Month 5, Year 837, Incaladion.
Nareth led his Honor Guard in crushing the rebel main force and arrived at the perimeter of the Second Forge Temple.
The young Tech-Priest accompanying him, Neto, looked upon the Primarch with reverence.
"Lord Nareth, the leader of the largest Incaladion rebel faction, Barnes, is inside his forge temple."
"He's a radical and deranged Magos; rumors say he's performed blasphemous modifications on his own body."
Nareth gave a slight nod, striding toward the massive temple gates.
He raised his left arm; the power fist upon it shone with radiant golden light as he slammed it against the steel doors.
A disintegration field tore through the metal, shards and debris scattered.
Inside, the floor was covered in savage, totemic patterns, tiger heads with black stripes, wide-mouthed serpents…
Nareth's eyes narrowed. He thought to himself:
'For millennia, Incaladion has raided nearby worlds, enslaving tribal populations and absorbing their primitive cultures.'
'The Titan crews of the Legio Fureans performed strange rites even during the Great Crusade, delaying their engine deployments.'
'Their ceremonies, a vile fusion of the Omnissian liturgy and bestial tribal totems, were among the reasons for the eventual fall of both the Legio Fureans and the House Mordred'
As he pondered this, a hideous mechanical roar echoed through the forge, part beastly bellow, part whirring machine noise.
BOOM!
From the shadows emerged a towering monstrosity, nine meters tall, half flesh and half steel.
Neto rushed forward, seeing the human faces fused grotesquely into its body.
"Lord Nareth! That abomination is Barnes!"
The young priest trembled with rage and horror, only to see Nareth already in motion, charging forward so swiftly that even Neto's augmetic eyes could catch only a black blur.
"Die."
Barnes let out a distorted roar, hydraulic pistons screeching as his massive iron fist smashed down.
Boom
The blow shattered the dome above the forge and came crashing toward Nareth, but the Primarch raised his left arm, blocking the strike with his blazing power fist.
Reaching behind him, Nareth drew forth the Dionysian Spear, his eyes flashing as he hurled it.
"This is for you!"
The spear shrieked through the air, impaling Barnes's mutated arm.
"ROAAAR!"
The creature bellowed as blood and metal fragments rained down.
Nareth leapt high, drawing the Sword of Vaul from his waist. Blue-white light flared as the disintegration field tore apart Barnes's head in a single stroke.
Neto stared, stunned, as the Primarch had slain the monstrous Magos in moments.
Before he could even catch his breath, Nareth stood before him. His dark eyes met Neto's, and the young priest felt as if a mountain weighed upon his shoulders; cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
"Incaladion must abandon its barbaric tribal ways. Do you understand?"
Neto's gaze swept across the forge, the hellish scene of mangled abominations and blood-stained walls chilled him to the bone.
"Yes… yes, my lord. I understand."
"Good. Then I will see you appointed as Preceptor-General. You will rebuild Incaladion."
Nareth had long observed Neto, comparing him to other tech-priests accompanying the expedition, and found him the most capable.
At the Primarch's words, Neto's augmetic eye glimmered with light.
'Incaladion is broken, a tenth of its former strength. The Shadows of Order, who liberated it, now decides everything here.'
"My lord, by the name of the Omnissiah, I swear fealty and obedience to your will."
On their return, Nareth told him, "You are a Tech-Priest. You cannot become Preceptor-General immediately. Even if I forced your appointment, you'd lack true support. I will help you earn the title of Magos first, then grow your power."
"I am deeply grateful, my lord."
Nareth was pleased, Neto was ambitious, but not reckless.
Five days later, after purging the Second Forge Temple, Nareth stood before twelve Magi in the First Forge Temple.
"Tech-Priest Neto proved himself during the trials. His talent is exceptional. I recommend he be elevated to Magos and assist in rebuilding Incaladion alongside you."
The twelve Magi exchanged glances, conversing in the binaric tongue.
Moments later, one spoke in Vostroyan tongue, "As you command, my lord."
The liaison officers of the Shadows of Order had already succeeded in teaching the local elites the Vostroyan language.
As the ground sweep continued, Nareth returned to the Throne Shadow's Sovereignity, where he made Neto a "Savant".
He had already assessed Neto's loyalty and ability and decided to asced him to be a beyonder.
Enhancing Neto's capabilities was also part of the help Nareth offered him.
Nareth then instructed Rosicky to guide Neto on how to mobilize resources and strengthen his influence.
After the two departed, Arsena stepped forward to report.
