Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
-
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The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up
- Thread starter Durin
- Start date
- Location
- England
We can't give you data because we are yet to design the monitor carrier. Tbh, I'd consider just strapping the monitors to the sides of capital ships. Might limit our torpedo payload.
I'm really sad that you can't just pull ships on chains like in rouge trader anymore. That would be the perfect solution. (A dauntless pulled 4 frigates, perfectly fine).
- Location
- UK
Unless the conservative elements of the Adeptus Mechanicus pose an existential threat, or we have reason to believe they'd consider striking against us rather than tolerate our 'heresy', then I think a Civil War is a bad idea. It will waste a lot of resources, and leave us very vulnerable to outside aggression. Frankly, this is the sort of situation where we'd probably need to be isolated from the rest of the galaxy by a convenient warp storm. Otherwise we'd still be licking our wounds even as our enemies were kicking down the doors.
That said, I still think there's more we could do to try and marginalise the conservative faction, and either accelerate their decline or halt their resurgence depending upon how things go. There's no point in having access to more advanced technology if we can't use it fully, and the longer the conservatives have influence, the more we'll be handicapping ourselves unnecessarily.
I think we should be trying to actively sponsor an ideological and cultural progressive movement across the entire Imperial Trust. There's something to be learned from real world revolutionary groups like the Young Turks and the Free Officers, which essentially subverted the very institutions which had the power to resist them and their goals. While we'll obviously need to be careful with our language, I think we should particularly be trying to appeal to those who'll form the core of the military and civil leadership in coming years, as well as shifting the discourse of mainstream society across the Imperial Trust. In time, conservatives will be increasingly isolated. In essence, we'd be prepared for a coup if it came to that, but we'd also be hastening the conservatives' natural decline.
That said, I still think there's more we could do to try and marginalise the conservative faction, and either accelerate their decline or halt their resurgence depending upon how things go. There's no point in having access to more advanced technology if we can't use it fully, and the longer the conservatives have influence, the more we'll be handicapping ourselves unnecessarily.
I think we should be trying to actively sponsor an ideological and cultural progressive movement across the entire Imperial Trust. There's something to be learned from real world revolutionary groups like the Young Turks and the Free Officers, which essentially subverted the very institutions which had the power to resist them and their goals. While we'll obviously need to be careful with our language, I think we should particularly be trying to appeal to those who'll form the core of the military and civil leadership in coming years, as well as shifting the discourse of mainstream society across the Imperial Trust. In time, conservatives will be increasingly isolated. In essence, we'd be prepared for a coup if it came to that, but we'd also be hastening the conservatives' natural decline.
ArchAIngel
Sorcerer Supreme.
- Location
- Right behind you.
We tried to do that with Xeno-supporting propaganda, I remember.
Ended up badly.
That sort of shit looks very bad when you try to pull it off and don't do it perfectly.
Ended up badly.
That sort of shit looks very bad when you try to pull it off and don't do it perfectly.
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
sometimes
1. pretty much, the third can be removed for sufficiently senior officers (Admiral or General) or for heroes of the trust
- Location
- United states
You know just because we can't use the tech ourselves doesn't mean we can't use it to trade to other Avernite natives. It's basically building up allies that have a hate on for Chaos and would be great to have around each time a demonic incursion happens. Also again, fuck chaos.
It should also be pointed out that it doesn't always work out and can get the instigator outright killed in retaliation.
- Location
- madison
the first incursion resulted in a civil war that did far more damage than the actual demonic invasion, and it would honestly be peanuts compared to an admech civil war.
see the bad thing about an admech civil war is day zero, the vast majority of our critical industrial infrastructure becomes battlezones. With the feeling that "better broken than taken" possibly appearing on both sides. There will be shooting wars inside our forges! The rest of the trust either intervenes or doesn't, and if the trust can't pick one side to intervene on then the various core worlds will be shooting at each other, and there is nearly no way that doesn't gut our fleet.
the cultist war was bad enough, and that mostly spread by tainting the militia, an admech civil war would have the combatants far more mixed and be fought among far more fragile and valuable things than our fortress hives. You could argue that today the damage would be mostly contained to a few words, but going civil war early would when there was a far more even split on most worlds would have gutted most of our infrastructure once the fires were put out, and left us crippled while the fires were burning.
TLDR: admech civil war means most of our industrial infrastructure shoots itself in the face.
The Divine Comedy
@Durin Yo, I made another omake. This one is pretty long...thus it is going in spoiler. I figure it might be fun to explore Ridcully interacting with the Laughing God and also exploring the Eldrad/Ridcully friendship bit a little more.
Don't know where I got the motivation to write this much, but the idea wouldn't leave my head. So hope people enjoy it. I'll attempt to fix some stuff if it is too glaring.
The Divine Comedy
It was impossible to tell what the current whims of the Gods were, really at any given time. Some were straighter forward than others, but there even the most violent of Warp Gods had some plan in motion or a desire to see played out. There was also a design in place, pieces in play, or even just simple acts of skullduggery.
As with all things, the mortal races were always either the target, victim, or simply caught in the middle of such events. Such was the way of things, especially if a God wanted to create the circumstances or situation that would best suit their goals. For each plot and scheme, each desire or whim, was in some ways a grand showing of their "divinity" upon the mortals. For many, it was just a small and sometimes necessary function.
For others…it was a rather big deal.
---
Ridcully had been in the Healing Sanctuary for the better part of seven months now. He had been healing at a rate that was deemed "acceptable" by the Spirit Healers. He finally been given a little more freedom to roam around and spent more time actually practicing his psychic powers.
Eldrad continued to visit once or twice a month now. For the most part the two of them just generally talked about mundane situations or the current situation outside of the Black Library. All things considered, Ridcully was being told the war against Turoq was now fully under way. The thought of his friends and family not having his help weighed heavily on him, but Eldrad seemed confident that the war was ultimately going to a victory for the Trust. Considering the power that the Empires of Ashes had at its disposal, Ridcully was inclined to agree.
Still he had to take his mind off of the war and that was difficult in this environment. Tonight, or what passed for night in place devoid of such concepts, looked to be another period of finding something to pass the time. This was a lot more difficult than one could imagine, even surrounded by such wonders and people inside such a repository of knowledge. Ridcully did what he could to stave off the boredom.
Naturally he did what he could to more texts or books from the Black Library itself. However the process of checking out a book was a rather exhausting and frustrating endeavor. The Library had to protect its incredibly rare materials and the Harlequins guarded the records with absolute vigilance. The Blind Seer was only able to get books because of his status within the Empire and he was also limited to what he could have access too.
So he was stuck with minor books and oddities. Some were still quite fascinating all the same. A history book of some very minor alien races (all long extinct from what he can tell), collections of short stories, and oddly enough a few play manuscripts. All things considered, they made for excellent reading.
