Because he is right there to go "om nom nom" to any of the corruption that tries. It is like the light on angler fish. Following it just means you wind up being eaten.
Shroud (Grey Goo game Shroud SI / Warhammer 40k)
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
With the Shroud Entity shielding her soul from the Warp I don't think she can be corrupted anymore, regardless of physical Marks. Any Daemonic influence would have to go through the Shroud Entity before it could reach her, and would presumably just get eaten, so it is quite likely that the Mark is now functionally powerless.
My guess is that they either have a reduced ability when it comes to warp energy or they gain a limited control over Shroud energy.
Mr. Cloak
Orchestrator of Paradoxical Apocalypse
- Pronouns
- I
Because that isn't a neon sign for 'insert corruption here'. It's a lure- like for a roach motel, or some bait with a monster waiting to feed on whatever bites.
She's not suceptible any longer to Chaos, but Chaos may not know that, and provide many tasty snacks. Also, Shroud!Dritch may not have wanted to freak her out by using a Xeno to remove skin from her face.
There's what Mr. Cloak said and the fact that Drich wouldn't want to cause her more harm in an area where it would be difficult for her to recover, especially when she's on her way to a place of healing were it will likely be removed anyways.
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
Extremely high level pyromancers in Dark Heresy have a power that should theoretically be able to kill a Daemon.
Wording:
But in practise Daemons are too tough and good at escaping for this to be practical all the time. The power is really meant to resolve plot lines where some Daemon is the planner and villain of a campaign and the players are getting frustrated with their inability to permenantly get rid of it.dark heresy of the secundus sector wiki said:
A check of the internet indicates that there is also a ritual to kill them if you know their true name, but the name might be impractically lengthy and include syllables enacting sorcery meant to make anyone speaking it regret doing so(or not, because they're dead or corrupted), aside from the difficulty in getting it in the first place.
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Chaos can handle a couple cases here and there, but a Tyranid size incursion of immune hungry beings? Way more problematic.
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
I'd always been of the opinion that damaging the soul should be a more fraught event. Possibly involving pain, siezures, and long term effects similar to nervous system damage, or alternatively causing psykic problems.
But it's your story, and I'm pretty sure there isn't a cannon description of how it would work so this is also fine, and has interesting implications for this being a universally desirable way to treat Chaos Corruption.
1.5
Drich
Von Neumann Writing Machine
1.5
+++
"A cult victim." He frowns. "Lacerations, dehydration, starvation, sores, welts, bruises, choking, swelling, branding... And a significant amount of signs showing evidence of other pointless torture. And that's just what my eyes can see, to say nothing of my instruments."
The girl doesn't respond, still staring at the man with a wary gaze. She's seated on a bed, in a clean, disinfected white room. There's a variety of medical instruments around, and the girl has positioned herself so that my Clasher-self is directly between her and all of them, half hiding.
"I honestly didn't think there were any non-cultists left on this planet, other than us." He mused. "You're quite fortunate you were found, do you know that?"
She continues staring at him.
He sighs, then reaches over to tap at a console. A few moments later, a recess on the wall opens, a small cup inside. The cup itself is filled with golden liquid, and the man takes it, holding it out to the girl. "Here."
She doesn't move to take it. Her eyes simply flick to the cup, and then back to him, staring in suspicion.
"It will make you feel better." He said, swirling it slightly.
Her eyes narrow.
I reach out, taking the cup in three pincers. One pincer on the other hand shifts, changing into a spoon-like shape, and I dip it in, drawing out a small amount of the golden fluid.
I turn, offering the small amount to her. She, in turn, looks at me, looks roughly where my face would be if I had one, before hesitantly opening her mouth.
I tip. She swallows, clearly considering it. When I offer the cup again, she takes it, and starts to drink it, several slow sips.
He tuts. "Can't talk and still better at convincing people to do things for their own good than me. That... That cuts."
She looks back at him. And then she blinks, her hand coming up to her cheek.
With a golden glow, the scarred brand on her begins to twist, burns giving way to renewed flesh. On her neck, over her body, small lacerations and bruises begin to fade, disappearing even as we watch. The swelling over her other eye begins to recede, purple-black turning back into pale, but significantly healthier skin.
