Nareth looked towards his Honor Guard member, William Wood.
William came from the 12th Chapter. Not long ago, he had passed the trials and become a "Seer."
"Are you certain?" the Librarian asked. He had tried to foresee several times before and failed.
"My method of divination differs from yours. Moreover, the ambush has already been sprung. The xenos may have ceased their psychic interference and committed to battle."
Balsar nodded slightly upon hearing this. The reasoning of the Shadows of Order was sound, but he was currently too exhausted to use his own psychic powers.
"Then please begin."
"I need an object belonging to him as a foci to increase the success rate of the divination," the "Seer" stated calmly.
"What kind of focus?"
"I need a personal adornment he used to wear, something he kept on his person."
Balsar studied the Shadow of Order carefully.
Unlike most Librarians who used force staves, this Shadow of Order had a walking cane hanging at his waist.
For an ordinary human, it would be a long staff, but by Astartes standards, it was merely a cane.
Stranger still were the runes carved into the staff's body.
The Librarian withdrew his gaze with slight puzzlement, curious about what the warrior would do. He spoke.
"Perhaps some battle-brothers exchanged medals with Nerat."
Balsar was about to inquire over the comms network when Arkhas Fal removed a blood-stained medal from the right side of his chest.
"The medals we earned after reclaiming Jupiter's tenth moon."
"Before arriving at Xana, Nerat and I reminisced about our past battles fought side-by-side, and then we exchanged our medals."
Balsar looked at the Shadows of Order. "Will this suffice?"
"Yes. He has left his mark upon it."
William extended his left hand to take the rune-inscribed medal. Sticky blood soaked his gauntlet. With his right hand, he retrieved a bottle from the dozen or so oils hanging on his belt.
He dripped oil, extracted and refined from plants such as aloe, Schefflera, Monstera, and spider plants, onto the medal in a triangular pattern. The dark red blood receded rapidly, revealing the inscribed runes beneath.
The "Seer," who had opened his sight, also saw the impure, mingled colors upon it swiftly disperse.
William flipped the medal to its other side and dripped three more drops of oil.
As he returned the bottle to his belt, he gazed at the medal. The impure colors vanished one by one. Two remained, then after a few seconds, only one.
The "Seer" knew this last one belonged to Nerat, the residual essence left from him carrying the medal for so long.
He drew the divining rod from his waist, crafted for him by the Armor Master.
The Armor Master, had advanced to the knight tier.
The knight tier was currently reserved exclusively for members of the Honor Guard.
When the Armor Master inquired about his needs, William had requested not to have armor custom-made for him just yet. Instead, he had asked to forge him a divining rod.
He did not wish to waste this opportunity before mastering the power bestowed by his gene-father.
William had tried force staves, the Legion's unique psybriP mind staves, and the Fra'al aether staves. None could perfectly channel his divinatory abilities.
The Armor Master had fulfilled his need, casting a perfect divining rod for him.
William drew the rod and pressed a rune.
With a hum, three crystal slivers extended from the rod's head.
He aimed the rod at the medal. A flash of light, and the medal flew up.
The slivers enclosed the medal, pressing it firmly against the rod's head.
William gripped the black rod and glanced at his father.
"Begin," Nareth nodded.
"As you command, Father."
William first infused four of the runes with psychic energy. The black in his eyes deepened as he entered a semi-meditative state.
The "Seer" felt his spirit lighten, as if floating. He silently chanted in his mind: 'The location of Nerat Kirine.'
After eleven repetitions, his hand left the black rod. Yet the rod did not fall; it stood upright.
Subtle, invisible movements surrounded him. His deep black eyes gazed upon the rod. He chanted silently once more: 'The location of Nerat Kirine.'
No sooner had he finished than the silver-inlaid, black wooden rod fell, pointing to the eleven o'clock direction.
"Move out." Nareth stepped forward first, heading in the direction the "Seer's" rod indicated.
Balsar watched William's movements intently. Though his divination method also used psychic power, it wasn't entirely the same as what Balsar knew. He wondered if it was similar to the methods of the Thousand Sons.
"Five o'clock direction."
The "Seer" grasped his rod and spoke in a low voice.
The "Seer's" voice seemed ethereal, as if it could penetrate into an unknown world.
The "Seer's" technique of "rod dowsing" required the focus object to be wood, metal, or a combination of both.
Normally, this required two true divining rods, shaped like a wire bent at a right angle. The shorter end was held, and the rotation of the wire determined the direction.
The "Seer" could perform divination without using the rod, just with a staff, but this wouldn't fully utilize his prophetic talent.
The Armor Master had designed William's rod primarily for its beyonder capabilities, while also drawing upon his psychic power.
The group moved quickly. Warriors of the Nineteenth Legion, now resupplied with ammunition, followed the Primarch and his Honor Guard towards the direction indicated by the "Seer."
The "Seer" used "rod dowsing" to correct their course. The direction the rod fell was the direction revealed by the divination.
At the same moment, Xana's Forge-Complex 250.
Nerat led his company through the immense, long-cold furnaces.
He had prepared long for this hunt.
After discovering the neural collars, he decided to track down the xenos who enslaved them.
Nerat cared nothing for the lives of these traitors. Whether it was by their will or not, they were merely traitors.
He simply wanted to track the xenos behind it all and eliminate them. It was the more effective method.
To complete this hunt, he had silenced his comm channel, severing contact with the Shadow Lord.
Though he respected Arkhas as a great warrior-leader, their tactical philosophies differed considerably.
Under Lord Horus's command, the Shadow Lord had fully awakened the savage combat customs from before their ascension. They would slaughter every enemy they encountered.
Nerat and other Terran-born were different. They followed another way: locate the target, strike, withdraw before the enemy can counterattack, then strike again. That was their creed.
Nerat and the Shadow Lord had spoken many times. They respected each other but could never reach a consensus.
To ease their trace, they had exchanged the medals commemorating the great victory at Jupiter's tenth moon.
Nerat's left hand gently touched the medal on his chest, unstained by a single drop of blood. He thought to himself,
'Shadow Lord, this time, I will surely prove myself to you.'
Nerat looked ahead. He saw an upright scorpion-like creature. Its four crimson eyes turned in his direction.
No more hiding. No more need for hiding.
He opened his company's comm channel, intending to break comms silence and issue battle orders.
Static hissed. Nerat felt something was wrong.
He whispered, "Attack!" The response was static.
A shadow fell upon him from above.
Xana II had comm relay stations. Losing connection likely meant enemy jamming.
Comms jamming meant the xenos might have discovered them.
'It was a trap!'
Nerat suddenly raised his bolt pistol and pulled the trigger.
The surrounding command squad followed their Captain's lead a second later.
The company's battle-brothers responded in the following seconds. They didn't rely entirely on the comm system; they were accustomed to various special situations from past battles.
Rat-tat-tat!
Attacks came from all directions. The xenos drove the enslaved hordes against them.
They were surrounded. A trap indeed.
Nerat immediately signaled his three liutenants with tactical gestures: Withdraw!
The lieutenants pivoted, attacking to the flanks and rear, seeking weaknesses in the encirclement.
Nerat led his command squad, attacking towards their target.
He aimed to kill the xenos leader, but also to draw the enemy's attention, creating an opportunity for his company to retreat.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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