Chapter 20: Kov
A/N: Clarification on the perk from the last chapter. The knowledge that Isaac got was a massive repository of Alchemy knowledge. He would have to roll the perk again to get Transmutation, because the combination of the two along with Isaac's other powers would be too overpowered to write an interesting story about. I also don't want to explain both concepts and the differences between the two in one chapter. That would both be boring to write and to read, I think.
Once again. Shout out to Wrathkal on Spacebattles for lending me their time in looking for errors in the chapter. I really appreciate it. If you wanna support them, look for their ko-fi and send them a few bucks (I wasn't asked to shout their ko-fi out or anything. I just think they're swell and will remove this portion of the shout-out if asked.).
Kov Zulu
Prince of the Immortal Sun
820. M30:
For a few moments, Kov knelt beside his brother, holding him in his embrace. The effort didn't come as naturally to him as it would have for Isaac, but Kov resisted the urge to call for his help anyway. Esau had specifically asked that both Isaac and Kha be absent for good reasons, even if a part of Kov couldn't help but wish that they were both present.
Esau couldn't be seen to be overly reliant on either Isaac or Kha, especially at such a pivotal moment in the Legion's history. Even though Esau wished to build a paternal bond with the Legion, they were still his soldiers, and soldiers could never be commanded by a general who seemed unreliable or weak to his men. That kind of thing always invited challenge and doubt, both of which were disastrous for any army, much less that of a Primarch.
Kov found himself suppressing a sigh. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
After one reassuring nudge to Esau's shoulder and a reluctant nod from Esau – a signal to both tell Kov that he was okay or would be and to push Kov to carry on while he worked to pull himself together - Kov stood up and stood back. He placed himself towards Esau's right, as the Primarch of the Second began to stand up.
Kov took a moment to glance at Frederick who seemed to be stuck in a moment of indecision, his hand reaching out in support of Esau, but his body refusing to close the distance between the two of them. If he, like most of the Second took after Esau, he would beat himself up for not taking the opportunity to bond for months or years afterwards.
So Kov spoke.
"Go to your Father." Kov advised. "Support him. You will not weaken him in the eyes of your brothers."
Frederick glanced at Kov, his features looking as if Kov had struck him, and immediately rushed forward to help Esau stand.
With a tragedy averted, Kov signalled for medical drones to fill the prison cells and attend to the marines, helping some and stalling others from leaving their cells before they recovered wherever at all possible.
About a third of the Second Legion had recovered enough to interact with them intelligently. A surprising figure, given the pain they had just gone through less than five minutes ago. The praise heaped onto them by Imperial officials were far from empty boasts, it seemed.
Interestingly, as Kov processed the live feeds through his helmet and cybernetics, most of the fully sensate Astartes were able to accept that the drones attending to them were in fact attempting to assist them instead of trying to attack them. Yet, at the same time, almost all of them refused assistance when they were offered food or medicine, with only people like Lloyd and the Captains who were familiar with them accepting their help.
Even when the drones explained that they were acting under the explicit orders of their Primarch, and thus fell under his purview, they were ignored.
Which was fair enough, Kov supposed. He doubted that he would believe the drones if he had found himself in their situation. A few hundred or so marines even attempted to destroy them outright – again, a pretty small number given the thousands of marines. Fortunately, the squishy foam coverings of the drones largely protected them from the abuse as they did their level best to assist the marines.
Eventually, Kov instructed the the drones to switch tactics, and they soon began giving the marines evidence of an affiliation with the Mechanicum instead. This, worked like a charm, though many were still wary and refused help regardless.
All in all, the Marines acted roughly how Esau would have twenty years ago, before he grew up. Kov shook his head.
None of them had shown off behaviour that set off alarm bells in Kov's head, but it was good to be careful regardless. Especially since Kov would have a key hand in their acclimation process and the eventual integration of Naufrag troops and support.
A part of him regretted accepting the idea when it was presented to him, but he loved his brother, and understood the necessity of having multiple neutral models for marine behaviour, so he crushed his uneasy feelings. Even if Kov was seriously beginning to doubt that he had the constitution to deal with almost eleven thousand smaller versions of Esau without turning irrevocably and irreversibly insane.
Esau eventually managed to pull himself together, with Frederick's supporting hand on his shoulder as Marines began leaving their cells.
While the first third was steadily making their way out of their cells and onto massive intricate walkways, and hallways with a clear view of Esau, Kov and Nimis, the remaining two thirds of the Marines were still in their cells. They still suffered the after-effects of their transformations, even though the transformation had ended and would likely suffer consequences for a short period of time, until they managed to get food and proper medical attention.
While no screams rang out, it was clear that many were still visited by phantom pains their minds and bodies worked to adapt to their sudden change in circumstance. The severity of the pain experienced seemed to directly correlate to the level of infection present in the Marine at the time the cure was administered. Uninfected Marines like Lloyd and the Captains on the other hand, were suffering only a mild case of confusion and numbness, while others milled about their cells in a semi-delirious state that they were quickly escaping.
Both a head count and a battery of tests would be necessary to confirm it, but this likely meant that near – if not a hundred percent of the 'pure' stock of Astartes transformed by the cleansing process had survived it.
Kov released a breath he didn't realise he was holding in. That was a massive relief. The loss of those marines would be a massive blow to morale.
Even in this sombre moment, Kov felt a shadow of a smile reach his, thankfully concealed, features. Now they could focus on the Second without worrying about the spectre of the lives that – it could be argued – were unnecessarily risked, hanging over them.
Slowly, more and more Space Marines managed to hobble and stumble out of their cells, their constitution quickly recovering, even if they were obviously still far from a hundred percent. As the first Marines began leaving their cells, Frederick nudged Esau much as Kov had, and received a similar, if slightly more enthusiastic nod.
Frederick stepped back to his previous position with more gusto than Kov thought possible, given the weight of his armour as he stood stolidly while Esau clasped his hands behind his back and straightened his posture.
Unlike Kov and Nimis, who still wore their helmets, Esau and Frederick had their faces out for the Marines to see. The effects of that decision became clear as Space Marines began noticing the party of four's presence amongst their midst and Kov once again got to see the effect that Esau's mere presence had on others.
Kov could see bodies shake and eyes dilate – even from a distance of a hundred meters. It looked like the Second was about to fall to their knees – their bodies unable to support themselves in his mere presence.
By now, Kov was used to seeing moments like these.
He had seen them when he met with the original tribesmen and clans of Naufrag Primus and the hive dwellers of Naufrag Noctis. When people saw Esau for the first time, they knew that they were looking at royalty. At greatness. At nothing like anything faced by humanity in its millions of years of existence. Just seeing him told the mind that he was the most important person in any room he was in.