As I listen, I can hear her breathing get a bit easier.
"What?"
"Ah, so you do have a voice. I was wondering." He smirks. "Feeling better?"
She glares at him, bringing her hand up to her throat. She rubs, carefully feeling the skin. She opens her mouth, and her voice is... halting, at first. And still a little quiet. "What was that?"
"Nanobot mass combined with a bioregenerative solution." He answers, clinically. "Fixes most wounds, primes the body to receive nutrients en masse, and will help you with a quick recovery." He smiles, a bit more softly. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? You don't have to answer them, if you don't want to."
She stares at him, but after a glance at my Clasher-self, answers. "Only if I get some questions."
"Easy." He nods. "Let's get the basics out of the way. I am Doctor Adrien Berin. I am the Chief of Medical Operations of Sanctuary, and therefore the person that those ones-" He gestures at my Clasher-self. "- go to bother whenever they pick up a stray. Like you, for example." He smiles again. "So how many of your questions did I just answer?"
She stares at him as if he's strange. Which he is, so she's not wrong to do so.
He chuckles. "Let me guess. You have three more; 'What is Sanctuary?', 'What are those guys?', and 'What happens now?'."
Her eyes narrow, a little more cautious. Seeing that, he dips his head, grabbing a chair and pulling it over. He takes a seat, adopting a notably more serious and gentle expression.
"Sanctuary is our home." He says, slowly. "About the only portion of this entire planet that's safe from Empyrean incursion. It's the last bastion of true civilization left." He smiles. "As to 'What are those guys?'... There's a lot of answers I could give, not many of them particularly satisfying. The most important thing, I feel, is that they are the saviours of every single person in Sanctuary, yourself now included."
She blinks.
"I'm going to take a guess." He says, looking at her. "You were... a part of a tribe. A small one. Not much more than your family and a few others. You wandered around with the few scraps of technology you had left, trying to eke out a life. You were probably hounded by the corrupt and mutated the entire time, always only a few steps from death." He sighs, straightening up. "And then... hmm. Your tribe ran into something. Probably a large group of cultists, and you alongside most of them were captured. Cultists did as cultists do, and enacted rituals and corruption on all of you. Many of your fellows died, but you... Not you. Sheer defiance and a will to live let you survive, even after everything the cults did to you. Then, these ones found you,-" He points at me, again. "- killed the cultists, and took you with them to bring you here."
Her eyes are wide.
He nods. "Yeah. Thought so." He stands up, moving to the console again. "'Round here, there's a lot of people sharing that story. Not everyone. A good amount of the kids that are running around in here were born here, and haven't known that harsh life out there. Some of the older people have been here since before the Bright Night." He taps at the console, and again, the recess opens. There's another cup, but this one contains a steaming, light brown liquid.
He offers it to her, smiling. After a moment, she takes it, sniffing it.
"That's a nutrient slurry mixed with chocolate for flavour." He explains. "Drink up, kiddo. Your metabolism will kick into overdrive pretty soon, and you'll be quite hungry."
She looks at him over the drink. "Not a kid. I'm fourteen."
I'd have pegged... maybe 10, to be honest. Malnutrition at work, I guess.
Adrien just shrugs. "And I'm forty eight. You're a kid to me."
She frowns at him, but takes a sip. Her eyes widen, and she quickly begins to drink.
"So..." He begins. "What's your name, girl?"
She swallows, before answering. "Juliana."
He nods. "Well then, Juliana. It's nice to meet you."
He directs a glance at my Clasher-self, still unmoving. An eyebrow raises, and he looks back at the girl. She's looking down at the moment, focused on her drink. It means that she doesn't see his eyes flash with the same blue light that emanates from the core of my Clasher-self, from so many other of my bodies, and from his own chest.
He raises an eyebrow, seeing, for a moment, into more than just the physical world. Which means he can see the armour wrapping around her soul, the life lingering within.
He knows what it is. After all, he, like so many others in Sanctuary, are no different.
