, I see how they are separate from each other, and how they are connected as well. Well, most of the time."
Unbidden, the entity in the Warp that had interfered in the Frozen Wastes rose to the forefront of her mind. She nodded, her excitement slightly subdued at the thought that something like that had seemingly taken an interest at least in something on Monstrum. However, the danger of a powerful Warp entity taking notice was nothing new, even if the mysterious nature of this… thing was.
"Maybe I can help with your understanding of the Warp as well as the Warpstuff," Purilla suggested. This time, she felt Tide's caution flare to a massive degree.
"Purilla, there is a significant difference between experimenting with untainted Warpstuff and staring into the Warp," Tide said as he leaned forward. "I understand you've entered the Warp yourself before, but you've only ever done so at great need, great risk, and for a very short time. What you're suggesting is prolonged exposure."
"I'd be safe here," Purilla pointed out, but Tide's head shook slowly.
"No," Tide said, his voice now deathly serious. "You wouldn't be. For whatever reason, my Domain is hidden from much of the Warp, or at least beneath the notice of most entities within it. But that is not an absolute."
Something in his voice made a feeling of deep foreboding well up inside of her, but Purilla pressed on. "These entities that you can't hide from, are they a present threat?"
Tide already understood her argument, but she could still feel his strong disagreement. "Perhaps, perhaps not. When I found the place where they dwell, I fled. I do not know if they followed or not."
"Is the entity you encountered in the Frozen Wastes one of them?" Purilla suggested. Tide was quiet for a time, but ultimately shook his head.
"I do not believe so," he said. "From what I can tell, that entity was present prior to my… exploration. For how long, I can't say, but most likely it was around long before I became aware of my Domain. It may even be the source of much of the… oddness said to exist within the Ghoul Stars, though that is only a theory. The entities I speak of dwell in the depths of the Warp."
She nodded, stroking her chin in thought. "So, if we just avoid the depths, then we should be safe, right?"
Tide tilted his head at her. "It's the Warp."
She admitted her mistake. "Alright, relatively safe."
"… Possibly."
"Is that a yes?" Purilla asked, hopefully.
"Possibly," Tide repeated. His head tilted slightly again, as though a thought had just occurred to him. "Though, if you truly wish to help, perhaps there is another way you could be of aid."
Tide gestured towards the center of the table, which slowly yawned open, releasing a small swarm of bioluminescent bugs that took flight and directed themselves to form the shape of Monstrum.
"There is a significant number of untrained psykers on Monstrum," Tide said. "Many were held captive by the Imperial-loyal hive cities for an eventual visit from a black ship. Others have gone unnoticed, but possess powers that can be… dangerous. Both to themselves and to others."
"Such is the case on most hive worlds," Purilla said, her brow furrowing. "How can I help you with this?"
"I don't want you to help me," Tide replied. "I want you to help them. Teach them how to control their powers. I've been able to avoid any major accidents and undo most of the minor ones, but its only a matter of time before someone gets killed from a psyker's unstable power going out of control. I cannot take away their inherent psychic abilities, nor would I do so even if I could as it would be akin to mutilation as I understand it. Nor do I wish to keep them all comatose or give them up to the black ships."
"Teach them?" Purilla repeated, her voice suddenly full of trepidation. "I… I wouldn't know where to start."
"I would aid you, if you have need of me," Tide assured her. "However, while I may understand on a theoretical level what it is like to touch the Warp, I lack the ability to do so in the way that you and other psykers do."
"What… what would I even teach them to do?" Purilla asked.
"For starters, I would focus on getting them to control their powers," Tide said. "Connection to me may have quieted the whispers and nightmares many psykers have to deal with, but emotional outbursts can still cause their abilities to flare up."
"So, you want me to teach them… like I was taught?"
"I would rather you didn't," Tide answered. "Control is important, but the methods employed by the Imperium ware abhorrent, I think you'll agree."
"Then what else can I go off of?"
Tide shook his head from one side to another. "I don't know, I'll be honest. This is new ground for myself as well. There are other cultures and species with their own understandings of the Warp, such as some of the Eldar and some xenos within the Tau Empire, but without access to any examples, I'm afraid I can provide precious little."
"You want me to start from scratch," Purilla said. It was a statement, not a question.
