Chapter 206: Raven Declaration
"You killed the False Emperor." Loken rose to his feet as the storm's fury subsided, turning his gaze toward Abaddon.
"Yes." Abaddon inclined his head. "For humanity's sake, I personally slew the Emperor."
"What a dark, cold jest," Loken said with a slight shrug.
The campaign to dismantle the false empire proceeded with ruthless efficiency.
By the time the remembrancers set foot upon the planet's surface, the resistance had been largely crushed. They documented the Astartes' achievements and bore witness to the systematic dismemberment of the fraudulent regime.
Numerous local dignitaries were purged, and their wealth, accumulated over millennia, flowed into Imperial coffers.
The enforcement teams seized vast quantities of property and supplies. A portion was distributed among the populace to win their loyalty, while the remainder replenished the expeditionary force's depleted stores.
This method of profit distribution had proven effective throughout countless campaigns of the Great Crusade, securing hearts and minds while sustaining the war machine's endless appetite.
Most of the populace cared little for their overthrown rulers. Grant them a share of the powerful's former holdings, and they would embrace Imperial rule, even defending it of their own accord.
Mersadie Oliton, an official remembrancer, secured an interview with the campaign's hero, Garviel Loken.
In the training halls aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Mersadie learned the battle's full account directly from Loken.
"So Abaddon killed the Emperor?" Mersadie repeated the seditious metaphor carefully.
"Yes," Loken confirmed with a nod.
Mersadie opened her mouth to continue when space itself suddenly twisted.
A Raven materialized from nowhere and descended before Loken.
"That metaphor is far too obscure, both of you."
The Raven's sudden appearance sent a bolt of panic through both Mersadie and Loken. His status was incomparably exalted, he was one of the Empire's supreme rulers. If he took offense at the phrase "Abaddon killed the Emperor," many would find themselves in grievous trouble.
"If you'd said Horus killed the Emperor, it might prove more compelling," the Raven added mildly.
"Mr. Raven," Mersadie and Loken said in unison, bowing low. Neither dared respond to such words.
"Don't be so tense. I'm merely jesting," the Raven said. "Such a harmless metaphor will bring no trouble."
The Raven studied them both with keen interest.
These two individuals, in the predetermined timeline, were tragic figures whose fates intertwined throughout the entire Horus Heresy.
Mersadie had been close friends with Sindermann, future architect of the Lectitio Divinitatus, and with Euphrati Keeler, the Living Saint.
They had witnessed Horus's ascension, his corruption of Davin, and his purge of loyalists during the Isstvan campaign. Eventually, Garvon Loken of the Luna Wolves' third company rescued them from Isstvan's slaughter.
Later, Mersadie was imprisoned on Titan, where she encountered Loken several times.
He wished to extract her from Titan's cells, but Mersadie understood her imprisonment was by order of the Sigillite, Malcador himself, and thus refused.
Toward the Heresy's end, just before the traitors reached the Sol System, Mersadie was repeatedly drawn into dreams by Keeler, who begged her to deliver a message to Rogal Dorn on Terra.
When the traitors invaded the Solar System, purge protocols were activated, and all prisoners were to be executed to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Mersadie numbered among the condemned.
But Loken received her desperate distress call, arrived in time to save her, and brought her to the 'Phalanx' to meet with Dorn.
Yet all of it was a Chaos conspiracy.
The Keeler who haunted Mersadie's dreams was false. Samus used her as an anchor to wreak havoc aboard the Phalanx. In the end, to stop the daemon, Mersadie chose to cast herself into the fortress's reactor core.
"I know you have a story. I want it remembered by future generations."
"Which story?"
"Horus killing the Emperor."
That conversation from her first meeting with Loken became the final memory surfacing as she leaped to her death, beginning and end forming a tragic circle.
Yet something even more bitter lay within this tale.
Samus was a daemon born from Loken's own death.
In the final battle during the Siege of Terra, the Emperor confronted Horus. Loken witnessed the Emperor strike down the Warmaster and chose to stand vigil over Horus's corpse.
When Abaddon returned to the Vengeful Spirit, Loken and the First Captain had their final argument. Loken pleaded with Abaddon to surrender with the Sixteenth Legion's survivors.
Instead, Erebus ambushed him, driving a cursed blade through his back.
Thus was Samus born, the daemon that would haunt the Heresy's entire bloody history.
