Lord Hibnar, the new governor of the planet Sierra Segundus, was smiling. An event so rare that the Servo-skull filming the ceremony zoomed its camera on the smiling governor. The people could see the large grin of happiness of their new Lord conquer their holovids screens as he did for this planet. This smile was the result of years of hard-fought battles on the field and in the princely courts of this world. Today, this long-fought battle was bearing fruit. Lord Hibnar was stepping inside the governor's palace for his enthronement as the Lord Protector of Sierra Segundus. He had a few dozen retainers and security guards following him to provide any information he may need during the ceremony. It was quite different from the last time he visited the palace. Back then, every wall and piece of furniture were black from the innumerable lashots that hit them and the smell of burned flesh hung in the air. This time, the walls were mostly back to their immaculate white color save for a few parts of the wall that had not yet been freed from the shrapnel of a Krak Grenade or the corrosive blood of a Genestealer. Those sections were hidden behind beautiful tapestries and exquisite paintings. As for the smell, you could only notice the wonderful Caraxian roses fragrance thanks to perfume dispensers installed in the mouths of 459 statues installed along the alley the governor was crossing. This wonderful smell heightened the enthusiasm of the governor who was offering discreet nods and hand waves to the thousands of guests spread out on both sides of the long hallway leading up to the throne room. Some of them had tried to kill him or are still trying, but that was to be expected. After five years, he had learned the extent of the nobility hatred for him. Some were still using his old name, Terk Curlak, behind his back as if Governor Hibnar felt any shame about his past as the general of the 14th mechanized imperial guard regiment. Quite the opposite, even if he had traded his military uniform for a nobler attire made in the quite expensive Armatomraal silk, he still insisted on having the 14th insignia sewn into his suit. He also took special attention to shake the hand of everyone who still wore the 14th mechanized uniform even though the regiment disbanded after the war, which was quite a lot of hands since all 14th veterans were invited to the ceremony.
It was while shaking the robotic hand of a veteran that governor Hibnar noticed a particularly gorgeous tapestry representing him on top of his Chimera crushing xenos loving traitors. Lord Hibnar was impressed by the detailed representation of him on top of a Chimera leading it forward with his chainsword. A beautiful detail if false. The Governor Chimera did run over a traitor, but he was safe inside the 15-ton vehicle yelling at his driver to get them out of this shithole.
''Oh well artistic liberty and all that'', though Lord Hibnar who moved on to shake the hands of a former sergeant who fought under him during the cleansing of Yarik Hole. She seemed honored by the handshake, though her eyes were empty like most survivors of Yarik Hole. He still struck up a short conversation with her to know how she liked her new life in Sierra Secundus and if she made friends with the locals. The sergeant did suddenly lighten up, mentioning a wonderful girl she met who seemed to make her very happy. Lord Hibnar was quite pleased and asked the sergeant her Hab serial number so he could send a small gift for the blissful couple. She gave her residence location and started thanking the Lord profusely.
The Master of Ceremonies, Varnik Veralt, interrupted this conversation to inform in in this very soft voice local nobility love so much,:
''Your Excellency'', interrupted the Master of Ceremonies, Varnik Veralt, in this soft voice common in the local nobility. ''The Red Barons are expecting your presence at the throne room. It is tradition for the new governor to salute them before the red sun is at its zenith.''
A year ago, Lord Hibnar would have told him he had other worries than backstabbing fools who were not ready to take a Krak Grenade for him. Lord Hibnar was not like that anymore. He knew he had to treat the surviving noble families with some level of respect for now. He thanked the Sergeant for her service and went through the crowd at a faster pace.
The faces of hundreds of his former soldiers and subjects started blending in his head. All of them had scars either on their body or in their eyes, in the way they said ''my Lord'', the way they tried to pretend any of this was normal. Some could barely stand up, unlike the finely sculpted statues representing an ideal vision of the imperial guard upright with their Lasgun charged and ready to fire. However, all of them showed visible pride at the fact that today was thanks to them. Showing off their medals, the hand they lost, their old uniform, yelling war cries, swearing as if they were still in the thick of it or standing on guard as if they were in a military review.
Lord Hibnar smiled even more at this glorious display and took a mental note to increase the pension to the survivors of the 14th mechanized.
