We Are the Gods of a New World Order [Warhammer 50K ~ Warp God Simulator]

To gild a lily

Her name was Leliana. She supposed she had a family name at one point, not that she bothered remembering it. You have to keep the important things close to mind trying to survive the slums of Equinox. It wasn't always that bad. Her father was a well-to-do member of the planetary adminitorium. Her only memory of him was his death at the hands of the arbities. He was found guilty of embezzlement. It was quick and loud. The loud bang of the autogun's report carved into her mind forever.

Her mother tried to take care of her for a time, the useless fool that she was. She didn't work before her father died, living off her husband's ill-gotten gains. After a few weeks struggling in the gutter she sold her own child, Leliana, to a workhouse, where she toiled twelve, sometimes fourteen, hours a day making widgets and gizmos for some kind of contraptions. Or as Leliana would say, "Steady work."

It was a normal childhood really, Leliana lied to herself, three good meals a day, no bugs or rats - for food or in her bed - and a warm place to sleep. All of which was an improvement from the slums. Still, it wasn't pretty, quotas are quotas, and her fellow children were cruel - she had teeth kicked out, nose broken enough it would never look right. She took to wearing a scarf of red to cover much of her face. Even though it was more a stinking rag, it was better than getting heckled.

When she was old enough she managed to land better work as a stocker in one of the massive facilities that managed the farming equipment necessary for an agri-world's needs. Leliana was a hard worker she thought, or at least diligent enough to pass the cut. It was at this point her life would change. She was still pushing and carrying around many of the same widgets and gizmos she made as a child. So much for progress.

If, at this point, one were to believe that Leliana was a miserable creature, existing only to escape the pain of death, one would find themselves only half right. Despite her taciturn, pragmatic, and downright antisocial behavior Leiana was a glass-half-full kind of lady, and capable of surprisingly foolish choices. A delightfully human quality.

Leliana found herself at what any clear-thinking person would have recognized as a not-properly-imperial cult meeting - or five. All because Tahm Sadova from maintenance was talking it up during lunch break. She would silently curse his easygoing smile, but well, she was only human.

So there she was, standing in the deep groves of Equinox's central forest, with her smelly red scarf and scratchy oversized workmans coat, and her messy white hair, the only one dumb enough to follow Tahm of all of her coworkers. Honestly, if this was a story, she'd be dead before the end of it for sure, but she knew it was too late for cold feet. A well dressed woman, high priestess Dana herself, walked up to the pulpit and began to preach, "And thus, the maiden spoke to me!" It was a pretty good presentation all-in-all, in Leliana's humble opinion. Despite this, some people were hesitating, even Tahm was agasp at those sharp looking tendrils meant to connect the pilot to the plant creature-armor-thing.

Then Dana stepped into the Belladonna, showing it was safe, and asked for volunteers to follow her, to fight against the flayers. Leliana examined Tahm, the only member of the cult she really knew, and he was searching about his fellow cultists, looking for a sign of what would happen. Suddenly one girl stepped forth from the small pack of heretics, boldly declaring, "I volunteer!" then another, and another.

Leliana tugged on Tahm's sleeve, getting his attention, "Good Speech", and before she could worry about the consequences of her boldness, she walked forth up to the line, up with the other young women, her hand held high alongside them, declaring at the top of her tiny voice, "Me."

Leliana liked to imagine she cut a striking image up there, so brave and bold.

After some ceremony she clambered into the Belladonna's, well, pilot seat, for the lack of a better word, and joined with the strange miracle monster, and in a moment, her world changed. For the first time in her life she felt a true connection to the inner world of other minds. Admittedly, even up until that point, Leliana only had one foot in the cult, ready to bolt if things went south. Or so she told herself.

Not anymore. She couldn't even process it. She didn't know the words...

Leliana followed along with her new sisters, silently, the goal was to train with their new warforms, but before they could get much of anything under their belts, they found themselves charging into battle against the dreaded flayers. She was no fighter, she wasn't even what you'd call scrappy. But now she was striding into battle encased in multiple tons of goddess grown warflora, and she feared no evil.

