Kivior-2 remained silent for several seconds before his chanized voice crackled to life.
"This uprising has been long in the making."
As he spoke, the chadendrite on his back plugged into the cogitator interface. The video screen above his head lit up.
Rows upon rows of dense 0s and 1s stread past, the language of technology. Then, an image appeared on screen:
[Kerovo Hive, Altar No. 2]
A strange man in blue robes appeared. The back of his neck split open, extending into a vulture-like long neck. A sharp beak repeatedly pecked at his bald head.
He bent forward, opened his beak, and spewed blue flas, engulfing over a dozen combat servitors.
"Altar Two has fallen. The Machine Spirit burns in the heretic's unholy fire."
From the Magos's tone, Nareth detected a hint of sorrow. He paused, realizing it ca from "Warp Insight", a gift that let him sense emotions, even from soone like Kivior-2.
Though his body lacked any flesh, Kivior-2 still had a soul. Cold logic wasn't all there was to him; his emotions still echoed in the Sea of Souls.
Then, the sage's tone shifted, now filled with admiration:
"The hives you control, Lukevo and Tizca, responded the quickest and most effectively in this rebellion. Not only did they suppress the mutant uprisings, but they also killed heretical cultists."
Nareth hadn't yet received any reports, but smiled upon hearing this.
The screen changed to show Thierry thrusting his sword through an enemy.
'My judgnt was right. Those leading the mutants were clearly Tzeentch cultists, blessed by the Changer of Ways. Yet Howard and Thierry defeated them. This strike of his reveals a new level of understanding of 'Otsberg-Vaya.'
'He has found the true aning of playing the role of a warrior. Their performance will strengthen my bargaining position.'
Nareth spoke:
"The rebellion caused by the heretical cultists has brought imnse damage to Vostroya.
I can end this quickly, but I need the support of the servants of the Omnissiah."
Kivior-2's logic engine whirred rapidly.
*Nareth boarded the xeno battleship / Decisive victory // He purged the xenos in Symphony of the Sea // With Combat capabilities resembling sacred machinery.*
"I am willing to provide full support. The Legiones Skitarii are at your disposal."
"No," Nareth shook his head. "I do need the Skitarii's support, but more importantly, I need the servants of the Omnissiah to recognize my legitimate rule over Vostroya."
"What?"
Kivior-2 asked in shock, his soul flaring with rage.
"Vostroya has maintained its order for a millennium. The Machine God will never allow you to overturn it!"
"But has that order truly unlocked Vostroya's full potential?"
Nareth's extraordinary eloquence sparked reflection in the minds of the sages.
"The changes I implented have already greatly improved the efficiency and output of Hantmann West Do in a short ti. Howard Fender proved this model is replicable.
With as its ruler, Vostroya will usher in a golden age of prosperity."
He didn't voice all his thoughts aloud. What he wanted from Vostroya went far beyond just ruling it.
Though no census had been conducted, Nareth knew Vostroya's total population hovered around one billion, too few. That small population was one reason Vostoniya was classified as an industrial world instead of a hive world.
The hive city of Trazior in Necromunda once conducted a census; its upper hive alone housed a billion people, equal to Vostroya's entire population.
Given the pyramid-like structure of hives, the mid-hive, lower hive, and underhive would have far more residents.
And Trazior was only one of many such hives on Necromunda.
While this Segntum hive worlds boasted denser populations than other regions, Vostoya's numbers were too low. It couldn't serve as the capital of Nareth's future kingdom.
He needed sweeping reforms to transform Vostroya into a capital world of imnse potential.
Rosicky and Wojciech exchanged glances; they finally understood what Nareth ant when he used that title in the treaty. Even then, he was signaling his ambitions.
They both looked at the Magos. Would Kivior-2 accept?
They thought not.
Kivior-2 inserted a chadendrite into the cogitator port and, using his highest access rights as a servant of the Omnissiah, pulled all data related to the four altars Nareth controlled, especially Tizca.
His logic engine ran at full tilt, modeling outcos.
[Logic verification complete // He can significantly boost efficiency.]
The logic engine simulated theoretical scenarios. After several dozen seconds, the chanized voice spoke again:
"The Omnissiah has already made pacts with the kings. Your proposal is rejected."
Nareth's eyes grew cold. He had hoped to accelerate Vostroya's growth through cooperation with the Tech-Priests. But they clung to tradition and agreents.
'If that's the case, I'll just have to create a fait accompli and force them to accept.
'If they still resist, I'll simply loosen the selection criteria for the 'Savant'.'
Just as Nareth fell into thought, an urgent alarm blared from the spire tower. Red lights lit up the altar.
Kivior-2 gave an order to a tech-priest standing before a massive display made of 64 screens:
"Trace the source of the alarm."
Seconds later, the tech-priest pulled up a series of images.
Nareth's gaze swept across them, and he saw footage from the Mikhailovsk Hive, but also from Sandchiga Hive, where Altar No. 9 was located.
The tech-priest stared at the screen and reported:
"Tech-priest Zhelinski has fallen to heresy. Heslew Magos Kivior-25, who was overseeing Altar No. 9. Piontek Swidelski has also turned heretic; they conducted a profane ritual in Sandchiga Hive."
Nareth saw footage of tens of thousands of hive citizens being herded into a factory by mutants.
Another screen showed hordes of beastn with avian traits erging.
'Tzaangors!'
Nareth knew so had turned into Tzaangors from prolonged corruption by Tzeentch. But most had likely been captured and grotesquely transford to please the Changer of Ways.
Kivior-2 looked at Piontek Swidelski's bird beak and clawed limbs with both disgust and rage:
"Piontek has forsaken the Omnissiah's faith; he is a blasphemous heretic!"
"Dispatch the Skitarii. Demand that King Kapustka act. By the Machine God's will, he must kill the heretic."
Nareth stood silently, arms crossed, holding his heavy halberd, eyes locked on the screen.
King Kapustka responded swiftly, leading his forces to purge the heretics invading his territory, Mikhailovsk Hive.
Clad in fine-crafted power armor, he pointed his power sword at Piontek.
"Heretic, die!"
"Fool!"
Piontek raised a warped blue shield, blocking the blow.
Kapustka's gaze t the eye embedded in the top of the shield, and he scread in agony.
Piontek swung his curved blade and decapitated King Kapustka.
"Heretic!"
Kivior-2, seeing the seasoned warrior Kapustka fall in an instant, recalculated the heretics' combat abilitied and searched the database. He realized:
There was only one option left.
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