The Farsight Enclaves are basically the good guys of the setting (granted, even they're being corrupted as Farsight has gained Khorne's notice). They're basically to the Tau what the Tau are to the Imperium. A small, relatively unimportant xenos faction that is annoying, but not enough of a threat to warrant the resources it would take to destroy them.
The Galaxy is Flood, Not Food
- Thread starter Jackson Fox
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi Horror
The Farsight Enclaves are basically the good guys of the setting (granted, even they're being corrupted as Farsight has gained Khorne's notice). They're basically to the Tau what the Tau are to the Imperium. A small, relatively unimportant xenos faction that is annoying, but not enough of a threat to warrant the resources it would take to destroy them.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
But they are still just 'flesh'.
If you noticed, all the entities I mentioned don't really rely on the 'mighty' metal to support their existence and are all powerful purely from their psychic might and physical prowess alone.
Didn't Farsight just told Khorne no last I remembered?
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- Location
- Israel
They don't need metal, the WAAAGH makes what they believe to be true, the more of them that do so the more real it becomes. If you could mind control a large group of orcs into believing they all grow in strength from drinking water, they will grow in strength when drinking water (just an example) as it essentially becomes a ritual of gaining strength for orcs.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are orcs with eye lasers because they found a poster saying how carrots makes your eyes stronger and then ate a ton of carrots.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Now that's not quite accurate.
While the fandom seems to think it's that overpowered, it's not.
The WAAAGGHH field only makes the unlikely become likely. Ork tek and Ork tactics would go from beyond useless and detrimental to actually threatening and dangerous.
An Ork still won't be able to shoot laser from his eyes from eating carrots, but if he were a Weirdboy, it would allow him to unlock the Psychic technique.
The Boys won't grow from water (because that would go against their innate design, of being violent and can only grow from such), they won't be convinced in the first place. To do so would require you to make them believe the human equivalent of eating dirt will let you grow.
After all, the first boy would try, and then tell you Water tastes bland and then bash your head in.
Or maybe not even try, and just bash your head in immediately.
Or if they are smart and sadistic, they would fake it, drinking water to make you think you actually got them to believe, and then ask you 'U thinkz we dat stupi' Humie?' before bashing your head in.
While the fandom seems to think it's that overpowered, it's not.
The WAAAGGHH field only makes the unlikely become likely. Ork tek and Ork tactics would go from beyond useless and detrimental to actually threatening and dangerous.
An Ork still won't be able to shoot laser from his eyes from eating carrots, but if he were a Weirdboy, it would allow him to unlock the Psychic technique.
The Boys won't grow from water (because that would go against their innate design, of being violent and can only grow from such), they won't be convinced in the first place. To do so would require you to make them believe the human equivalent of eating dirt will let you grow.
After all, the first boy would try, and then tell you Water tastes bland and then bash your head in.
Or maybe not even try, and just bash your head in immediately.
Or if they are smart and sadistic, they would fake it, drinking water to make you think you actually got them to believe, and then ask you 'U thinkz we dat stupi' Humie?' before bashing your head in.
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Yes, he told Khorne that one time. The question is, will he say no the next time too?
Recall that Khorne isn't just a mindless brute. This is the same chaos god that trapped Dorn behind the red wall for thousands of years, if not longer. Khorne has apparently decided that a Tau, a being that inherently lacks a sufficiently tasty soul to really be worth a damn in the eyes of any daemons if they're even noticed, is good enough of a fighter to be worth his time. That alone is indicative of a significant willingness to invest effort into Farsight.
Though, I do wonder if Farsight gaining Khorne's notice is due to the Dawn Blade. It adds the lifespans of his victims to his own life, so I'm wondering if it maybe adds pieces of their souls to his, which is what makes him more noticeable, perhaps? Then again, the Tau in general have begun to gain more notice in the Warp. While they aren't seen as contributing to the Tau Goddess, she does speak with them, or at least Shadowsun, so perhaps they're undergoing a growth in their own psychic capabilities.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Depends on the Agenda.
- Location
- Australia
While @questioningmeme explained it better, another way to look at why the Waagh field can't do everything is in the same way that a psyker's lightning bolt (a much more abrupt break in reality than most Waagh effects) won't necessarily do the amount of damage that the psyker intends or even believes it will, depending on the psyker's innate psychic strength (and external support), the physical and metaphysical characteristics of the opponent(s) or target(s) they are striking, and any number of Warp- and Materium-based factors from both environments (and their interactions with each other) which can all profoundly affect the outcome of that lightning bolt.
Yes, more Orks working together (relatively speaking) will create a larger Waagh field which will be able to channel more power and thus achieve greater effects more consistently, but even if you somehow managed to train or convince Orks to believe in specific, targetted things that wouldn't guarantee that it would come true as the power from the Waagh is still finite (and thus may fail to impose its will on and overwrite physical reality), the enemy may counteract it through Warp or anti-Warp countermeasures, and the wider conditions of the Warp may help or hinder/harm the effort.
Just like psykers or Warp entities or even Warp deities can't cast an omnipotent "auto-win" spell that changes reality into exactly what they want every time, the Waagh field is likewise constrained by its reserves of psychic power, what exactly it is trying to do, what or who it is being enacted upon, and how that interacts with Materium and Immaterium conditions, environments and extraneous factors.
That's probably why most of the psychic effects of Waaghs are more (ironically) "subtle" or "marginal" (although they can still have a tremendous impact) than many other psychic disciplines/practises because such effects are much more achievable and thus likely to both happen and succeed, which makes it easier to believe that it will happen again and/or keep happening, which focuses/directs and channels/empowers the Waagh field to keep doing what it is doing (e.g. increase likelihood of hits, marginally improving equipment/vehicle performance and durability, partially [but not in every instance!] "filling in the gaps" of more sophisticated technology to help it run better or at all, empowering certain colours with specific attributes), thus creating a feedback loop of belief -> feeding Waagh -> causing believed effect -> confirming belief -> repeat, although that will quickly run into a ceiling as Ork souls (like other 40k souls) can't infinitely keep scaling greater and greater belief to pour into the Warp, and although that power ceiling increases with more Orks a ceiling on what the Waagh can do still remains (even theoretically in a universe where all Orks are totally and immediately convinced and believe that whatever phenomena they want to happen will happen, let alone practically when you consider how difficult even the most charismatic and powerful Warboss would find convincing Orks that are innately fractious and strongly driven by instinct/innate biological programming).
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Chapter 74 - Deus Vivus
Day 139
Ellen stepped into the Cathedral. Not even half a year ago, she'd have been met by the sounds of vox-choirs, the smell of incense and sacred oil thick in the air, and the screamed adulations of countless flagellants as they slashed at their own flesh in honor of the God-Emperor. She'd have seen thousands of worshippers crowded into the hall, pressed together like cattle in pens of flesh and stone, led in prayers through the day and the night by Dogmata and Ministorum Priests. She'd have felt the thunderous exaltations in her bones, felt her teeth rattle inside her mouth, and her own lips would have opened to join the cries.
