After returning to Vostroya, Nareth had Gabriel accompany Ferrus Manus on a tour of the factories, representing him.
Normally, his primarch attendant, Arsena Dunn, would have filled this role, but since the guest was Manus, the Marshal of Ordance, Gabriel was more appropriate.
Nareth then returned to the palace and summoned "Assassin" Maria Kournikova.
"My lord," Maria said with a bitter smile, "even if I apply the strictest standards in Vostroya, this world has no one worthy of being called your enemy."
"The last target we assassinated was eleven months ago."
Maria felt that before long, her assassin organization might lose all purpose under Nareth.
"Do not worry," Nareth said, gazing down at her. "I have many enemies. I still require assassins to deal with them."
Maria's face lit up. Just as she was about to ask further, a flood of information poured into her mind.
'A ritual… Black Emperor?'
As she was trying to comprehend, a voice spoke directly into her mind:
"Perform the ritual, and you shall receive revelation."
"As you command…" Maria whispered, her long blonde braid falling over her shoulder, "My lord."
She then returned to Tizca Hive City.
Though Yelena had moved the Kournikova family's main base to Paradigm City, the political center of Vostroya, Maria still kept her headquarters in Tizca.
This was the birthplace of Nareth's rise.
The hive itself had changed drastically compared to the past.
For one, aside from the citizens who had always lived in the upper hive, many from the lower hive now resided there as well.
For another, barriers between factories and even between hives had been broken.
Maglev trains physically connected the industries, while Yelena, with the Monarch's backing, tore down ideological barriers so industries could integrate organically.
The "Assassin" slipped into the shadows, avoiding the gaze of the hive citizens, and returned to the Assassin's Sanctum.
This sanctum lay 350 meters underground, built from marble.
On the surface, the House Kournikova's warehouse concealed it. Supplies such as food were stored there to cover the sanctum's existence.
When Maria returned, Tsvetlana and Dementieva eagerly approached her.
Glancing at the training assassins nearby, who had yet to receive the Black Emperor's blessings, Maria noted that only the three of them had been granted such gifts.
"Later," she said curtly.
The three entered a sealed chamber. After shutting the door, Tsvetlana activated a shielding field. Dementieva immediately asked:
"What are Lord Nareth's orders?"
Tsvetlana also looked anxiously at Maria. Since Nareth's return to the Imperium and his assumption of command over the Astartes Legion, he had not given them any missions.
Their days had been filled with nothing but rigorous training of apprentices, tracking remnants of hive kings and dispossessed noble families for targets, and launching preemptive strikes.
But for the past three years, such targets had been rare. Tsvetlana worried that, without purpose, the Assassin's Sanctum might soon dissolve.
"My lord…" Tsvetlana frowned slightly. She sensed something different in Maria's tone. "He commands us to perform a ritual."
"A ritual? What kind of ritual?" Dementieva asked, confused.
"My lord…" Maria's voice grew deep. "It is the Black Emperor. We must pray devoutly to receive His revelation."
After explaining, Maria's words filled the other two with excitement. At last, there was hope, the chance to continue serving Nareth, no, the Black Emperor.
They immediately mobilized the apprentices to build an altar.
Fifteen work cycles later, the altar was complete.
Maria performed a sealing of spiritual currents with a ritual dagger, then knelt at its center. Tsvetlana and Dementieva knelt at her sides.
Together, they began chanting in fragments of Dunnic language they had just learned:
"Black Emperor of the Shadows of Order,
Mysterious Sovereign of the Kingdom of Disorder,
Monarch of Light and Shadow, who governs and holds the rules."
"I beseech Thy gaze."
"I beseech Thy favor."
"I beseech Thee, grant me the mystery of flame, that I may wield greater power."
"O Balance, foundation of the Kingdom of Disorder, grant strength to my invocation.
"O Iron Laws of Monarchs, basis of the Kingdom of Disorder, grant strength to my invocation."
An unseen force stirred within the altar, making the candle flames flicker violently.
By their fifth repetition, black mist rose and enveloped their bodies.
When their minds cleared, they found themselves in a mysterious space.
Before they could comprehend it, Nareth's towering figure spoke:
"Drink this potion. It is the next stage of power I grant you."
