Chapter 31: Belisarius Cawl
"Yeah, it's just the four of us."
"Hey, I was just having a moment. Don't get all emo on me."
"Alright, back to the topic at hand," Romulus said, shaking his head with a laugh as he pulled up a chair. "Guess what the name of that Explorator fleet's flagship is."
"The Spirit of Steel?" Ramesses ventured.
"Aw, you're no fun, brother." Romulus had been hoping to show off.
"For us, if there's a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus you feel the need to point out," Ramesses said, pushing open a viewport and looking at the dozen or so shadows emerging in the light of the star, "who else could it be but Belisarius Cawl?"
Pierdra Sector, Lesser Pierdra System.
As ripples formed at the Mandeville Point, a fleet of exquisite starships tore through the curtain of reality.
The Carcharodons' skill in Warp navigation was commendable. Perhaps it was the experience gained from countless years operating in the void beyond the light of the Astronomican, but even while towing a Strike Cruiser and an Ork Rok, their journey had been uneventful.
On the newly reopened bridge of the Nicor, Arthur, having just finished a sparring match, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Tyberos at the Chapter Master's invitation, watching sharks.
Yes, real sharks.
A Great White Shark from Old Earth. At least, after passively scanning the creature's information, that's what Arthur's internal display was telling him. It was a strange feeling. In the vastness of the cosmos, besides his own companions, to see something from his own era on a ship that had just returned from the galactic fringe was... surreal.
"You recognize it?" Tyberos asked, following Arthur's gaze to the Great White in the massive aquarium tank. His long experience in battle had made him exceptionally sensitive to the aura of the champion beside him. He was certain that Arthur's gaze was locked onto that specific shark.
This was a rare occurrence. The bridge of the Nicor was a giant aquarium, filled with countless dangerous species from oceanic worlds across the galaxy. Many warriors invited to the bridge would be captivated by the larger, more terrifying predators. Yet Arthur was fixated on that one, unremarkable Great White.
Almost no one in this age knew the significance of that creature.
"It's from Terra," Arthur admitted readily, a wistful look on his face. "But the oceans that raised it are gone."
Arthur was genuinely sad. Anyone who learned that the planet that was identical to their own homeworld had been transformed into the Holy Terra of today would feel the same. It was the pain of temporal dislocation. Even the Sisters who constantly flanked the Angel were affected by this wave of sorrow.
"..."
Tyberos looked at the figure beside him—a being who, theoretically, he should probably be addressing as an elder—and awkwardly relaxed his grip, feeling an impulse to wake up the ancient Dreadnought back on the flagship to have a chat with this guy. To think that a few simple words could send a peerless Dark Angels champion into a depressive funk... he figured he was the first to manage it.
"How did you know that title?" Tyberos asked, stiffly changing the subject as he looked pleadingly at Te Kahurangi, who had just entered the bridge.
"The Lord of the Shadowed Path?" Arthur noticed his glance.
"Yes."
"Because it once belonged to Arcas Fal," Arthur replied simply. Arcas Fal, the Chapter Master of the Terran-born Raven Guard during the Great Crusade. Arthur, having learned Romulus's trick of using the truth as the best misdirection, answered the question directly.
He then nodded a greeting to Te Kahurangi, who had just come to his side, and led the Sisters away. He could read the room. The fleet had exited the Warp; it was time for the Carcharodons' internal debriefing. It wasn't his place to be standing here.
"..."
Te Kahurangi watched his daily "loot box" walk away. Seeing the low-pressure aura around the man, he resisted the urge to call out to him.
"Did you anger Lord Arthur, my Lord?"
"...I don't know."
The two of them stared at each other for three seconds.
"You went to see their Librarian again?"
"Yes."
"Still didn't manage to learn anything."
"No."
At the mention of this, Te Kahurangi felt a sense of shame. That Librarian named Ramesses was an expert at playing dumb. He had been completely impenetrable to his probes. He was clearly very knowledgeable about the Warp, yet he would be vague about specific details. A true master of the empyrean arts from that ancient era.
"Let us speak of the Grey Tithe, my Lord," Te Kahurangi said, changing the subject.
Tyberos activated the hololith, displaying the communication from the Ark Mechanicus.
"Archmagos Belisarius Cawl of Mars has agreed to accept the tithe. Furthermore, the Black Templars accompanying the Archmagos have extended an invitation to us and the 'Deathwatch' for a war council regarding the cleansing of the Drukhari xenos who have infested the Archmagos's vessel."
"They are not Deathwatch," Te Kahurangi gently reminded him.
Tyberos's expression did not change. "I know."
"They are Ultramarines and Blood Angels. There may even be Imperial Fists among those Terminators," Te Kahurangi relayed the intelligence he had gathered.
"There's more," Tyberos said, clenching his fists. The recent constant fighting had made even this brief moment of peace feel uncomfortable. He wracked his memory, trying to recall if there was any record of a Dark Angel of such immense stature who loved dueling, but came up empty. No, that's not right. Arthur doesn't seem to love dueling for its own sake. He seems to be doing it simply to become stronger, to learn from us. He is adapting to this era with astonishing speed and determination.
"Who told you this?" Tyberos asked.
"The mortals." Seeing that his words might cause some unnecessary misunderstanding, Te Kahurangi quickly added, "They have made no effort to hide their origins, only borrowing the identity of the Deathwatch. They even ignored the Codex to recruit the Astra Militarum as a mortal auxiliary force. You've seen it yourself—with that kind of equipment and combat doctrine, it's impossible to hide once they enter the sight of the Imperium."
"As for how they store such a vast quantity of war machines, that is likely a secret we should not seek to uncover."
"Agreed." Tyberos nodded in understanding. When it came to not prying into secrets, the Carcharodons had a surprising degree of self-awareness. Their own Chapter had been gifted an ancient artifact like the Void-stone by the Void Father; it wasn't a huge leap to assume that these warriors of extraordinary origin had something like a pocket dimension.
As for the Chapter's stolen Void-stone... the thought of it gave Tyberos a headache. That annoyance quickly turned to rage, which he directed at the culprits aboard the Ark Mechanicus.
These damned xenos.
"Reply to them. The Carcharodons will offer their aid."
"And—" The pale fury infected Te Kahurangi, awakening the terrifying killing-lust in his own Raven Guard bloodline. He took a breath and asked, "Should we inform Lord Romulus?"
"Of course."
Translator's Note: The author includes a PS note correcting a lore error from a previous chapter, where they mixed up Tyberos's title "the Red Wake" with another character's. They have corrected it to "Lord of the Shadowed Path," though they admit that Tyberos's fighting style doesn't seem to have much to do with shadows. They also provide context for the Void-stone mentioned in the official Silent Hunters novel, explaining it's an artifact given to the Carcharodons by the Emperor that can reveal a being's true nature, and which likely confirms their Raven Guard lineage. They also recommend the Carcharodons and Minotaurs novels as good entry points into the lore for their quality.