Instead, only silence and an empty hall greeted her. The great chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, the torches that lined the walls, all had gone cold, the wicks all burned to cinder and left unreplaced. Where servitor Cherubs would have floated across the air as if carried by their wings rather than internal anti-gravitic generators, now only darkness hung, shrouding the Cathedral's ceiling. The podiums where holy men with vox-emitters would have screeched the sacred words of the Lectito Divinitatus were empty, gathering dust.
As she walked further into the silent Cathedral, the only sound was the clack of her own boots. At the very back, upon a raised platform made of a single piece of solid marble, was a monument to the God-Emperor, wreathed in His holy armor and wielding a flaming sword, wrought from gold and embedded with the skulls of the faithful. Even it had begun to gather dust, a horrific sacrilege that had her stomach churning.
She came to a halt at the base of its platform, as far as she dared to venture. The statue was so tall she had to crane her neck to see the doubled-headed eagle-emblazoned chest plate. Everything above that had vanished in the dark. She stayed like that for a time, trying to make out the face of the God-Emperor.
She heard the rustle of cloth and turned to find herself face-to-face with Serrita Adelus, dressed in a simple green tunic and robes. Where once a righteous fury and zealous defiance had raged in the woman's eyes, now they seemed calmed, like pools of ice.
"Catherine," the former Legatine greeted with a simple nod.
"I suppose he told you I'd be coming," Ellen said, but Serrita just shook her head.
"No. I simply heard someone enter." Ellen suspected she was lying.
"Your Order has fallen far," Ellen said, as if noting the weather. She gestured around her. "The state of your Cathedral alone would be reason enough for me to have you all executed."
"You are free to issue the orders," Serrita replied, a small smile of amusement momentarily crossing her face. Ellen glared at the heretic. She tried to call on the fury of the Emperor, the rage and hate for those that defied His name that burned in all His faithful, but little came of it.
"Did you need something, Legatine?" Ellen finally asked, saying the title like it was a curse. Serrita just tilted her head.
"Did you?" She countered. "I am not the one who made the journey from the Governor's Palace to our home."
Ellen straightened. "I go where I please."
Serrita tilted her head, another ghost of a smile on her face. "Thanks to Tide."
Her lips curled upwards into almost a snarl. "I am an Inquisitor. My authority is unlimited."
"Does Selvik see it that way? Last I heard, you were under house arrest."
Ellen felt her cheeks warm a touch. "He would not dare defy a direct order from the Inquisition."
"Are you still an Inquisitor?"
"Of course I am!" Ellen said, but her words sounded weak. Serrita held her gaze for a moment longer, than shrugged.
"If you say so," she said, before turning and starting off towards the side entrance she had presumably come from.
"W-wait!" Ellen started. She was not used to people just walking away from her.
Serrita halted, but only turned halfway around to look at her, clearly waiting.
"Your Sisters have been going out into the hive city," Ellen said finally. "They have been… preaching in Tide's name."
"Yes."
"You… You know?"
Serrita tilted her head again. "Evidently."
Ellen stared at the woman. "Do you… Are you a part of it?"
"I am, though not all my Sisters believe."
It was such an easy admission of heresy and treachery that Ellen was stunned into silence for a moment, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to form the right words.
"Do you not see his deception?" Ellen asked, genuinely astounded. "He claims to not be a god, but he allows worship of himself! How long until he demands it?"
"Like the God-Emperor demands worship?" Serrita countered.
"That's different."
"How?"
"The God-Emperor is a god!"
"Perhaps. You should ask Tide some time about what he knows about the Emperor."
"I would not trust a word of whatever heretical lies he claims as the truth!" Ellen hissed.
Serrita just shrugged again. "If you say so," she said again. She tilted her head again, as if a thought had suddenly struck her. "Did you… come down here to warn us?"
Ellen grimaced. "If I have heard of your activities, you can know that Selvik has as well. He may not have proper respect or fear for the Inquisition, but he is faithful to the God-Emperor. He will not permit this sacrilege."
Serrita's brow arched in an unimpressed look. "The only reason Selvik is still governor of this world is because Tide has chosen not to take on the role of governing this world, despite my requests."
Ellen stared at the woman in horror. "You've asked him to rule Monstrum?!?"
"He would do a better job of it than we have," Serrita said. "How many suffer under Selvik's rule needlessly? It would be a better world that is ruled by a kind and loving god."
"Suffering is good for the soul," Ellen said, almost automatically.
"Is it?" Serrita asked. "From what I can tell, all it does is weaken us and feed our enemies."
Ellen sneered. "I hear your voice, but his words."
Serrita laughed, actually laughed at her. "Catherine, everything we ever were was the same as those who came before us. Zealots, performing out duties, never expecting or wanting anything else. Your own words have been repeated for ten thousand years."
Serrita turned to stare up at the statue of the God-Emperor.
"I love my Sisters. I burned my life for their sake and for His. How many gave their lives in service to a god who doesn't care?"
"It is our duty as servants of Mankind!" Ellen said through gritted teeth. Serrita just leveled a cool gaze towards her.
"And what if I want more than that for my Sisters and for myself?"
"Selfishness!"
"Maybe," Serrita admitted, dipping her head. "But in these last few months, I have felt more alive than I ever did in service to the God-Emperor." She placed a fist over her heart. "Tide is within us all, Catherine. He is a living god, but more than anything, he is a kind god."
"He is not a god!" Ellen cried out, finally finding her fury. Her fingers inched towards her waist, as if to grab a pistol that wasn't there. Serrita saw the motion, but made no remark on it. Instead, her eyes flicked over to the space past Ellen. The Inquisitor turned around, half-expecting an impending attack, only to see another Sister, this one in a grey robe.
"Humorously enough, Tide agrees with you more than Serrita here, Catherine," Evelayn Praxiah said, coming to a stop a few meters away. "In fact, I have to wonder sometimes whether Serrita here is so vocal in her worship of Tide precisely because it annoys him."
Serrita laughed again, good-naturedly. "Perhaps," she said, mischievously.
Ellen stared at the former Legatine, uncomprehending. She mocked the god she claimed to worship?
"Thank you for coming by, Catherine," Praxiah said, drawing the Inquisitor's attention back to the former Canoness. "The warning is appreciated, if unnecessary. Selvik may scurry around for a time, but his efforts to stop Serrita and her preachers will ultimately be fruitless."
"Because of Tide's manipulations," Ellen said.
"I prefer 'divine intervention' myself," Serrita noted, with another grin. "But, yes, Tide is quite protective of religious worship. We're hardly the only new one to form in recent days."