"Hmm."
She looks up, but by the time that she has, his eyes have returned to normal.
"And as for that final question..." He considers. "I make sure you're as well as I'm capable of making you, and then... I think we can find a place for you here in Sanctuary. If the Shroud brought you here, you must be quite something."
She looks up. "Shroud?"
"That's what we call them." He shrugs. "Now, finish your drink. We can get you some real food after you're done, how does that sound?"
She promptly tips it back, swallowing the last. Adrien chuckles.
"Some clothes, too." He notes to himself, before smiling.
"Welcome to Sanctuary, Juliana." He stands up. "It's all we've got left of a sane and good world."
+++
"A cult victim." He frowns. "Lacerations, dehydration, starvation, sores, welts, bruises, choking, swelling, branding... And a significant amount of signs showing evidence of other pointless torture. And that's just what my eyes can see, to say nothing of my instruments."
The girl doesn't respond, still staring at the man with a wary gaze. She's seated on a bed, in a clean, disinfected white room. There's a variety of medical instruments around, and the girl has positioned herself so that my Clasher-self is directly between her and all of them, half hiding.
"I honestly didn't think there were any non-cultists left on this planet, other than us." He mused. "You're quite fortunate you were found, do you know that?"
She continues staring at him.
He sighs, then reaches over to tap at a console. A few moments later, a recess on the wall opens, a small cup inside. The cup itself is filled with golden liquid, and the man takes it, holding it out to the girl. "Here."
She doesn't move to take it. Her eyes simply flick to the cup, and then back to him, staring in suspicion.
"It will make you feel better." He said, swirling it slightly.
Her eyes narrow.
I reach out, taking the cup in three pincers. One pincer on the other hand shifts, changing into a spoon-like shape, and I dip it in, drawing out a small amount of the golden fluid.
I turn, offering the small amount to her. She, in turn, looks at me, looks roughly where my face would be if I had one, before hesitantly opening her mouth.
I tip. She swallows, clearly considering it. When I offer the cup again, she takes it, and starts to drink it, several slow sips.
He tuts. "Can't talk and still better at convincing people to do things for their own good than me. That... That cuts."
She looks back at him. And then she blinks, her hand coming up to her cheek.
With a golden glow, the scarred brand on her begins to twist, burns giving way to renewed flesh. On her neck, over her body, small lacerations and bruises begin to fade, disappearing even as we watch. The swelling over her other eye begins to recede, purple-black turning back into pale, but significantly healthier skin.
As I listen, I can hear her breathing get a bit easier.
"What?"
"Ah, so you do have a voice. I was wondering." He smirks. "Feeling better?"
She glares at him, bringing her hand up to her throat. She rubs, carefully feeling the skin. She opens her mouth, and her voice is... halting, at first. And still a little quiet. "What was that?"
"Nanobot mass combined with a bioregenerative solution." He answers, clinically. "Fixes most wounds, primes the body to receive nutrients en masse, and will help you with a quick recovery." He smiles, a bit more softly. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? You don't have to answer them, if you don't want to."
She stares at him, but after a glance at my Clasher-self, answers. "Only if I get some questions."
"Easy." He nods. "Let's get the basics out of the way. I am Doctor Adrien Berin. I am the Chief of Medical Operations of Sanctuary, and therefore the person that those ones-" He gestures at my Clasher-self. "- go to bother whenever they pick up a stray. Like you, for example." He smiles again. "So how many of your questions did I just answer?"
She stares at him as if he's strange. Which he is, so she's not wrong to do so.
He chuckles. "Let me guess. You have three more; 'What is Sanctuary?', 'What are those guys?', and 'What happens now?'."
Her eyes narrow, a little more cautious. Seeing that, he dips his head, grabbing a chair and pulling it over. He takes a seat, adopting a notably more serious and gentle expression.
"Sanctuary is our home." He says, slowly. "About the only portion of this entire planet that's safe from Empyrean incursion. It's the last bastion of true civilization left." He smiles. "As to 'What are those guys?'... There's a lot of answers I could give, not many of them particularly satisfying. The most important thing, I feel, is that they are the saviours of every single person in Sanctuary, yourself now included."