He knew the effect well, because once, Kov had been a victim of Esau's aura. A boy not even a teenager gazing at a demigod. Now, it didn't affect him in the slightest - he Soul-AMP and the various enhancements made to his body had ensured it - and he found his prior assertions about his perception of Esau's 'inherent greatness' cringe-worthy.
A good thing too, because Esau hated the effect that he had on people. He found it distasteful that his mere presence would warp minds and conversations to focus on him whenever he entered a room that was not ready for him. He abhorred that he would stick in people's minds as they forgot childhood friends and past lovers alike in their old age, or during bouts of sickness.
To Esau, it was a violation of the connections that people worked to build with each other to so effortlessly find himself so high in people's esteem for simply existing. Kov tended to agree. Besides even that, the aura also tended to stick in people's minds above Esau's greater hardships and achievements. Above his greatest achievements in war, medicine, mechanical engineering, and architecture, people remembered the effect his aura had on them.
In his most unguarded moments, when both he and Esau were nowhere near their subordinates, Esau would admit that it ate at him to have something he didn't work for to be recognised above something he spent hundreds of hours working towards.
Yet, he wasn't toning it down, even though it became simplicity itself to do so. Kov nodded.
A test then.
Esau had worked tirelessly with Isaac to dial his aura down. Sealing it away as necessary whenever he wore certain sets of accessories or pieces of armour. That way he could engage with people honestly and openly in every day life without his aura being in the way. This didn't work a hundred percent of the time, as his aura was too nebulous to properly seal away until recent developments with the Forge had arisen, but it had worked enough.
Yet here Esau was, his aura as magnificent as it ever was, about to see thousands of Marines at a time lose control of their bodies at the mere sight of him. Kov was about to say something when-
Wait.
Kov narrowed his eyes. None of the marines were collapsing, or shouting sudden proclamations of loyalty or swearing to follow Esau until the end of time. The Marines clearly recognised their progenitor if their stunned silence was anything to go by. They were also clearly enthused by the fact that they were meeting Esau, their confusion notwithstanding. Already, even with less than a fifth of the Legion outside of their cells, bouts of excited murmurs rang out among some Astartes that recognised each other.
Each and every marine understood the magnitude of the moment they were in, and they were not overwhelmed as Kov had thought they would be.
Ah.
It seemed that the null aura they now shared would be more of a boon than had been initially realised. The marines were shaking, but not because of the sheer weight of Esau's aura. They were simply overwhelmed by the emotion of meeting someone many of them thought that they would never have the opportunity to meet. A far more reasonable reason, especially to Esau's eyes.
Kov took a second look at the sensor data taken by the medical drones.
Instead of an abnormal process of psychic indoctrination common to most Primarch – Astartes interactions, Kov was simply looking at a series of biochemical reactions that, while worryingly high, were not as insidious.
Kov didn't have to look at Esau's face to see that the result of his impromptu test had buoyed his spirits somewhat, and magnified the pride he had for his sons, even though there was no doubt that he still grieved.
Soon, the walkways and the atrium of the prison was filled with marines, each and every one of them having managed to get through most of the pains without being worse for wear. Physically, that is. Kov had no doubt that most had sustained some traumatic psychological damage from the experience as parts of their bodies, minds and souls had been remade.
When enough marines had exited their cells, Esau opened his mouth to speak.
"My name is Esau Zulu." He announced, quieting the few murmurings that had picked up amongst the marines. His voice carried to the marines through speakers hidden throughout the prisons ceilings. "And I am the Primarch of the Second Legion of the Legiones Astartes."
Somehow, it managed to become quieter, the attention of each and every Astartes focused on his every word.
"I see that you are as overjoyed to meet me as I am to meet you." He continued, his voice a mixture of authoritative and calm. "Unfortunately, our first meeting is marred by tragedy."
Here Esau's voice shifted by barely an octave, but Kov heard the shift, and so did the marines if their perplexed expressions were any indication.
"When the Second Scions arrived in the Naufrag System, the Legion stood at over twenty thousand strong." Esau explained. "Now, in front of me, stands less than eleven thousand Astartes."
Kov frowned, but made no comment. Though Esau could have made a softer opening statement, he had chosen his words for a reason, and Kov had to trust that.
There was a realisation among some marines, but most were simply stunned by the revelation. The confused murmurings picked up again, except this time, Kov could hear the murmurs begin to turn into shouts though they remained in the minority. Kov wasn't particularly worried that he and Esau would have a riot on their hands, as the outrage was muted by confusion and a lack of orientation, but it had to be addressed, and soon.
"How?" A lone marine on the top floor asked, loud enough to cut through the din and reach Kov, Nimis, Frederick and Esau. The question must have been blurted out because as thousands of marines turned to him, he shrunk into himself.
Kov knew the feeling well, the poor guy probably wished that he had never been born.
"It is a matter of treachery, and cowardice." Frederick replied in Esau's stead. If this bothered Esau, he made no outward sign of it. "Many of you will not recognise me as I am now, for many of you were still children when I was still whole, so I will reintroduce myself. I am Frederick Temba, Legion Master of the Second Scions."
The few angry whispers turned to silence as the Second Legion processed his words. It seemed that the Captains' assertion that it was his lone presence that managed to hold the Legion together through their journey in the Warp was true. As even the most disbelieving marine seemed to believe him. That or the rigid command structure of the Second had conditioned marines to accept incomplete or contradictory messaging from their superiors much easier than what would normally be possible.
Kov decided that it was probably a mix of the two.
"This form has been wrought by the hands of the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun, and we now find yourselves on Naufrag Quintus - the fifth planet of the Naufrag system – in a warehouse made by our gene-father to hold us. Our journey has been completed." Frederick explained, with a confidence that belied years of experience. "We find ourselves here because of the unfortunate consequences of our battles with the machine-cults at Ceraton. Though we beat back the cults and destroyed them, as was our duty, they still managed to get through our defences and succumbed to the illness the machine cult cultivated and worshipped."
Any objections on the part of the Second Legion were stopped as Frederick continued to explain without pause.
"Before you object, I know that the sickness was culled from us. That we lost battle brothers, veteran and newly inducted battle-brother alike." He said. "However, it now seems evident that the sickness at Ceraton came in many forms, as the Legion was to soon find out on our unprecedented almost one hundred year long journey. Some of you may be aware of the strange goings on of our time in the Immaterium. How we both had too little to sustain us despite the hunger we shared, and yet had enough mechanical and medical supplies to last the most of the trip despite that? How the Apothecarions lacked the chemicals needed to put marines in suspended animation for the duration of the trip even though they were so well stocked otherwise?"
Some marines nodded, while others frowned, deep in thought – including Lloyd. Even if most were ignorant of the true goings on aboard the ship, it seemed that no Space Marine present was unobservant, or fools for that matter.