But soon enough, the boredom crept back as he finished reading and even rereading these materials. He found that he missed Avernus in more ways than one, as he honestly started to miss his daily routine back at the Unseen University. Mind you, Ridcully wasn't the best at doing paperwork (and he didn't entire miss it) but his interactions with other instructors and students in regards to teaching was something he dearly missed. It was odd to think about how fast the years went by when he was on Avernus. There was always something to do or something going on with his homeworld.
He idly wondered if he could snag a textbook or two from the library and just spend time writing down his thoughts on the matter. Maybe he even could come up with a new idea for the University. Then again the Eldar were so vague about their teachings and he didn't know how much he could learn even if he had a 100 years and unlimited access to the Library itself.
But as Ridcully pondered such ideas, wondering if one is supposed to get a library pass of all things, his sixth sense started to feel something was off. Ridcully naturally felt the energies around the Sanctuary shift slightly and his time on Avernus had made him also rather paranoid about things. So when he felt the air outside him room starting to stir, he suspected foul play. He had no weapons or armor, but he still had his powers. Of course he didn't want to simply assume that enemies somehow breached the Black Library…so he decided to play it safe and just check on things.
He normally had guards close by and even the trio of Spirit Healers that had been monitoring him were on standby these days. He simply reached out telepathically and tried to commune with any of them.
Nothing. He reached out further and felt…nothing. It wasn't like they were dead, but he felt what could only be described as sleeping thoughts. Already not looking to be a good sign.
He groaned slightly as he got up from his bed. The pain brought by the plagues was start to subside and he did feel a lot better spiritually, but his body felt sluggish and stiff. A part of him bristled at the memory of Eldrad making a suggestion that Ridcully used a bloody cane to move around. He would damn well use his staff, thank you very much. Anyway, as he slowly moved towards the door, he could sense something was off in the Sanctuary. He didn't feel anything that could be considered dangerous, granted the entire Black Library was dangerous if you angered its defenders.
Leaning against the door, he tried to hear for any sounds of battle or struggle. There was nothing, it was quiet and that was normal for the Sanctuary. He slowly opened the door and stepped outside. He didn't sense anything that was aiming to attack him but he didn't sense anything else of interest. He tried to sense if anything was wrong and found that the atmosphere around him was back to normal. The Blind Seer didn't know what to think now, had what he sensed just be all in his head?
Ridcully felt a pull on the back of his mind…he that this was something about to warp into his close proximity. The Blind Seer acted on instinct and a force bolt had naturally formed in his hand as his fight or flight instincts kicked into gear. The bolt was already thrown towards the most likely position his foe would appear at. As expected, a humanoid creature suddenly appeared into existence. It was an Eldar, although he was dressed in a manner that looked akin to a Troupe Master but different.
Barely a second in arriving and the strange Eldar simply tilted his head slightly to the left and the bolt passed harmlessly. Well not exactly harmless as it left a fist sized hole in the wall of Ridcullys room. Before he could attempt to either summon another bolt or yell at his intruder, the supposed Troupe Master began to speak.
"Blind Seer." The Eldar spoke with a voice scrambler enabled. "You have been invited to attend a show. Please follow me." Ridcully was still processing the strange Eldar standing in front of him, inside his room, after nearly striking him with his powers. At this point he was just wondering where the hell his guards were supposed to be.
That said he still tried to make sense of what was happening, "Excuse me, what are you talking about? Who are you? Who sent you?" He gestured towards the smoking hole in his wall, "And are you aware that you are trespassing and I almost decapitated you?!"
Undeterred, the supposed Troupe Master simply shook his head at the Blind Seer. "Please Blind Seer, I am here to bring you to the show."
Ridcully wished he still had eyes so he could roll them, "What bloody show? What does that have to do with any of my questions?"
"It will be explained once we arrive. Let us not languish here for too long." The Blind Seer took a little time to look over this stranger and he realized that he might not be dealing with a Troupe Master.
True, he had the same garb as one. An extremely gorgeous and expertly tailor made coat mixed with their Holo-Suits and adorned with bright colors interwoven among the very threads. However there was something odd about this Eldar's clothing as there was no indication of which Trope he hailed from…and his mask was empty.
Well empty didn't even describe it. The mask itself was like staring into a small mirror that had a black hole contained within the confines of said mirror. Ridcully felt disturbed for looking at it even just a few seconds, feeling a sense of tragedy and sorrow coming from the "face" staring back at him.
The most peculiar thing, aside from the Blackhole Mirror, was small enough that Ridcully almost didn't pick it up. This Eldar had…what looked ethereal strands coming down to his body.
"Please, the show will be starting soon." The Eldar leaned forward now and he was staring directly at Ridcully and bringing him out of his observation…who simply didn't want to keep eye contact anymore.
"I uhh, I'm not exactly dressed for a 'show' as you called it." He was wearing what amounted to a very casual toga/robe. He looked more like a man that had just spent the day lounging in his home, which in a way was true.
"Do not worry Blind Seer. The show cares only for the audience's attention." The Eldar stepped past Ridcully and then gestured for him to follow. At this point it looked as if his questions were going to be unanswered. Ridcully hesitantly followed by the Trope Master and he half expected to find the bodies of the Spirit Healers or his guards or just signs of battle. However what he saw when he encountered the first Spirit Healer was her sleeping on the floor. She looked as if she just decided to take a nap on the ground.
"Fear not Blind Seer, they are unharmed. They are just experiencing the Dreaming at the moment." The Eldar casually remarked as he strode towards the exit. Ridcully only nodded and figured he wouldn't get any answer to any question he might have asked.
As they got closer to the exit…Ridcully saw what he knew to be a form of the Gate ability. The entrance/exit of the Sanctuary was now containing an ornate and gilded looking door. It was open and showed a long hallway that he couldn't make out from his side of the doorway.
The Eldar gestured for him to follow again. The Blind Seer figured he might have been able to run, but he wasn't exactly sure where he could run too. At this point if anything happened, Ridcully was sure he could defend himself even in his present state and condition.
In the end he simply followed.
---
The other side was clearly something made by the Eldar and it looked to be made of the same materials found inside the Webway. So that meant he wasn't back in the Materium. He could even sense the same warp signatures that were unique to the Black Library…so he was most certainly not too far from where the Sanctuary was located.
As he looked around, he could spot all manner of murals, paintings, sculptures, icons, and a host of ancient designs that showcased what he assumed be the Harlequins. This had to be some type of facility for them. It didn't take him much longer to assume that this was something related to the Laughing God. Perhaps he had decided to quit using emissaries and simply decided to "summon" Ridcully to his Domain. But what was this about a show? He kept those thoughts and questions as his silent guide just continued to lead him through this hallway.
