Touch of Purity
You are the Emperor, the Master of Mankind and you are human. Among man, you are powerful without peer, but you are not a god. You are not like Tzeentch, Khorne, Nurgle, or Slaanesh. Long ago, you have erred and you have failed; those choices haunt you till this day. Your very existence is that of torture and you endure only so that your people, your subjects... your children can live on, to not peter out like so many others before and since in this unforgiving galaxy.
You are weak. Far too weak to stand against the four Dark Gods, let alone a possible fifth, especially given that the being called Khorne brother. But maybe... Maybe there is no other option except to take the deal with this unknown being to save Mankind. There is a good chance that rejection would spell doom for much of the Exodus fleet, but is there also a path to salvation? Could you take the risk of accepting this deal with the devil? Even if you and your people were tainted, you would have time to work against such corruption. But if you failed in securing Mankind's escape from this universe, every man, woman and child would face fates far worse than true death. Anything but total defeat you could deal with and recover from. But still...
Would it be worth it?
Those few moments that you spent contemplating the offer felt like an eternity. It was torment even further beyond what you bear every hour of your existence. But you realize...
1d100 + 50 = 75 + 50 = 125 Minor Critical Success!
"No."
The Rejection resounds through the depths of the Empyrean, carried by the sheer force of will you possess. The power of your surety was so great that you were able to speak for the first time since your interment in the Golden Throne.
Stillness. The Immaterium stopped its chaotic churning for but a moment until another quake of
Power accompanied the total rejection. This quake however, is completely unlike any of those that came before, eclipsing them in their entirety and you seize the chance to turn this to your advantage. You will not fail again.
You will
Light the way for Humanity in this new universe and if you find another Earth, another Terra, you will not fail them either. They will be protected, guided, and the mistakes of the past will not be repeated. They will have the opportunity to learn without the bitter lessons of the Imperium.
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The Chaos Gods are shocked into momentary submission as you usurp their realm for but a brief moment, so that you may touch each and every one of your subjects for the first and last time. You reached out and touch those sleeping on the ships of the Exodus, whose rest is agitated by approaching doom. You touch your mortal warriors that are nearing hysteria while facing nightmares beyond their imagination. You reached out to your Astrates, that are desperately trying to stem the tide for just one more moment.
...And then you
Feel...
There are no words to describe the primal power of their tears, their frowns, their smiles, their laughter. You feel the despair of billions, the confusion and anger as to why they are left behind to die. They cry, scream and rage their fears and hatred at the chosen few that are saved... But even more still, trillions, pray for safety and for success.
At your touch, you feel the anger and confusion subside as your people feel you link your mind to theirs. You show them all of your emotions so that they may know your Truth before you must leave. They feel your pride in being their Father, your amazement at how even now they so strongly defy Chaos, and your sorrow that they must remain to hold the line. They feel your will, that you shall remember each and everyone of them so that in the future, Humanity may know of heroism that can move even Gods to tears.
In turn, you feel their hopes: that you and those you take will survive, that the Exodus Fleet will reach it's destination safely. You feel them hope with all their heart that the you will succeed and that Humanity will survive the coming doom. You hear them pray that one day you will return to obtain VENGEANCE for all those who have fallen. You promise them that one day, the Chaos and Xenos in this galaxy will pay for every drop of Human blood they spilled. You promise that the Dark Gods will finally meet retribution.
You send your final goodbyes and whisper to each of them, "If I had the power to bring you all, I would without hesitation, even if it would kill me in exchange," and they weep for you as they know the sheer weight of love that you have for them. They weep for their heartbroken Father as you weep for those you cannot bring.
You once hated all religion, for there was no problem that your great mind could not solve, no mystery that you could not unravel. After all this time though, you no longer care. If by religion they can know even half the love and pride you feel for each of them, you will bear the title of God for 10,000 more years without scorn. Through the mistakes of the past, you have learned that humanity needs something to believe in. Humanity needs something to bind them together and it seems that you are that unifying force. You are the God they call upon.
You return their faith in you with your own in them. All around Segmentum Solar, civilian, Guardsman, and Space Marine alike are fighting against the relentless tide of Chaos, Daemons and Traitors all. But, your link provides them guidance, allowing them to do more than they once could. They see warnings of danger, feel a slight push to throw them out of the path of an attack, see an apparition of you indicate the proper place to strike. Miracles, they call them. Perhaps they are indeed.
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Just before you sever the connections, your Children return the favor with a wave of raw psychic power that nearly crushes your soul and fills you as you have never been before. You feel for the first time in millennia, new power flowing in. Your Children use the psychic backlash of the quake to send you all that they can. You feel their unshakable belief fill you with might, all your own, even as you draw upon the
Power of the tremors.
You
Rage against the Chaos Gods, breaking free of their grasp upon you. You
Fight against their corrupting influence, cleansing all the demons in Segmentum Solar with your
Light. You
Break the hold of Chaos upon the Immaterium for but a second, and their power wanes... But it is not enough.
