The Lost (30k Primarch Quest)

XIII. Of Blanks and Aeldari

You almost ask what the Aeldari are. This alien is here and surely she knows a thing or two about her own kind… but just before you go to speak, you remember Fan. This creature surely knows what she is, why she repulses magic and everyone around her.

"You seem to know what Fan is." You say slowly. "Explain that to me."

"She is a soulless, unnatural thing."

Fan whimpers. You scowl. "She is not a monster and if you insult her like that again your head comes off."

"'Soulless' is not an insult, it's a statement of fact. Your people call them blanks." She shakes her head. "Blanks have no souls, and they ground reality against the influence of the immaterium. Your species' psychic potential is abysmally low, but it is not nonexistent; you have a presence within the immaterium that is pushed back by her existence, hence your feelings of disgust and revulsion."

Fan grips your leg, staring at the Aeldari. "How do I get a soul?"

"There's no cure for being a blank, child." Bel says, her tone neither kind nor cruel. "Your situation will never change. You can learn to control your curse but it will never leave you."

Fan doesn't look happy about that. You place your hand on her head and pull her closer to you, ignoring the bile rising in your throat. "And what would she need to do to 'control' it?"

She shrugs. "I do not know. Only humanity naturally produces blanks. And among the Aeldari the only blanks are the Solitaires. Trust me, you do not want her to become a Solitaire. Even if it were possible."

Your scowl deepens. "Okay… what can you tell us?"

"She is immune to direct psychic attacks and dampens the effects of such near her." Bel continues, her tone remaining neutral. "Her presence will doubtless help you deal with the cultists."

You raise an eyebrow, your scowl fading. That… was actually very good to know. She was still in danger, of course, but if witchery could not harm her…

You point to the Aeldari. "So you're a witch, then? You're dealing with a lot of pain just from her presence, are you not?"

"I walk the path of the seer, yes." She says, hesitant. "Most Aeldari are some level of psyker. She would give us all pain."

"… So there's nothing I can do for Fan."

"Not unless you find other human blanks." She says.

Fan holds your pants leg tighter. It seems less for her comfort and more for yours. You rub her head.

"You said earlier you were walking the path of the seer," You say. "But you're not sitting in a hut with blind eyes giving weird pronouncements about demon monkey king so I assume it's not a literal future-sight thing."

Her nose crinkles with either sneering contempt or amusement. Or both.

"Okay so it is then. Good to know."

She scowls. "I didn't say anything."

"Didn't have to." You smirk.

"Must you poke and prod to try to learn of things you could not understand, mon-keigh?"

You raise an amused eyebrow. "Bel, if we never poked at things we did not understand, how would we gain comprehension?"

"Does a man stick his head into a star to learn how it burns? Of course not. He observes from a distance."

"Which in this metaphor is asking you questions instead of, say, going to your homeworld and hiring a prostitute to show me around and have fun."

Bel's face has been controlled and precise the entire time you've spoken, but she loses control there; the look she gives you is one of shock and disgust.

"What? Whores always know what the rich and powerful are up to and they're paid to pretend they like you, they make great guides. And eye candy as a bonus."

Ping whoops from the woods.

"… it would be a craftworld, for one," she says slowly, "and for another… we do not have such Aeldari and even if we did they would never service mon-keigh."

"Everyone's got whores. You just need to look hard enough."

"We don't, you filthy-"

"And what's a craftworld? A colony?"

"A ship." She says, relieved to be talking about anything else. "'Tis where the last true Aeldari make their homes since the Fall."

"The last true Aeldari? That's an interesting choice of words for someone so precise."

She scowls. "Can you take nothing seriously for even a moment? I will not tell you any more of my people."

"Why not? You've already told me a lot. Enough to guess at your entire history."

She snorts.

"If you truly have no whores, that implies either a lack of a sex drive, a destroyed one, or deliberate suppression thereof. Your mouth just twitched which tells me it's the latter. That doesn't make any sense for a species that's dying unless sex is the problem."