She blinks.
"I'm going to take a guess." He says, looking at her. "You were... a part of a tribe. A small one. Not much more than your family and a few others. You wandered around with the few scraps of technology you had left, trying to eke out a life. You were probably hounded by the corrupt and mutated the entire time, always only a few steps from death." He sighs, straightening up. "And then... hmm. Your tribe ran into something. Probably a large group of cultists, and you alongside most of them were captured. Cultists did as cultists do, and enacted rituals and corruption on all of you. Many of your fellows died, but you... Not you. Sheer defiance and a will to live let you survive, even after everything the cults did to you. Then, these ones found you,-" He points at me, again. "- killed the cultists, and took you with them to bring you here."
Her eyes are wide.
He nods. "Yeah. Thought so." He stands up, moving to the console again. "'Round here, there's a lot of people sharing that story. Not everyone. A good amount of the kids that are running around in here were born here, and haven't known that harsh life out there. Some of the older people have been here since before the Bright Night." He taps at the console, and again, the recess opens. There's another cup, but this one contains a steaming, light brown liquid.
He offers it to her, smiling. After a moment, she takes it, sniffing it.
"That's a nutrient slurry mixed with chocolate for flavour." He explains. "Drink up, kiddo. Your metabolism will kick into overdrive pretty soon, and you'll be quite hungry."
She looks at him over the drink. "Not a kid. I'm fourteen."
I'd have pegged... maybe 10, to be honest. Malnutrition at work, I guess.
Adrien just shrugs. "And I'm forty eight. You're a kid to me."
She frowns at him, but takes a sip. Her eyes widen, and she quickly begins to drink.
"So..." He begins. "What's your name, girl?"
She swallows, before answering. "Juliana."
He nods. "Well then, Juliana. It's nice to meet you."
He directs a glance at my Clasher-self, still unmoving. An eyebrow raises, and he looks back at the girl. She's looking down at the moment, focused on her drink. It means that she doesn't see his eyes flash with the same blue light that emanates from the core of my Clasher-self, from so many other of my bodies, and from his own chest.
He raises an eyebrow, seeing, for a moment, into more than just the physical world. Which means he can see the armour wrapping around her soul, the life lingering within.
He knows what it is. After all, he, like so many others in Sanctuary, are no different.
"Hmm."
She looks up, but by the time that she has, his eyes have returned to normal.
"And as for that final question..." He considers. "I make sure you're as well as I'm capable of making you, and then... I think we can find a place for you here in Sanctuary. If the Shroud brought you here, you must be quite something."
She looks up. "Shroud?"
"That's what we call them." He shrugs. "Now, finish your drink. We can get you some real food after you're done, how does that sound?"
She promptly tips it back, swallowing the last. Adrien chuckles.
"Some clothes, too." He notes to himself, before smiling.
"Welcome to Sanctuary, Juliana." He stands up. "It's all we've got left of a sane and good world."
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- Location
- Arizona
- Pronouns
- Him/His
Aw, the feels.
Now Drich is no longer alone.
.....I am torn between being happy this is now a thing and wishing CMDR!Drich would finish her adventures. Oh well.
Now Drich is no longer alone.
.....I am torn between being happy this is now a thing and wishing CMDR!Drich would finish her adventures. Oh well.
Tempestuous
Words are wind, so I write.
- Location
- CA
Seems Drich is going with an interpretation that treats the soul more like blood than brain; lose a bit, and it'll 'refill', but lose too much, and it's all over.
As for the new chapter... well, I have more questions, but I assume they'll be answered in time.