"We had been infected by the machine cult of Ceraton, the half-mechanical nature of the sickness keeping the infection hidden from even our most experienced Apothecarions and Techmarines. Like the initial infection on Ceraton, the infection turned those who were infected into beasts, if intelligent ones." He continued. "The infected ruined our supplies, and sought to infect others by bonding them with corrupted implants."
At this revelation, a significant portion of marines looked towards limbs that had been replaced, and were surprised to see fully organic body parts made by the Extremis Virus waiting for them. From the looks on the faces of the marines without a helmet, the truth of the situation had begun to dawn on them.
"Yes." Frederick confirmed, ripping many from their reverie. "We were infected."
The deception was obvious to any who knew the truth of the situation. Only about eighty to eighty-one percent of the Legion had been infected for sure, but neither Kov, Esau or Nimis saw fit to mention it. That kind of revelation could serve to cause a schism among the marines and lay the bed for clashes in ideology.
With the nineteen percent of the 'pure' marines staying firmly in the minority, even after the results of the cure had reduced the number of formerly infected marines greatly, that would not be a good thing. In time, when the Legion began to recover and the truth no longer mattered, could it be revealed.
Kov suppressed a shudder that ran down his spine. He hated being a politician.
A wave of melancholy ripped through the marines, killing any of the former enthusiasm in its wake.
"And now, you are infected no longer." Esau interjected at the waves' crescendo, turning the sadness to hope and curiosity. "Through the combined efforts of the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun, we find ourselves here, free from the illness. But not its consequences. As you've no doubt already surmised, your bodies have been altered, a necessary conceit to allow the success of the cure."
He unclasped the hands from behind his hands and began to gesture animatedly to the crowd of attentive Astartes.
"The affliction you suffered was partly psychic in origin, which meant that ordinary vaccines and antidotes would never work regardless of the genius of their creation." Esau explained. "To ensure that the infection, or others like it would never return, we had to alter the very fabric of each and every one of your beings. We had to change your very souls. We had to turn you into nulls."
Here, Kov expected anything from outrage, to confusion or denial. Nulls were known as 'Pariahs' in many places for good reason, the null aura they naturally exuded dampening psychic connections and creating physical and discomfort by mere proximity. Esau had essentially just announced that the Second Legion had to renounce most if not all of its prior contacts and commitments with other Legions, human support troops and much much more.
This was in fact untrue, as null blockers could be crafted easily enough to allow normal interactions, but the Legion didn't know that.
And yet, the announcement received acceptance. Some grimaced in anger or distaste, while others took the announcement in stride. Some even visibly began to despair, and yet the general air of the Second was one of acceptance. No one objected, cried out or tried to negotiate, as an ordinary person might.
Another unintended result of the Second's rigid hierarchy. The Legion as a whole was taking the news that fundamental aspects of their existence had changed about as well as somebody who had just been told that they had to work overtime because their job was understaffed. They were annoyed, angered, confused and disorientated but they accepted their role, because what else could they do? Complain? Argue? Fight?
Such things seemed anathema to how the Second interacted with their superiors.
This was not a good tone to begin a relationship, and Esau seemed to sense the reservations that Kov held because he decided to switch gears.
"I know the situation is far from ideal, but this is where we find ourselves." He reiterated. "You are nulls now, but you all also possess an increased rate of healing in comparison to the average Astartes, a welcome side effect of your cure. You will also not have to forsake bonds with your cousins in other Legions as you might believe, as all of you will be given null blocking equipment and be trained in manners in which you may control your aura. You will be clad in new armour, given new weapons and be sent out to fight new enemies."
He huffed before shaking his head as the reaction hardly changed.
"Still, I do not blame you for your reticence." He said, seeing where the wind was blowing. Namely to say, that it wasn't. "You have all been through hardship, and have arrived only to be met with more. I do not blame those of you who resent my choice. Who resent that you have lost battle brothers to a sickness you didn't know and a cure you barely understand. Your caution is warranted and your distaste understandable. But if you take one thing away from this first meeting between father and sons, take away this: I have done what I have done because I care for you all, and could not bear to lose you to sickness. I bear the souls of your lost brothers upon my shoulders, but I could not bear to lose you all before even meeting you."
He paused before uttering the words that would change the future of the Second Legion forever.
"I am sorry my Sons. I hope you can your forgive Father his selfishness, and cowardices."
The silence that filled the prison was deafening. Immediately, the generally distasteful expressions visible to Kov turned to shame, some marines visibly shaking upon hearing their gene-father's words.
This was obviously nothing like what they expected Esau would be like, given the examples set by Leman Russ and Horus Lupercal. In one conversation he had shown them something they likely thought anathema to all Primarchs. He showed them humility.
Within moments, the reserved demeanour was gone and the walls began to shudder as Astartes tried to speak over each other, each and everyone seeming to try to apologise or explain their personal feelings to their Primarchs. After approximately three minutes of this, the cacophony ended as they realised that in their haste to justify themselves or apologise to their gene-father, that they were cutting each other off and the general feeling of shame magnified.
Whatever each marines' hope for what their first words to their Primarch would be, they were universally dashed.
"I see that you are all eager to speak to me." Esau said, managing to get anxious laughs from a few hundred marines. "Very well then. There is a custom on Naufrag Primus at funerals, cremations or liquidations, where the grieving parties talk about the deceased and the effects that they had on the mourner's lives. This is done over the course of a day and usually follows the funeral. Traditionally, a meal made by the grieving party is shared as the talks take place, but it is not uncommon for the effort to extend to the surrounding community."
Then Esau pivoted again.
"With me stands my adopted brother, Kov Zulu." He said, motioning to Kov. Kov took the moment to remove his helmet and heard some gasps as the Space Marines saw his face. Was his resemblance to Esau so great as to elicit such a reaction? Kov hardly thought so.
The mental whiplash was visible on the faces of the many marines as Esau continued to speak.
"He has stood with me through the best and worst moments of my life. And over the past six days, as the cure was being made, he enacted this tradition with me, as I talked to him over and over again about the fact that I would have sons that I would never meet. About my fears and hopes. In that time, it occurred to me that to lead you all, I needed to know you and I needed to know the sons that I have lost. An infeasible hope, given the sheer number of you, but infeasible need not mean impossible."
Taking that as a signal for action, Kov drew his build gun, pointed it at the leftmost wall from his perspective and activated it. The beam restructured the wall and revealed an immaculate hall large enough to comfortably fit thousands of Astartes on the other side of it. One of the walls of the hall was a massive five hundred meter thick slab of glass along for a view of the ocean, where all manner if cloned sea creature went about their business. In the hall, a massive spread of foods were laid out, like a massive example of what one might find at a lunch hall or buffet, except curated to perfection and made of foods that catered to the strangely sensitive palette of a Space Marine.