"My lord, the Emperor has recovered the Primarch Roboute Guilliman on Macragge, in the Ultima Segmentum."
"He is officially recorded as the ninth Primarch to return."
Nareth gave a slight nod, though his thoughts stirred quietly within.
'The Dice of Prophecy is nearly charged; soon I can perform another divination.'
'Should I foresee the STC that Horus will discover, or claim some of the Ultramar worlds first?'
He knew, just as Rome was not built in a day, neither were the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar.
Before his return to the Imperium, Guilliman ruled only Macragge, inherited from his adoptive father, Konor, one of two Consuls.
After quelling a coup led by the other consul, Galan, Guilliman united the planet, transforming it in five years into a prosperous hub trading with neighboring systems like Espandor.
It was on Espandor that the Emperor first heard of a possible Primarch on Macragge.
'Without Navigators and Astropaths, interstellar expansion is nearly impossible.'
'Warp travel without Navigators is gambling; this is why I must rely on the Imperium's structure.'
'Of all the Primarchs, only I have personally navigated beyond my crash world.'
He recalled his own perilous warp voyage, the hardships endured without the Emperor's resources.
'Even for me, Warp navigation with mere psykers was arduous.'
'Beyond Vostroya, I've conquered only the Crystal Mirage system.'
'And without proper astrotelepathy, communication between worlds is crippled.'
Nareth sighed inwardly.
'Without Legionnaires, even a Primarch cannot conquer five hundred worlds.'
'Ultramar was built through the Great Crusade, through the full might of the 13th Legion.
And they have yet to begin their conquests.'
His eyes gleamed with insight.
'Most of the Ultramar worlds remain undiscovered by the Imperium: the mineral-rich jewel of Calth, the forge-tier world of Pyrestorm, the fertile Aventinium, and Talassa, the ocean world ideal for recruitment, even better than Symphony of the Sea for Tyrant pathways, Shadows of Order.'
He knew that once the Ultramarines began their advance, expansion would accelerate, and his own territory would inevitably fragment.
He shortlisted five potential worlds, excluding Macragge itself, leaving four targets.
As he pondered, Arsena spoke:
"My lord, the Astropath's reports, the Emperor has summoned a new War Council."
The Great Crusade was vast, involving twenty Space Marine Legions, thousands of Imperial Army regiments, the Titan Legions of the Mechanicum, and countless auxiliary forces.
It also relied on an ever-growing network of Forge Worlds and supply chains.
To manage this, the Emperor convened the War Council, the de facto governing body of the Imperium, before the formation of the Council of Terra
Each Primarch held a seat, all but Alpharius, whose identity remained secret.
"The appointed time is ten hundred ship-standard tomorrow," said Arsena. "Confirmed by Wojciech Blyek."
"Understood," Nareth replied.
...
Next Day, 09:52 Ship Standard Time
Primarch Palace, Holo-Conference Chamber.
Machine runes lit up across the golden floor. The rhythmic click of modulator gears joined the distant hum of the choir's hymn.
"Ready, my lord."
"Begin," Horus, who had already changed his mentality and decided to be a good big brother, proposed to participate in advance before each meeting officially started, and use this time to communicate with each other.
At the same moment when the light engulfed Nareth, his figure flashed in the palace of Terra, the golden palace where the war council was held.
He took his seat, second to the left of the Emperor. Nine others were already present; three were absent.
Beside him sat Leman Russ, then Hannibal and Vulkan.
Across the Emperor's right side sat the gray-robed figure, Malcador the Sigillite.
Facing Nareth was Horus Lupercal, flanked by Ferrus Manus, Rogal Dorn, Fulgrim, and Roboute Guilliman.
The seating reflected achievement; the closer one sat to the Emperor's right, the greater their conquests.
At this stage, Guilliman, Vulkan, and Fulgrim were new, seated according to their sons' accomplishments.
Before Malcador could speak, Horus addressed Nareth:
"Nareth, allow me to introduce our newest brother, Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the 13th Legion."
"Nareth, I must thank you; you saved my son, Gren Vosotho, and spared the Osiris Suppression Fleet from total destruction."
In Terra, Guilliman and Malcador were the only two people in the Golden Palace, not projections
He had short blonde hair and a smile on his face, thanking Nareth.
"Welcome back, Guilliman," Nareth replied with a nod.
"It was only right, I couldn't stand by idly when fate crossed our paths."
'Hmm… then Calth and the other four Ultramar worlds shall be my 'thank-you gifts,' brother.'
.....
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