Author's Note: For those interested, there are now eight advance chapters on P-atreon (remove the spaces and dash): p-atreon/ SkySage24.
Despite the shining sun, the peaks of the Himalazian Mountains remained capped in snow, the golden capital of the Imperium glittering in the valley below.
It was a far cry from how the mountain rage had been even a few short decades ago. The sky was no longer clouded with dust and ash, and the snow on the mountains was no longer a toxic pink or yellow but sparkling white. The atmosphere so high up was a little thin, but the air was clear of all pollutants.
The city below had changed as well, now dotted with trees and plants, along with natural reserves and parks located in strategic locations around the valley.
The woman responsible for these changes descended from the sky to stand atop the peak of the highest mountain, her arms crossed as she waited.
She didn't have to wait long, as a golden giant appeared in a crackle of lightning. Today, the Emperor of Mankind wore not golden armour, a dress uniform or even the extravagant robes of an aristocrat, but the simple white robes of a scholar, plain and unmarked.
"You called me here?" Isha inquired, carelessly dropping onto the ground, uncaring of the coldness of the snow.
The Emperor nodded. "There is something I would like your help with."
Seemingly from nowhere, the Emperor produced a deck of cards, holding his hand out. Slowly, each card rose from the stack on his palm, rising into the air to hover around him.
"Chaos has blinded me for too long," The Emperor declared. "I thought I had pierced the veil they had cast over me after Kalagann, but then they deceived me again with Narthan Dume, and then Be'lakor did it again. I need to do something."
Isha frowned, crossing her legs. "And these cards will help you with that?"
George nodded. "These are the Arcana," He explained, the cards shimmering and spinning around him in arcs. "They began as a simple superstition long ago, but enough people believed in them they gained power of their own. I used them as precognitive tools long ago, though I had since discarded them as I refined my foresight," He grimaced. "But it seems that is no longer true in this day and age, so I must resort to other measures."
"But why do you need my help?" Isha asked, propping an elbow on her knee. "I am not an expert on precognition, I'm afraid. That was my mother and my daughter's domain, not mine. I can see into the future, of course, all gods can, but you are certainly more skilled in it than I."
"I need your help as a focus," George said. "A few of those that I wish to see are our common enemies, the ones you told me about last year."
Isha scowled at the mention of the Muses. "Very well," She agreed. "But why here?" She gestured to the mountain around them.
"In ancient times, this place was called Everest," George murmured. "It was and is the highest peak on all of Terra, and to clamber here was an incredible feat, something long thought to be impossible. That is no longer true and has not been since before mankind rose to the stars, but it is still a place of great metaphysical significance. From here, I may find a clearer view than in all of Sol."
Isha nodded thoughtfully. "I wondered why this peak remained unclaimed," She mused. It was true. The mountain itself had a hive city carved into it, like every mountain in the valley. But the peak of every other mountain had been claimed, swarming with facilities and constructions of one kind or the other.
Only this peak remained clear.
"I had it cleared and preserved when I laid the foundations of the Imperium, yes," George confirmed. "This place is more useful to me as it is than if it were to be occupied. But all that aside…" He gestured and the cards stopped spinning, instead moving to hover between him and Isha. "Shall we begin?"
"We shall."
George clapped his hands, and instantly, the world around them seemed to freeze. The sounds of the city below ceased, and the ships buzzing around the mountains froze in motion.
Only Isha and the Emperor remained as they were.
The Emperor's eyes blazed with golden fire, even brighter and fiercer than usual, no longer mere bonfires but miniature supernovas set in a human face.
It wasn't just for the show. He cast a great light in the Warp, piercing through the great shadow of Chaos, through the infernal flames and smoke that sought to conceal the future from him.
But it wasn't enough.
The hold of Chaos upon the Sea of Souls was too strong to be shaken by brute force alone. To overcome them and see what the future held, the Emperor would have to use every trick he had ever known to ferret out whatever glimpses of the truth he could.
Then, for an instant, he was surprised when his golden flame was joined by a burst of emerald lightning, crackling through the Immaterium.
Isha simply raised an eyebrow at him when he gave her a surprised look. Precognition might not be her area of expertise, but she could lend her strength to his efforts to pierce the veil.
After a moment, George inclined his head in thanks as their power burned together, brighter together than alone.
The darkness of the Warp receded, and for a moment, there was a hiss of rage and pain as the daemons drew away from the divine flame.
"Ask me a question," The Emperor said, his voice resonant and as loud as thunder, yet somehow distant, with an unearthly quality.
Isha understood immediately. This was part of the ritual, part of the practice. The Emperor could try to pierce through the Veil simply to try to find what he was looking for, but the symbolism of him seeking an answer to another's question would add another layer of strength to his efforts.
"Tell me about your sons," Isha said softly, more gently than she had spoken to George in a long time. But she of all people understood the pain and fear of not knowing what might happen to your lost children. "Where are they?"
The Emperor didn't answer, but one of the cards rose above the others, straightening from a horizontal position to a vertical one, gently rotating so that Isha and George could both see it.
The Sun.
The card burned with the same golden light as an actual star, the light of hope and optimism.
"My sons are alive," George said, his joy obvious even through the unearthly quality his voice had taken. "All of them. They are doing well, but-"
The Sun fell back into position and another card rose in its place.
Justice.