The Blind Seer was able to determine that he was looking at what could effectively be a sort of chronology of the Harlequins history. Granted he didn't know exactly how to determine an exact date or even what was happening in some of the images he was seeing. It was only near the end of his walk that he began to notice signs of Slaanesh and its daemonettes that he was likely looking at the most recent depictions of their history.
His destination ended at a massive door. It was covered in detailed, stylized images and words…very ancient Eldar from the looks of things. It was hard to piece what exactly the doors images were trying to convey, but he could make out one repeating word or phrase. He mentally translated it and then tried to piece it together, which was impressive considering Ridcullys still basic understanding of the Eldar language granted to him by Isha and his time learning the Siren script. Still, he got the gist of it.
"Hmm, 'the show must go on'?" He turned to his guide, "I don't suppose it's a reference to this same 'show' that you are bringing me too?"
The strange Eldar shook his head, "No Blind Seer, you are confusing the wording with the modern tongue. It means "the dance must not end" in the performers cant." The Eldar explained as he gestured towards the door with his right hand and simply clenched it. The door began to rumble and Ridcully was amazed to see the icons and images beginning to move and take shape.
Like tapestry of dancers whose grace and beauty was captured forever…they performed and moved with an adroit style of movement that would bring awe to those watching. However they soon twisted and became misshapen and soon a face appeared.
No, two faces appeared. One of tragedy and the other of comedy. They morphed into one image and Ridcully felt the hairs on his neck stand straight up. He felt his breathing hitch slightly and his mind start to become just a slight hazy. He felt this way before, several times in fact. He was near the entrance of a Gods Realm. The Seat of Cegorach. He had been invited into the Realm of the Laughing God, the true realm.
The Eldar behind him gestured Ridcully to enter first with his right arm stretched out, the galaxy recognized gesture for "go!" and the Blind Seer was now starting to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake in coming here. But it was too late to back out now.
He stepped forward inside…he saw only a pitch black and empty void. Well that wasn't exactly right. For in this room of no light and seemingly infinite blackness…there was a chair. It was perfectly well lit and only three or four meters away from the doorway, just sitting down innocently enough. He turned to look at the Eldar and found that he was gone. He looked frantically towards the door…and that too was gone. In the blink of the eye, both his guide and the most obvious means of escape was now gone.
"Shit." Ridcully swore quietly to himself. He knew this was a mistake but he was now stuck in it. Worse comes to worse he'd have to find a new exit out of here, which wouldn't be impossible. Ridcully just hoped he lived long enough to do. He pushed those thoughts down and calmed down just a little bit as he tried to apply some logic to this situation. First off there was no reason for Cegorach to torture or kill him. He hadn't done nothing, at least he thought he did nothing, to challenge or anger the god. Ynnead wouldn't see him die, nor the Twilight Council, or Eldrad.
Plus he remembered that he had been invited, to a show no less. So Ridcully took a deep breath and walked over to the one piece of possible sanity in this place. As he approached the chair, he recognized that it was somewhat similar to the type of seating used in Opera & Concert Hall. Ridcully had seen similar ones on Vanaheim and Asgard.
He also noticed that on the seat was a small placard; Reserved for Munstrum Ridcully. The Blind Seer could only stare with his blinded eyes and just muttered "very cute…" before removing the placard and taking a seat.
Instantly, the entire environment changed right as Ridcully sat down. Before he could even comprehend what just happened, he was now inside a grandiose concert hall. It was well lit, full of gaudy and ostentatious wealthy that would make even the richest Imperial noble green in envy, and there were the sounds of people all around him. He was high up, probably in one of those balcony seats. He had a good view of the stage.
He tried to move his body and head to get a better look of things, but all he could see was the stage and the grand displays of what he could only assume to be of Eldar design.
As he was to stare down at the stage…a humanoid being appeared. Ridcully could only guess it to be an Eldar, a male to be exact. He appeared in a burst of warp energies and was wearing what could only be described as archaic and ragged version of what a Harlequin would wear, if they were desperate enough. When Ridcully charged to sense the creature…he recoiled in pain. He promptly stopped trying to divine or gleam information from the Presenter below.
However the Presenter didn't seem to either care or take notice of the human psyker as he began to speak, "Lords and Ladies, Patrons and Guests, and those in-between…it is time for the show to begin!" Ridcully could hear the sounds of Eldar cheering…which was a very odd sound even after all the time he spent in Eldar society.
"For tonight's performances…we give you the harrowing tale of the Fall!" Ridcully could hear exaggerated gasps of excitement…and he thought even fear. He had no idea what the Fall was, he could only assume it had to do with something involving a "fall" of something related to the Eldar.
"Witness the end of the Empire, the end of hope, and the birth of She Who Thirsts! Let its story be a warning to all…that corruption exist in all creatures' hearts and the temptation of power can bring ruin to the mightiest of men." He spoke the last line with a sort of vicious and taunting like manner. Like he was aware of an inside joke with that line, and that the rest of the people watching were fools for not realizing it. There was something twisted and cruel in the air around this Eldar. Ridcully was wondering what exactly he was in for and how exactly he was going to get out of here.
As he contemplated his current predicament, the Eldar Host spoke up one final time.
"Now then…ON WITH THE SHOW!"
---
It was hard to imagine but Eldrad Ulthran was on edge. He felt this way for the better part of two standard days (Avernus time) and he couldn't figure out why. He tried to divine what might be happening inside the Black Library, but that was somewhat difficult and he could only put so much time and effort into what his peers in the council would call a "frivolous" use of his powers.
So he ultimately sent some underlining's out to check on things. They returned with nothing but observations. It seems that the Harlequins were in a, to use a human term, "tizzy" over something happening inside the Black Library. That did peek Eldrads attention and he initially wondered if the Laughing God was planning an operation of some kind.
While this was happening, Eldrad decided to go pay Ridcully a visit and inform him of the recent developments in the war against Turoq. His journey to the Sanctuary was a fairly mild affair, but as he got closer he began to sense that something was different and off with the air around the healer's sanctum. There was powerful, incredibly so, residual effects from a warp ability.
As he got closer, he summoned for the Staff of Ulthamar from a small pocket dimension within the warp. He readied for battle but as he got closer, he began to notice that the warp signature around the air was quite familiar…it soon began to dawn on him what might have just happened and what exactly the aims for this "attack" was directed towards.
Eldrad entered the Sanctuary and found the Spirit Healers on the ground asleep. No worse for wear, but quite undignified all the same. He growled at the sight, though not in anger at the Healers having been caught by surprise but over who did this. The Grand Seer tapped the bottom Staff of Ulthamar on the ground inside the Sanctuary. Eldard channeled his power into each tapping and soon a buzzing, electric sounds could be heard throughout the Sanctuary as the ancient Eldars very will dispelled the lingering warp presence.