"Do you think Monstrum dwells within a dimension all its own?" Ellen asked, horrified by how cavalier the woman spoke of such rampant heresy. "When the wider Imperium learns of what has occurred, this world will burn!"
"The Flood protects," Serrita said, only the barest hint of irony in her voice.
"Tide has shown he is powerful enough to protect the people of this world," Praxiah said. "I would have thought you'd know that better than anyone."
"He cannot stand against all the Imperium's might!" Ellen bit back.
"He didn't stand against the Imperium here," Serrita said. "He did not fire a single shot at any of us. He still won."
"We recognize it won't be an easy road, Ellen," Praxiah said, taking a few steps forward to place a hand on the Inquisitor's shoulder. Ellen flinched at the touch, despite herself. "But look at what has happened to Monstrum, look at what has been done for its people. I believe Tide when he says he is not a god, but is this not a better life?"
"Better to die in the Emperor's name than live for oneself," Ellen said.
"I'm not living for myself, Ellen," Praxiah replied, her hand falling away. She nodded towards Serrita. "I'm living for her. For my sisters. For my people. Even for you."
Ellen backed away towards the exit. "It was a mistake to come here. To think to warn you at all."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Serrita shrugged. "If you ever feel like coming back, you have a standing invitation to my sermons."
"You are always welcome here, Catherine," Praxiiah said. "If you ever wish to talk, simply ask."
Ellen turned and ran from the Cathedral.
"This heresy cannot be allowed to go unanswered!" Missionary Zandrix cried out. "Twice now, Monstrum has been infested with traitors! We may have broken their backs, but the God-Emperor's will has been left incomplete! The purging of Janus, Eris, and Ate, all must be cleansed if the rot is to be prevented from taking hold! Already, their sickness has spread to other hives, once clean and austere in their faith!"
"The Missionary is correct, governor," Confessor Cardilan said, nodding gravely. "Attendance at the Ecclesiarchy's sermons have been decreasing ever since the first signs of these traitors appeared. Now, only a handful continue to attend, yet the Arbites and Defense Force remain immobilized."
Selvik's eyes narrowed at the slight accusation in the man's voice. He sat in a side-room to his throne room, as it happened the same one he'd entertained the Inquisitor's pet psyker in some months prior. He folded thin fingers between one another, resting his chin atop them as he leaned forward in his seat.
"Perhaps you should send our your own forces, Confessor," Selvik said. "The Sororitas have returned to Deimos, have they not?"
"It is the duty of all His servants to purge the heretic and the traitor wherever they may be found!" Missionary Zandrix said, but Selvik didn't pay him any mind.
Cardilan straightened slightly, a note of nervousness that was quickly hidden under more zeal. "This issue is planetwide, Governor. The Sororitas lack the military power to enact such a cleansing."
"Do they?" Selvik asked, leaning back, one brow arching in plain disbelief. "They did not seem to have a manpower shortage when dealing with those hives you mentioned. Hives that they left virtually untouched after capturing, if I recall correctly."
Zandrix bristled at Selvik's words, but Cardilan spoke first. "The Order of the Cleansing Rains had their reasons for refraining from enacting a purge on their own."
"Such as?"
"They wished to ensure permission was granted first," Cardilan offered, but Selvik just laughed.
"They reinterpret an Inquisitor's orders to remain in defense of Deimos and you say they were waiting for my permission?" Selvik asked, shaking his head. "Do better, Confessor."
This time, both priests seemed rankled by his comment, another flash of nervousness crossing over Cardilan's face. Selvik's smile grew slightly.
"Well, I suppose they should be commended for their loyalty to the God-Emperor's appointed ruler of this world," Selvik began, checking his nails for any dirt as he did so. "Very well. I grant the Order of the Cleansing Rains permission to enact a purge upon the heretical and suspected heretical elements within the hives of Janus, Ate, and Eris. I'll have the necessary documents drawn up and rites enacted by the end of the week. Are we finished?"
Cardilan was quite for a moment, clearly mulling over the exact specifications of Selvik's words, looking for any possible loopholes. "And… will we receive support from the PDF and Arbites?"
Selvik tilted his head. "I'm afraid that due to the wars, our numbers are rather depleted. I cannot in good conscience order the defenders of the God-Emperor's realm away from their duty, even in a mission so holy as yours."
"That is-!" Zandrix began to rise from his seat, but Cardilan's hand reached out and grabbed the man's arm, forcing him back to his seat.
"But?" Cardilan asked expectantly. Selvik smiled.
"But you are free to ask the local governors if they are willing to provide forces for the effort. Malum has an excess of troops, if I am not mistaken."
"They operated quite closely with the Sisters in their campaign against the heretical hives," Cardilan said, his voice forcibly kept neutral.
"Then they should have plenty of experience already in your methods," Selvik said, studying the man's face closely. "Unless…?"
"Unless?" Cardilan repeated, a third flash of discomfort crossing his face.
"It has been some time since I spoke with Canoness Praxiah," Selvik said. "Perhaps we should invite her to this conversation? Since it will be her Order carrying out this directive."
"That… won't be necessary," Cardilan said guardedly. "She is quite busy preparing for the purge."
"Indeed?" Selvik asked. "But that is what one's subordinates are for, isn't it?"
"There are some things that must be done personally," Cardilan said.
"How true," Selvik replied, nodding. "Such as accepting permission from a Planetary Governor."
"I… I don't believe she needs to attend the ceremony, its rather-."
"Oh, but she does," Selvik said, his smile remaining fixed to his face, but his voice taking on a harder edge. "I would hate for the Administratum to be disrupted in its own holy work because a Canoness decided she was above the systems put into place by the God-Emperor's own hand."
Zandrix was nearly frothing at the mouth, but Cardilan swallowed. "I am sure she does not view herself as such."
"Good, then there will be no issue with her attendance," Selvik said, pausing for a moment before adding, as if it had just occurred to him. "Unless, of course, she could not attend for some other reason?"
"Other reason?" Cardilan repeated, his jaw clenched.
"For example, if she were to be sick or unwell in some other manner?" Selvik suggested, almost helpfully. Cardilan latched onto the idea immediately.
"Y-yes, I'm afraid… I'm afraid she came down with an unfortunate sickness during the campaign," Cardilan said. "It's taken her out of commission. It is rather embarrassing for someone in her position, so I'd hoped to keep it quiet."
"Well, in that case she most certainly must come to the palace," Selvik said, rising from his seat and clapping his hands together loud enough to make the Confessor flinch. The man blinked in surprise. "My biologi are the best on Monstrum, they will surely get her back to fighting shape in no time, regardless of what this sickness is."
"I'm… afraid it may not be that simple," Cardilan said slowly, realizing he'd been tricked.