(You gain +1 to your Psyker rating from the Unshakable Faith of your Children)
The moment fades and
C̖͓͚̺̝̤̩ͧ̔ͥ̂ͮ́̽͜͢ĥ̶̢̰̝ā̡͖͉͑ͦ̇̄̽͒̕o̷̪̖̳͉̬ͥ͗̓̎̽ͅͅs̵̸̖͉͔͕͎͆̿ͣ̆̐͐̊͂ comes surge back, though weakened. The five Empyrean beings rise again and face you as one, though the unknown merely smiles at you before dispersing back into the Warp. The other four however, are not idle and come at you with burning hatred in their eyes.
Khorne thrusts his great-sword while Tzeentch throws unholy fire and Nurgle spews deadly pestilence through Slaanesh's aura of lust.
Drained though they are, you are no match for the Ruinous Powers in direct combat. For every blow you land on them you take three in turn, yet it means that they are distracted from your true goal: getting the Exodus Fleet through the wormhole as whole as possible.
1d30 = 9 Moderate Failure
But not all goes as planned. The resurgence of the Dark Gods caused daemons to come back into existence in the now purified Immaterium around Terra, and those daemons overwhelmed the Geller Fields of many of the smaller and less capable ships in the Fleet. Intense fighting breaks out on the vessels, but of the 30 ships that were invaded, only 9 came out intact. The twenty seven remaining ships of the Exodus Fleet, not including the capital ships, make to enter the portal and succeed.
(Lost 21 ships and 75 million lives to daemon incursions. 27 civilian/military ships remaining)
1d100 = 96 Minor Critical Success!
You wake suddenly from the rapid warming of the cryopod. You are Vindicare X-73 and your mind goes into overdrive as you deduce the only explanation of a rapid defrost: emergency. Since you specifically are being awakened, it is likely that the ship has been boarded. Thus as the pod's case opens, you leaps out and kneel to access your lockbox at the foot of the pod. Your mind catalogues the plethora of parts within as you remove and assemble the parts for you Exitus Pistol in fifteen seconds flat. You decide not to take the rifle due to the confined nature of the ship. As soon as you exits the cryo room, pistol at the ready, a Bloodletter materializes and instantly turns to ash. You feel a chill go down your spine as you turn around and see Culexus L-100. Her words have never been truer, "Time to hunt."
(Gained 17 Assassins: 2 Culexus, 5 Callidus, 5 Vindicare, and 5 Eversor)
3d20 = 9 Meh, 16 Success, 16 Success
Thankfully no fatalities were taken on the ships that repealed the daemons, and the 2 Arks Mechanicus (16, 16) are safe from harm. The Phalanx however, did suffer from some minor daemonic incursions in the modified areas population centers, but the Grey Knights aboard took care of them with little difficulty (9). They move to enter the portal as well, and make it through.
1d50 + 10 = 53 Minor Critical Success!
While the Strike Cruiser was also breached, the 25 Chosen Blood Scouts/Lexicani were so pure from bathing in the light of the Emperor that they, completely unaware of doing so, smote each daemon that boarded as soon as it manifested. The marines and ship's crew would later find many piles of ash around the ship from no discernible source and debate their origin. The ship lurches as it cruises through the portal.
(Chosen Blood marines and gene-seed gain trait Conduit: ???)
1d100 = 87 High Success
The shadowy Afriel Strain has spent many millennia trying to create the Perfect Soldier, to recreate any number of the Imperium's greatest heroes and of all the failures they have met, they have had few long term successes due to a strange interfacing of the replicated with the Warp. Those successes though, are made up of powerful and pure psykers and Living Saints. To this end, the organization sent many ships, filled with genetic information and clones, to Terra but all were lost to the Empyrean except for one. A lone frigate approaches the Exodus Fleet in the Warp and joins in the formation, just minutes after the Emperor touched the minds of all His children...
You awaken with a start, and realize that you are on a ship. While the ship itself is foreign, something in your mind tells you that you are not in a hostile place. Realizing that you are naked, you swing your legs over the bed and rise, taking in the room as you do. The chill of the metal beneath your feet makes you shiver, but you bear it as you make your way over to the chair with a pile of folded clothes, in your favored color and style in fact. As you clothe yourself with the violet robes, you reach out with your senses to try and orient yourself, and to find someone to ask what was going on and why you posses no memories after presenting the twel- there is no one on the ship. You manage to keep your rising panic down and extend your senses further out, until you realize that the ship is currently traveling in the Warp. You retreat back into your own mind and move out into the ship's hall, only to bump into a someone.
"Is there anything I can do for you Master?"
You are startled out of your musings and recover yourself sufficiently to realize that this person has no psychic signature.
"Blank! Are you a retainer to the Sisters of-"
The words die on your tongue. This is not a Blank. For one, it has... what is that thing coming out of its head? It's definitely a cyborg of some kind, but not any kind that you've ever seen. This being is not an augmented human that you are familiar with. It is an amalgamation of tech and biology with no soul.
"What is your query Master?"
"Where am I? What is this ship's purpose?"