The Spirit Healers stirred and then suddenly all awoke. They looked around frantically and spotted none other than Eldrad Ulthran moving further into the Sanctuary. He didn't bother looking at either of them as Eldrad head towards Ridcully's room.
It was as he feared when he saw the empty room. Ridcully had been the target of this event. Eldrad looked around and spotted a blast hole on one of the walls in the room. Placed inside the force bolt induced scarring was a small card. It looked like something out of a poker deck.
Eldrad already knew whose calling card it was, the only entity in the Black Library that would use the bloody joker card.
"Cegorach." Eldrad sneered at the card and used a minor pyromancy ability to burn it. The Laughing God was playing a rather dangerous game, especially as he had effectively kidnapped an honored guest of the Empire and someone that was recovering from the whole Nurgle mission as well.
Honored as the Laughing God was in the Empire, he was just being quite the bastard in this moment. That said, it was likely because he knew he could get away with it and knowing Cegorach he wasn't intentionally looking to cause any harm. It still left Eldrad both annoyed and slightly concerned for Ridcullys safety.
The Grand Seer quickly decided that he would have to confront Cegorach about this…but first he needed some help. He walked back out to the entrance to the Sanctuary as the Spirit Healers attempted to figure out what the hell happened. Once again Eldrad paid them no heed as he summoned forth the warp and his own will to make his own Gate.
He sincerely hoped this was not going to turn into a family squabble with his actions.
---
Ridcully was…completely enthralled, completely encapsulated, and truly engrossed at the play that was going on in front of him.
But this wasn't anything like he'd ever seen before. This was not just a bunch of actors and dancers performing some sequences in time with the music or telling some story…they were reliving the events that unfolded before him. Their psychic powers enhanced every aspect of the play.
The music, the imagery, the sets, the very acting was projected into his mind and allowed for Ridcully to witness the full effects and visions and emotions and passions of the actors on stage. He was perhaps one of the few remaining humans in existence that had borne witness to such a majestic and terrifying retelling of the Eldars Empire fall, the Birth of Slannesh, and the death of the Gods.
He didn't know how long the play went on for. It felt like hours and yet somehow the play seemed perfectly capable of telling their history as tens of millions of years old civilization. Their rise, decline, and eventual fall as a species. In some ironic fashion, he felt himself imaging what it would be like if someone was to tell the story of the Imperium and its similar story. He figured it would be a lot shorter in the grand scheme of things.
After an untold amount of hours…the final act approached and he bore witnessed to what could be considered the start of the Eldars current history. The play would ultimately end on a truly tragic and heartbreaking note…but even Ridcully could sense the hope, the defiance, and restrained fury of the Eldar as they slinked away into the dark and cold reaches of space.
And just like that…it was over.
Ridcully didn't even realize that whatever was restraining him had lift as he stood up and began to passionately applaud the whole thing. It took him nearly five seconds before he realized that he was back in the dark and empty void and he was clapping to nothing. He idly waited a few seconds for something else to happen and then he stepped away from the chair.
For a brief moment he wondered what would happen next and soon he felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw it was the strange Eldar, the one with blackhole mirror for a face, and he was standing only a meter away from him.
The human figured he'd be polite to his guide, "A truly wonderful, specular show! I had heard the rumors but I had assumed they were exaggerated!" Ridcully approached the guide and soon noticed that he wasn't moving and that when he gazed upon the blackhole mirror he wasn't staring into the abyss anymore.
"Umm, hello?" He approached and even got the nerve to poke the Eldar right shoulder. What happened next was completely and terrifyingly unexpected.
The Eldar's body seem to morph and shift. Soon it's entire being seem to move as one and then shattered into thousands of small things, into what looked like insects.
Spiders to be exact. If Ridcully still had his eyes, they would be practically bursting from their sockets as he gazed upon thousands of Deaths Hand warp spiders from Avernus. He didn't even think as he willed fire around his very being and channeled everything he could into utterly burning these nightmares before they could get him.
One panic induced explosion occurred soon after and not even that was able to light up the pitch black room. However when the proverbial dust settled, Ridcully saw no charred spider corpses. Ridcully quickly looked around for any more of the skittering death bringers. Instead he began to hear someone laugh.
"Who is there?!" He called out to the darkness. "What the hell was that just now?!" Ridcully could soon hear more various forms of laughter and it soon become a cacophony of deranged glee over what just transpired between Ridcully and the spiders. Soon enough the laughter brought with it a strong migraine of a headache to the human psyker.
He soon heard clapping and laughter that overpowered the background mirth and Ridcully looked over and saw the same Eldar that introduced the show. The Blind Seer was able to get a better look at him now. His clothing was of tattered elegance mixed with a jester's garb. He had several masks upon his waist. So many strange and peculiar looking things. One with smiles, the other with tears, and another that looked furious, and one that looked shocked. But the creature wore none of them upon his face.
This allowed for Ridcully to see an Eldar looking visage that was utterly bizarre to human. There was no beauty or elegance to be seen. His eyes were bloodshot, his a sickly yellow, his skin a pale white, and his physical features looked outlandish and almost like a caricature of what an Eldar face would look like.
The smile though, the smile sent shivers down Ridcullys spine. It was the biggest and sadistic looking smile to ever be directed towards the Psyker. It felt like the Blackhole Mirror was now gazing at him in this very moment.
So marked his first meeting with the Cegorach the Laughing God.
"Hehehe, I knew you Avernites were jumpy…but I do say that was a very, ahem, explosive reaction to say the least?" Cegorach started to laugh again and Ridcully backed up as the Eldar God approached him.
The human felt as if each step the Laughing God took towards him, he could feel a knife near his throat."It is uhh, sort of normal to respond that way when you encounter a blink spider, Lord Cegorach." Ridcully wasn't sure what the proper title was for the Laughing God, at this point he'd figured Lord would be an acceptable stand in for this situation.
The Laughing God just kept giving a twisted smile and chuckling all the same. The God was for the most part seemingly interested in Ridcully. "So you are Blind Seer that found my sister? Well I suppose a thank you is in order!" He started to laugh again.
"No thanks necessary Lord Cegorach. I'm sure it goes without saying." The human gave a very strained smile and took a pair of steps back from the Lord of Harlequins. Ridcully couldn't shake the feeling that he literally coming close to dancing with death (ironic considering he hadn't met Ynnead yet). This was in fact one of the closest instances of interaction with another God next to Isha.