"Nonsense, I'm sure whatever it is can't be that bad," Selvik said, smiling. "If you're worried about confidentiality, worry not, none of my biologi have voice boxes anymore. And physical sickness is within their realm of purging, just as any spiritual one is within your realm." He stopped, fixing them with a look. "It is a physical sickness, is it not?"
"Of course!" Cardilan said, looking genuinely aghast at the suggestion. Selvik almost believed him.
"Then what's the trouble?" He asked, returning to his seat and crossing one leg over the other.
"It is… a very contagious sickness," Cardilan said. "Many of the Sisters and their serfs have been stricken with it. They prefer to deal with it themselves, through prayers to the God-Emperor."
"I see," Selvik said, nodding in understanding. "Well then, I'm afraid the purge will have to wait."
"What?!?" Zandrix shouted, rising from his seat like a lightning bolt. "To allow it to continue is heresy!!!"
"Confessor," Selvik said, his voice containing false joviality. "If I didn't know better, I'd think one of your subordinates was accusing me of something."
"He misspoke," Cardilan said quickly. "Missionary, return to the palace-cathedral."
"Perhaps he should go to the Cathedral of the Cleansing Rains," Selvik suggested. "His faith is fiery. It may be of aid to the Sisters."
Zandrix seemed outright horrified by the idea, while Cardilan looked at Selvik searchingly. "… Perhaps," he said after a time. "I will have to consider it."
"Of course," Selvik said, nodding. "You are the expert on matters of faith. I'm sure you can understand that the God-Emperor's work cannot be rushed, nor can it ignore His decrees. Once the Canoness is well again, send her here and we can begin the purging at once."
"As you wish, governor," Cardilan said, rising from his seat. Both men soon departed after that, leaving Selvik in a seemingly empty room. He let out a long sigh.
"Well? What do you think?" He asked. A hidden compartment in the room slid open and a man dressed in long robes decorated with various sigils of arcane origins, bent over and clutching a staff topped with a ruby-red gem that shone with psychic power. His eyes were milky white with blindness, his skin sagging with age, and he hobbled forwards.
"You don't need my powers to know," Anvathan said, a touch of annoyance in his voice, which was surprisingly strong and light for someone so ancient-looking.
"Tell me anyways."
"The Canoness is a source of great discomfort for them," the aged psyker said. "They fear you learning more about whatever is happening with her."
"And the Sisterhood?"
"And the Sisterhood."
Selvik let out another long sigh. "They are usually better at hiding their true thoughts, or they'd never have risen to those positions. Is what is happening truly so dire to distract and disturb them to that degree?"
"I do not know," Anvathan replied, the annoyance returning. "Ask them, and perhaps I will get a better idea."
Selvik rolled his eyes. "You have been proving yourself less and less useful as of late, psyker."
Anvathan snorted. "You have been proving yourself more and more foolish as of late, governor. Going against an Inquisitor could have lasting consequences for you and this world. Making enemies of the Ecclesiarchy like this, doubly so."
"Their power is weakened," Selvik said. "Their control over the Sororitas is fractured, that much we know. Without the Cleansing Rains, they are a rabble of old men in robes and hats shouting words from an old book. Without even a mob to listen to those words, they aren't even a rabble."
"Perhaps," Anvathan admitted.
Selvik's eyes slid over to him. "You are being rather unhelpful. 'Perhaps', 'could', these words are strange to hear from you."
"The future is clouded by the Great Rift's opening," Anvathan said for what must have been the dozenth time.
"Didn't you tell me things were calming down?" Selvik asked, a hint of his frustration leaking into his voice, not that it would have been necessary for the psyker to know of it.
"Only in this part of the Sea of Souls," Anvathan said, wrinkling his nose. "For what reason, I have yet to divine. Before that happens, I cannot predict the future as I normally could."
"I should have sought out a tarot reader," Selvik muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Anvathan scoffed.
"A few cards cannot compare to the insight I provide," Anvathan stated.
"You aren't providing much insight," Selvik countered. "When was the last time you had something helpful for me?"
"It is not my fault you misuse my talents," Anvathan replied bitterly. "And I told you of that Inquisitor's pet wanting to meet with you but not truly having any reason to speak to you."
"Yes, and what else?" Selvik asked, waiting a moment. "That's right, nothing! She could have been an assassin for all you know."
"Please," Anvathan said dismissively. "I would have sensed any intention to kill. And even if she was planning to do so, you were never in any danger with my presence."
"If only I could believe that," Selvik muttered again. "Did you detect whether he was telling the truth about the sickness?"
"He is lying that it is a physical ailment," Anvathan said. "Though if he truly believes it to be a mental or spiritual one, I cannot say."
"Of course not."
"He does believe it to be contagious," Anvathan added. "He was telling the truth when he said it had affected many of them."
Selvik leaned back into his seat. "And Zandrix?"
Anvathan snorted. "His head is emptier than one of your citizen's stomachs."
"Not so empty these days, I hear," Selvik said, rubbing his face with his hands. "What with all those strange fruits showing up."
"Lots of strangeness these days," Anvathan agreed.
"Stranger than under my father's rule?"
"Far stranger," Anvathan said. "Stranger than his father's as well."
"I suppose I am simply cursed."
"Nonsense," Anvathan said, with a confident shake of his head, sending loose tassels of unkempt hair flying. "I would have sensed it."
Selvik rolled his eyes once again. "Like you 'sensed' the coming darkness to this world?"
"Prophesized," Anvathan corrected testily. "And I was right."
"You said a coming darkness," Selvik all but cried out. "Not… what, half-a-dozen? I've lost track."
"I said the coming darkness," Anvathan replied. "Regardless, that prophecy is no longer viable in any case."
"Oh, wonderful," Selvik said. "So, not only are you currently useless, but your past self is also useless now."
Anvathan's lips thinned out. "You are much ruder than your ancestors."
"You are of much less help to me than you were them, or so I've heard," Selvik bit back. "The Ecclesiarchy are not my only problem. The Administratum is clamoring that I do something about the growing unrest in the lower hive levels. They say there are reports of workers staying home, refusing to work, yet production levels are up rather than down. Someone is lying. Find out who."
"Bring them in for a conversation and I'll tell you," Anvathan said. "As I said, my foresight is… diminished, for the moment."
Selvik groaned, when a thought suddenly struck him. That colonel from Malum, the rude one. He might know something about what was happening with the Sisters. Perhaps a personal summons for that… what was it, Agarpa? No, Agrippa, that was it. Perhaps a personal summons from the planetary governor for Agrippa would get him talking.
Selvik suddenly noted that Anvathan was staring at him rather intently, despite being blind. "What?"
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
Anvathan's eyes narrowed. "I… Nothing. I thought I felt something, is all."