"To that end, we prepared a place of mourning and sharing in preparation for the inevitable loss of the day." Esau continued. "Perhaps this is not the ideal time for such a practice, but it strikes me that in light of the revelations of the day, this is the best way to get through our shared anguish. To learn from and teach each other. So, my Sons, would you like to share a meal and a conversation with me and the ones I hold dear?"
The reply was as quick as it was definitive. The Second Legion could not and would not bypass such an opportunity.
And so, the first meeting between the Primarch of the Second, and his Legion began in earnest.
.
It was a day after the half-celebration and half-mourning ceremony feast had ended - a whole seven days of conversation and consumption, when Kov and Esau finally had enough time to get to Isaac's personal laboratory with the rest of the royal family to look over the implications of the newest ability Isaac had received.
The ability to practice the art of alchemy: in which one worked to understand and manipulate the flow of matter. The concept was simple to understand in theory, but in practice was showing itself to be more complicated than Kov's initial expectations.
"So if I'm reading this right." Kov said, as he read from his omni-tool. "Alchemy comes in two general forms with several schools of though lying therein; it can either be internal or external. Internal alchemy being about the manipulation and cultivation of the soul to reach a desired state, and external alchemy being about transforming matter external to the soul so that it reaches a desired state."
"That is roughly correct, yes." Isaac replied, as the laboratory around him continued to be tended to by automata built to replace the Ur-Orks, who for now were being held in status to serve as reserve troops for Kha's trip to Tectum in a week's time.
"See, that's the frustrating thing." Kov argued. "All your answers to my questions have been evasive and sometimes contradictory."
"What, do you lack the ability to understand what has been spelled out for you?" Esau retorted from across the room, as he furiously typed into his omni-tool. Even as he was typing out a personal obituary for the thousands of sons he had gotten the time to learn about, he was far from distracted and engaged readily with the room's conversation.
"No, I understand the basic concept pretty well." Kov denied, ignoring the jab and vowing to return with a hay-maker as soon as the chance presented itself. "I understand that alchemy is the art of using scientific principles, or something like the precursor to them to discover and enact rituals that change or transmute matter or the soul or whatever. That's easy enough to understand. What I don't understand is how there could be so many schools of thought on the subject with differing methods to arrive at conclusions that seem incongruous with many of the other schools of thought and yet at the same time all work."
"Are you talking about how while a using a prima materia or first material to create a magnum opus or great work, is consistent to all forms of alchemical thought in at least some form, the stages in which this occurs tends to differ? With some schools having four stages, and others having seven or thirteen and so on?" Kha replied, from her own corner of the room as she worked to compare the various alchemical texts that Isaac had produced from memory with her knowledge of ritual-craft.
"If so." The Silver Mind interjected from a nearby screen. "I could supply you with my own theories on the matter."
"I appreciate it – but no, I understand that each school of thought developed in different environments without necessarily interacting with each other. I just don't get why the limits and interactions of the ability are so ill-defined." Kov said, shaking his head. "Like take the use of alchemy to build parallel mental processes via partitioning your mind being lumped in with using astrology to predict the future. It just doesn't make sense."
"That at least, I can answer for you." Isaac replied, a smile on his face.
"If you say its because alchemy is magic, I might just go back to sleep." Kov warned. He would, too. The last few days had been positively exhausting, if surprisingly very spiritually fulfilling.
"Then you would be pleased to learn that the form of alchemy given to me by the Forge is not magic but merely one of many attempts to recreate it." Isaac explained. "The Fate Series, which this ability seems to be from has something called the Root, which much like the Warp is the root of all supernatural phenomenon."
"Terrible." Esau interjected. "A three out of ten, at best."
"Anyway." Isaac continued, ignoring him. Like a coward. "In the Fate Franchise, magic - that is to say true magic like the stuff from fairy tales - can normally only be performed by supernatural beings, or people that have been otherwise touched by supernatural creatures, as those beings have an innate connection to the Root. This does not, however, mean that only supernatural creatures can perform supernatural feats by drawing on the Mysteries of the Root. As long as a mage has a thaumaturgical system – that is to say a way to generate and manipulate magical energy analogous to that of the Root, you can artificially perform draw upon Mystery. Alchemy for example counts as a thaumaturgical system. The catch though is that Mysteries are finite and are affected by the general understanding of the Mystery in question."
He projected a hologram of the stereotype of a neolithic cave man being struck by lightning and getting incinerated before the image was replaced by the projected image of a well-to-do man in an immaculate three-piece suit getting hit by lightning and merely collapsing, his clothes slightly singed but otherwise okay.
"Both the examples I showed you were of lightning generated using magecraft being used to attack a person. The first strike being so potent because of the mystery inherent to the era they were in." He explained.
"Because in the neolithic era, people knew nothing about lightning and thought it to be the result of an angry god or nature spirit, if they even thought about it at all. And in the era of the second clip, more was known about lightning and its mechanics." Kov surmised.
"There were also more mages who used lightning in the second clip, all of them drawing from the same resource, limiting the amount available for the lone mage who attacked the second man."
Ah.
"Thus the differing schools of thought and odd spread of abilities in some areas. Each school of thought is trying to conserve their Mystery by doing the same thing in different ways. Or devising ways in which they could use the same methods for whatever reason, but finding ways to alter small steps of the procedure in order to preserve Mystery any way they can."
"Exactly." Isaac agreed. "Also, as far as I understand it, the nature of what exactly constitutes a Mystery depends largely on the collective unconscious of people on a given world."
Kov nodded. That much he could understand. The Warp worked in a frighteningly similar manner, after all.
It also explained why things that felt nothing like Alchemy were explicitly included in the massive amount of knowledge that Isaac had described. The highest example of Displacement Magecraft (the art of replacing one aspect of an object or body with the characteristics of another) for example, could be achieved by using the Kāma mark with everything that entailed. If you squint, you could see why it was considered a form of Alchemy, even though many of its characteristics fit better into the art of Material Transmutation which, despite the similar terminology, was something else entirely. In the end, it all came down to the general unconscious understanding of people, instead of any individual effort.
"Alright, then how is some of this stuff not considered 'true magic'? Some of the things described here are absolutely incredible to consider. How is using Alchemy to create a Homunculus not considered 'magical'?" Kov asked.
"Because everything that alchemy can do is entirely possible to do via scientific means, give or take a few steps and materials that alchemy allows one to ignore." Isaac replied and Kov couldn't help but snort. A few steps? Try a million. "This is also true of magecraft and how Mysteries are enacted in general. I grant that its so close that the distinction is meaningless in many cases, but it's still not magic. At least, not magic in the same way Psyker abilities would be classified in this system."