The Laughing God however seem quite enthusiastic about giving Ridcully a boon though. "Now, now my dear boy…what kind of host would I be if I didn't thank the one who got the message from my sister back to our people." He then turned his head sideways and Ridcully could hear the snapping of his neck as he did, "Because it would be quite rude to deny a gift from me…very rude, dangerous even."
Ridcully really tried to not sweat at the gaze that was directed towards him, "Uhh, I mean, I don't want to intrude upon your hospitality…"
Cegorach stared and then started to laugh again. Faster than Ridcully could even imagine, the Laughing God was at his side and had his right arm around the human psyker. "Oh lighten up Munstrum. Contrary to popular belief I am quite easy to chat with, just need to take everything I say with a sense of humor and lightheartedness. "
Ridcully felt himself relax just a little bit, "Oh, well sure then. I guess that makes sense." Although he idly wished he could back out of the small embrace the god had on him. Ridcully also noticed the same ethereal strands that were on the first Eldar on Cegorach as well, very curious.
"And besides," He gave a very crocked grin to the mortal, "If you angered me at all I'd have already killed you!" He paused as he rubbed his chin in a very human like matter, "Come to think of it, I imagine it wouldn't have been very fast at all. I tend to take my time with all my performances. Always remember Munstrum that a good actor can lose themselves in such things. It can be quite difficult to bring them back to reality!" Cegorach half-explained and seemingly half joked to the psyker.
Ridcully could only stare for a few seconds and then just nodded, "I suppose that is true all things considered. Granted I can't tell if you are refereeing to what they call method acting or just straight insanity. I imagine they are both delusional in their own right." The human paused as he effectively just realized he implied that Cegorach was insane. Then again, was that truly much of a stretch to believe true?
Evidently that was the right thing to say as the Laughing God kept to his namesake and laughed even harder, "Such blunt witticism that humans are so very well known for. If you actually practiced for a thousand years you could almost have the same caliber of jokes that my Death Jesters can unleash."
"Uhh, whatever you say." Ridcully didn't really care for what he assumed to be an off-hand compliment.
Cegorach seemed to calm down slightly into a chuckling fit, "Ever the straight man. You know Munstrum…you and I could do great things together!" That wasn't what Ridcully was expecting to hear even more so at the enthusiasm that the Laughing God displayed at the idea.
"W-well I mean I appreciate the offer but…" The Blind Seer was now desperately trying to move the conversation away from a "partnership" as it were.
Cegorach however seemed interested in the idea now, "Just think, the two of us working together…a modern day version of Belsen and Iserad, or the Foolish Brothers, or Abbott and Costello."
It was getting harder to keep up with Lord Cegorach. Ridcully could still feel the invisible knifes edge around his throat and this migraine he felt was unreal. The worst part was that he could only assume that Cegorach was holding back a lot of his power. The psyker could only imagine what would've happened to him in such close proximity to a god otherwise.
"And I do believe you could benefit greatly from such a partnership. I have significant influence with the Empire and the Twilight Council, even I can convince the Phoenix Lords sometimes." Ridcully noticed that while the background laughter was still present…Cegorach was leering at him. "Your Imperial Trust could most certainly benefit from my aid as well. Unlimited access to the Webway at no cost, the use of Black Library catalogues, and entire Masques of Harlequins to aid in military affairs. Can't spell laughter without slaughter, am I right?"
Ridcully was very shocked at the offer. Cegorach was offering a full alliance to the Imperial Trust or at least just Avernus in exchange for being a partner. But Ridcully wasn't a fool and knew there were hidden strings attached to such a gesture.
"And what exactly would I have to do in exchange for this partnership? No offense Lord Cegorach, but from what I've heard you'd be the type to tell me to do something ludicrous. Like sneaking into Slaanesh Palace and…placing a trap in her bra or something so you can make a "booby-trap" joke at her expense."
The Laughing God actually paused at that suggestion and then started to laugh uproariously, "Okay, I'm going to keep that idea in mind! But don't you see Munstrum, not even partners yet and we are already coming up with ideas!" Cegorach leaned forward until his face was right next to Ridcullys.
"But such things aside, I don't need you to do anything like that…yet. I just want you to do something very simple. What I have in mind is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, to use an ancient human phrase."
The smile was so large on his face, Ridcully could an unnatural set of yellow teeth. It looked similar to all the game he had hunted on Avernus, right before a predator went for the kill.
"I need you to spy on Eldrad Ulthran for me."
---
Outside in the Great Theater Hall (the one that Ridcully arrived and walked through) another portal soon appeared exactly where the last one took shape. The other side of this particular Gate felt like death and anger as Eldrad stepped out.
The Grand Seer looked quite disturbed and annoyed after what had just happened on the other side and now even more so as he approached the entrance to the Great Theater. Eldrad had been down these halls only three times and he normally would marvel at the history it displayed, the very legends that made up the dances of the Harlequins masques.
Yet as he strove down the Great Hall, he moved with purpose and like a man that had been given a rather thankless task. As he moved further in, he could sense the hundreds of Harlequins watching him from the shadows.
The Staff of Ulthamar was glowing a violent blue as he strode towards the entrance of the Great Theater. At a few points some of very brave or very foolish Harlequins attempted to impede his little march. Every time that happened he just simply had to flex a simple sliver of his power and they tended to get the picture.
Cegorach was also impeding him…twisting the very reality of the Great Hall into several obstacles. The normally straight and narrow hallway became twisted and in some instances Eldrad had to go up or down several flights of stairs that had now appeared.
The Laughing God even attempted humorous obstacles, such as a ticket booth or lines of spectral figures that were hoping to get inside the Great Theater. It was grating on his nerves to stay the least.
But try as the Laughing God might, these were nothing more than little impediments and Eldrad soon approached his destination. He idly hoped that Cegorach hadn't done anything to Ridcully.
---
"You want me to spy on Eldrad?"
"Yes!"
"…one of the most powerful psykers in the galaxy?"
"Correct!"
"A man that can potentially flay me alive with his mind."
Cegorach considered and then laughed, "More of a "certainty" if we are being truthful here."
Ridcully stared again and he wanted to explode with something akin to "are you out of your mind?!" but that was probably a redundant question or just a setup for another joke. Instead he decided to just probe deeper.
"I don't understand, can't you do it? Eldrad and the Twilight Council live in the Black Library at this point!" Ridcully tried to explain which was likely obvious to the Laughing God. "I figured no one could keep secrets in your family."
"Oh but Munstrum my dear boy, Eldrad has a natural talent for concealing his activities." It was around this time that Cegorach finally pulled away from the shoulder locked embraced. Ridcully made sure to take a few steps back from the Laughing God.