As Lord Hibnar was going through this crowd, he was also going through the history of his rise to power in the form of painting and tapestries. Most notable was the masterpiece of Alis Van Sven a glorious 50 meters long tapestry representing the rise to power of Lord Hibnar. It started with his arrival on Sierra Segundus before describing the retreat in the lower Habs cause by divergence of reinforcement to Cadia. Then, you could see Lord Hibnar rallying the PDF at Hivecity Tuar, the destruction of the enemy 8th tank brigade at Macharius River, the siege of the governor palace and finally the governor giving the holy scepter of Valian to Lord Hibnar before dying. All of it was false in some way. Partly to pretend Lord Hibnar's messy rise to power was anything straightforward. However, it was also due to the very real limitation of any human to capture the complex history of such an event. Even if the tapestry had been 10 kilometers long, presenting a much more detailed account of what happened it would still be a simplistic depiction that would collapse under any scrutiny. It would also be impossible to install in the Governor's palace.
Lord Hibnar barely took notice of this trip through the history of his rise to power as he was trying to hurry up to the throne room while attempting to look relaxed. A skill he had not mastered yet. Has he reached the first steps of the stairs to the throne room, Lord Hibnar felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and heard the hard voice of his head of security Stobb Amez.
''My Lord,'' said Stobb ''I just received a report indicating that thousands of citizens across the planet are going out into the street yelling in a language no one understands. Some reports even say they are crying tears of blood or bursting in flames.''
''Do you think those could be survivors of the cult trying to cause trouble on my enthronement?'' asked Lord Hibnard.
''I've never seen the 'nids do such a thing before, but I was thinking of sending a few squads of Arbites to see if this is a case of mass hysteria or celebrations of your rule that got out of hand.''
''Very well, but do not allow them to have guns and keep a few battalions of the PDF in reserve in case they are needed. I would rather avoid a bloodbath on my day of enthronement.''
''As you wish my Lord, '' said Stobb Amez as he was melting back in the small security group following the governor.
Lord Hibnar resumed his march to the throne room with renewed effort. Disregarding all ceremonial advice given to him, he walked at a very fast pace toward his destiny. He ignored important tombs of local saints he was supposed to stop at to pray for good fortune. He gave a short nod to the Servo-skulls to indicate he wanted them to stop filming him. The skull's red eyes turned off and Lord Hibnar could relax for a second away from the eyes of his billions of subjects.
His citizens will be confused at the interruption of the feed, but they should quickly see the throne room where 14 Red Barons from the most important families would await their new Lord. Then, the Master of Ceremonies would regale the people with a wealth of details about the throne room and the full lineage of each Red Baron. Lord Hibnar heard the Master of Ceremonies behind him speaking with a great passion to half a dozen Servo-skulls about the significance of every symbol surrounding the brand new throne made for Lord Hibnar. The Master of Ceremonies had the tact not to mention what happened to the thousand-year-old golden throne that was there before.
This Master of Ceremonies was turning out to be quite a useful person though Lord Hibnar. It was a good thing he did not have him executed for treason during the last attack on the governor's palace. Lord Hibnar was quite busy at that time. He was walking through the same stairs as he was doing now, but surrounded by military officers, agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus and even an Inquisitor. All of them advising him and reporting on the capture of this position, the loss of that squad, the breakdown of a Leman Russ or the dead bodies found in the underground level.
As he finally arrived in the throne room, Lord Hibnar was shocked by how different the room was from the last time he visited it. Instead of the nasty odor of burned tentacles and the ozone of plasmas, he smelled holy incense from Terra itself. Gone were the torn bodies of imperial guards ripped apart by the claws and tentacles covering the God of that Xenos cult. The corpse of that monster, slain by the heroic act of a lone guardsman with a plasma gun, was nowhere to be seen either.
Instead, fourteen Red Barons were surrounding the brand-new throne made from the tree of the former governor's personal garden and sculpted to represent the wings of a rising eagle. It bathed in a beautiful crimson light thanks to the stunning mosaic of the God Emperor that was covering the wall behind the throne. His unique sanguine eyes in the middle of His holy skull redirecting the red sunlight precisely on the throne as Lord Hibnar walked towards it. All bowed their heads to Lord Hibnar, except for the Astropath Zagriah Viloziafar who was shaking feverishly. Lord Hibnar gave a quick glance at Stobb Amez who went to look after the Astropath while Lord Hibnar was installing himself on his new throne. It was a bit uncomfortable and frugal compared to the previous one, but it suited Lord Hibnar's character.