They spotted the settlement, bursting past the treeline at a full sprint, lances in hand, and descended upon the unsuspecting alien menace. Her Ironbark lance impaling one, bursting through it, skewering a second lurching horror in its robotic neck, before the weapon snapped at the haft from the incredible force of her charge. Without hesitation Leilana deployed her curved sickles from her forearms.

All her life, Leliana had a hard time expressing herself, she knew that now more than ever, but here, on this battlefield, she found herself an artist, her brush: The Reaper blades gifted to her, the paint was the viridian energies bestowed upon them, and her canvas was the metal corpses of her foe delivered before her!

She found joining with her sisters warcry through the heart-link, shouting with all her mind, body, and soul.

Victory was theirs, and when she returned to camp and emerged from her Belladonna, she immediately noticed something was wrong. No, not wrong. Changed? Healed? Her hands, her arms. Gone were the many scars and calluses born from a lifetime of factory labor. That lurking sharp pain in her left knee, gone, her skin, radiant and healthy. She felt her face, her nose with her hands, felt her new teeth with her tongue. Leiliana ran her fingers through her new silky smooth hair, all restored - no - made better than they would ever have been. With the right dress she could walk into the highest echelons of the spire and no one would think her above her station...

What a pathetic reason to sell her soul, she thought. A pretty face? A pretty smile... While all her battle-sisters celebrated, she silently wept. Leliana was swept up in the emotion of the moment, until that moment she forgot the most important thing. Her soul belonged to the Verdant Maiden now.



AN: shucks votes were closed before I got off work. I had this idea in mind all day but low and behold something very much like it was written by Burn-The-Candle, and I think his or her work, Soul of Fractured Petals, is much clearer and more to the point. I admit I am not much of a writer, but I really wanted to give it a go. I hope it is taken well.

I had too many ideas to fit into this little story. I wanted to incorporate the idea that based on the descriptions of the Belladonna, if someone went into it with a preexisting condition, there is no reason they wouldn't come out healed of it! Nifty I think. Plus if we're going to do anime hijinx, we need a Rei Ayanami Expy, they are practically obligatory, unless things have changed a lot since the last time I seriously followed anime, lol. My goal was to create a hardworking, taciturn, young woman who isn't quite as cold and calculating as one might think, and who wasn't 100% onboard the cult train until she got to be a 10 foot tall, multiton badguy wrecking machine. Even then, there is no getting off this train once it is rolling. So she would have to deal with it going forward. Can she find true happiness? She is selfish and petty as well. It was my attempt to add a little personality? Of course over a longer narrative arc she could grow out of the foolishness, pettiness, etc. I smashed this out in about three hours start to finish so I apologize in advance for... everything really. I hope I managed to keep everything in the same tense, mostly?

You sense that you're reaching a turning point… While the amount of people willing to hear your preachers out seemed to be falling--the fact is and remains that success forgives a lot of oddities and irregularities in life. Many hear your message and take up a life in your name--admittedly, a lot of it probably boils down to your requirements being pretty generous compared to "Obey your betters unquestioningly, and be prepared to cast aside your lives in the Emperor's name should His servants demand it".

That, and you insist your recent successes boil down to the 'Pretty Girl' value--after all, did your recruitment rate not skyrocket after this implementation? The fact Dana can't seem to dismiss your opinion is just proof that you are absolutely correct in every fashion imaginable.

The crossing of the threshold from having merely 'Hundreds' of adherents into being described as 'Thousands' was pure ambrosia--the point where a God stops being just some local idea and turns into something that might stick around! Even if only as a memory if things then turn around but hey, even a memory is something that exists for a long time, right?

[Cult Recruitment Dice: 3d12: Rolled 22]
[Cult Progress: 101/100. Complete! Cult rank rises to 1! Manpower increases by 1, Favor increases by 1! New options available!][/b]

The completion of your holy book--the 'Dialogues of the Verdant Truth' is a nice feather in the cap too--even if Dana seemed incredibly frazzled and maybe having a bit too much of that recaf stuff that seems to be so popular to put the finishing touches in before the big commemoration of your first proper church.