"You can scry all you want, put spies and listening spirits in his bloody room, and even attempt to skim the surface of his mind for secrets…but you'll get nothing." Cegorach looked actually annoyed before he turned to Ridcully, who took another step back into the infinite void.
"But you Munstrum, he actually trusts you." The Laughing God took a few steps forward and now the human was feeling the invisible knife start to inch closer to his throat. "And you see, even if you only ever learned one secret from Eldrad, one measly little piece of knowledge, you'd have done something no one in the galaxy has ever done. You'd have beaten the mental fortress that is Eldrad Ulthran by literally getting invited inside it."
"I don't understand, why the hell you want to spy on Eldrad?!" Ridcully started to shake. His body breaking into a cold sweat and his mind beginning to splinter from the pain caused by Cegorach will being forced upon his own. The knife at his throat was ready to pierce him.
The Laughing God was now practically busting a gut from laughing, "Well because I'm curious! You don't know much about your 'friend' do you? That he has started on a path that could very well altar the very foundations of the galaxy!" He leaned forward slightly and Ridcully could hear the skin break as it started to stretch to encompass the wide smile. "Don't you get it Munstrum, a moment of new divinity could be upon us all! All I need to know is what dear old Eldrad has planned for that moment and I do believe you can be the one to discover it!"
The laughter all around the black void room grew in volume yet Ridcully could still perfectly hear Cegorach speak, "So my boy, how about we just agree to be partners so we can both work on witnessing something that would be oh so marvelous to see play out." Cegorach very being suddenly looked terrifying and unnatural, like a creature out of a nightmare.
Still, Ridcully had enough willpower left to get the last word in this. He was not about to betray Eldrad, not even if it meant getting all that aid for Avernus. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself anyway.
"I-I-I must respectively decline the generous offer, Lord Cegorach." Ridcully now waited for the other the Blink Spider to drop after saying that.
Instead…Cegorach returned to normal and frowned. "Hmm, very well." Cegorach said with a dismissive wave of right hand. Instantly the pain in Ridcullys head went away and the spectral knife around his throat was also gone now. He could finally feel himself think again, even over the din of laughter and other such noises in the void.
Then he heard the sound of a rumbling that actually shook the void. Cegorach didn't looked worried but he was quite annoyed. "Oh bother! He went and tattletailed to her. Great, now I won't hear the end of this for the next century."
Ridcully then sensed what sounded like warp blasts coming in a particular direction in the void. Again, the Laughing God didn't look any more than perturbed over the interruption.
"And I see Best Friend has also come to take you home. Well I better let him in before he scratches the paint outside." Before he performed whatever action that was needed, he turned one last time to the human. "Remember my offer…I'll leave it on the table for you to consider."
Cegorach held up his right hand and clenched it in the direction he was looking. Ridcully was quite relieved to see that the same door he used to get in was opened again and Eldrad strode into the room.
Ridcully was very relieved to see his friend here. Considering he didn't have a way to get back, it would've been quite awkward for asking Cegorach for a way back to the Sanctuary.
Eldrad looked quite annoyed at the Laughing God, "Cegorach…was this all really necessary?"
The Laughing God looked like a man that was just caught doing some incredibly offensive and was simply shrugging it off, "I just wanted to give the human an entertaining show. Do you know how bored their species get when they aren't killing or burning something or praying? I was being a good host."
"You could've asked the Superior or the Council for permission to do something with our guest."
Cegorach rolled his eyes, again a very human gesture that looked positively bizarre on an Eldar. "The best things in life are spontaneous! Romance, adventure, war…I mean what kind of person had an excitement when on a schedule." The last part caused the Laughing God to practically gag.
Eldrad stared and shook his head before he looked at Ridcully, "I don't suppose you are done here?"
"Yes! I mean, I believe we are done here." Ridcully hurriedly walked towards his friend before he turned and bowed to the Laughing God. "I was telling the truth, the show was quite excellent. I will most likely be remembering it for as long as I live."
Cegorach seemed pleased with that and laughed, "A human with culture and taste? Will the wonders of the universe never cease!?" And with that the Laughing God began to cackle and howler in mirth as his form soon disappeared into the void and the laughter that followed him soon ceased as well.
Ridcully looked over at Eldrad and he looked exhausted but quite thankful. "Thank you, for whatever you did Eldrad."
The Grand Seer just shook his head, "It is fine. Let us go back to the Sanctuary. I hate this suffocating room." He looked around at the still void black room and Ridcully hastily made for the exit. As Eldrad turned to leave he heard a voice.
It uttered true power, not the one that Ridcully had been interacting with. It had no form or substance to it. He simply was in the chamber of black void.
"Do not interrupt my performances again." And for a split second, Eldrad felt pain in his mind and what felt like several knifes hovering around his person. He didn't say anything and promptly left.
---
The return to the Sanctuary was met with no excitement or issue. Ridcully and Eldrad arrived back, much to the joy and relief of the Spirit Healers. No doubt when Superior Arakeza returned to the Sanctuary, she'd like be furious and probably complain to the Twilight Council. She also was likely to off on the Spirit Healers for being lax in their awareness.
However that was an issue that Eldrad would have to deal with later. For now it was early "morning" in the Black Library as the Blind and Grand Seer enjoyed the company of each other. Ridcully found it amusing watching Eldrad Ulthran preparing tea and even more so when he served it to the human.
"Thank you for getting me out of there." Ridcully remarked as he looked over the rather exquisite looking teacup.
Eldrad just waved it off. He didn't seem too interested in getting any thanks from the human. "As I said, it's fine. Cegorach went too far with his games. I'm sure he's getting an earful from Ynnead."
"Ahh, so that was what he meant when you tattletailed on him."
"Tattletailed?"
"Just an archaic expression. Effectively you told Ynnead what was happening and got her involved." Ridcully explained as he sipped on his tea. The Eldar were certainly masters of tea among many other things it seems.
Eldrad looked slightly perturbed, "I believed it was necessary. It wasn't like I could've forced Cegorach to do anything else."
"Especially in his Domain?"
"That wasn't his Domain." Ridcully paused as he looked quite confused now but nodded all the same. "I suspected as much. It felt so real though."
Eldrad nodded and looked quite certain, "What you entered was one of the many chambers of Cegorach home, this one was known as the Great Theater. It is for the most part a harmless place."
"I guess it was too much of an expectation. I mean, be directly invited into another Gods Domain."
Eldrad took a sip of his tea, "Rarely do most creatures enter a Gods Domain, and that is probably for the best as you've experienced."
"I just can't get over what was in there…it was so grandiose yet so empty. I felt like I was in the center of a blackhole."
The Grand Seer now looked amused and sat down his tea cup. Ridcully had seen that look on plenty of professors back at the Unseen University when they had to explain some principal or law.