Cardinal Carmila Velina brought the scepter of Valian to Lord Hibnar, which symbolizes his unlimited power over this planet. She was followed the Red Baron Theodore Remlis who offered the orb of Keith to Lord Hibnar, which represents the wisdom that will balance this unlimited power. These individuals, lied, cheated, bribed and killed to give those stupid toys to their new Lord.
Armed with those symbols, Lord Hibnar could face at last his Red Barons, the red eyes of two dozen Servo-skulls and the large throne room. He could see this room like his enemy must have viewed it. This made Lord Hibnar feel a rare moment of empathy for the fat bastard he murdered on this very spot.
How did the fat bastard felt covered in the light trying to remember the speech other people wrote for him? How did he feel about the cool eyes of the Barons who were looking with envy at his scepter? Was he ever tired of this? Did he ever think if it was all worth it?
Lord Hibnar pulled away from those thoughts and tried to remember the exact formulation to greet his people.
''My dear subjects, generous Red Barons, servants of the Empire and guards of our faith: I am honored to be seated on this throne that was given to me by the will of the Emperor. I will serve the imperium well: purging it from heresy, paying the glorious tithe every year and caring for the people. I shall bring prosperity to the merchants of our realm. Goods shall now freely transit through this planet. I ask them in return not to overcharge the people. I shall give the Red Barons security; their title and rights will be protected. In exchange, I ask for their fealty. For my guardsmen who served me faithfully, I shall bring glorious rewards for the blood they spilled. In exchange, I ask them to keep their Lasguns clean and ready in case I have need for them. To the Ecclesiarchy, I promise new churches to the glory of the Emperor and a renewed hunt of the heretics. In exchange, I ask their holy blessing and to spread their wealth generously to the poor. Finally! To my people, I shall bring you orde…''
''DOOMED!'' yelled the Astropath Zagriah Viloziafar who was weeping in pain as if his whole being was being torn apart. ''WE ARE DOOMED! Cadia has fallen! The galaxy is broken! You are not seeing the rise of a new Lord, but the appointment of the last witness of our collective murder! THE WARP! The warp is swallowing all! We are dead! Do not waste your time praying for the Emperor for we have failed Him.''
As he was saying those things, Astropath Zagriah was tearing away at his purple robe exposing his body. Dark blood was pouring from what looked like a thousand different cuts, his flesh was rotting, his eyes turned dark, every bone in his body seemed to be breaking each step he took and yet kept on walking towards Lord Hibnar. One guard tried to seize the Astropath, but burned down when touching him. Another soldier aimed his Lasgun, but lightning emerging from the corrupted Astropath struck him down. A third attempted to stab Zagriah with his bayonet, but his arm dislocated before he could even scratch the Astropath. Indifferent to those attacks, Zagriah kept limping towards Lord Hibnar until he was face to face with him.
''General Terk Curlak listen carefully! Burn those clothes, renounce your throne and forget your new name. You were born a lowly ganger and that's the place the Emperor chose for you. Every second you stay on this throne will only bring pain and sadness to all especially you. Run before it is too late! I beg of you! Save the soul of your subjects since their life is already lost!'' implored Zagriah as he was reaching for Lord Hibnar.
Lord Hibnar, unmoved, used his scepter to strike the forehead of this spawn of the warp. Thick dark blood started pouring from the broken face of Zagriah who fell on the ground yelling in pain. Lord Hibnar went on top of the former Astropath and started bashing the head of the struggling Astropath with both holy symbols of his rule. Zagriah did try to say something, but Lord Hibnar simply shattered the lower jaw of his enemy with the orb of Keith. Lord Hibnar's was showered in the gore of what used to be Zagriah.
''This is mine! I fought for it! Go back to the warp demon! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine!'' yelled Lord Hibnar filled with bestial anger.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The sound of the scepter smashing the deformed body of the Astropath swallowed the throne room. The crowd surrounding the two men (if we can call them that) were immobile, terrified by the scene in front of them.
Lord Hibnar kept ravaging Zagriah's body with a series of violent blows until the darkness disappeared from the Astropath's eyes. Then, he saw it in those eyes, the same look the fat bastard gave him on that faithful day. When Lord Hibnar was about to shoot him with his plasma gun melting half the throne in the process. His eyes looked relieved. He was freed from this mess while Lord Hibnar was stuck with it.
Lord Hibnar covered in black blood stood up and stumbled back to his throne, still bathed in the red light from the Emperor's eye of the mosaic. The Emperor was witnessing with indifference the rise of another of its servants.
Then, the sky tore itself in half.