Nareth boarded the ceremonial shuttle to Terra, accompanied by Arsena.
Twelve Shadows Order, one from each Chapter of the Eleventh Legion, stood behind him as the elite representatives of their brotherhoods, handpicked to form the honor guard for this historic journey to Terra.
Clad in full armor and draped in crimson cloaks, they stood like silent statues behind the Primarch.
Nareth stood at the observation window, gazing down upon humanity's cradle.
What he saw was vastly different from the blue orb of his mories. If he were to describe it in terms of color, it was now closer to gray.
A monochro wasteland, its oceans long vanished beneath tallic hives that clawed at the sky like rusted talons.
Amid the urban sprawl, one structure stood out: the Astronomican, the massive psyker lighthouse that allowed Imperial ships to traverse the Warp.
This imnse construct acted as a focusing array, projecting a trendous concentration of psychic energy into the Immaterium. Even though the Emperor was not physically on Terra, his imnse psychic power guided the Astronomican's "signal" across the stars.
Nareth's eyes flickered with alternating light and shadow as he stared at the brilliant pillar of energy, invisible to ordinary humans.
With his Warp Insight activated, he spotted a golden, familiar radiance within the rainbow column, a blinding channel of force, like a divine conduit leading to the heavens.
'When we t, I saw no such connection in His aura... only now, here on Terra, through the Astronomican, can I see their true connection.'
'The Golden Man's psychic might is indeed formidable.'
As the light faded from his eyes, Nareth turned his gaze to a structure even taller than the Astronomican, the Imperial Palace.
It sprawled across an entire continental shelf, colossal and oppressive in scale. It resembled a scar of ancient marble, stretching from the dried-up eastern coastline of the Eurasian continent all the way to the vast, empty western oceans.
Stones from Terra, Luna, Mars, and even the satellites of the solar system's gas giants were used in its construction. So were even imported from conquered systems far across the galaxy.
Cut, polished, and shaped, they were imagined by architects, forged by laborers, and walked upon by soldiers.
This monuntal structure was a sprawling fortress made of Gothic towers, an architectural epic of incomprehensible scale.
Though still incomplete, its skeletal frawork alone made it the largest and tallest structure on all of Terra.
Today, the laborers who had built it were allowed a mont of rest. They were permitted to stand upon the marble grounds they had toiled over to witness this mont:
The celebration of the return of Primarch Nareth.
It was both a reward for their work and a propaganda tool for Malcador.
These workers would recount the mont to their families, friends, and descendants.
Nareth looked beyond the crowd toward Lion's Gate Spaceport, one of two primary orbital access points to the Palace, the other being the Eternity Wall Spaceport.
The usually chaotic traffic of the port had been suspended in Nareth's honor.
All landing zones had been cleared to host the welcoming convoys.
Just as he turned to look, his eyes were drawn to a familiar, radiant presence.
It was a frail-looking, elderly man, yet he glowed brilliantly like a star.
'Malcador ca in person? For all his station, this is unexpected courtesy.'
'When gifts co so freely, there's always a price. I'd better be cautious.'
Nareth narrowed his eyes, alert beneath his calm deanor.
As the shuttle descended, a host of servo-skulls, draped in silk banners, chanted through their vox-casters.
"Lord Nareth, Son of the Emperor, Primarch of the Eleventh Legion..."
"Lord Nareth, Liberator and Ruler of Vostroya… Master of the Treken System…"
"Welco, Lord Nareth! The Son of the Emperor, the Primarch of the Eleventh Legion, has co among you!"
The Imperial mid-tier officials, wealthy nobles, and the families of Solar Auxilia officers, all hand-picked by Malcador, made up the welcoming party.
They responded with thunderous applause and cheers, shaking the plaza.
The Imperial orchestra began to play an anthem composed specially for Nareth's return. Its lodies interwove with the servo-skulls' repeating chants and the people's cries of celebration, forming a chaotic yet strangely harmonious symphony of glory.
Amid this chorus, Malcador, robed and hooded, stepped forward.
"Nareth," he said, "on behalf of the Master of Mankind, I welco the return of his son."
"Welco to the place of your birth. Welco to your true ho."
Though his voice wasn't loud, it resonated with a strange power, effortlessly silencing the noise around them.
"Malcador," Nareth replied, bowing slightly, "I greet you."
After their formal greetings, Malcador turned his eyes to Arsena behind Nareth and instantly recognized him as a psyker, connecting him to known intelligence reports.
He nodded slightly.
The silver-haired Arsena, sensing the overwhelming power radiating from the frail old man, instinctively bowed in return.
Malcador turned back to face the giant Primarch before him.
"Nareth, you have returned over thirty worlds to the Imperium, including the Knight World of Daxos Twin World System."
"You have cast out xenos and reclaid long-lost human brothers into our fold."
"You have brought great glory to the Imperium. Allow to bestow upon you this dal of honor."
From a servant's outstretched hands, Malcador took a golden dal: the Knight's Oath of Gold, commissioned specifically to honor those who reclaim lost Knight Worlds.
Embedded with a ruby for courage and blue enal for loyalty, it bore a green inscription, symbolizing the conquest of House Vextrix.
Nareth bent forward, allowing Malcador to affix the palm-sized dal to his left chest, and a thought ford in his mind:
'The Eleventh Legion should have its own dal and honors system.'
Straightening up, he saw Malcador gesture toward the ceremonial vehicle.
"Nareth, please board the vehicle and begin your journey of glory. The people of the Imperium have long awaited this mont."
Nareth climbed into the armored land-craft, built to match his enormous fra. Resembling a land-ship, its sides were engraved with the golden Imperial double-headed eagle.
Malcador entered a smaller escort vehicle, leaving center stage to the Primarch.
Seated inside, Nareth wore a glowing smile as the cheering crowds flanked the roads on both sides.
They surged forward to catch even a glimpse of the Emperor's son, and only the combined efforts of Terra's Arbites and temporarily stationed Solar Auxilia managed to maintain order.
Smiling, Nareth completed the procession to the Imperial Palace, where he and Malcador entered the Golden Banquet Hall together.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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