Isaac took a moment to think on an example before settling on one he thought Kov would get.
"Think of it as an infinite series of 'one plus half of the previous number in the series'." He explained. "Each addition brings the number closer to two in theory, but in practice, they never actually meet each other. Also, the material universe tends to actively fight the use of Mystery, with low quality items made from it losing their power and eventually returning to their base forms even as the effects of their use stays the same."
"I see." Kov said, before a realisation struck him. "But you're not exactly limited to the rules set out by this system, are you?"
Isaac have Kov a knowing wink.
"No, I am not." He replied, smiling. "Some things are simply incompatible, but there exists enough synergy between all my abilities and my unique connection to the Warp that I can make nearly any magical item you could think of, that will not appreciably degenerate. Though I'm still limited to the resources I have access to."
"Including Mystery?" Kov questioned. From his understanding, the Forge seemed to equate the Warp and Mystery on some level. As the Warp was infinite in scope, did that mean that with the right tools, Isaac could get infinite Mystery to with as he wished?
"Unfortunately, no." Isaac explained. "As far as Kha and I could tell, Mystery is a similar and not entirely separate force built up from psychic and supernatural phenomena. It's hard to explain, and explaining too much of it is moot as would defeat the purpose of its existence. Think something like the shared psychic field that the Orks generate and draw psychic strength from. So connected, to the Warp but weaker in its entirety. You would be better served thinking of the Warp, or at least an esoteric section of it, as the Root instead."
"Ah. The infinitely close, but not equal issue." Kov realised. "So, you could use Mystery to cast spells instead of the Warp. That should be a better, safer resource, right? Especially since Isaac's notes indicated that a null aura generated by pariah plate or a blank could nullify a mystery just as well as they could the actions of a psyker."
This time, Kov was answered by Kha.
"That would be an incorrect assumption to make." She said, turning to Kov. "Mystery is formed from the collective unconscious, a step a way from the Great Ocean but close to the concept regardless. Where the Warp is an infinite roiling ocean, Mystery is the mist formed from its waves. Using Mystery still draws from the Ocean's waters, even if after a fashion. Now tell me, what is the general view of wytches and our ilk throughout the galaxy?"
"That they are generally very dangerous and pose a threat to themselves and others." The Silver Mind answered, though the question was largely rhetorical. While the Silver Mind had come around to Kha's presence quickly after its integration into the Immortal Sun, it still held disdain for psykers as a whole. That was something you could easily forget as you interacted with it, but moments like this were reminders of its feelings on the matter.
"So Mystery is no less dangerous to draw upon?" Esau questioned.
"Not necessarily." Isaac replied. "As long as you have a proper thaumaturgical system built upon a solid thaumaturgical foundation, you should be fine. That is to say, as long you have the tools to engage with Mystery and know the proper ways how, such as in the case of Alchemy, you should be fine."
"If you have neither?" Kov asked.
"Then most times, the spells would do nothing." Kha answered.
"And if they don't do nothing?" Kov pressed.
"Then that would be the equivalent of an untrained wytch drawing upon the Great Ocean to cast a spell that they have no knowledge of or experience with. In short, it would be bad unless you were blessed with incredible luck."
The mood turned sombre at that, before Kov remembered a questioned he had wanted to ask.
"So what have you managed to make with this new ability so far?" He asked.
At this, the general mood in the laboratory picked up as Isaac began showing them all various alloys he made when testing the ability, including a gold-lead hybrid made with only lead as the base material and quite a few new auramite variants. Most of them useless when compared to the base alloy, except for a variant made from auramite and silver, called phase steel. It seemed to be an excessively cruel version of Pariah Plate, actively negating, draining and torturing any psyker who touches the metal.
Apparently, Isaac had known of its existence for years, in the same way he knew of Auramite but had only just know managed to figure out how to create it. Even then, he had done so as a mild curiosity with no real plans to use it as it was both cruel and inefficient when compared to Pariah Plate.
The crowning achievement of days of work however, were a single pair of metal gauntlets, one green and the other a deep ultramarine, with immaculate golden filigree below and surrounding the knuckles. On the wrists of both sat a now familiar set of symbols, like those on the Hands of the Forge. Obviously this was a Teigu, in the same vein of the Hands of the Forge.
"These are a pair of gloves called Perfecter. They are gloves made from the remains of the Drukhari Haemonculous and a Ork Painboy. They grant a significant boost to the medical abilities of the wielder and impart upon them instinctive knowledge of the biology of anything the wearer is working with. The ability directly scales to the level of knowledge you have without the gloves. An uneducated person would become a good medical and surgical doctor, while a talented doctor would become the best doctor in the world and reach a supernatural speed and precision when using the gloves and so on. " Isaac explained. "Before you ask, I was able to use Displacement Magecraft to get rid of the more problematic aspects of the materials I just described, though I had to dispose of an exceptionally sadistic suit of armour and a very violent axe."
He had said the last portion flippantly, but Kov understood him well enough regardless. Displacement Magecraft worked as implied, by 'displacing' the traits of one thing onto something or someone else. There has to exist some commonalities between the two items for the best results, thus why Isaac had displaced those traits onto armour and a hammer. No doubt for Isaac's purposes, they were similar enough to the object that they had been displaced from.
"If the improvements scale to the ability of the wearer, then what about when you wear them?" Esau asked.
"I'm glad you asked." Isaac replied, his smile wide as he pulled up more holograms. They shimmered into existence as light blue projections of light, mapping out the various biological plans of the people in the room – in chaste outfits - including any and all enhancements. Just as Kov was about to ask the purpose of this, the plans gradually changed, to showcase possible enhancements and synergies between them. Generally, they varied from 'could be useful', to the frankly ridiculous.
Kov was sure he saw a biological enhancement that turned somebody into a large green creature not too dissimilar to an Ork. He interacted with the hologram through the use of a conveniently placed set of knobs and cycled through a dozen enhancements before returning to the green creature. From the description it looked to be an enhancement that used no alien DNA but resulted in a hulking green creature.
Wait a minute-
"Isaac-" Kov began before he was cut off.
"I know." Isaac said. "In my defense, I was working off of very little sleep when the idea popped into my head and I modelled it, like I modelled all the others. I don't actually want to make any of this stuff and I still lack the relevant materials to make others. I just wanted to demonstrate how I could figure out so many esoteric aspects of biology in a very short time. Things got a little out of hand is all."
Kov gave him a withering look.
"What, is a man not allowed a few references to his childhood?" Isaac said in reply. "Its not like I was gonna make most of this stuff. Besides, I don't remember you being this critical of my attempts to recreate a lightsaber."
That had been a fun day of tinkering where everybody tried to make one using as little resources as possible, with even Kha participating. In the end, all they ended up with were massively overpowered plasma cutters and a single lightsaber deemed too energy intensive and so massive as to be considered impractical for any sort of actual battle.
