| 15th Legion 800.M30 |
Traveling through the Warp…
Roaming deep in the warp was a Gloriana-Class battleship formerly known as the Voyager.
Over a year and a half ago the Emperor led the 15th Legion and a cohort of Tech-Priests to Prospero. Besides reuniting with his sons and gaining a cohort of Tech-Priests who were sent to create a forge world nearby, Magnus was also given a grand gift.
The Emperor had presented him with one of the four Gloriana-Class battleships that the Imperium possesses. Magnus was very ecstatic and thanked the Emperor, then he spent some time getting to know his sons properly.
Soon after, when one of his sons asked what the legions name, insignia, and colors would be, Magnus decided that most things would be unlike his many other variants, because he believed many things in their legion to be cursed by Tzeentch.
Such as the name Thousand Sons; in every timeline when the legion was created by the Emperor, there were a thousand of them. Then pretty often when their numbers grew, a tragic event would occur and the legion would be reduced to just a thousand.
To avoid the slightest possibility of this recurring irony and many other things, Magnus decided that the legions colors would be red and gold. There would not be a single color belonging to Tzeentch on any of his sons.
As for the heraldry, Magnus made it the scarred eye of the Emperor, a testament to what he wanted his legion to be: a verdict cast upon those the Emperor perceives as a threat to humanity.
With arcane knowledge and through fire, Magnus's legion, the Crimson Arbiters, will methodically purge the Immaterium and Materium of all hostile xenos, heretics, traitors, and daemons belonging to the Archenemy from existence.
With the restructuring of his legion done, Magnus enlisted the aid of the cohort of Tech-Priests and his sons. Together with technology and extreme use of psychic powers, they disassembled the Voyager piece by piece and reconstructed it in Magnus's vision.
After a year and a half of tireless work, Magnus completed his flagship, which he named the Photep, to the Emperor's dismay. Magnus's flagship design was heavily based on a story from the Second Millenium.
Before the construction began, the Voyager originally looked like a standard battlebarge but simply much larger. But now it is the Photep, a beautiful red and gold battleship shaped similarly to a dagger.
Featured prominently at the prow of the Photep was a golden eagle that was purposely built to act as a battering ram and be used as a main cannon. Along the hull was an abnormal amount of macro-cannons, lance batteries, void-shields, missile turrets, psychically augmented defences, and weapons.
The Photep possessed immeasurable firepower and defenses to the point that if Magnus ever pointed in a direction and said remove it, it would be.
Towards the back of the Photep there was a protruding pyramid known as the Sanctum of Spirit, built into the hull. This area was specifically designed to offer superb views of space.
Inspired by the day the Emperor had given him and his brother counsel, Magnus also had chambers added to be used for confessionals or personal reflection.
However, since the completion day of the Photep, no one has ever used any of these chambers. Seeing its lack of use, Magnus assumed that perhaps his sons just found it hard to be open with one another about some of their deepest concerns.
So to encourage his sons to use the chambers, he gathered everyone and decided he would be the first to confess his most recent deepest concern. In front of the majority of his legion, with a dead serious face and a tone full of concern, Magnus said to them:
"I worked hard to reunite my father with my mother, even after a year and nine months. I still do not have a new younger brother or sister. I fear with his old age my father might be impotent. For a while now I've been working on a warp spell that might aid him."
The next day, every chamber was full of Space Marines desperately seeking counsel on how to get rid of such blasphemous knowledge from their minds. Over time, the Sanctum of Spirit ended up becoming the official Chaplaincy Office of the Crimson Arbiters.
The Chaplains of the legion were severely overworked not only due to Magnus's words haunting their brothers, but also because of what occurred on the day of the parade celebrating the Unification of the Sol System.
Many who were present that day or watched the recordings all showed signs of harboring a fanatical faith in the Emperor. As per their duty, the Chaplains engaged with their brothers and reasoned with anyone who held any extreme beliefs in the Emperor.