"-their actions will have consequences that will shape their lives forever," the Emperor said, voice becoming grimmer. "They are in their most malleable stage right now. They are vulnerable, and if they make the wrong choices, they could be damned. We must find them before Chaos does, before they can pushed down the wrong path."
Justice fell, and a third card rose.
The Wheel of Fortune.
"I can see their locations at last," George said, as the wheel spun rapidly, so fast that it would have been but a blur to mortal eyes. "I know where they are. I know where all of them are!"
"Congratulations," Isha said quietly, and she meant it. For all their differences as of late, she was sincerely glad that he now had a clear route to his sons.
The Emperor reigned his excitement in, calming himself as the Wheel of Fortune fell. "The second question, now."
"What are the Gods of Chaos planning?" Isha queried. "What is their next step?"
The card that arose in response to her question was far more ominous than the previous ones.
The Eye.
A vortex of purple, red, green and blue light swirled, both threatening to pull everything into it and to let darkness spill out across the galaxy.
"The Four's actions are hidden from me. I cannot see all of what they do, but I can see some of it," the Emperor said. "Their armies march out of the Eye, searching for something…"
The Eye did not fall, but another card sprang up to join it.
The Tower.
"They seek something that can cause great destruction," The Emperor murmured, frustration bleeding into his voice as he tried to divine the details. "A…fortress? A ship?"
Isha's heart leapt into her throat. The Emperor might not understand what he was seeing, but she did.
The Talismans of Vaul. The Blackstone Fortresses. That was what Chaos was after.
They sought to take the last remnants of her brother's legacy and to bend them to their will, to twist and defile them so that they might wreak ruin upon the galaxy they had been built to save.
"I know what it means," Isha said quietly. "I will…I will explain it to you later. But for now, we should continue."
The Emperor regarded her with narrowed eyes for a moment, before nodding. The Eye and the Tower fell.
"Your third question, then. This will be the last one."
Isha paused for a moment, mulling it over. The fact that there were only three questions was frustrating, but she understood. Three was an important number in human cultures. The Emperor could most likely continue beyond it, but the effectiveness of the ritual would be diminished to the point that it would be no more effective than his normal attempts at precognition.
"What of the Orks?"
This time, a new card arose: Judgement.
This time, the Emperor seemed almost confused. "Something from the past is coming," He said slowly. "Something powerful and dangerous, something that will define the fate of the Orks forever."
Isha blinked. "You mean…they will grow stronger? Reclaim their old glories?" It was a worrying thought, but it wasn't exactly a new concern. It was something both Isha and the Emperor had kept in the back of their minds, but it was always gnawing at them a constant worry.
"That is a possibility, but…there's something else," The Emperor frowned. "I don't understand it. It's almost in my reach…"
But then the card of Judgement flared bright green, not like Isha's power, but something deeper, more vivid and monstrous.
In the Sea of Souls, there was a great and terrible roar, the force of which sent both Isha and the Emperor reeling as the card of Judgement exploded.
Isha hastily threw up a sphere of light containing the explosion, preventing it from doing any harm.
"Are you alright?" She asked the Emperor, wincing slightly in pain.
The Emperor blinked back the sudden stream of tears from his eyes, not of sorrow, but the kind a mortal experienced if they stared directly into too bright a light.
"Yes, I am fine," He said, grimacing and rubbing his eyes slightly.
"Gork and Mork don't want us to see whatever it is that's coming, I suppose," Isha said lightly, trying to conceal her turmoil.
This had been her closest encounter with the remnants of her former friend in many ages of the galaxy, and even at the height of her power, it would have been unnerving.
In her current state, it was difficult to ignore the fear, the memories of a savage green tide washing over the galaxy, indomitable and unstoppable. The memory of trusted friends devolving into nothing more than beasts, a roar that could shake the galaxy itself-
"Isha!"
Isha forcibly pulled herself back to reality as the Emperor eyed her with concern. "I'm fine," She managed. "I'm fine. But this makes the Orks an even more pressing concern, even if we cannot determine the precise nature of the threat to come."
The Emperor nodded somberly. "We will have to find a way to begin curtailing them soon. The Reunification of Sol is underway, but this cannot wait that long. We do not have the armies to conduct complete campaigns, but perhaps we can at least begin assassinating Ork warbosses in nearby systems and sectors."
Isha nodded, an idea coming to her. It was not one she liked, but…she sighed. The memory of the Savage Krork was stronger than ever, the way they had very nearly brought the galaxy to its knees.
"I believe," She said haltingly. "Perhaps a collaboration between your Space Marines and the forces of Iyanden might be in order. Access to the Webway should make such assassinations easier."
The bright spark of interest in the Emperor's eyes almost made Isha regret her words.
But she didn't take them back.
The Beast could not allowed to rise again.
"I would certainly be interested in such things," The Emperor agreed, almost too eagerly. "But concerning the Webway…there is something I must show you."
Isha was not a precognitive, but at that moment, she had the undeniable feeling she wasn't going to like what the Emperor wanted to show her.
Author's Note: I am aware that this depiction of the Arcana is not strictly accurate to the real life Tarot and it is not meant to be.
I am not an expert on the Tarot and had to swap some elements around in order to combine it with the limited information we have on the in-universe Emperor's Tarot. In the end, I went with what was best suited to serve the narrative purpose of the story rather than for accuracy to the real Arcana.