"If you're all psykers, and witch powers are driven by emotion, that tells me that at some point there was a major disaster caused by the scale of your emotions. Probably several such events."

"I take it, then," you say slowly, "that the Aeldari are very emotional creatures that have taught themselves to keep a tight lid on their emotions to prevent such a thing from ever happening again."

She stares at you, mouth closed but not tightly. You can't be completely certain but you're pretty sure she's been rendered dumbstruck.

"… We are now." She mutters, as if confessing. "With some exceptions."

"And your craftworld is the last of the 'true' Aeldari?"

"… There are other craftworlds." She admits. "And other Aeldari. But we are scattered. Disunified."

"Interesting." You muse. "So there are Aeldari off of these craftworlds. And from the sounds of it, they don't have as rigid emotional suppression as you do. What exactly split-"

"No." She says, turning away from you. "We have spoken enough of my people. You wanted to know about Blanks, and I told you. Now come. I know you are a man of honor, let's get this over with."

You roll your eyes. 'Man of honor' as far as pirates go, maybe.

"Well, whatever." You mutter. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, your majesty."

She hesitates. "I actually do have a request, human."

You raise an eyebrow, expecting her to say you'll be quiet and/or keep Fan away from her. You're not going to make any special effort at it. "And what would that be?"

"I need all of Isha's tears." She says. "All of them. Prevent their destruction if you can, and bring them to me either way."

"… alright."

As she turns and leads you into the forest, you realize where you've seen that color of hair before.

It's the same as Delai's.

Your hand falls to your sword as you go into the woods with her, the rest of your crew following close behind.

-

Voting

You are about to raid the Cult of the Drowned to kill their leaders and take both slaves (to free) and plunder. Choose a complication and a boon.

[] [Complication] – Possessed Cultists

The Cult has summoned a number of creatures through blood sacrifices. They aren't your equal, but it's enough to kill your comrades.

(The only survivors of this part of the trip will be Bel, yourself, and Fan, and all three will be badly injured.)

[] [Complication] – The boat is destroyed

The actual infiltration and sabotage goes fine - perfectly so, in fact - but you eventually discover that the cultists attacked and destroyed the Cutting Dagger while you were gone.

(The rest of your crew will go missing, and you'll have to find an alternate way off the island.)

[] [Complication] – Sacrifice

The cultists have been attempting to sacrifice their slaves in order to stop you. They failed, but that does not change the bodies. They started with the witches, too.

(All of the psyker slaves you had hoped to rescue will already be slain.)

[] [Complication] – Write-in

Submitted by @SpacePaladin
[] [Complication] – Write-in
-[] Dark Eldar Raid.

-

[] [Boon] – Rebellion in progress

As it turns out, you arrive just in time to reinforce a split-off faction from the cult just as they begin seeking vengeance. In the heat of battle, you band together with them, and rather than being a one-man wrecking crew, you turn the tide for them.

(You'll rescue many more people than you'd planned and gained allies in the storm.)

[] [Boon] – Great Treasure

The treasures and jewels of countless shipwrecks are gathered here in this temple. Jewels, sugar, spices, tea, rum. You will have plenty to show for this expedition, and mother will acknowledge it to the other captains. The fleet will listen when you speak from now on.

(The loyalty of your crew will be secured, and when you return you'll have earned the respect of the fleet.)

[] [Boon] – Prevent the ritual

You arrive ahead of schedule, in time to entirely prevent the Cultist's ritual and anything they could have done to stop you. You recover the stones that Bel was looking for, and she is as grateful as she could have possibly been under the circumstances.

(Bel will be a grateful new ally, and whatever the cultists had planned fails spectacularly.)

[] [Boon] – Write-in

Submitted by @xamaplak
[] [Boon] – Write-in
-[] Small Ork Raid tries to krump everyone but gets krumped after krumping some of your opposition