Their efforts managed to restrain anyone from suddenly screaming out, "For the God-Emperor." However, Chaplains from every legion made a disturbing discovery: the members of the Librarium all exhibited the worst cases of belief in the Emperor. This was due to the fact that as Psykers, their understanding of the changes in the Emperor was much higher than everyone else.
To counter this, a new rule was added for the members of the Librarium. Every 3 months they must report to a Chaplain for mandatory spiritual checks.
This new rule worked rather well, especially for High Chaplain Akil Osiris, who was currently seated in a chair inside one of the confessional chambers, a square room decorated with spirals made of black and white crystal chips from the Reflecting Caves of Prospero.
To High Chaplain Akil Osiris' right was Chief Librarian Maibe Ptah, lying down on a couch pressed against the wall.
"So tell me, brother," Osiris asked calmly. "Do you still see the same things?"
Maibe absentmindedly twirled his helmet in his hands before pausing to answer, "Yes, I still see it. None of us will ever be able to forget the Emperor's divinity that day."
Sighing softly, Osiris countered, "He is not a god and never will be, what you saw was apparitions created from his power growing even further. You just need—"
Osiris never got to finish his sentence because Maibe cut him off, "I know what I saw and felt that day!! We all know…"
After his outburst there was a brief silence that was broken by Maibe as he continued, "Sorry brother, I completely understand that what I'm feeling is wrong. But, I just can't help but feel this way, my reason, my senses are just still overloaded."
"It's completely understandable, let us go over what you had seen and interpret it together," Osiris replied.
"Ok," Maibe said wistfully as he slowly recalled that day and continued. "In that brief moment when the Emperor appeared, I was granted the honor of seeing his origins and more of his burden. He was there from the beginning, long… long ago before the stars had names and the warp took shape. In a time where there was eternal darkness, he arose from nothing and became the primordial light. He is the origin of humanity, its will made manifest."
Maibe took a moment to recompose himself because he was beginning to breathe heavily and become dizzy from the strain of recalling the vivid visions of the Emperor that he had seen.
After calming himself, he continued.
"I witnessed his guiding hand throughout humanities history and his woes at seeing our species rise and fall. I do not know what he did during Old Night, but he sacrificed something to put an end to it. To me it felt as if he had perished but now… In this dark time, he has risen again in a galaxy where all hope goes to die. As we speak, he is reforging humanity's destiny and defying our enemies, the countless powerful xenos races, entities borne of ruin and the false dark gods."
Maibe eyes turned misty as he looked directly into Osiris's eyes and in a tone full of extreme reverence, he queried.
"How could I?? How could any being after witnessing that dare not think of him as anything less than a god? A benevolent and merciful god who has watched over us and sacrificed himself time and time again to save our species. With his abilities to be able to return from death, forge destiny, defy fate, and fight the Archenemy while also protecting us. He has to be a God… Our God… The Guardian God of Humanity."
From start to finish, Osiris listened carefully to Maibe's words and pondered.
'It took a while, but I finally got him to speak without reservation. I now know the source of that faint flicker in his eyes that I noticed last week. He is corrupted, but it does not originate from the Archenemy. It originates from the Emperor's light, a light far too bright for many. This is a mild case compared to some others whose minds were nearly broken. For him, I first need to remind him of his core self.'
"Remeber who you are and what you've done," Osiris began to say while vaguely pointing at different symbols on Maibe's armor. "Your shoulder bears the Jeweled Winged Scarab, a symbol of your status as Chief Librarian. You earned your status from the honors you gained in the battles you've fought in.
Have you forgotten about the Raptor Imperialis above your heart? The nascent symbol of the Imperium, proof of your status as a veteran of the Unification Wars. During those years we both saw and fought many things that would have broken anyone lesser.
Furthermore, we both know his stance of him being viewed as a god. Not only have you forgotten your core but also your training. Was all that time you spent learning under the Imperial Regent, Malcador, for nothing? The first lesson we were taught was that the Emperor is not a god.
Brother… Take care to never again forget that no matter what you see now and in the future.
We were warned about what would happen should the Emperor become a god. He would become just like every god there ever was. A cruel being who cares for nothing but their own amusement. Amusement derived from the suffering of all lifeforms in this galaxy.