The Raven conducted himself with warmth and familiarity, yet the vast gulf in status kept both Mersadie and Loken deeply on edge.
They announced the Ravens' arrival to the entire Legion.
Soon, Horus arrived with the Mournival and numerous senior officers of the expeditionary force.
"Little bald head," the Raven said, alighting on Horus's shoulder and affectionately nuzzling the Primarch's face.
"Master Raven," came the unified greeting.
The Mournival members, Abaddon, Tarik Torgaddon, Hastur Sejanus, and Serghar Targost, all smiled broadly and saluted the avian figure.
"Mr. Raven," Horus said, turning to Abaddon. "Please retrieve the gift I prepared for our honored guest."
"At once." Abaddon nodded and departed.
"I hear you eliminated the False Emperor?"
The Raven's words made everyone exchange nervous glances. Such things could be said privately, but having the Raven overhear was another matter entirely.
"Mr. Raven, it was merely a jest," Horus said carefully. "No disrespect was intended."
"I'm not reproaching you—I'm simply curious. It sounds like an intriguing story." The Raven tilted his head. "You don't need to be so anxious. Big Guy and I aren't particularly concerned with our authority."
"According to the Empire's current trajectory, its territory will expand to other galaxies and universes within the next few centuries. The larger the domain, the lower the administrative efficiency becomes. Eventually, it will inevitably transition toward a confederation model. When that day comes, you'll each rule the universes you've conquered."
The Raven's words made many senior officers' eyes widen.
This was explosive intelligence, tantamount to confirming the Primarchs would eventually become independent sovereigns.
Mersadie quietly activated the memory device implanted in her skull.
This was an invaluable firsthand declaration. Even if it couldn't be published now, it would serve as crucial historical material for future generations.
"Naster Raven, please be cautious with such statements; you cannot simply announce these things freely," Horus said, before turning sharply to the others.
"You are absolutely forbidden from repeating a single word of today's conversation, or you will face a military tribunal."
"I'm not announcing it freely. I'm telling you specifically." The Raven's simple statement made Horus's lips curve upward, unable to conceal his satisfaction.
'See? I remain his favorite.' The Raven had even shared such confidential intelligence with him.
'Lion, what can you possibly compete with me for now?'
Abaddon returned with servitors bearing all the fries and ketchup the Sixteenth Legion had recently procured, every imaginable flavor.
The Raven's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
It seemed Horus's ambition for advancement remained strong. 'A teachable child indeed.'
The Raven had come to the Sixteenth Legion simply for a visit, no specific mission in mind.
After Horus had the fries properly served, he led the Raven to the strategium, inviting him to observe the upcoming military action briefings.
With the False Emperor's fall and the collapse of the ancient centralized regime, organized resistance fractured into scattered bands of insurgents hiding in the Whispering Mountains, using the treacherous terrain to defy Imperial authority.
To solidify Imperial rule, Horus decided to dispatch Loken to annihilate them.
Loken, enhanced with the third-generation gene-engine, desperately needed to prove himself worthy of wielding such formidable power. He accepted the mission eagerly.
Taking the warriors of Tenth Company, he boarded a transport and headed for the Whispering Mountains.
Upon reaching the skies above, they leaped from the vessel, plummeting earthward like meteors wreathed in fire.
The wealth disparity in this world was staggering. The High City, where the "Emperor" had reigned, retained most of its Golden Age technology, flying vehicles, and grav-cars in abundance.
In the remote regions, however, people maintained primitive lifestyles.
In those distant villages and settlements, countless ignorant souls had been raised in a cultural environment steeped in legend and superstition.
Thus, when they witnessed the Astartes descending from the heavens, they regarded them as divine beings made manifest.
Loken touched down and examined the tactical situation displayed on his helm's auspex.
The Whispering Mountains' entire geological structure lay mapped before him, hidden passages, concealed chambers, all clearly marked.
"Advance! Eliminate all resistance!" Loken commanded. "Bring them the Empire's enlightenment."
With the order given, the Tenth Company split into combat squads and entered the mountains.
Fighting erupted swiftly across multiple choke points and strategic positions. The resistance's firepower proved fierce, but Tenth Company's martial prowess was overwhelming.
They shattered the defensive positions with ease, their bolters roaring and chainswords shrieking as they carved through the insurgents, leaving trails of blood and corpses in their wake.
"Captain," came Xayver Jubal's voice across the vox, one of the Mournival Guard.
[End of Chapter]
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