"Damn." Kov allowed, putting his hands up in surrender. "You got me there."
He was about to turn back to the hologram when the Silver Mind spoke.
"There are a recurring set of ill-defined motifs on most of these alterations." It said, somehow managing to make the word 'alterations' sound like the vilest thing it had ever said. "What are they?"
"Ah, Those are magic circuits. They are ill-defined because I'm sure I could alter them greatly, and I just didn't want to get into the nitty gritty of the possibilities when I was so focused on other types of enhancements."
"Those are magic circuits?" Kov asked in mild disbelief.
Magic Circuits had been briefly touched upon in Isaac's initial explanation of the ability. They were essentially a man made magical nervous system that allowed ordinary humans to convert their life force into magical energy and perform mysteries or approximations of them. They also functioned as computers and repositories, allowing mages to store all of their acquired knowledge of magecraft into them before passing them on to other people if necessary.
While they were undoubtedly useful, they were limited by the knowledge and thaumaturgical foundations and systems – that is to say the spells - that a mage had access to. Also, because they were strictly not a natural part of the human body, a mishap with your magecraft could permanently damage your body, and their activation could be painful regardless.
Magic circuits weren't precisely needed to perform alchemy, but the process would be much easier with them to kick-start any alchemical processes.
"I didn't expect a magical nervous system to look like actual circuits." Kov clarified. "I just thought it was a figure of speech – it just didn't occur to me that anything 'magical' would have a pseudo-technological motif. What kind of alterations can you make to them?"
"That's fair enough, I suppose." Isaac replied, mildly amused. "As for changes, I can change the quality of any magic circuits I create, for one thing. The synergies between my abilities allowing me to turn garbage tier material into high quality magical circuits. Make them integrate into the body much easier and more naturally than what would normally be possible, that kind of thing. I'm sure I could even pull of something like a mana core – an engine of magical energy - or something similar."
He was clearly excited as he spoke, and if Kov's experience with him and his Isaac-isms was anything to go by, he was building up to something big he wanted to say. A revelation of a discovery, or a petition for help on some insane project, perhaps.
"He wants to build a school for Magecraft, and create a Guild that would regulate its use in the empire." Kha cut in, destroying all the tension that had built up.
Isaac's shoulders slumped. It seemed that Kov was spot on.
"Does the idea have merit?" Esau asked. "I know you refused the propagation of the psyker gene among the population on principle when Father brought it up. Would you not oppose a school for Magecraft for similar reasons?"
"It has merit." Kha replied, before shaking her head and removing herself from her seat in her corner, stretching as she did. "I opposed the idea your Father brought up because of the danger inherent to it, and its general idiocy in being a solution to a problem, that in turn creates more problems. Besides, Isaac isn't proposing a school that teaches people how to use magic circuits to discover and create spells, though I have no doubt that will be included in it's final curriculum. Instead, he is proposing a school to teach people how to use pre-prepared custom magic circuits to use a small collection of pre-prepared spells."
Taking Kha's words as a signal of some kind, Isaac sent Esau and Kov a message containing the plans for a single spell. An alchemical array with a singular purpose: when a broken item is placed on it, and magical energy is channelled into it, the array would repair any item placed into it. Any item. Including STCs. And the data they contained.
There existed a caveat though, in that the older the item was, the harder it would be to repair and the more magical energy would have to poured into the array, as the mystery of the array would war against reality. Isaac was sure he could improve the array, and Kov found himself believing him.
"Well, I have no objections." He said, nodding. "Looks good to me."
"Loathe as I am to agree with my brother's insatiable greed for new and exciting technology, I have to agree." Esau concurred.
Both Kov and Esau turned to Kha, and she sighed.
"The decision is unanimous, then." She said, her voice sounding put upon.
As Kov formulated a reply, the Silver Mind's voice rang out once again.
"Priority message from Nimis Kingstone." It said.
"What does the message say?" Kha asked.
"It says that the so-called Emperor of Mankind wishes to speak with the Princes, both of them." It answered.
"It seems that my esteemed Creator wishes to ask about the Second." Esau replied, and Kov stopped himself from snorting.
'Esteemed', not 'beloved'. What a beautiful choice of words.
"Should we go?" Kov questioned. "I don't particularly want to go through an interrogation today."
Isaac and Kha shared a look before Kha spoke.
"Go, and take Nimis and another member of the King's Shield with you." She said. "They will summon us if our presence becomes necessary."
Kov huffed before tapping Esau on the shoulder and turning to the laboratory's exist.
He was not looking forward to this.
.
Once again, Kov and Esau found themselves on Sol-Ark 3, on the level where the Immortal Sun and the Imperium had first met, and where Kov had almost died at the hands of Leman Russ. Kov still shuddered, as he thought about that day. While he could have just returned from death through the use of the Kāma Seal on a marked body, he still worried about the continuity of his consciousness along the way.
His soul would not have made its way into the Warp, so he would likely never have to experience the horrors inherent to the experience, and Kov knew that both Isaac and Kha always made sure that their seal work is nothing but immaculate.
Still, he couldn't help but worry. He still vividly remembered the feeling of helplessness as he understood that he could not physically match Leman as the bastard physically dominated him, and he remembered the relief he felt when he awoke from unconsciousness to find himself still alive.
Kov shook his head. He had worked through his feelings with Esau. Had spoken to Kha about what he could have done and understood that in the context of the situation at the time, the was not much else he could have done. And he had told Isaac of his feelings of inadequacy, and fear. Isaac told Kov that the failure had been on him; if Isaac had been even a little more careful, he would not have gone through what he went through.
Kov understood that none of it had been his fault. That no failing of his had led to the situation he had been stuck in. None of it helped.
Esau and Kov made their way through the some of the few remaining patches of jungle that survived the fight between Kha, Isaac and the 'Emperor of Man'. Even after a month and change to get used to it, the 'name' still screamed 'hubris' to Kov, which would be fine, if the man lacked the power and influence to back it up. As things currently stood, even with the Immortal Sun holding fast, a significant portion of the galaxy would still look to him as their undisputed leader.
That would change of course, the moment the Immortal Sun finished preparations, and Kha made her way to her home planet, because that would open the galaxy up for the Immortal Sun's own conquest.
Well, conquest wasn't the right word, because neither Isaac nor Kha had never been the bloodthirsty type – even if Kha occasionally gave him cause to doubt. Instead their style spoke more to their experiences re-conciliators and negotiators, though both were still capable of awe-inspiring amounts of violence.
Their general plans for the galaxy as a whole were hardly even all that concrete, beyond a general ambition to make whatever pockets of the galaxy the Immortal Sun found itself in comfortable enough to allow humans – and potentially, amenable aliens – the chance to live in peace.