He had not drawn them into the Kingdom of Disorder. Instead, this was the potion he had ordered the Jokaero to prepare for assassins of Sequence 8, the Instigator.
The three women bowed excitedly. "Thank You, my lord!"
They had long since become true "Assassins," but for years had received no new tasks, no new gifts.
At last, the long wait was over. Without hesitation, they each took the purple draught floating upon the black mist before them and drank deeply.
Moments later, they stabilized their newfound power and whispered: "Instigator."
Nareth nodded solemnly.
"On Terra, there is a faction that slanders and defames the Shadow of Order."
"Your task is to assassinate them, and with your new gifts, subvert them."
"Yes, my lord," Maria answered, elated.
"I will punish those wicked ones," Dementieva vowed, her eyes burning with killing intent, eager to strike with her blades.
"In addition to punishment," Nareth continued, "you must also recruit talents into my fold."
The follow-up to the Instigator, Sequence 7, the Witch, would wield black flames, frost, and invisibility. Nareth planned to have them accompany the Legion in time.
"Yes, my lord," Maria said firmly.
"Three days hence, the Glory of Vostroya will depart for Terra. You will board it covertly."
With that, Nareth severed their link, and the women vanished into the black mist.
He ascended into the third spatial layer and found the Prophecy Dice fully "charged" for another divination.
Yet, instead of casting them immediately, he returned to the palace and summoned Arsena Dunn.
"Choose a squad of Shadows of Order with leadership potential and send them to Terra. They will protect the Vicssher family."
The Primarch's aide was momentarily stunned; this command was not part of the agreement with the Navigator Houses.
But since the Black Emperor offered no explanation, he did not ask further.
"As you command." He then added, "Lord Manus has completed his tour of Vostroya and is returning. He will arrive in one standard hour."
"Prepare to receive him," Nareth ordered. Dunn complied.
An hour later, Gabriel escorted Ferrus Manus into the palace.
Nareth rose to greet him, and they sat together in the reception hall.
Manus sipped his tea and remarked, "Excellent tea. At first sip, lightly salty and fresh; with depth, rich and mellow, layered yet harmonious."
"Grosseto is the island of the Symphony of the Sea with the widest temperature swings between day and night. It produces the finest black tea."
"Arsena, prepare ten pounds for Lord Manus."
The attendant left to fetch it. Manus looked at Nareth, his voice like molten lead.
"Thank you for the gift."
His coin-silver eyes gleamed. "But what amazes me more than the tea is Vostroya's efficiency."
"My father told me your factories bring the people happiness and hope, yet match the efficiency of Mechanicum forges. That made me curious."
"Did you find your answer?" Nareth asked.
"Your laws are the institutional backbone. The Shadows of Order and mortal politicians enforce them. The Symphony of the Sea provides the material foundation."
"The Mechanicum refuses to implement such systems on their Forge Worlds. Supplying resources is a waste in their eyes."
Manus did not mention the broader Imperium. To him, such supply strategies were also a 'waste,' while Malcador already strained to maintain the Great Crusade's logistics.
"What shocked me most," Manus continued, "was that when I compared your factories to Terra's in quantitative terms, the final results showed resource consumption was balanced by compensations."
"In other words, the system you imposed motivated the workers. Their improved efficiency balanced the costs."
His silver eyes shone brightly. "Besides those three factors, two others are essential."
"Your Arbiter Lords draft the detailed statutes and piloted them first in Hantman Dome."
"And your 1st and 11th Chapters of the Shadows of Order, embody qualities ensuring every system's enforcement."
After his praise, Manus proposed his idea:
"Though Vostroya's efficiency is admirable, I believe it could be raised further. If you allow full competition, granting welfare to only a select few rather than all, efficiency will climb even higher."
"In Medusa, I use such a strategy; only a few enjoy the right to comfortable lives."
"No." Nareth rejected it outright. He would not sacrifice the majority's welfare for efficiency. Moreover, such a strategy would dampen the Vostroyan desire for family and growth.
Manus' practice of near-enslaving populations from other worlds was even less acceptable.
"That is not the Vostroya I seek."
Black eyes locked with silver ones. After a moment, Manus rose.
"Your world, your choice."
"I will return to Medusa now."
After Manus departed with Arsena and the Gabriel in attendance, Nareth turned his thoughts back to what the Prophecy Dice should next reveal.
.....
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