- Location
- Pennslyvania
- Pronouns
- She/They
So this is clearly the Age of Strife. The fact that the guy has a sensible title would tend to indicate a non imperium world and there aren't many around, and the tech is even more glaring. Combined with the mention of the 'Bright Night' which would fit the beginning of the age, I feel relatively confident in saying that this is maybe a generation or two into the Strife.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
Seems about right, those cultists drew forth a daemon of Khorne, so odds are Slaanesh is already active by this point and has stirred up the others
Age of Strife, eh? That's about 5,000 years of uninterrupted work. Give or take a couple years.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Actually, as the warp storms are still around that would suggest that Slaanesh is still in the process of being born; when it finished forming and tore open the Eye of Terror in the late 29th\early 30th millennium the formation of the Eye 'blew away' the majority of the warp storms, allowing interstellar travel to occur once more and the various surviving human colonies to re-establish communications.
That there are people around who were alive when the Bright Night hit would put the current date somewhere around the early\mid 25th millennium, near the start of the Age of Strife when Slaanesh's formation stirred the Warp into a frenzy and finished what the Iron War and the rise of Pyskers had started; plunging humanity into darkness and shattering the old human empire. The Aeldari Empire should be mid-fall, with the pleasure cults going strong as their species spirals into madness and the massive numbers of their souls spilling into the Warp churning it up as they conglomerate together into the entity that will become Slaanesh.
It might be the 24th millennium, as the warp storms started in the galactic centre in the late 23rd\early 24th millennium and spread outwards from there, cutting off the Squat homeworld during the 24th millennium and spreading to cover the galaxy by the onset of the 25th millennium, it depends on where exactly this planet is; the closer it is to the galactic center, the earlier in the timeline it should be.
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Yeah, I feel that if it weren't for the Age of Strife then the old human empire may have survived and recovered, though that wouldn't have set the stage for Emps to come along.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
It likely would have, the Iron War was crippling, but while it brought humanity to its knees it did not destroy the human empire entirely. And it has been implied that the Men of Iron rebelled because of daemonic corruption, brought on by the rising Chaos in the Warp caused by the rising Aeldari pleasure cults. The other thing that hit the human empire hard was the sudden appearance of psykers and the attendant issues with daemonic possession they brought with them, but again that seems likely to have been an indirect consequence of the Aeldari stirring up the Warp with their mass orgies, given that it seems rather coincidental that psykers would suddenly start popping up around about the same time the Aeldari decided to get serious about torture porn.
The Old Ones basically ruined the Empyrean forever, and then after shit had finally calmed down and stopped being actively atrociously horrible, the Aeldari decided to stir the pot and follow in the footsteps of their creators by ruining everything forever again.
Humanity's beef with the Eldar is actually pretty justified, all things considered. Not only did they done fucked up, they done fucked up in basically exactly the same way the Old Ones done fucked up before them, only on a smaller scale: They only made 1 Chaos God, the Old Ones made 3.
And the worst part is; by all rights the Aeldari should have known enough about the Warp to know just how badly they were fucking up with the pleasure cults, they had the knowledge, they were just too busy discovering new and inventive ways to inflict pain and pleasure on each other to give a shit until it was way too late.
- Location
- [REDACTED]- United States of America
They created an empire that lasted in excess of 30 million years before it lost it's way. The beef may be justified in the end. but cut the Aeldari some slack, 30 million years is a long time and the massive ennui brought on by a race that had achieved almost everything including true immortality must have been horrific. That it took so long is to their credit.
And in the Old One's defense, the sea of souls had devourers in it before the War in Heaven.
That and the War in Heaven was perhaps the most justified fucking up of the Warp I can imagine and not entirely their fault either, weaponization played a part but in the end they were fighting the C'Tan and all the horrors that implies which fucked up things in the Warp just as bad, it's a reflection of all things with souls after all and living through the war, fighting and dying, would not have been pleasant. And had the C'Tan won they would have cut the warp off from the galaxy and if possible maybe even the universe after exterminating all life with a soul because apparently souls are delicious and the C'tan were gluttons with no chill.
Edit: Also Khorne's first demon prince was a human Genghis Khan, that implies that the current iteration of the Chaos Gods are a lot younger than the War in Heaven or at least they weren't relevant until around the Human Middle Ages in Europe.
