(Invoroth Rhyliac POV)
It is honestly interesting to see the current state of the Aeldari Empire. I take one final look before entering my Phoenix Flyer and leaving our Coreworld for many years. I have long moved my entire laboratory and hold it in a separate dimension I created a while ago. Since I had time after my 'rebirth', as I like to call it, I have tried to recreate various technologies from across fiction. One of them was the Capsules from Dragon Ball, which Dr. Briefs created to make things compact and make them as small as a ... 'Capsule'. To say that it is very convenient is an understatement.
With it, transportation is a very simple matter, and I can transport anything with it. It will revolutionise the way we do battle. We don't really have a central figure or figures who rule the Aeldari Empire, since we respect individual freedom too much. But that doesn't mean that there is no order. I naturally have my group of soldiers who loyally follow me into battle, but I'm not an official figurehead ... yet.
"Where to, Lord Invoroth?" my guardian Vathaesar asks.
Our Phoenix Flyer shoots through space towards a specific place in the void, where my spaceship is located. I have invested a lot of time creating superior weapons to anything the rest of my brethren have and that includes vehicles and spaceships. I created two different ones. I took inspiration from fiction again and replicated two spaceships I thought would fit well. I was in the process of creating something akin to an Aeldari Craftworld, but I haven't gotten to that point yet.
"We will now board Twilight and then go straight to Bylor, where my drones have picked up suspicious Necron activity. The Old Ones are desperate and therefore asked for our help. We will launch an attack on the Necrons when they least expect it."
"I understand, Lord Invoroth. Should I inform Mantle's Approach about our destination?" Vathaesar asks me.
Mantle's Approach is the command vessel built specifically to serve as the personal flagship of my war effort. I copied the look from Halo's Forerunner Mantle's Approach, but added my improved Aeldari technology and weaponry.
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"Indeed. Tell them to arrive at exactly 1¦8725#-027|12 and not a moment later. I want them to target their fighters when the time is right. The plan is ready in my mind, and as long as we do it correctly, this will be an overwhelming victory for us."
"Already? I am impressed, my Lord. I will await your plans at your earliest convenience," Vathaesar says with a reverent look on his face.
Our Phoenix Flyer finally approaches my spaceship, the Twilight. It is about half the length of an Aeldari Craftworld and naturally, that is not big enough for me. I can't help but feel pride seeing it in front of me.
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The massive amounts of time I invested in creating it, is astronomical and if I didn't have the countless drones I sent out to spy on the Necrontyr, I would have missed the moment they made contact with the C'tan and eventually became the Necrons. I also wouldn't have acquired so much intelligence on them and created countless plans to fight them.
"We are approaching the Twilight, my Lord."
"Good."
.
As I walk through the grand halls of the Twilight, I encounter many of my Aeldari soldiers who have sworn themselves to my cause. Normally, this is frowned upon in our Empire, but my contributions and the massive amount of influence I wield have gathered a large crowd of admirers and those who want to learn from me or follow me. Right now, I command a force of 2000 Aeldari, which is a pathetic amount considering our total population.
But the interesting fact is that I don't need more to win my first battle against the Necrons. I have chosen the Xun'bakakht Dynasty as my target. The way they operate and fight speaks of a lack of opposition. They have little experience in war, as they haven't really had much opposition after their biotransference to Necrons. I will make use of that and surprise them.
I walk on deck of the Twilight and meet my Generals.
"Greetings. Let us get straight to the battle at hand. Unlike my crafty brethren on the council, I have done extensive research and know what we are to expect. The Necrons are unlike any other race in the galaxy because, strictly speaking, they are no longer alive. They hold three great advantages, which will cause them to win this war if we don't do anything about it.
#1 First, they are immortal. They are not just eternally young, but truly immortal. Their bodies are made up of Necrodermis, which is living metal, capable of mending itself to some degree and even adapting ever so slightly. If they are 'killed', their entire body and weapons are teleported away and back into their tombs, where they respawn and march on the battlefield. You understand that this will eventually overwhelm any enemy.
But there is a weakness. To win a battle, we must reach their tombs and destroy them entirely, to stop them from respawning. This is easier said than done, because of the second advantage.
#2 Their technology. The C'tan granted the Necrons the truths of the material universe. This means that they were told how to make reality-altering weapons, and even the weakest of their soldiers, the Necron Warriors, are in possession of a Gauss Flayer. These weapons literally destroy the electromagnetic force that holds our bodies together and sucks the atoms into their guns. And that is their weakest soldier. Imagine the technology their Lords, Overlords or even Phaerons hold.
#3 The C'tan. Their Masters, the C'tan, are beings of pure energy who were given Necrodermis bodies and have power over the laws of reality. This makes them almost impossible to defeat in battle as they have tremendous destructive capabilities."
I look around the room and see the three Generals and Vathaesar look surprised.
"However, I have prepared us for this. The technology I have created is not yet at the Necrons' level, but we have other strengths. Our access to the Webway and the Immaterium gives us a great counter to the Necrons and their C'tan Masters, and that is something we will use."
I activate Twilight's AI at that moment and a series of holograms appear, showing 3D representations of a blue planet, Necrons and their weapons and finally a Necron Lord.