"I am sure that once we reach out to other stars, more understanding will be acquired and our teaching methods can be refined," Tide said.
"In that case, I don't think it would be a good idea to teach every psyker," Purilla said. "Training can be helpful, but if we train them wrongly, it could be more harmful."
"I agree," Tide said, nodding. "I've created a list of those individuals most likely to cause an accident, whether because of their emotional outbursts or because of their power. I believe they should be the starting class."
"Should we begin with a less… unstable group?" Purilla asked, her misgivings leaking into her voice.
"These individuals are the ones who need the training the most urgently in my view," Tide said. "Otherwise, they are liable to cause harm beyond what I can repair."
"Would they be willing students?" Purilla asked, though she already knew the answer. It was Tide, after all.
"Each of them is aware of their powers," Tide said. "They would welcome training, albeit for different reasons."
"Reasons, such as…?"
"Some view their abilities as a curse and simply wish to be rid of them," Tide said. "Others are more curious and just wish to understand their power. A few… A few wish to use their power to control others."
"And you want me to teach them how?"
"I want you to teach them how to not explode the heads of every living being in a fifty-meter radius when they lose control," Tide said. "I'll introduce myself to the class and make certain they understand that using their abilities at the expense of others is… discouraged."
"How many of them are there?"
"Fifteen."
Purilla nodded slowly. "Alright," she said at last. "I'll do it. On one condition."
"You wish to continue experimenting with the Warpstuff." It was a statement, not a question, but Purilla nodded anyways. "Very well. However, until I am satisfied that it is safe and your students are capable of controlling their abilities, you will be the only one allowed to do so. No class projects with daemon-matter."
"Understood."
Far from Monstrum, the Flood-infested Space Hulk floated towards its new orbit around the outermost planetoid within the system. It could have been returned to orbit Monstrum, but the presence of such a large gravitational body, besides being a weapon for anyone capable of accessing its engines, was causing issues with some of the more finely tuned systems in the various hive cities. Fortunately, the Ork engines had been powerful enough to get it not only away from the hive world, but also send it floating towards the icy world floating a few lightminutes away. It would be several years and many, many course corrections from the Star Road before it was safely in orbit there, but so long as it wasn't heading towards Monstrum, that was sufficient.
Upon the skin of the hulk, crusted with rock and fused metal, Flood forms of all shapes and sizes scurried about. Some were smaller than fingernails and moved in swarms, bodies fat with filled acid sacs and tiny mandibles, scuttling into gaps to loosen and break down the fused portions and direct the efforts of their larger kin. Others were the size of humans or even several times that, tearing down and clearing away excess debris in the vacuum, genestealer-enhanced biology and the occasional infusion of additional nutrients keeping them safe. Scattered among those many thousands of mid-sized forms were the titan-sized Flood forms made of tendrils and claws and legs and hooks and many, many eyes. They cut away at the rock, pulling out attack fighters and shuttles and tanks by the score, bringing such craft into themselves to vanish through Neural Transit and reappear in warehouses and factories where Tech-Priests garbed in cloaks and malleable puppet-flesh looked them over and took them apart for any scrap of knowledge or data.
Left behind in the wake of the hulk's passing were long strings of drifting rock, sapped of any valuable resources held within them, and a trio of craft that had once been embedded in the hulk. The first and now furthest was also the smallest, a Cobra-class destroyer with a crumpled prow and engines covered in freshly-erected scaffolding, where yet more bioforms crawled with materials for their repair. The second was slightly longer, a Sword-class frigate whose underside was still largely encased in solid rock that was slowly being chipped away at by mining bioforms. Then, the most recently excavated floated just a few days journey back from the hulk at its current pace: A Lunar-class cruiser, complete with a nova cannon pointing out of its prow, its long-exposed interior being sealed up once more with hull plating and armor.
Such vessels were old and would take time to repair without proper facilities, even as new materials were shipped instantly to their destination, while older components were replaced with freshly built or grown ones. However, none of these vessels could compare to the crown jewel, which had been returned to the void for the first time in countless millennia, its systems slowly being brought back online without the use of corrupting influence.
In orbit of Monstrum, the Embrace of Audacity's power generators were brought back online and its forges lit with flames born of promethium rather than Warpstuff.