Eventually, as Kov was deep in thought, he, Esau and their two companions came upon the pavilion Esau designed, a neutral ground for conversation between the Immortal Sun and the Imperium of Man.
In it stood three people: the 'Emperor' and two of his custodian guard. Nimis' sudden change to a more guarded demeanour told Kov that one of the two was Constantin Valdor, his counterpart and – it could be argued - his equal amongst the Legiones Custodes. Outwardly, they both looked the same, so the other Custodes was likely close to the rank of Captain-General. Maybe a second in command, or similar.
A good thing then that the King's Shield that Nimis had chosen to accompany them was Akard. The man had virtually no grace and was so socially inept that his name was mocked for it's 'appropriate' similarity to the word 'awkward.'. Still, he was the second best fighter in the entire King's Shield and was one of the few to survive the skirmish the King's Shield had with the Custodes with relatively minor injuries. He was also incredibly vicious as a fighter, once driving a spear through his own body to catch his opponent off guard. In a friendly sparring match.
The 'Emperor' turned to face them just as Kov could tell just what he was wearing. He stood in light affair – at least for him, forgoing massive power armour and instead going for a lightly armoured auramite and ceramite plate. In his choice of armour, he seemed the odd man out because of how heavily Kov and Esau were armoured – in massive black and white pariah plate armour made in the style of a Terminator.
"I hope we're not too late." Kov said, in way of greeting as they came up to the steps leading up the pavilion. A trite statement, as they had come as quick as they could and there had been no agreed upon meeting time besides the implication that the 'Emperor' would like to see them as soon as they could make themselves available. "Both of us were engaged when we heard of your invitation."
Another empty platitude, but platitudes were very bedrock of political discussion. Otherwise, how else could politicians pretend to do anything worthwhile?
"It's quite alright." Esau's Creator replied, his voice as memorable as it had ever been. His face ever the grand mask that it always was. "We have just arrived, ourselves."
He gestured to the exquisite wooden table Esau had hand carved and had to remake following Leman Russ' attack.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please," He said, somehow managing to sound magnanimous. "-take a seat."
Kov wanted to vomit, but instead dutifully followed Esau into the pavilion and took a seat to Esau's right, just before his Creator sat directly opposite them. Their respective guards and servants standing to either side of them.
"Now." The 'Emperor' said. "Would you like a taste of Imperial Cuisine? My cooks have made an excellent slow roasted venison stew, and I have brought with me an excellent vintage to wash it down with."
He had no visible way of bringing forth either portion of the meal, but Kov had no doubt that the offer was genuine, even if the resulting meal would be a formality. He would probably have the food teleported in, or send for servants or something.
Fortunately, as Kov debated accepting the offer of going through the tedious process of making polite conversation with a man who could kill him with a blink, Esau politely denied it.
"While I'm sure that I would enjoy sharing in such an exquisite a meal with you, Creator, I am afraid that I cannot accept your offer." He said.
"I see." His Creator replied, the strangeness of how the Soul-AMP interacted with his glamour contrasted by a smooth voice. "Very well then. My cooks will be devestated, but that is the way of things. Tell me, why do you deny my offer?"
"No offence is meant, Creator, but I cannot eat a meal while a sword hangs over my head." Esau explained, managing to keep his honest thoughts sounding like a mild jest. "The thought of death would keep me from appreciating the taste."
"Ah." The Master of the Imperium said, his face somehow a collage of stoic and jovial. "Then it may be for the best that you don't eat the meal. Your reply will mollify my cooks well enough. I assume you would rather we get straight to the purpose behind this meeting?"
"I would." Esau replied.
"While I would have enjoyed sharing a meal with the both of you, I have to agree." The 'Emperor of Mankind' concurred. "Time is perhaps the most precious commodity, so I will endeavour not to waste any of yours, as I hope you would not waste any of mine."
He took an unnecessary moment to gather his thoughts before speaking once again.
"I'm sure that the both of you know why I have asked you to come here." He said.
"We're here regarding the matter of the Second Legion." Kov replied.
"Correct." The 'Emperor' agreed. "Fourteen days ago, by my reckoning, the Second Legion arrived in the system and promptly disappeared. Seven days later, the Scion's Return, a Gloriana Class battleship was spotted being decommissioned and destroyed. Seven days after that, the Second Legion reappeared in, on Naufrag Primus and if my reports are to be believed, in much lower numbers and in a generally altered state. I have my own theories as to what these facts mean. However, I would like to hear your own thoughts on the matter."
Kov frowned. The way he had stated the facts was a common interrogation tactic meant to force you to speak the truth, or to trap you in a lie.
"I thought that we would get straight to the point, not play around it." Esau observed, though the wording sounded more like a challenge. "You know that the Second Legion have been turned into nulls. You knew that they were infected the moment they appeared in-system, and through the presence of these two facts, you know why I had them turned into nulls. You also know that the ship had to be destroyed lest its infection spread to the rest of the system. There is no need to pretend otherwise when we all know that is the truth."
"I'm hardly all that omniscient." The 'Emperor' replied. His tone implying that for the purposes of Esau's diatribe he had been omniscient enough. "Though I concede the point. I was merely attempting to take your measure, and now I think that I've got it. You can hardly begrudge a Father trying to get to know his son better, can you?"
"I cannot." Esau agreed, readily. "Though I do not see myself as your son in truth just yet."
He had said as much in front of Isaac and the Emperor both, a month ago, so the revelation was hardly new.
"I don't blame you." His Creator concurred, shocking Kov, and Esau as well, if the look on his face was any indication. "We barely know each other, and you have spent your whole life at another man's side. I would be a fool not to see truth when it is presented to me. It is good however, that you so readily acknowledge the connection we share."
He shook his head, before continuing.
"You turned them into nulls in an effort to cure them of their affliction." He said. "What I wanted to know is why?"
"You want to know why he would want to save his children?" Kov questioned, in disbelief. Was this man serious?
"I do." The 'Emperor' replied. "The question seems reasonable enough to me. He did not know them, and they had been struck by an affliction that poisoned their minds and souls. He took upon considerable risk in trying to cure them of it. The question is why?"
"I did what I did precisely because I didn't know them. And because I wanted to know them." Esau answered.
"So it is a case of Fatherly love, or selfishness." The Master of the Imperium observed. "Though I think it a case of the former, before the latter. You have been raised into a leal son indeed. Tell me, why did you not come to me?"
"Because you would ask me to destroy them outright." Esau contended.
"I suppose you think the answer would have been difference had it been Horus or Leman asking?" The 'Emperor' queried.
"No." Esau replied. "Though I do think Horus could have convinced you had he a cure."