"Cegorach is a god of mischief, illusions, lies, and misdirection on top of his usual aspects. He seems to have a fundamental understanding of creating the perfect set-pieces and reality bending effects."
Ridcully looked uncomfortable as he realized that he didn't truly know what he might have encountered inside the not-Domain.
"Then…was I even dealing with Cegorach directly?" He was sure he knew the answer and when Eldrad shook his head it confirmed it.
"No, you were dealing with…his faces. They are like puppets."
"Puppets?"
"Think wraith-constructs."
That seemed to do the trick and Ridcully nodded, "Fascinating. They seemed so real and they were able to project his will."
"Cegorach tends to use many proxies to enforce his own agenda, the Harlequins are just the most common we see these days." Eldrad looked slightly uncomfortable mentioning that. The Blind Seer wondered if Eldrad had come into conflict with the "Faces of Cegorach" from time to time.
Ridcully and Eldrad were silent for a bit. It was the Blind Seer who spoke, "I don't know what he really wanted from me. He brought me to this Great Theater and showed me the Fall of the Eldar Empire." Eldrad winced at the mentioning of that. "Then he gave me a proposition, I denied it, and he didn't even seem to care."
The Eldar in front of him just seemed to shrug again. Ridcully was a tad annoyed at his friend, here he was searching for some explanation or insight into what happened…and the Grand Seer just shrugged.
Ridcully idly thought about mentioning what exact proposition entailed, but he honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to bring it up. However the more he thought about it the more he realized…Eldrad probably already knew all this and being truthful likely was the better option in the end.
"Cegorach mentioned something about you and Ascension." Ridcully was being intentionally vague, not really sure how to bring up such a topic in polite conversation.
"Ahh, so he did mention that. Probably wanted you to spy on me."
"That was indeed suggested by Cegorach."
Eldrad scoffed at the idea and just drank his tea. Ridcully found the conversation a bit too awkward for this tastes now. It didn't help that he had become part of something of an internal power struggle inside the Empires of Ashes. He couldn't begin to imagine what the other members of the Twilight Council, the Phoenix Lords, or Ynnead thought about Eldrads future.
But you never knew the whole truth when it came to the Eldar. Perhaps it was better that way. Ultimately he didn't push for the topic and decided to just let Eldrad deal with the fallout of this minor incident within the Black Library.
"Oh yes." Eldrad spoke up now. "There is news from the war against Turoq."
---
When it was all said and done, nothing really changed. There was no follow up by Cegorach, no questions from the Twilight Council over what happened, and no real fallout from denying a proposition from a god.
All things considered it took a few days before Ridcully realized that the Empire effectively just swept the whole thing under the rug. A part of him wondered if perhaps Ynnead was ultimately the one that got Cegorach to not do anything like that again, but a part of him imagined the Laughing God making some half-assed promise to not kidnap honored guests that were also recovering.
Ridcully found it amusing that Superior Arakeza was outright furious when she found out what happened. It was rare to see the Eldar to act just like any other superior when their subordinates were caught flatfooted. Eldrad and Arakeza had a very private discussion to not follow up with the Twilight Council about what happened.
That said, the guards around the Sanctuary were increased and the Harlequins were banned from entering unless they had a medical condition. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cegorach and the Harlequins were laughing their asses off at how flustered Spirit Healers were for the next few months.
But it was a week after the whole event that Ridcully received another package. This time he was more than aware that it was the Laughing God or at least one of his minions that delivered it to his door, though he was still wondering how the hell they got past the added security. Ridcully chalked it up to Cegorach being a god and the Harlequins just having a means to move about the Black Library. When he informed the guards, they seem to bristle again at someone sneaking past them. Try as they might they were just in over their heads in this instance.
Anyway, Ridcully wasn't exactly thrilled to be getting anything from the Laughing God, afraid that accepting a gift meant he was contractedly obligated to spy on Eldrad or something like that. Then again he didn't want to spite a god's gift.
The gift was in a small box container, ornate and lovely to look at and even hold in ones hands. Open it up, Ridcully saw a book and a small letter. Taking out the letter, it was very brief…
"Not many mortals turned down a gods offer to remain loyal to a friend. A very stupid thing all things considered, but an honorable one. If you wish to aid Eldrad then that is your choice, but you might not have one in the grand scheme of things. Remember my boy, the show must go on."
A cryptic message and one that Ridcully figured he was just trying to freak out Ridcully. As he gazed down at the book he was surprised to see what looked to be a tome of plays and dances. A very…peculiar subject matter to say the least. That said, he couldn't deny that after witnessing the Fall of the Eldar, he was quite interested in learning more about their songs, dances, and plays.
As he grabbed the book, he could hear the sounds of something underneath starting to move. He looked down…and spotted a Deaths Hand spider looking ready to pounce.
"Gah!" He yelled as he jumped away and blasted the damn thing and the container with a force bolt. A small explosion of materials and the guards quickly busted inside his room weapons at the ready.
"Blind Seer is everything alright?!"
Ridcully grabbed his chest and controlled his breathing slightly, "its fine…just a nasty prank being played on me."
The one thing Ridcully probably learned from this whole situation…the Laughing God could be a real dick.
It was impossible to tell what the current whims of the Gods were, really at any given time. Some were straighter forward than others, but there even the most violent of Warp Gods had some plan in motion or a desire to see played out. There was also a design in place, pieces in play, or even just simple acts of skullduggery.
As with all things, the mortal races were always either the target, victim, or simply caught in the middle of such events. Such was the way of things, especially if a God wanted to create the circumstances or situation that would best suit their goals. For each plot and scheme, each desire or whim, was in some ways a grand showing of their "divinity" upon the mortals. For many, it was just a small and sometimes necessary function.
For others…it was a rather big deal.
---
Ridcully had been in the Healing Sanctuary for the better part of seven months now. He had been healing at a rate that was deemed "acceptable" by the Spirit Healers. He finally been given a little more freedom to roam around and spent more time actually practicing his psychic powers.
Eldrad continued to visit once or twice a month now. For the most part the two of them just generally talked about mundane situations or the current situation outside of the Black Library. All things considered, Ridcully was being told the war against Turoq was now fully under way. The thought of his friends and family not having his help weighed heavily on him, but Eldrad seemed confident that the war was ultimately going to a victory for the Trust. Considering the power that the Empires of Ashes had at its disposal, Ridcully was inclined to agree.
Still he had to take his mind off of the war and that was difficult in this environment. Tonight, or what passed for night in place devoid of such concepts, looked to be another period of finding something to pass the time. This was a lot more difficult than one could imagine, even surrounded by such wonders and people inside such a repository of knowledge. Ridcully did what he could to stave off the boredom.
