Nareth's gaze swept the long table. One massive chair had been removed, and a new figure was present.
His long, black hair fell over his black armor. He also had wings on his back.
They were steel wings, shaped like a raven's.
His gaunt face was pale as snow, his eyes dark as night.
As he looked, a hearty laugh sounded. Horus Lupercal, smiling as always, spoke.
"Nareth, we have welcod our last brother. The Raven Lord of Deliverance..."
The pale-faced figure spoke, his voice low. "Corvus Corax."
Horus, interrupted, glanced at Corax, seeming to sense sothing.
Nareth saw Corax ignore Horus's gaze.
'He's displeased that his Terran-born sons, under Horus's command, have been too brutal.'
'He's also the only Primarch during the Great Crusade to openly express dissatisfaction with Horus.'
'Even Jaghatai, wandering beyond the Imperium, the gloomy Mortarion, the berserk Angron, were closer to Horus than to the Emperor.'
His eyes deepened. He glanced almost imperceptibly at Horus.
'No wonder Horus, as Warmaster, chose to make an example of Corax, forcing the Raven Guard, not suited for frontal assault, to charge head-on at the Battle of Gate Forty-Two.'
'Horus just didn't expect Corax to publicly refuse his commands after the Legion suffered heavy casualties, becoming the smallest Legion.'
'Thus, Nerat Kirine's Ashen Claws will still be exiled. I gain another hidden piece.'
As he thought, he smiled. "Corax, welco back."
He sat in the massive chair, leaning back.
The palace was silent. The incense of the Astropaths maintaining the psychic arrays rose, mist spreading beneath the golden do.
He felt sothing was missing.
After a mont's thought, he realized: Leman Russ's annoying voice, his usual mockery of Magnus, was absent.
'Russ still hasn't recovered from the ill-fated fate-line he gained from killing Hannibal.'
As he thought, the doors opened with a rumble.
The Emperor entered with the Fabricator-General of Mars, Malcador and Constantin Valdor following.
He rose with the others, staring at the Emperor's face.
His expression was calm, a perfect smile on his lips.
'He doesn't seem weakened. Did Ouroboros not harm him at all?'
'Hmm, my psychic projection is less perceptive than my true body.'
As he thought, he saw the golden eyes fall on him. The Emperor nodded slightly.
'Hmm...'
'What does this an? Is he pleased I obeyed his command to stay at Vostroya, letting him locate ?'
Thoughts raced through his mind as he greeted the Emperor and sat.
The Lord of Humanity sat, then looked at Lion El'Jonson, in his black-terracotta armor, golden hair, seated to Nareth's left.
"Lion, you have cleansed the evil C'leptos."
"This is another morable xenos extermination of the Great Crusade."
"My Lord," the Lion spoke, his voice grave. "It is my duty."
As he withdrew his gaze, it naturally swept over Nareth.
Only they saw the Emperor as their sovereign, more than their father.
Thinking of his father, the image of a long-absent figure appeared in his mind.
Luther.
Father and son.
'Luther, have you seen my campaigns against the xenos?'
'Have you seen the glory I have won?'
'Do you regret it?'
As the Lion pondered, the Emperor's gaze fell on Nareth.
"My Pegasus, the Wolf system is under invasion by the Qah."
"I think you have rested long enough. It is ti to spread your wings again and grant them destruction."
'With the Dionysian Spear back by my side, the Emperor is again assigning powerful xenos?' As he thought, his gaze swept over Perturabo.
'Is Perturabo and the Iron Warriors being sent to the western galactic frontier another reason for giving the Qah?'
He recalled the Qah were a powerful xenos race the Iron Warriors had annihilated after three bloody campaigns.
In the final campaign in 933, the Iron Warriors' 33rd Grand Company suffered 78% casualties.
Yet the stern Lord of Iron did not bla his sons, considering the casualty rate acceptable.
He knew the Qah were powerful not only from the Iron Warriors' casualties and Perturabo's unusual reaction, but also from the Blasphemy Slate.
The Qah were the main ingredient for Sequence 5 "Dream Stealer" on the Error Pathway.
Such potion materials must be powerful xenos with special abilities.
"As you command." He readily accepted. Knowing the Qah were about to be exterminated, he would have volunteered even if the Emperor hadn't assigned them.
The Emperor smiled and nodded, his gaze moving from Nareth to the opposite side of the table.
"The Mark II Crusade-pattern power armor has shown obvious flaws in battle."
"I want Mars to design a new pattern of power armor to support the Astartes Legions."
Hearing this, he glanced almost imperceptibly at Horus opposite him.
He knew the Mark IV Maximus-pattern power armor, born at the height of the Great Crusade, was lighter and more maneuverable than the Mark II, without sacrificing protection.
But its fielding began just before the Heresy, and only half the Legions had completed the transition. That half was concentrated among the traitor Legions.
The fallen Horus, using his authority as Warmaster and the help of Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal, allocated the Mark IV and other advanced equipnt to the traitor Legions.
At the start of the Heresy, the loyalist Astartes Legions primarily used Mark II and Mark III power armor.
After the Heresy began, the loyalists, cut off from stable raw materials, were forced to modify their designs, producing the Mark V Heresy-pattern from whatever they could find.
Of course, the Iron Hands, with their own forging capabilities and ties to the chanicum, always had plentiful Cataphractii-pattern Terminator Armor.
'Hmm, I need to find a way to ensure my Legion is mass-equipped with the Mark IV, which the loyalists won't have, before the Heresy.'
Shadows of Order's Forge Lord Rosicky and Malvoleus, based on Dominum Armor technology, could only craft custom armor for Court Earls and Viscounts.
Only so Barons were lucky enough to receive his custom suits.
Chapter Masters' and Company Captains' Honor Guards were equipped with Saturnine and Cataphractii Terminator prototypes.
Most Shadows of Order still used Mark II and Mark III power armor, though many suits had attached Rangdan personal energy shields, Squat void-shields, and Sixty-Three-Nineteen invisibility fields.
He decided that, when the Heresy ca, his basic armor patterns would not be inferior to the traitors'. The Fabricator-General spoke, his vox-synthesizer sounding.
"Martian tech-priests are designing a new pattern of power armor."
"The Omnissiah's servants will offer a new gift for the Great Crusade's climax."
Ending his psychic projection, he returned to the Shadow's Sovereignty and ordered the 1st, 3rd, and Tenth Chapters to assemble at the Kalium Gate.
Besides the Tenth Chapter, the largest and in need of tempering, the "Sheriffs," who could detect anomalies, and the Darkness Pathway beyonders, skilled in dealing with dreams, were best suited for the Qah.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu
User Comments
0 comments from readers