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will not deny that Horus has a particular talent for turning others to his point of view." The 'Emperor' said, his tone ponderous. "Still, I think that even he would not try."
"To me, he seems the type to try, simply for the challenge." Kov interjected.
At this, the 'Emperor of Mankind' laughed. A loud booming one that Kov suspected was not too dissimilar to Horus' own. As Kov boggled at the fact that he had managed to make the 'Emperor' laugh, the man spoke.
"He would, if he saw it as one." He acknowledged. "I grant you that, but he is a very particular man. As I am steadily finding out, all of my Primarchs are, in their own ways."
'His' Primarchs. What an interesting way of wording it, Kov thought.
"Not even Horus was so taken by his Legion, for example." The Master of the Imperium observed. "Tell me this, what did you do with your Legion for the past seven days."
"I talked to them." Esau replied. "I asked them about their histories. About their lost battle brothers. About their favourite moments. About their least favourite ones as well. I asked them everything, and gave them everything in turn."
That was true, though most of the process was depressing on many levels even if it had been fulfilling on balance. From afar, the Space Marines were grizzled men who had been through a thousand battles. Up close they were boys at heart, who knew little but violence.
Kov would never forget a the story of a Space Marine named Kert, who boasted to Esau and Kov both that he had the best looking somersault of any marine, living or dead. That was his most prideful achievement. His somersault.
It was so ridiculous a boast that it was genuinely endearing.
After being asked to show it off, the man faced challengers who could not abide his and after an hour long contest, it was judged that he at the very least had the best looking somersault of the entire Second Legion.
Kert also had an identical twin brother who died during the early stages of Space Marine implantation. Kert claimed to have long since forgotten his brother's name, though he never forgot his face.
The second part of the statement had been said as a joke, but no one laughed.
Each and every Space Marines had stories like this, and it was exhausting to process every single one.
"I see." The 'Emperor' replied. "Your commitment to your Legion is admirable. I shall warn you now, you are meant to lead them into battle. The prospect might become difficult to stomach, should you continue to handle them as you have, when the time comes."
"I will do my duty when the time comes. And so will they." Esau retorted. "You imply that I coddle them, when all I have done is earn their trust."
"I see that I've struck a nerve." The 'Emperor' observed, his tone apologetic. "My apologies. Still, I speak the truth."
Esau's reply was cut off by his Creator raising a gloved hand.
"If you are to imply that I coddle the Primarchs, then I suggest that your hold off on your accusation." He said. "For I do not disagree. I will admit that I coddle you all to some extent. Some may say that I coddle you to much."
The way in which he said that implied to Kov that he was speaking to more than just Esau, even though he was the only Primarch in the room.
Kov frowned, or was he? Esau had already made mention of a mystery Primarch hidden among the Imperium's ships. Could the mystery Custodes be him?
Kov considered it. It didn't seem entirely out of the realm of possibility.
As Kov thought on this new revelation, the 'Emperor of Mankind' continued.
"After all, I have chosen not to annihilate your Legion despite having ample reason to do so." He said, almost casually, his eyes glowing an ominous golden hue. "Pending an evaluation of their mental faculties, of course."
How magnanimous, Kov thought.
"You speak of your experiences during the Unification Wars." Esau replied, ignoring the threat, because acknowledging it would give the 'Emperor' more leeway than could be countered.
The Unification Wars were a series wars that the 'Emperor' fought to conquer Terra and unite its people under his flag. Near the end of the Wars, the first generation of Space Marines was sent out to fight for him, after their predecessors, the Thunder Warriors died to a man. Some of this first generation of Marines survived long enough to spread the stories of the monstrosities they fought to the marines Kov and Esau had the pleasure of speaking to.
"Yes." Esau's Creator agreed. "It was a bloody time, full of terrors and threats to the continued survival of humanity. Terrors that are not so dissimilar to Legion. The Unspeakable King, a tyrant of Albia, favoured using nulls in battle. A not insignificant portion having been made artificially."
"I take it the method used was destroyed." Kov ventured.
"It was." The 'Emperor' confirmed. "The machinery had less than a five percent chance of working and horribly mutated those that it did not work on. Besides that, the machines were too brutal to use otherwise, as they resulted in nulls that were too broken to live for more than a few months, their existence tortured all the while. It had to be destroyed."
"You want our method." Kov surmised.
It was why he made a point about deciding not to kill the Second Legion. Immediately after confirming himself that Esau loved them all very much. He had found a button he could push to keep Esau from becoming out of control and he was showing the both of them that he was ready to push it, consequences be damned. After all, for all that Esau was Primarch of the Second, they were still commanded by the so-called Emperor of Mankind.
It was well within his rights to destroy them for 'reasonable' suspicions and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Yet at the same time, it was a button he couldn't threaten to push for too long, lest some Primarchs start seeing him as unreasonable. So he had to have some form of counteroffer.
"I do." The 'Emperor' admitted. "I will still have to look into the results of the process but despite my misgivings, your method seems much more stable than the others that I have run into."
"Unfortunately, the method is property of the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun." Kov revealed, mostly to see where the man would go. "We cannot give it to you freely."
"You misunderstand me." The 'Emperor' replied, his voice calm. "Despite my curiosity, your method is not what I seek from you."
Kov frowned. He obviously wanted something though. His actions would make no sense otherwise.
"I don't understand what you're getting at." Kov said, the admission stinging him because of how much leeway it would give the man sitting across from him.
"While your discovery was impressive, there are other ways to create nulls by other means as I have explained, even if they are not without risk." The 'Master of Mankind' declared. "If I needed null marines, I would be better served in seeing about obtaining the plate you wear on your bodies, as I would keep the advantages of the enhancements inherent to my Astartes, while gaining the ability to answer psychic phenomena at will. In fact, I have had an agreement written up for that very reason. I expect that the Immortal Sun will hear about the contents about the proposed agreement soon. Instead, I have called you here for something else entirely."
Kov was about to reiterate his question when the Custodes to the 'Emperor's' left moved forward, and removed his helmet with an audible hiss-click, revealing a cleanly shaven visage with a bald head. It was unremarkable in comparison, but it had an unmistakeable resemblance to Esau, Horus and Leman Russ.
"Well met, Brother." The man said in an oddly agreeable manner. "I am Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion. You might know it as the Twentieth."
"As I said." The Emperor reiterated in way of explanation. "I coddle all of my sons, to some extent."
20.1. Perk(s) earned in this chapter:
None.
A/N: This chapter fought me tooth and nail to write, and as a result is both late and shorter than I would have liked. That, and a bunch of issues IRL that I won't bother any of you with.
I expect this chapter will be a bit divisive for that reason, but I hope everyone enjoys it. Thank you all for your support. Your well wishes are like shots of adrenaline to me.
Stay safe everybody, its rough out there.