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Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
The Old Ones did at least have the excuse that they had no idea just how badly they were ruining the Empyrean with the War and their weaponized psykers, the Aeldari had no such excuse. They knew the dangers that could arise from casting massive numbers of powerfully psychic souls into the Warp, because that was exactly what created the first three Chaos Gods. If any of them had bothered to stop and think they should have realized that they were basically recreating the worst part of the War in Heaven in miniature and that there was only one possible way it could end, but that's the thing; they didn't stop to think, none of them did until it was far too late to do anything about it.
I'm not entirely certain it can be completely blamed on them though; the Old Ones did a rather poor job of uplifting the Aeldari, leaving them stuck in a sort of cultural childhood from having skipped over the majority of the development phase of their society, and of course ultimately none of the problems would have happened if the Old Ones had just not been giant dickbags to the Necrontyr and told them to piss off when they asked for (or demanded) help with their shitty lifespan issue.
I'm not entirely certain it can be completely blamed on them though; the Old Ones did a rather poor job of uplifting the Aeldari, leaving them stuck in a sort of cultural childhood from having skipped over the majority of the development phase of their society, and of course ultimately none of the problems would have happened if the Old Ones had just not been giant dickbags to the Necrontyr and told them to piss off when they asked for (or demanded) help with their shitty lifespan issue.
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- Location
- England. Tea and scones, wot wot!
goshdarnit now i want to pull a copycat but the only options i can think of are geth, kharaa and grey goo and i'm not sure which would be best
In related news, this story is gud and more plz.
In related news, this story is gud and more plz.
- Location
- [REDACTED]- United States of America
No they didn't think things through, because after 30 millions years of dynastic decay, the Aeldari as a race and society were on the downturn. Individuals did, hence why the craft worlds survived, why maiden worlds became popular down to earth permanent vacation homes and individuals fought valiantly against the fall but societal pressures and massive ennui drove the Eldar to greater and greater heights of pleasure and pain just to feel something. What's impressive is that their race survived and did so united under a single empire for 30 million years before these pressures tore it apart. Hence why I asked to cut them some slack, any human civilization under the same conditions would have failed long before the Eldar.
That and the Chaos Gods weren't directly created by the war in my mind, if they were barely felt in the warp by the European dark-ages then they either took a very, very, very, long time to accumulate or they were created in the aftermath long after the War in Heaven
Also if you look at some of the human artefacts and some hints then the Eldar may actually have had an even more direct role in the Men of Iron rebelling in that some extremist faction may have seen the way humanity was going as Necrons 2: Warp Boogaloo.
There are also hints to the humans and T'au both being experiments by a necron lord to get their fleshy bodies and souls back and/or recreate their race.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Current lore is that they were created by the War in Heaven out of the masses of suffering souls thrown into the Empyrean from the ridiculous casualties of the War, after the Enslaver Plague hit and nearly wiped out everyone who wasn't a Necron the Warp calmed down because basically everyone was dead and the three Chaos Gods went into hibernation\sleep until Slaanesh's birth woke them up.
Yup, the other possible hint for the Men of Iron rebelling was Eldar fuckery, there was also a subplot going on with the Pariah gene possibly being the result of a C'tan\Necron anti-warp project, but that seems to have been dropped and the Necron Pariah's retconned into a failed Cryptek experiment, much to everyone's upset.
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- Location
- [REDACTED]- United States of America
As a whole they created Slannesh accidentally, pursuing any end to their ennui, and feeling. Slaanesh is the God of Feeling and the Highest Heights and Deepest trenches of anything that can be felt. They didn't plan around it, it was the death knell of an entire race and civlization pulling itself apart after a long, long time as undisputed masters of the galaxy. A murderous orgy over the course of centuries if not millennia. Notably if they wanted a new God/ess they were a civilization that could have easily done so without beating around the bush, hell they had a whole pantheon as you just pointed out, which are depending on how you read in between the lines direct creations and warp weapons of the Eldar soldiery during the War in Heaven that took on a life of their own.
Edit: for clarity, they could have created a new god/ess in their pantheon without tearing themselves and reality a new asshole, the fact that they did goes to show it was unplanned in the hectic chaos of the Fall.
(I've always found it confusing that millennia is thousand, yet millions is... well millions. Seriously why is that?)
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