Selvik's brow arched slightly, a hint of concern leaking into his heart. "Something like what?"
Anvathan was quiet for a time, jaw working. "I… do not know," he said at last. "Like you just had a… visitor."
"A visitor?" Selvik asked, scoffing. "Yes, yes I did. Two in fact."
"Indeed, governor," Anvathan said, nodding almost apologetically. "My mind… is not what it once was."
"At last something we agree upon," Selvik said, before rising and departing from the room, shaking his head in annoyance as he tried to ignore the headache.
Anvathan watched him leave, eyes following him with sight they did not have.
Ellen stepped into the Cathedral. Not even half a year ago, she'd have been met by the sounds of vox-choirs, the smell of incense and sacred oil thick in the air, and the screamed adulations of countless flagellants as they slashed at their own flesh in honor of the God-Emperor. She'd have seen thousands of worshippers crowded into the hall, pressed together like cattle in pens of flesh and stone, led in prayers through the day and the night by Dogmata and Ministorum Priests. She'd have felt the thunderous exaltations in her bones, felt her teeth rattle inside her mouth, and her own lips would have opened to join the cries.
Instead, only silence and an empty hall greeted her. The great chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, the torches that lined the walls, all had gone cold, the wicks all burned to cinder and left unreplaced. Where servitor Cherubs would have floated across the air as if carried by their wings rather than internal anti-gravitic generators, now only darkness hung, shrouding the Cathedral's ceiling. The podiums where holy men with vox-emitters would have screeched the sacred words of the Lectito Divinitatus were empty, gathering dust.
As she walked further into the silent Cathedral, the only sound was the clack of her own boots. At the very back, upon a raised platform made of a single piece of solid marble, was a monument to the God-Emperor, wreathed in His holy armor and wielding a flaming sword, wrought from gold and embedded with the skulls of the faithful. Even it had begun to gather dust, a horrific sacrilege that had her stomach churning.
She came to a halt at the base of its platform, as far as she dared to venture. The statue was so tall she had to crane her neck to see the doubled-headed eagle-emblazoned chest plate. Everything above that had vanished in the dark. She stayed like that for a time, trying to make out the face of the God-Emperor.
She heard the rustle of cloth and turned to find herself face-to-face with Serrita Adelus, dressed in a simple green tunic and robes. Where once a righteous fury and zealous defiance had raged in the woman's eyes, now they seemed calmed, like pools of ice.
"Catherine," the former Legatine greeted with a simple nod.
"I suppose he told you I'd be coming," Ellen said, but Serrita just shook her head.
"No. I simply heard someone enter." Ellen suspected she was lying.
"Your Order has fallen far," Ellen said, as if noting the weather. She gestured around her. "The state of your Cathedral alone would be reason enough for me to have you all executed."
"You are free to issue the orders," Serrita replied, a small smile of amusement momentarily crossing her face. Ellen glared at the heretic. She tried to call on the fury of the Emperor, the rage and hate for those that defied His name that burned in all His faithful, but little came of it.
"Did you need something, Legatine?" Ellen finally asked, saying the title like it was a curse. Serrita just tilted her head.
"Did you?" She countered. "I am not the one who made the journey from the Governor's Palace to our home."
Ellen straightened. "I go where I please."
Serrita tilted her head, another ghost of a smile on her face. "Thanks to Tide."
Her lips curled upwards into almost a snarl. "I am an Inquisitor. My authority is unlimited."
"Does Selvik see it that way? Last I heard, you were under house arrest."
Ellen felt her cheeks warm a touch. "He would not dare defy a direct order from the Inquisition."
"Are you still an Inquisitor?"
"Of course I am!" Ellen said, but her words sounded weak. Serrita held her gaze for a moment longer, than shrugged.
"If you say so," she said, before turning and starting off towards the side entrance she had presumably come from.
"W-wait!" Ellen started. She was not used to people just walking away from her.
Serrita halted, but only turned halfway around to look at her, clearly waiting.
"Your Sisters have been going out into the hive city," Ellen said finally. "They have been… preaching in Tide's name."
"Yes."
"You… You know?"
Serrita tilted her head again. "Evidently."
Ellen stared at the woman. "Do you… Are you a part of it?"
"I am, though not all my Sisters believe."
It was such an easy admission of heresy and treachery that Ellen was stunned into silence for a moment, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to form the right words.
"Do you not see his deception?" Ellen asked, genuinely astounded. "He claims to not be a god, but he allows worship of himself! How long until he demands it?"
"Like the God-Emperor demands worship?" Serrita countered.
"That's different."
"How?"
"The God-Emperor is a god!"
"Perhaps. You should ask Tide some time about what he knows about the Emperor."
"I would not trust a word of whatever heretical lies he claims as the truth!" Ellen hissed.
Serrita just shrugged again. "If you say so," she said again. She tilted her head again, as if a thought had suddenly struck her. "Did you… come down here to warn us?"
Ellen grimaced. "If I have heard of your activities, you can know that Selvik has as well. He may not have proper respect or fear for the Inquisition, but he is faithful to the God-Emperor. He will not permit this sacrilege."
Serrita's brow arched in an unimpressed look. "The only reason Selvik is still governor of this world is because Tide has chosen not to take on the role of governing this world, despite my requests."
Ellen stared at the woman in horror. "You've asked him to rule Monstrum?!?"
"He would do a better job of it than we have," Serrita said. "How many suffer under Selvik's rule needlessly? It would be a better world that is ruled by a kind and loving god."
"Suffering is good for the soul," Ellen said, almost automatically.
"Is it?" Serrita asked. "From what I can tell, all it does is weaken us and feed our enemies."
Ellen sneered. "I hear your voice, but his words."
Serrita laughed, actually laughed at her. "Catherine, everything we ever were was the same as those who came before us. Zealots, performing out duties, never expecting or wanting anything else. Your own words have been repeated for ten thousand years."
Serrita turned to stare up at the statue of the God-Emperor.
"I love my Sisters. I burned my life for their sake and for His. How many gave their lives in service to a god who doesn't care?"
"It is our duty as servants of Mankind!" Ellen said through gritted teeth. Serrita just leveled a cool gaze towards her.
"And what if I want more than that for my Sisters and for myself?"
"Selfishness!"
"Maybe," Serrita admitted, dipping her head. "But in these last few months, I have felt more alive than I ever did in service to the God-Emperor." She placed a fist over her heart. "Tide is within us all, Catherine. He is a living god, but more than anything, he is a kind god."
"He is not a god!" Ellen cried out, finally finding her fury. Her fingers inched towards her waist, as if to grab a pistol that wasn't there. Serrita saw the motion, but made no remark on it. Instead, her eyes flicked over to the space past Ellen. The Inquisitor turned around, half-expecting an impending attack, only to see another Sister, this one in a grey robe.