"We are currently in the Warp, approximately over Terra. This ship's purpose is to deliver you to the Emperor."
Well that explained why you felt it safe here.
"What do you mean deliver me to the Emperor? Last I recall, I was on... Terra... What is the current date?"
"No information... The current date is 2 666 666.M44," and then a pause. "We are about to enter the Warp Rift, brace yourself sir."
You are reeling from the news as you grab hold of the bed you woke up on.
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You see the ship join your Exodus Fleet and for a brief moment you feel a startlingly familiar psychic signature aboard before you are forced to turn your attention back to the Ruinous Powers. The ship leaves this reality and is the final ship to cross the portal.
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1d50 = 50 + BONUS There are greater beings than the Chaos Gods, and they Love you! UNF!
Natural Critical Success + Bonus!
The Eldar have been all but wiped out and you are the only one remaining, the last of your kind. You are Farseer Zain Jiorquas and it is your solemn duty to collect all of the spirit stones of your people into the Infinity Circuits. For all those who have come before you, you must make sure their souls survive, for only when the last Eldar dies and joins the Infinity Circuit, can Ynnead be born. Though your people have once held the hope that Ynnead will be powerful enough to destroy
She Who Thirsts, it will not come to be. A few of the circuits, those of Craftworlds Biel-Tan, Il-Kaithe, Yme-Loc, Tir-Val, and Aringhe have been annihilated by The Great Enemy and few of the collective billions of spirit stones have been recovered.
At last though, the time has come and nearly every Eldar has fallen. A few scant years before, the remnant populations of each Craftworld collected the spirit stones of every Maiden World on their way to the Galactic West, en route to the Sol System, where the final bastion of the last of the younger races, the Mon-Keigh, lies. Now however, the collected Craftworlds lay in the dead of space, a mere half light year away from Sol. You have foreseen the Exodus that man's Emperor will lead, and the part the Eldar will play in insuring its success, and in turn your own race's possible survival through rebirth, though that remains a decision of the Emperor of man. Though you hate putting your people's well being at stake and on the whim of a non-Eldar, you have no choice, for the visions show that every other path leads to irrevokable ruin.
At long last, you have finished your task and every spirit stone your people could find are collected in the Infinity Circuits of the Craftworlds. At long last, you are able to complete the destiny of the Eldar.
You are sitting within the Infinity Circuit of Craftworld Ulthwé and next to you lies your Witchblade. With everything prepared, you shudder as you grasp the blade and turn it onto yourself, pressing the tip to your sternum. You take a deep breath and whisper a prayer to Ynnead as you take the plunge...
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You are not faring well against the Dark Gods. That is to be expected since the power you have drawn from the quakes is quickly receding and the belief of your subjects is all that remains. Though that faith makes you strong, it is not enough. You simply do not have the teeming trillions that the Imperium once h-
The Warp feels cold all of a sudden, and the Gods of
C̖͓͚̺̝̤̩ͧ̔ͥ̂ͮ́̽͜͢ĥ̶̢̰̝ā̡͖͉͑ͦ̇̄̽͒̕
o̷̪̖̳͉̬ͥ͗̓̎̽ͅͅs̵̸̖͉͔͕͎͆̿ͣ̆̐͐̊͂ break off their attack. All of you turn to the massive
seed that materialized not too far from you, and all of you realize that the Eldar have completed their plan. Slaanesh is the first to react, and with horror written on his-her-his-her face, she lunges at the new psychic womb... To no avail.
The Immaterium explodes with
Power and from the bubble emerges the Eldar Godess of Death and Rebirth, Ynnead. As her birthing screams shatter the forces of Chaos even further than you have earlier, the four gods diminish slightly more and you realize that it was her power that you have been drawing upon to strengthen you. As the Ruinous Powers slowly recollect themselves, you take the time to check on your fleet and find that it has frozen. Time itself has frozen from the birth of the new Goddess.
As you look upon her for the first time, you see that she is a being of undiluted innocence, with a shocking beauty without and within. Her power is purifying and her manifestation in the Empyrean is as brilliant as yours while her form is that of the Eldar: tall and lithe, with nearly albino skin, flowing black hair to her waist, and a crystalline pearl hanging around her neck. She is curled up in fetal position, eyes closed. Never before have you seen such purity in any being.
Still, you need to rectify the situation. You have the option of communing with the Goddess, destroying her to start the flow of time again, or any number of other choices. While some of the choices you think of disgust you, you may not have a choice because the Dark Gods will not be out of the picture for long and you dare not exert your own strength to counteract Ynnead's influence, lest you wish to be diminished when the Chaos Gods reform.
What do you do or say?
[] Commune with the new Goddess.
-[]What do you ask or say?
[] Destroy the Goddess. (Starts time again if you succeed. She will not have time to fight back. Gain trait ???)
[] Absorb Ynnead's power before she can resist. (Adds her power to yours to fight against the Chaos Gods. A somewhat slow process and she will fight back given enough time. Gain trait ???)
[] Write-in?