"Our target is Lord Asmanokh of the Xun'bakakht Dynasty. I have chosen this one as our unlucky first victim. We, the Superior Aeldari faction, will announce our presence in the War of Heaven with a victory. But not just any victory. A grand one at that. Here is the plan."
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(3rd Person POV)
The planet Bylor was mostly covered in water. Despite being mostly covered in water, it was a strategically valuable planet in the War of Heaven, but only if you looked at it long-term. The C'tan of the Xun'bakakht Dynasty has the particular talent of impeccable strategic thinking. He chose Bylor for that reason and sent Necron Lord Asmanokh to take over the planet. But what he doesn't know is that Invoroth also knows about the long-term use of Bylor and has spent decades spying on the different Necron Dynasties.
The Necron Lord Asmanokh is already in the process of taking over Bylor and making it one of their cornerstones for advancement. On the Twilight, Invoroth and his Generals travelled through the Webway and reviewed the data his special drones were live-broadcasting.
"It seems that the Necrons have no technology to surveil the Webway entrances, my Lord," Kararan Fael realises.
"You are correct, Kararan Fael. They do not, and we will abuse that for now. The fact that the Necrons are dead for all intents and purposes gives us an evolutionary advantage," I comment.
"And if history has taught us anything, it is that evolution always wins," Baharwal Taldil says.
I smile upon hearing that. It made no sense for them to say this, but I taught them what benefits there are in growth and progress. Stagnation equals death in my mind.
"Should we start, Lord Invoroth?" Yhunaethios, my third general, asks.
"Indeed. You know the plans. Use our strengths and the Necron's weaknesses to secure our victory."
"As you command." x3
The three generals leave to do their tasks and leave Invoroth alone. He has his own plans, which he told the generals. After another moment of contemplation, his guardian Vathaesar arrives and gives him the silent sign that everything is ready. Without saying a word, Invoroth leaves the deck and moves. His clothes start to change as he walks, and dark armour covers him completely. He has spent a long time preparing for the War in Heaven and has naturally started with his own body and equipment.
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Vathaesar is also in his armour, which Invoroth created for him. As his guardian, Vathaesar is the best fighter in almost all aspects and has been trained by him personally. Invoroth doesn't accept anyone but the best to be his guardian and therefore Vathaesar was enhanced as well as trained and equipped to fit the position.
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They reached a special place in Twilight, where a special Aeldari troop was waiting for their Lord and leader. Invoroth doesn't stand and hold a speech, that isn't necessary for someone of his skill and power. He transmits his thoughts and feelings to his forces and has them know what he thinks. He uses his massive psionic powers to raise morale and give them strength.
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Necron Lord Asmanokh was overseeing the work on Bylor and was rather calm as he did so. But his mood and the mood on Bylor suddenly change as a Webway portal opens, and from it, thousands of Aeldari Flyers exit and shoot towards the Necrons. A Canoptek approaches Lord Asmarnokh to report the happenings.
"Lord Asmanokh, there are Flyers who have exited the Webway, attacking us. What are your orders?"
"Old Ones?"
"Negative, Aeldari."
"Those upstart nobodies have chosen death, it would seem. Launch a counterattack. Send the Doom Scythes and set up the Pylons at once! We will make short work of this young race."
"As you command."
The Necron answer is fast and methodical. They use their advanced technology and immortal bodies to advance and damage the Aeldari Flyers.
...
However ...
This time things are different. Unlike the Old Ones, other weaker races or even the rest of the Aeldari, Invoroth's faction is anything but unprepared or arrogant. Invoroth redesigned and improved the Aeldari Flyers. There are various types of Flyers. The ones that are used right now are agile and speedy, which confuses Necrons' use of methodical attack patterns.
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While the Aeldari were clearly outnumbered, the AI Invoroth created was clearly doing work and was helping the Aeldari perfectly. But there weren't just the agile and fast ones. As the first wave of Aeldari Flyers performed chaotic and seemingly random movements and outmanoeuvred the Necron Doom Scythes, more arrived from the Webway.
Longer and bigger spaceships exited the Webway. The sleekly designed Aeldari spaceships positioned themselves right next to one another and started to fire up a weapon that would become known throughout the War in Heaven. All those who could feel the Immaterium and were sensitive enough could feel the massive amount of power gathering in front of all the ships.
The Necrons didn't know what was happening and simply saw another target to attack. Their different versions of Gauss weapons shot towards the ships but didn't even reach them, as the power reached critical mass.
The different massive balls of psychic energy, which had been gathering in the front, suddenly connected with one another and formed a massive net of psychic energy. This ginormous net was then shot forward towards the Necron Flyers.
*ZZZZZZZZZ*
The psychic power seems to act similarly to electricity. It moved from one Necron vehicle to another and entangled them, turning them useless. It was important to note that none of the Necrons were killed or destroyed to keep them from reforming and teleporting away right away.
The monstrous net of psychic energy captured and immobilised hundreds of thousands of Flyers and unnerved the Necron leadership, creating more chaos and disrupting the Necrons' methodical attack.
As this was going on, another unit of Aeldari was finished with their preparations and was ready to attack on their part. Things were just starting, and it was not looking good for the Necrons already.