"Humorously enough, Tide agrees with you more than Serrita here, Catherine," Evelayn Praxiah said, coming to a stop a few meters away. "In fact, I have to wonder sometimes whether Serrita here is so vocal in her worship of Tide precisely because it annoys him."
Serrita laughed again, good-naturedly. "Perhaps," she said, mischievously.
Ellen stared at the former Legatine, uncomprehending. She mocked the god she claimed to worship?
"Thank you for coming by, Catherine," Praxiah said, drawing the Inquisitor's attention back to the former Canoness. "The warning is appreciated, if unnecessary. Selvik may scurry around for a time, but his efforts to stop Serrita and her preachers will ultimately be fruitless."
"Because of Tide's manipulations," Ellen said.
"I prefer 'divine intervention' myself," Serrita noted, with another grin. "But, yes, Tide is quite protective of religious worship. We're hardly the only new one to form in recent days."
"Do you think Monstrum dwells within a dimension all its own?" Ellen asked, horrified by how cavalier the woman spoke of such rampant heresy. "When the wider Imperium learns of what has occurred, this world will burn!"
"The Flood protects," Serrita said, only the barest hint of irony in her voice.
"Tide has shown he is powerful enough to protect the people of this world," Praxiah said. "I would have thought you'd know that better than anyone."
"He cannot stand against all the Imperium's might!" Ellen bit back.
"He didn't stand against the Imperium here," Serrita said. "He did not fire a single shot at any of us. He still won."
"We recognize it won't be an easy road, Ellen," Praxiah said, taking a few steps forward to place a hand on the Inquisitor's shoulder. Ellen flinched at the touch, despite herself. "But look at what has happened to Monstrum, look at what has been done for its people. I believe Tide when he says he is not a god, but is this not a better life?"
"Better to die in the Emperor's name than live for oneself," Ellen said.
"I'm not living for myself, Ellen," Praxiah replied, her hand falling away. She nodded towards Serrita. "I'm living for her. For my sisters. For my people. Even for you."
Ellen backed away towards the exit. "It was a mistake to come here. To think to warn you at all."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Serrita shrugged. "If you ever feel like coming back, you have a standing invitation to my sermons."
"You are always welcome here, Catherine," Praxiiah said. "If you ever wish to talk, simply ask."
Ellen turned and ran from the Cathedral.
"This heresy cannot be allowed to go unanswered!" Missionary Zandrix cried out. "Twice now, Monstrum has been infested with traitors! We may have broken their backs, but the God-Emperor's will has been left incomplete! The purging of Janus, Eris, and Ate, all must be cleansed if the rot is to be prevented from taking hold! Already, their sickness has spread to other hives, once clean and austere in their faith!"
"The Missionary is correct, governor," Confessor Cardilan said, nodding gravely. "Attendance at the Ecclesiarchy's sermons have been decreasing ever since the first signs of these traitors appeared. Now, only a handful continue to attend, yet the Arbites and Defense Force remain immobilized."
Selvik's eyes narrowed at the slight accusation in the man's voice. He sat in a side-room to his throne room, as it happened the same one he'd entertained the Inquisitor's pet psyker in some months prior. He folded thin fingers between one another, resting his chin atop them as he leaned forward in his seat.
"Perhaps you should send our your own forces, Confessor," Selvik said. "The Sororitas have returned to Deimos, have they not?"
"It is the duty of all His servants to purge the heretic and the traitor wherever they may be found!" Missionary Zandrix said, but Selvik didn't pay him any mind.
Cardilan straightened slightly, a note of nervousness that was quickly hidden under more zeal. "This issue is planetwide, Governor. The Sororitas lack the military power to enact such a cleansing."
"Do they?" Selvik asked, leaning back, one brow arching in plain disbelief. "They did not seem to have a manpower shortage when dealing with those hives you mentioned. Hives that they left virtually untouched after capturing, if I recall correctly."
Zandrix bristled at Selvik's words, but Cardilan spoke first. "The Order of the Cleansing Rains had their reasons for refraining from enacting a purge on their own."
"Such as?"
"They wished to ensure permission was granted first," Cardilan offered, but Selvik just laughed.
"They reinterpret an Inquisitor's orders to remain in defense of Deimos and you say they were waiting for my permission?" Selvik asked, shaking his head. "Do better, Confessor."
This time, both priests seemed rankled by his comment, another flash of nervousness crossing over Cardilan's face. Selvik's smile grew slightly.
"Well, I suppose they should be commended for their loyalty to the God-Emperor's appointed ruler of this world," Selvik began, checking his nails for any dirt as he did so. "Very well. I grant the Order of the Cleansing Rains permission to enact a purge upon the heretical and suspected heretical elements within the hives of Janus, Ate, and Eris. I'll have the necessary documents drawn up and rites enacted by the end of the week. Are we finished?"
Cardilan was quite for a moment, clearly mulling over the exact specifications of Selvik's words, looking for any possible loopholes. "And… will we receive support from the PDF and Arbites?"
Selvik tilted his head. "I'm afraid that due to the wars, our numbers are rather depleted. I cannot in good conscience order the defenders of the God-Emperor's realm away from their duty, even in a mission so holy as yours."
"That is-!" Zandrix began to rise from his seat, but Cardilan's hand reached out and grabbed the man's arm, forcing him back to his seat.
"But?" Cardilan asked expectantly. Selvik smiled.
"But you are free to ask the local governors if they are willing to provide forces for the effort. Malum has an excess of troops, if I am not mistaken."
"They operated quite closely with the Sisters in their campaign against the heretical hives," Cardilan said, his voice forcibly kept neutral.
"Then they should have plenty of experience already in your methods," Selvik said, studying the man's face closely. "Unless…?"
"Unless?" Cardilan repeated, a third flash of discomfort crossing his face.
"It has been some time since I spoke with Canoness Praxiah," Selvik said. "Perhaps we should invite her to this conversation? Since it will be her Order carrying out this directive."
"That… won't be necessary," Cardilan said guardedly. "She is quite busy preparing for the purge."
"Indeed?" Selvik asked. "But that is what one's subordinates are for, isn't it?"
"There are some things that must be done personally," Cardilan said.
"How true," Selvik replied, nodding. "Such as accepting permission from a Planetary Governor."
"I… I don't believe she needs to attend the ceremony, its rather-."
"Oh, but she does," Selvik said, his smile remaining fixed to his face, but his voice taking on a harder edge. "I would hate for the Administratum to be disrupted in its own holy work because a Canoness decided she was above the systems put into place by the God-Emperor's own hand."
Zandrix was nearly frothing at the mouth, but Cardilan swallowed. "I am sure she does not view herself as such."
"Good, then there will be no issue with her attendance," Selvik said, pausing for a moment before adding, as if it had just occurred to him. "Unless, of course, she could not attend for some other reason?"