The Emperor is not a god, he is a man who reached the pinnacle of what a mortal can achieve. To declare him a god is the equivalent of spitting on his name and his dream."
Maibe abruptly sat up and anxiously yelled, "NO, THAT IS NOT MY INTENTION, I WOULD NEVER DISHONOR THE EMPEROR!! IF I—"
Maibe's outburst was cut off due to Osiris's hand resting on his shoulder. In that brief moment, Osiris used the faith energy he wielded to soothe the turmoil in Maibe's mind.
No one said anything until Maibe's eyes lit up as if he had realized something. Then he said, "I see now, indeed I was wrong to ever believe him to be a god. Thank you for your counsel, brother."
Osiris sighed internally in relief that this spiritual check was resolved peacefully, or so he thought, as Maibe's next words made him freeze in alarm.
"The Emperor is not a god, he is a man who has transcended into a position above gods, above all of creation. He is the One Above All."
'What madness is this now?' Osiris thought in apprehension. 'Just how did he go from one extreme to an even bigger one?! This must be corrected immediately!!'
Unfortunately, before he could even voice his concern, a deafening sound akin to a plasma engine being repeatedly overloaded echoed throughout the Photep.
This was a specific Klaxon alarm frequency that meant everyone was ready for combat deployment and for all commanding officers to report to the command bridge for a briefing.
Osiris and Maibe immediately got up and sprinted out of the chamber, making their way towards the command bridge. As they were running, Osiris let out one last remark, "You are not clear for this spiritual check and we will resume this at the first available chance. I advise that you clear your mind of those thoughts. The last thing you need is to be distracted while aiding our father in this mission of extreme priority."
Maibe quickly replied, "My mind is clear. You say I've forgotten my training, but I promise you I haven't. The last thing I'd let myself do in this moment is fail our father, especially since this is a mission that will let him prove himself and us as worthy to the Emperor."
From the corners of his eyes, Osiris carefully checked Maibe for even the slightest signs of distraction and lies. Seeing that there was nothing but pure conviction on his face, Osiris gently said, "Good, let us make haste to our father's side. It is time for the Crimson Arbiters to make a name for themselves."
___
Magnus POV
___
A short while ago, in the command bridge of the Photep, Magnus was levitating in concentration as he peered into the warp around him looking for something. This action of his was very dangerous, because anyone who does this will suffer immediate psychological collapse, violent hallucinations, bleeding from the eyes, and horrific physical mutation, or, worst of all, daemonic possession.
Even though Magnus is one of the few individuals capable of doing this since he is the third strongest psyker in terms of psychic might within the Imperium, it is still a major risk to him because of not only the shifting tides of power in the warp, but also the fact that Tzeentch is still after him.
As for why Magnus is doing this despite the risks, it is because the Emperor assigned him a mission of utmost priority to be carried out the moment the reconstruction of the Photep was finished.
To complete the setup of the Paradigm Shift, Magnus had to find the world known as Chaeronia. On this planet was the Father of Titans, the Castigator Titan, a weapon of incalculable strategic value.
Once found, Magnus will use a mix of arcane technology and a modified spell Malcador taught him, which he referred to as a modified warp nexus. This combination will be used to create a bounding field around Chaeronia and the Castigator Titan, then send them both back into realspace.
It is unknown how long Magnus has been searching for the Castigator Titan because the warp is essentially timeless. But what he does know is that every second that passes in his perception is another second his father suffers.
The Four usually ignore but carefully watch the Emperor's movements throughout the warp. Though occasionally they would purposefully obstruct his path just to mess with him sometimes, which would heavily pose a risk to successfully retrieving the Castigator Titan.
So, in order to make Magnus's mission easier, the Emperor decided that he will use himself as bait. Currently, the Emperor is locked in battle with the Four because he faked trying to retrieve some of the Primarchs before the agreed timing as per the Great Game.
Enraged by his audacity, the Four took up arms against the Emperor and their clash could be felt throughout the warp, which caused Magnus to feel awe, determination, and worry.