Really it's just a fancified and glorified transcript of some of your discussions, just given a bit of extra gravitas to make you sound more impressive. Which was fair, you guess.

[Writing the Book: 21 + 10 (Dana): 31]
[With a heroic last minute effort, the first illuminated copy of your Holy Word is finished and ready to go with the commemoration of your first proper church! Now everyone can read and understand what you actually want from them! Probably! Until the next time someone makes a decision nobody thought of!]

Choose a new Doctrine

[ ] Weavers of Life: The Arts of the Biologis have always been the largely forgotten branch of man's sciences, but the Cult of Verdance has embraced this technique, and create wonders and terrors alike with organic materials given time and a need to work.

[ ] Enlightenment of the Mind: The world is a dark and dreary place, but that doesn't mean you have to be--the Cult of Verdance believes in this thought, and take steps to brighten things up even when things are getting a bit shady--it's a bit infectious really.

[ ] Neighbors Most Kind: Look, people are like plants, they get all over the place and then don't want to go away. There's no reason you need to be a jerk about it--and hey, people are more likely to talk when they're just gossiping with their peers anyway

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The Flayers had been knocked on their heels--but nobody thought they had been beaten. Limited probes were regularly sent out, growing more aggressive as the alien machines seemed to realize that the fearsome Flower Knights weren't going to emerge every time to harvest them in your name.

Something needed to be done, and you didn't need to be a veteran of thirty campaigns to understand that spreading out and chasing these things just invited getting your girls isolated and torn apart--with your direct oversight, the Belladonnas could endure enormous amounts of cutting, but any finite number can be reduced to zero, and you're not so strong that you can change that finite number into that little squiggly sideways eight.

So, you needed to give them a good drubbing once in a while to keep them honest!

Which is why this probe had you trying something just a little bit different. You could just snuff out the virus like you did most of them. It was the safe and proper choice.

But in this case, you just sort of got your fingers on it and just… Sorta held on. Maybe whatever mind was behind the assault interpreted the failure of the Reapers as a newly discovered weakness, because it was called back.

Isolated way in the frontier, some kinda cavern in a crater. While judging realspace distance was always something of a crapshoot--you did have Dana riding at the head of the Knights, which meant that you could roughly compare where she and the thingie you put a finger on were in relation to each other, and just delegate the rest to the people who could actually see linear distance as a thing.

+Our purpose is clear+ you feel Dana's intent rippling through the Heart-link with the other Knights. +The base is not far from here, we will strike into it and withdraw if we must. If you're immobilized, sit tight and take root, we'll come and get you--whatever you do though you stay in your Belladonna, the Maiden is watching us and providing what help she can, but that gets a lot harder for her if you're disconnected from something wrought of her power.+ Technically true but it's always weird for you to observe when people just kind of pulse these little intent and their human brains translate those pulses into words that they'd understand.

Mortals are funny that way.

You feel their anticipation, their eagerness to strike a blow against the enemy building up. You also sense Dana's worry--she wasn't a warrior by trade or training yet she was still the best of them all. If only because knowing how to use a knife and how to throw something is better than a bunch of rural farmer girls.

Still, can't blame them for eagerness!

With the Knights in place and your final check confirming they had all gotten to within a kilometer of the marked Flayer, Dana leads them on a short prayer through the Heart-link for good luck, and her lance points towards the cave.

They charge--that all powerful assault that had proven itself to be such an effective weapon against the machine menace. The treeline gives way to reveal the region with the yawning--clearly widened cave entrance and oh my that's a lot of them

The place is crawling with Flayers--many of which snap to attention as the Flower Knights break through the treeline. Their blades draw forth and an eerie wail erupts as they turn to meet the charge.

The two hosts collide with a thunderous sound, lances pierce Flayers and transmit your Will to terminate their animating viruses, Flayers lash out and tear deep gouges and divots in the Belladonnas only for verdant sap to pour from the wounds and mend the damage as though it had never occured. Skill had never been something your Knights held in great quantities, but they had your full attention and support--while the Flayers simply lacked any adequate response. Pushed to their limits, their lines buckling--you feel Dana's intent to charge directly into the cave, and your Knights begin to chop through the horde.