"Other reason?" Cardilan repeated, his jaw clenched.
"For example, if she were to be sick or unwell in some other manner?" Selvik suggested, almost helpfully. Cardilan latched onto the idea immediately.
"Y-yes, I'm afraid… I'm afraid she came down with an unfortunate sickness during the campaign," Cardilan said. "It's taken her out of commission. It is rather embarrassing for someone in her position, so I'd hoped to keep it quiet."
"Well, in that case she most certainly must come to the palace," Selvik said, rising from his seat and clapping his hands together loud enough to make the Confessor flinch. The man blinked in surprise. "My biologi are the best on Monstrum, they will surely get her back to fighting shape in no time, regardless of what this sickness is."
"I'm… afraid it may not be that simple," Cardilan said slowly, realizing he'd been tricked.
"Nonsense, I'm sure whatever it is can't be that bad," Selvik said, smiling. "If you're worried about confidentiality, worry not, none of my biologi have voice boxes anymore. And physical sickness is within their realm of purging, just as any spiritual one is within your realm." He stopped, fixing them with a look. "It is a physical sickness, is it not?"
"Of course!" Cardilan said, looking genuinely aghast at the suggestion. Selvik almost believed him.
"Then what's the trouble?" He asked, returning to his seat and crossing one leg over the other.
"It is… a very contagious sickness," Cardilan said. "Many of the Sisters and their serfs have been stricken with it. They prefer to deal with it themselves, through prayers to the God-Emperor."
"I see," Selvik said, nodding in understanding. "Well then, I'm afraid the purge will have to wait."
"What?!?" Zandrix shouted, rising from his seat like a lightning bolt. "To allow it to continue is heresy!!!"
"Confessor," Selvik said, his voice containing false joviality. "If I didn't know better, I'd think one of your subordinates was accusing me of something."
"He misspoke," Cardilan said quickly. "Missionary, return to the palace-cathedral."
"Perhaps he should go to the Cathedral of the Cleansing Rains," Selvik suggested. "His faith is fiery. It may be of aid to the Sisters."
Zandrix seemed outright horrified by the idea, while Cardilan looked at Selvik searchingly. "… Perhaps," he said after a time. "I will have to consider it."
"Of course," Selvik said, nodding. "You are the expert on matters of faith. I'm sure you can understand that the God-Emperor's work cannot be rushed, nor can it ignore His decrees. Once the Canoness is well again, send her here and we can begin the purging at once."
"As you wish, governor," Cardilan said, rising from his seat. Both men soon departed after that, leaving Selvik in a seemingly empty room. He let out a long sigh.
"Well? What do you think?" He asked. A hidden compartment in the room slid open and a man dressed in long robes decorated with various sigils of arcane origins, bent over and clutching a staff topped with a ruby-red gem that shone with psychic power. His eyes were milky white with blindness, his skin sagging with age, and he hobbled forwards.
"You don't need my powers to know," Anvathan said, a touch of annoyance in his voice, which was surprisingly strong and light for someone so ancient-looking.
"Tell me anyways."
"The Canoness is a source of great discomfort for them," the aged psyker said. "They fear you learning more about whatever is happening with her."
"And the Sisterhood?"
"And the Sisterhood."
Selvik let out another long sigh. "They are usually better at hiding their true thoughts, or they'd never have risen to those positions. Is what is happening truly so dire to distract and disturb them to that degree?"
"I do not know," Anvathan replied, the annoyance returning. "Ask them, and perhaps I will get a better idea."
Selvik rolled his eyes. "You have been proving yourself less and less useful as of late, psyker."
Anvathan snorted. "You have been proving yourself more and more foolish as of late, governor. Going against an Inquisitor could have lasting consequences for you and this world. Making enemies of the Ecclesiarchy like this, doubly so."
"Their power is weakened," Selvik said. "Their control over the Sororitas is fractured, that much we know. Without the Cleansing Rains, they are a rabble of old men in robes and hats shouting words from an old book. Without even a mob to listen to those words, they aren't even a rabble."
"Perhaps," Anvathan admitted.
Selvik's eyes slid over to him. "You are being rather unhelpful. 'Perhaps', 'could', these words are strange to hear from you."
"The future is clouded by the Great Rift's opening," Anvathan said for what must have been the dozenth time.
"Didn't you tell me things were calming down?" Selvik asked, a hint of his frustration leaking into his voice, not that it would have been necessary for the psyker to know of it.
"Only in this part of the Sea of Souls," Anvathan said, wrinkling his nose. "For what reason, I have yet to divine. Before that happens, I cannot predict the future as I normally could."
"I should have sought out a tarot reader," Selvik muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Anvathan scoffed.
"A few cards cannot compare to the insight I provide," Anvathan stated.
"You aren't providing much insight," Selvik countered. "When was the last time you had something helpful for me?"
"It is not my fault you misuse my talents," Anvathan replied bitterly. "And I told you of that Inquisitor's pet wanting to meet with you but not truly having any reason to speak to you."
"Yes, and what else?" Selvik asked, waiting a moment. "That's right, nothing! She could have been an assassin for all you know."
"Please," Anvathan said dismissively. "I would have sensed any intention to kill. And even if she was planning to do so, you were never in any danger with my presence."
"If only I could believe that," Selvik muttered again. "Did you detect whether he was telling the truth about the sickness?"
"He is lying that it is a physical ailment," Anvathan said. "Though if he truly believes it to be a mental or spiritual one, I cannot say."
"Of course not."
"He does believe it to be contagious," Anvathan added. "He was telling the truth when he said it had affected many of them."
Selvik leaned back into his seat. "And Zandrix?"
Anvathan snorted. "His head is emptier than one of your citizen's stomachs."
"Not so empty these days, I hear," Selvik said, rubbing his face with his hands. "What with all those strange fruits showing up."
"Lots of strangeness these days," Anvathan agreed.
"Stranger than under my father's rule?"
"Far stranger," Anvathan said. "Stranger than his father's as well."
"I suppose I am simply cursed."
"Nonsense," Anvathan said, with a confident shake of his head, sending loose tassels of unkempt hair flying. "I would have sensed it."
Selvik rolled his eyes once again. "Like you 'sensed' the coming darkness to this world?"
"Prophesized," Anvathan corrected testily. "And I was right."
"You said a coming darkness," Selvik all but cried out. "Not… what, half-a-dozen? I've lost track."
"I said the coming darkness," Anvathan replied. "Regardless, that prophecy is no longer viable in any case."
"Oh, wonderful," Selvik said. "So, not only are you currently useless, but your past self is also useless now."
Anvathan's lips thinned out. "You are much ruder than your ancestors."