'I cannot allow father to remain deadlocked in a clash with them inside the warp. He is needed back in real space. In theory… if I use a locator, memory, and divination spell along with expanding my warp sight to the maximum below psychological collapse, I should be able to learn where to go,' Magnus mulled.
In a bid to speed up the search, Magnus channeled his psychic power to the maximum and performed a very dangerous multi-spell. The moment Magnus completed the spell, emotions of all kinds and the subconsciousness of innumerable living creatures tore apart Magnus's mind, body, and spirit.
All Magnus could feel was immeasurable pain, but also nothing. He felt the urge to scream, but nothing came out. With nothing but sheer will, he forced out his multi-spell into the warp, and he received the location of Chaeronia.
With the success of his spell, Magnus immediately destroyed the link the spell formed between him and the warp. Completely drained of power, Magnus fell to the ground and released strained moans of pain.
Members of the Sekhmet, Magnus's personal honor guard, who were standing guard outside, felt Magnus's psychic might dramatically increase, then simply disappear.
Alarmed, they rushed into the command bridge and, upon seeing Magnus's current frailty and hearing his strained moans of pain, immediately began using every spell in their disposal to numb his pain or share it through a psychic network.
In seconds, members of the Apothecarion led by Chief Apothecary Hus Azugallatu rushed in and began administering aid to Magnus. Soon Magnus regained enough strength to walk, and he ordered, "Sound the highest alert. I have discovered the location of our mission."
Following his orders, Ishkur, a member of the Sekhmet, initiated the alert, and over time the number of people in the command bridge increased from twelve to forty. The last people to arrive were High Chaplain Akil Osiris and Chief Librarian Maibe Ptah.
Since everyone was here now, Magnus initiated a shared psychic network and instructed, "Follow these directions exactly as instructed. Head northeast by 10 minutes, west by 6 minutes, northwest by 20 minutes, south by 2 hours, and lastly east by 1 hour. I have predicted warp currents at those specific moments that will carry us far straight towards our objective.
Begin the activation of the arcane technology we were given and feed psychic power into the modified warp nexus. Due to my actions just now, the Archenemy has detected us, so we must be ready at the exact moment we discover Chaeronia to send that planet back into real space.
Prepare for combat against the denizens of the warp. They will arrive soon believing that victory is theirs, that we are nothing but playthings. They will wish to taste and feed on our emotions. We, the Crimson Arbiters, will deny them all emotions but fear, their own fear, as we purge them from existence."
In reply to Magnus's words, a resounding chorus of one of the Crimson Arbiters' newest battle cries was heard: "HIS EYE CONDEMNS!!! NO MERCY FOR THE DAMNED!!!!"
Following their chorus, everyone besides the few members of the Sekhmet present and Chief Apothecary Azugallatu left the command bridge, while the original crew who normally operate the Photep stepped in and took over the controls.
Magnus looked at Azugallatu and quietly dismissed him because he had recovered enough to be able to move again.
Turning towards his honor guard, he ordered, "Follow me to the core chamber and send word to the rest of my Sekhmet to meet us there."
Ishkur nodded his head and pinged the rest of the Sekhmet as he and the other nine members followed Magnus all the way to the core chamber. Once they were there, they assumed their positions like they trained in the past to activate the modified warp nexus.
Magnus then initiated a psychic network that united his legion under one singular mind tied to his power. This was a form of protection for many of his sons, but also a weakness should any powerful Greater Daemon manage to interrupt the connection.
United as one, everyone heard the updates from the leading Space Marine officer in the command bridge as he followed a form of read-back procedure.
The updates continued until finally they were reaching the end, which was the last warp current that would take them directly to Chaeronia.
The modified Warp Nexus was approximately 80% complete and needed about half an hour more. However, they would reach Chaeronia in 5 minutes, meaning that for 25 minutes they had to hold off all the daemons that would be attracted by the major use of psychic energy.
Understanding this without being told, everyone listened closely in the psychic network as the lead commanding Space Marine officer announced:
'5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Now steering off of the Warp current, a large mass is detected to the west of the ship.'