Seemed like everything was all under control!

Then two of the Knights were struck in the heads in a burst of sickly green lightning. The sensory surfaces scraped away as subsequent strikes lash at the advancing Flower Knights. Cries of surprise immediately counterpoitned by their comrades offering their own senses to those damaged--and the charge fought their way into the cavern.

That was a surprise, you didn't even see the lightning guns in the side of the wall!

Once inside, the status quo seemed to reassert yourself. The damage sustained in the 'Surprise Lightning Gun' ambush steadily healed as your divine presence supplemented the regeneration of the Belladonnas. The Flayers surged like an unending tide--but here in the cramped blackstone quarters of the enemy base, what little advantage they once had bled away.

The speartip of the Flower Knights drove deep, the Flayers no match for their untiring blades and sturdy will. It dug into the heart of the menace, even as maddened skin-wearing machines slowly started giving way to cleaner entities, initially sporting similiar blades--but when a corner is turned and multiple pulses of energy slam into the leading edge of your Knights.

These ones left a more serious dent--center of mass and high penetration led to the two Knights going down in screams of surprise and some pain, leaking sap and fluid from the points of entry. The second wave shriek back across the Heart-link as they leap over the injured and dive into the center of the room. A group of machines, cleaner and heavier than the others, bearing weapons of power. Strikes with lance and Reapers collide, sending up sparks--but to your surprise as you reach your power inside, you find no spark of life to extinguish.

But they were still made of matter, they were still outnumbered, and once the Knights had closed in, they found themselves unable to employ their heavy guns. The two injured Knights recover as the fight goes on, playing dead briefly until the machines had turned their backs, and launching a sneak attack in an already complicated position.

In the end, it's no glorious resolution--more like your Knights just tackling them and hitting them with stuff lying around until they stopped moving and disappeared in puffs of energy, but it was done--and you could feel a presence descending on this place.

The cave shook, energy filling it as a dark shadow raised its scythe in preparation. You sense a certain… Kinship in this thing.

Which is why you understand the echo that drifted across the shadow into a form you could understand.

+Harvest of Imperial Colony World Interrupted, commence self destruct of transport to eliminate aberrant factors pending re-initialization of project+

Well, you couldn't have that now, could you?

Your Will dives before the shadow--it can't see you, not truly--it is bound to a thing that cannot see or interact with it in any fashion, but has gained such experience that it reflects in the Realm of Souls.

You picked up a fan at some point, your self-image smiling as you stood before it. The scythe stops, the cold intellect bound to it noticing interference.

"Naughty Naughty" You chide, driving your will into the virus-infested structure that was seeking to do something ill-advised. "Trying to take the prize from those who bested you?"

The fan snaps shut, extends into a shaft, and you twist your self-image into a swing--a blade crackling with verdant light erupts, gently curving downward.

The Scythe of the Maiden meets the Shadow of the Nightbringer--and carves it in twain

A howl of dying stars buffets you, but you are beyond the pretender god's power. You simply lean your scythe against you and smile.

The structure's lights flicker--the virus within submitting to your authority--and begin glowing a far brighter and healthier shade.

"Mine now" You smile as the echo flees screaming. "So don't come back if you know what's good for you."

Now you had a boat, Ho Ho Ho.

[Reconissance in Extreme Force: 93 + 5 (Omake) + 10 (Warrmaidens): 108 reduced to 100. + 30 Domains: Final Result: 130
[A Miracle! What was once thought a punitive strike to remove a base of the aliens turned out to actually be the ship they used to arrive here in the first place! The Flower Knights break through the external defenses, fight their way to the core, and overcome the defenders in a great battle. When the master of these creatures sought to self-destruct the vessel, you invoked your own power to deny its authority, and dominated the Flayer Virus infected craft with your power, forcing it to submit!]
[Flayer Threat eradicated from Equinox!]
[Captured 1x Dirge class Raider (Flayer Virus Infected) (Now owned by the Maiden)]
[Aza'gorod Wants To Know Your Location!]