"You are of much less help to me than you were them, or so I've heard," Selvik bit back. "The Ecclesiarchy are not my only problem. The Administratum is clamoring that I do something about the growing unrest in the lower hive levels. They say there are reports of workers staying home, refusing to work, yet production levels are up rather than down. Someone is lying. Find out who."
"Bring them in for a conversation and I'll tell you," Anvathan said. "As I said, my foresight is… diminished, for the moment."
Selvik groaned, when a thought suddenly struck him. That colonel from Malum, the rude one. He might know something about what was happening with the Sisters. Perhaps a personal summons for that… what was it, Agarpa? No, Agrippa, that was it. Perhaps a personal summons from the planetary governor for Agrippa would get him talking.
Selvik suddenly noted that Anvathan was staring at him rather intently, despite being blind. "What?"
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
Anvathan's eyes narrowed. "I… Nothing. I thought I felt something, is all."
Selvik's brow arched slightly, a hint of concern leaking into his heart. "Something like what?"
Anvathan was quiet for a time, jaw working. "I… do not know," he said at last. "Like you just had a… visitor."
"A visitor?" Selvik asked, scoffing. "Yes, yes I did. Two in fact."
"Indeed, governor," Anvathan said, nodding almost apologetically. "My mind… is not what it once was."
"At last something we agree upon," Selvik said, before rising and departing from the room, shaking his head in annoyance as he tried to ignore the headache.
Anvathan watched him leave, eyes following him with sight they did not have.
Kaernetron
Feuergeist
- Location
- Weit, Weit dort Oben
The chapters containing only non-Tide points of view do certainly further expand the background and characters without being straight up info dumps. An interlude to cleanse the pallet, if you will.
I am honestly of the same opinion when writing these. I really enjoy getting to explore how people act and react, especially when Tide isn't present and drawing attention away from the side characters. In a way, I consider the side characters to be more important from a story-telling point of view than I consider Tide to be, even if Tide is the driving force of the narrative.
I'm interested in the ice creatures and their background. Maybe they're sentient
I kinda feel like this is spinning its wheels at this point. It's still well written, I just think that you have written yourself into a weird position and it's starting to strain credulity. I can't at this point see the story going anywhere except tide just being another side in a many sided battle that ends in abit of a powerwank as he "wins" by beating the other parties. maybe I'm just burned out I'll come back in the future and edit if I change my opinion.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
A more...low level chapter.
Not much to say here.
Seeing more of Ellen is cool.
Though I am admittedly more hung up on the astartes Minecraft walkthrough and the blank plot line than the religious shcism.
Not much to say here.
Seeing more of Ellen is cool.
Though I am admittedly more hung up on the astartes Minecraft walkthrough and the blank plot line than the religious shcism.
Honestly, I think the sooner a purge start the better it would be for the people on this planet.
Finally they can overthrow this oligarchic orthodox emperor worshipping theocracy and get out of there dark age.
I can sense it a revolution is bound to happen...soon.
That's just confirms it. He intentionally is manipulating events to cause a revolution.
You know if he does directly removes these people would only worship him more and would value there individuality far less.
But if they overthrow the theocrats themselves with indirect help from tide they would value freedom and individuality far more...
Also in the second option his worship would explode to because people would prefer the philosophy of tide over a super human warlord who just wants to keep them in misery and brainwash..
A lot of bloodshed is about to happen hehehee
Finally they can overthrow this oligarchic orthodox emperor worshipping theocracy and get out of there dark age.
I can sense it a revolution is bound to happen...soon.
Oh dear tide he is keeping any eye on the governor and the zeaolats it seems.
That's just confirms it. He intentionally is manipulating events to cause a revolution.
You know if he does directly removes these people would only worship him more and would value there individuality far less.
But if they overthrow the theocrats themselves with indirect help from tide they would value freedom and individuality far more...
Also in the second option his worship would explode to because people would prefer the philosophy of tide over a super human warlord who just wants to keep them in misery and brainwash..
A lot of bloodshed is about to happen hehehee
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
The Emperor resents that depiction.
He didn't spend most of his life working in the background for nothing darn it!
yacov
Lurking and sometimes blurting
- Location
- Clogging a drain
That image sounds less appealing than you think it does, Ellen. The two main descriptions for the congregation are "flagellants", and "cattle".
The war against Chaos and its demons is won, but the war for the faith of Monstrum has long since been lost.
Only the desolation remains. The fact that the God-Emperor seems forgotten even in this place seems to be gnawing at Ellen the most. This place is just an empty box with an interesting history.
A god you can laugh and be casual with is pretty incomprehensible in 40K
The fact these clergy have to compete with someone who provides prosperity for the people as well as order is an uphill battle.
The Ecclesiarchy's power more than any other Imperial institution relied on the common man. Without them, the institution crumbles.
Taking a break increases productivity, who could have guessed. Or people have started working outside their assigned industries. Much to the frustration of the bean counters.
Reminds me of a summary of a story I saw on Atomic Rockets. The idea was that humanity had recently invented cheap Star Trek style replicators, and as a result the concept of scarcity completely went out the window. People were paving their roads and driveways in gold, building their dwellings out of the most expensive materials you can think of, etcetera. Anyways, some priest came to the inventors and complained that not many people were coming to church anymore, and blamed them and their invention for it. The inventors agreed, and noted that the reason so many people turn to religion is that it promises something better after life, which can be appealing to people during times of hardship. However, when everyone already has everything they could ever want, people don't need to believe in something better; they already have it.
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Arjac
Retreating Backwards
Yes, though there's a fair chance puppets and hidden pure forms are also pitching in on some of these
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
It's also entirely possible that productivity is up because people aren't perpetually starving anymore and thus are able to work better.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Though to be fair, nowadays the GOD EMPEROR probably can't do that anymore.
Not when he's busy screaming from all the pain and suffering + the endless need to fight against the 4 chaos gods in the Warp.
While the breaks are probably helping a lot, I think the main thing is the people are getting micro-managed better by Tide.
Since the Imperium's greatest weakness is how the Administratum is hell.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
His soul is in far too many pieces to do anything coherent at this point yes; all he can do is sing\scream endlessly into the Warp surrounded by his choir of sacrificed psykers and keep the Astronomicon alight.
The thing that stands out to me the most is how nobody is attending the church sermons anymore which is odd as the common man thinks they're necessary to save their souls. While Tide provides food to the under-hives and more dispossessed the common worker should still be going as Tide doesn't offer anything to their souls. At least, not that they know of. And even with his Domain catching souls that is not necessarily something they'd want or even like. They'd want to go be by the Emperor's side not in Tide's purgatory. I guess my main point is it feels like there not as much social inertia resisting Tide for these big changes as there should be. The Imperium continues to survive due to societal inertia keeping the gears turning and I feel like there's a distinct lack of that opposing Tide.