'In process of confirming the mass is a planet. Planet confirmed…'
'Visuals and scans match our data. The planet is Chaeronia.'
'Multiple presences detected all around, all weapon systems are locking onto arriving targets.'
'Multiple intrusion attempts have been detected. Sectors 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 have been forcefully breached and will be shut off. Data will be sent accordingly to the closest squads.'
'Presence of a Greater Daemon of Khorne confirmed inside sector 8, beware—'
The warp froze, including everyone present, but Magnus, Space Marines, and daemons alike couldn't move even an inch. Deep within their souls, Magnus and the Crimson Arbiters could feel the presence of the Four. Normally anyone would feel nothing but absolute terror at being unable to move, but in this case, they felt nothing, because at the same moment the foul presence of the Four arrived, the ancient divine presence of the Emperor was made clear. Nobody could fully tell what was happening, but they heard a collective cry of rage.
"Anathema!!!"
The warp around them screamed, and then they heard the Emperor's calming voice reply, "Shut up." Following the Emperor's words, a magnificent beam of golden psychic energy struck the daemons surrounding the Photep.
All daemons struck by it simply ceased to exist, and as quickly as the presences of the Four arrived, they had disappeared. Left behind were just a few daemons still aboard the Photep.
"Father, you—"
Magnus was quickly interrupted by his father's voice echoing within his mind as he told him, 'I have bought you some extra time, I will not be able to aid you any further. Take care, my son.'
'Thank you, Father,' Magnus replied with a smile. Then he poured more psychic energy into the modified warp nexus while some of his sons worked on repairing the psychic wards and battling the daemons still present.
After 5 minutes the remaining daemons were effortlessly killed, and soon another 10 minutes passed. With 10 minutes remaining until the spell was complete, daemons once again began to appear in droves.
This time they didn't have the aid of the Four to easily breach the psychic wards of the Photep and were forced to work together in attacking the Photep and defending themselves from its weapons.
For over 2 minutes, the Photep was stuck in a stalemate with the surrounding daemons as neither gave ground. The weapons of the Photep couldn't put an end to the countless daemons surrounding it, and the daemons couldn't get close due to the overwhelming firepower, nor could they easily breach its defenses.
Just as the Crimson Arbiters believed they would be able to complete their mission without any further complications, an alert sounded signaling the presence of a greater daemon. Far outside of the Photep, a tall humanoid bird-like daemon with two heads appeared. Kairos Fateweaver, a greater daemon of Tzeentch, had arrived.
Despite the wards, Kairos made eye contact with Magnus, and his voice was heard by everyone as he openly mocked Magnus.
"Magnus, did you truly believe you could escape your fate? You belong to the Changer of Ways. Your laughable attempts at avoiding his influence is just another part of his plan. Your struggle is futile and weak, just like the wards on your flagship."
After his words, the wards on the flagship began to fail one by one and very soon the daemons started shrieking in bloodlust, affection, amusement, cruelty, and obsession as they forcibly teleported themselves into these breaches.
"I'll give you one chance, Magnus," Kairos said benevolently. "Surrender yourself and your legion, become what you all were always fated to be. A daemon primarch and sorcerers in service of the Changer of Ways."
Staring right back at Kairos, a mocking sneer appeared on Magnus's face and he replied, "My legion and I answer only to my father, the Emperor. We choose death before dishonor, now and forever. All of you are more than welcome to board my flagship, just don't expect to leave alive."
Kairos shook both of his heads and muttered, "How foolish… It seems I will have to drag you all the way to my lord's side."
Following his remark, Kairos began to calmly float towards the Photep to face Magnus in a duel of high stakes.
-To Be Continued...
(A/N: Sorry for the late chapter yall, quite a lot of things like work, writer's block due to some doubts that led to me rewriting the chapter twice, and a poor sleep schedule prevented me from releasing this sooner.
But anyways I won't go over two weeks again and since my job cut hours this upcoming week. If nothing random pops up, I just might get out two more chapters.)