"I can't believe that worked…" Dana would speak to you after the last of the Flayers either poofed out or were cut down, still soaking wet as she sat on the hand of her Belladonna, the seven roots still attached and ready to pull her back within if trouble arrived. "But it's just… We just rolled in, and we just kept going, and… She wiggles her hand in some funny gesture. "That's really all it took?"

"You did great!" You cheer her on. "Just like that, poof! I told you all you needed to do was trust me and everything would all work out!" You lean forward with a grin. "We've even got a new base here! And once I can figure out how to control it, the stars are the limit!"

"How does that even work anyway? She asks, and you shrug. "That virus is… Hmm… It's a funny thing?" You struggle to look through the words she would understand that would explain it.

"It's… Hmm… Okay, the best way to describe it is that it's a virus that's made to make the machine think it's alive." You see Dana paying attention as you twirl your finger, a cartoony version of a necron appearing. "It's long dead of course, what little scraps of being that was left having faded over time, but the husk convinces itself that it's alive… And then reacts in horror at the fact that it's made of metal. It goes mad, and seeks to cover itself in flesh in hopes that it'll make things right."

"As nightmarishly informative as that is, I notice you haven't explained why that makes you capable of affecting them?" Dana asks, and you're more than happy to oblige.

"Thoughts have power, even the thoughts of a machine" You add. "If a machine thinks that hard that it's alive, goes through all of the gestures to be alive, and even conducts sacrifice to convince itself even more that it's alive…"

"Then it counts as being alive, which means it can die?" Dana shakes her head. "That's ridiculous"

"Nah, it's just how the world works once you get right down to it. The most important thing is what people think they are" You cross your arms and puff yourself out. "And on that note! It seems that we've solved your problems!"

Dana nods. "So we have, the people are fed, the flayers are cast down… Does this mean our contract is concluded?"

"Only if you want it to be" You add. "Personally, I'd love to keep it going--But…" You trail off, you're sure she'll understand.

"... Father isn't going to be willing to tolerate us any further" Dana shrinks down on the spot. "While the Flayers were a problem, he was willing to tolerate us making noise, he could just claim we were too small beforehand. But our numbers have grown too great, and the threat is gone for now… Which means he has to act against us. If he doesn't, the next time the planet is audited, he gets killed for tolerating a heretical cult. He's not so attached to me that he'd let filial concerns get in the way of his own power--not after I was rejected for holy orders in the first place."

"Yeah." You nod. "So if you're going to cut it off, this is probably going to be your only chance--I'm not inclined to starve or let my followers come to harm. A peaceful resolution would be nice but… I'm a god, not omnipotent."

"Most would claim godhood and omnipotence to be one in the same" Dana quipped, and let herself laugh, if a bit more weakly than you'd like. "So it goes I suppose… I think I'll keep my current job, if you yourself are satisfied--I've gotten more done working with you than I expected to ever get done in my life before all of this."

"So what's left is to decide what we do next" You concur. "As I understand it, we can hold our ground--or we can flee."

"Convert the whole planet or figure out the ship and leave using it?" Dana asks, to your confirmation. "Makes sense as far as I can see. Do you have any preference?"

"Well, if I had to be honest…"

[ ] Stand: You've a ripe opportunity to take over a whole world! After all, you and your followers saved it in the first place. You're going to need to subvert the Governor's power though--and deal with the response that comes when you rise up in inevitable rebellion. But you'll have time, space, and manpower eventually provided your cult's expansion continues apace.

[ ] Flee: You've got a ship, once you understand it, you can take it and your cult and flee from this world, to seek your fortunes elsewhere. Recruit who you can, grab what you can and just go. But try not to stick around too long, or who knows what kind of problems can crop up while you're not ready for them!

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[All Primary Objectives Accomplished]
[Secondary Objectives also achieved]
[Increasing to Scale 2]

Select New Domain

[ ] Earth: Power of stone and soil
[ ] Guardian Power of salvation and security
[ ] Sorcery Power of Will and Word
[ ] Harvest Power of Reaping and Ruin