There was a boat in space.
There was a boat in space made from reeds.
There was a boat in space made from reeds that held a child.
There was a boat in space made from reeds that held a child with pure-white skin and ink-black hair without a face.
There was a boat in space made from reeds that held a child with pure-white skin and ink-black hair without a face with an oar in their hands.
There was a boat in space made from reeds that held a child with pure-white skin and ink-black hair without a face with an oar in their hands, and look of concentration surrounding them.
You see, that child was trying to get to their birth in time.
Unfortunately, they were lost as heck.
"Flip. I knew I should have turned 93° after the mathematical dodecahedron dance into the freeway express merging lane into the Burning Skull Fields in three minutes. But nooo," they sighed, shaking their head as they tried to figure out where they were to plot a course back on track. "I just had to make a pit stop at that Grox Burgers place because they had a deal going on. Haaaa~" Another sigh, mostly self-recriminating.
"Well, at least it tasted good," they spoke, finding some silver lining in the unfortunate stumble along their journey.
Then again...they were currently in realspace, so, perhaps...they could take a moment to look at what was "currently" happening. It was not like they could intervene; that was a "future-me" problem, but seeing what their nations were up to before their birth was always fun.
"Hmmm~, let's see...the blazing Pathfinding Fleet, the war-smithing Calculated Consecration, the hidden Benevolencia Cults, the marching Chainbreaker Tyrants, or the singing Glimmering Federation..." a difficult choice to make, especially as they didn't feel like peering at more than one nation at the moment. Some ship was approaching them in realspace, and the...T'au? T'au Xenos within didn't feel like they would be able to direct them to Terra. Especially within the Warp.
Then, they felt a tug from the Glimmering Federation, workings of faith and psykery enacted in their name that caught their attention. Even a cursory glance told them all they needed to see, and they immediately set visions into motion that would see the Sacred Sands spread to billions yet. Even if the eyes of Chaos, especially Featherbrain, snapped to said visions beyond their ability to twist or intercept before snapping unto the source of the knowledge in utter contempt and fury. Seemed to be on par with the Glimmerlings. One action gives billions of succor, while it punishes billions of others with the consequences.
In one breath, the Glimmering Federation was both the Golden and the Black Sheep of their Nations. Stuck in a frustrating position against opponents that tipped between becoming friends and between friends that could become the bitterest of enemies, with its focus pulled and pushed here and there by the design of its people and the eddies of fate. In one hand they wielded the ability to shape their corner of the galaxy much further than any others, in the other they held nothing but a bloody stump, sacrificed upon the altar of need against what yet comes, was happening, and had passed.
If their followers could break through any side with either their Mercy or Ruthlessness, their ascendancy would secure trillions of souls beneath their banner. But Chaos and their Father were not content to sit there and let Hope grow. But the child had faith in their people. They would persevere, grow, learn, and sing a new light unto the galaxy come Warp or Ruin.
A small smile formed as they heard the prayers of the people there, some coming from those who had been grazed by Chaos's claws and were now asking, not for salvation, but for the strength to persevere in the trials to free themselves of its corruption.
There were other prayers, too. Some were more mundane, for good health and fortune; others requested things for others, be it misfortune or aid in their endeavors, with more than a few prayers being uttered by the souls of Xenos. They were...undecided about how they felt about the approach of the Glimmering Federation when it came to the Xenos they knew. It sure felt like they were falling into the trap of being too trusting, but then again, it worked, and worked well, as they peered into the souls of the Kil'drabi, alien as they were to that of their Humanity, and found far more confirmation of the belief that they were Kin than not. "If it's stupid, but it works..." they muttered as the T'au ship hailed them, demanding identification. They ignored them as they asked back if they knew where to get to Terra (you never knew!) before going back to looking at the Glimmering Federation and their Glimmerlings within.
However, they made the conscious choice to not look for their Prophet in that corner of the galaxy, as he was busy having bad poetry read at him by his wife, both their souls acting as the underlying foundation for the Astral Wing that saw Chaos weakened slightly within the nation and held the souls of their followers for when they would be capable of creating an afterlife in truth. Also, romance was icky, so thanks, but no thanks.
However, now that they focused on that area, they could feel the underlying current of Home, Hope, and Compassion flowing through them, mixing them into something else. Hrm...Auntie Slan-slan would be real mad if they poached that aspect and made it their-oopsalreadydid.
Within the Realm of Slaneesh, cleaned for audience sensibilities.
The Prince of Pleasure paused in their dance, freezing as she felt...
"Oh, That LITTLE FUC-"
Hehe, Love acquired.
...oh, there were already prayers in that directi-...why were 17% of them by volume Thules asking for Yeeni SOs? What did they feed those girls?! Should they be concerned? Were the Yeeni secretly memetic? Were the Yeeni using their adorableness for evil? Should...should they tell someone?
The T'au were bothering them again, blasting some demands to deactivate any weapons (...did they mean the oar?) and be taken into custody, so they began to gently paddle away instead, racing away with idle strokes faster than the T'au ship could accelerate to, even with engines red-lined.
Back on track, they resolved that problem by ignoring it. "Future Past-Me" has to deal with that; they would just skip trying to find a perfect path to Terra and their birth and just delve into the currents of the Great Ocean and see where that would lead them. It's not like they could get more lost than their brothers Wolf and Horse.
...
They hastily popped back from the Warp and snapped a blessing to their nephews in the Federation before delving back into the currents.
Bad enough that they were the rare few nephews who fully embodied what they were supposed to be, only to be struck by a massive curse; they didn't need to deal with the Black Rage, too. Fixing the first would have to wait until their birth, but the latter could be taken care of.
Within the 'Eternal Promise' Chapter Master Gamma looked up from the strategic conference. They had felt like...no, must've been some malfunctioning air-cyclers. He'd tell Alpha to whip the Techmarines into shape for that oversight later. For now, they had to cast their voice and vote. The worlds this side of the Rift had been liberated, and what few people survived were brought back from the brink with aid and succor, even if it took heroes and sacrifice, but the worlds beyond were still suffering under the depredations of the Orks.
They had to decide if they would risk an Unstable Route:
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] They Would.
(An Oath Sworn.)
[] They Would Not.
(x0.1 Voting Weight. An Oath Sworn.)