Naturally he did what he could to more texts or books from the Black Library itself. However the process of checking out a book was a rather exhausting and frustrating endeavor. The Library had to protect its incredibly rare materials and the Harlequins guarded the records with absolute vigilance. The Blind Seer was only able to get books because of his status within the Empire and he was also limited to what he could have access too.
So he was stuck with minor books and oddities. Some were still quite fascinating all the same. A history book of some very minor alien races (all long extinct from what he can tell), collections of short stories, and oddly enough a few play manuscripts. All things considered, they made for excellent reading.
But soon enough, the boredom crept back as he finished reading and even rereading these materials. He found that he missed Avernus in more ways than one, as he honestly started to miss his daily routine back at the Unseen University. Mind you, Ridcully wasn't the best at doing paperwork (and he didn't entire miss it) but his interactions with other instructors and students in regards to teaching was something he dearly missed. It was odd to think about how fast the years went by when he was on Avernus. There was always something to do or something going on with his homeworld.
He idly wondered if he could snag a textbook or two from the library and just spend time writing down his thoughts on the matter. Maybe he even could come up with a new idea for the University. Then again the Eldar were so vague about their teachings and he didn't know how much he could learn even if he had a 100 years and unlimited access to the Library itself.
But as Ridcully pondered such ideas, wondering if one is supposed to get a library pass of all things, his sixth sense started to feel something was off. Ridcully naturally felt the energies around the Sanctuary shift slightly and his time on Avernus had made him also rather paranoid about things. So when he felt the air outside him room starting to stir, he suspected foul play. He had no weapons or armor, but he still had his powers. Of course he didn't want to simply assume that enemies somehow breached the Black Library…so he decided to play it safe and just check on things.
He normally had guards close by and even the trio of Spirit Healers that had been monitoring him were on standby these days. He simply reached out telepathically and tried to commune with any of them.
Nothing. He reached out further and felt…nothing. It wasn't like they were dead, but he felt what could only be described as sleeping thoughts. Already not looking to be a good sign.
He groaned slightly as he got up from his bed. The pain brought by the plagues was start to subside and he did feel a lot better spiritually, but his body felt sluggish and stiff. A part of him bristled at the memory of Eldrad making a suggestion that Ridcully used a bloody cane to move around. He would damn well use his staff, thank you very much. Anyway, as he slowly moved towards the door, he could sense something was off in the Sanctuary. He didn't feel anything that could be considered dangerous, granted the entire Black Library was dangerous if you angered its defenders.
Leaning against the door, he tried to hear for any sounds of battle or struggle. There was nothing, it was quiet and that was normal for the Sanctuary. He slowly opened the door and stepped outside. He didn't sense anything that was aiming to attack him but he didn't sense anything else of interest. He tried to sense if anything was wrong and found that the atmosphere around him was back to normal. The Blind Seer didn't know what to think now, had what he sensed just be all in his head?
Ridcully felt a pull on the back of his mind…he that this was something about to warp into his close proximity. The Blind Seer acted on instinct and a force bolt had naturally formed in his hand as his fight or flight instincts kicked into gear. The bolt was already thrown towards the most likely position his foe would appear at. As expected, a humanoid creature suddenly appeared into existence. It was an Eldar, although he was dressed in a manner that looked akin to a Troupe Master but different.
Barely a second in arriving and the strange Eldar simply tilted his head slightly to the left and the bolt passed harmlessly. Well not exactly harmless as it left a fist sized hole in the wall of Ridcullys room. Before he could attempt to either summon another bolt or yell at his intruder, the supposed Troupe Master began to speak.
"Blind Seer." The Eldar spoke with a voice scrambler enabled. "You have been invited to attend a show. Please follow me." Ridcully was still processing the strange Eldar standing in front of him, inside his room, after nearly striking him with his powers. At this point he was just wondering where the hell his guards were supposed to be.
That said he still tried to make sense of what was happening, "Excuse me, what are you talking about? Who are you? Who sent you?" He gestured towards the smoking hole in his wall, "And are you aware that you are trespassing and I almost decapitated you?!"
Undeterred, the supposed Troupe Master simply shook his head at the Blind Seer. "Please Blind Seer, I am here to bring you to the show."
Ridcully wished he still had eyes so he could roll them, "What bloody show? What does that have to do with any of my questions?"
"It will be explained once we arrive. Let us not languish here for too long." The Blind Seer took a little time to look over this stranger and he realized that he might not be dealing with a Troupe Master.
True, he had the same garb as one. An extremely gorgeous and expertly tailor made coat mixed with their Holo-Suits and adorned with bright colors interwoven among the very threads. However there was something odd about this Eldar's clothing as there was no indication of which Trope he hailed from…and his mask was empty.
Well empty didn't even describe it. The mask itself was like staring into a small mirror that had a black hole contained within the confines of said mirror. Ridcully felt disturbed for looking at it even just a few seconds, feeling a sense of tragedy and sorrow coming from the "face" staring back at him.
The most peculiar thing, aside from the Blackhole Mirror, was small enough that Ridcully almost didn't pick it up. This Eldar had…what looked ethereal strands coming down to his body.
"Please, the show will be starting soon." The Eldar leaned forward now and he was staring directly at Ridcully and bringing him out of his observation…who simply didn't want to keep eye contact anymore.
"I uhh, I'm not exactly dressed for a 'show' as you called it." He was wearing what amounted to a very casual toga/robe. He looked more like a man that had just spent the day lounging in his home, which in a way was true.
"Do not worry Blind Seer. The show cares only for the audience's attention." The Eldar stepped past Ridcully and then gestured for him to follow. At this point it looked as if his questions were going to be unanswered. Ridcully hesitantly followed by the Trope Master and he half expected to find the bodies of the Spirit Healers or his guards or just signs of battle. However what he saw when he encountered the first Spirit Healer was her sleeping on the floor. She looked as if she just decided to take a nap on the ground.
"Fear not Blind Seer, they are unharmed. They are just experiencing the Dreaming at the moment." The Eldar casually remarked as he strode towards the exit. Ridcully only nodded and figured he wouldn't get any answer to any question he might have asked.
As they got closer to the exit…Ridcully saw what he knew to be a form of the Gate ability. The entrance/exit of the Sanctuary was now containing an ornate and gilded looking door. It was open and showed a long hallway that he couldn't make out from his side of the doorway.
The Eldar gestured for him to follow again. The Blind Seer figured he might have been able to run, but he wasn't exactly sure where he could run too. At this point if anything happened, Ridcully was sure he could defend himself even in his present state and condition.
In the end he simply followed.
---
The other side was clearly something made by the Eldar and it looked to be made of the same materials found inside the Webway. So that meant he wasn't back in the Materium. He could even sense the same warp signatures that were unique to the Black Library…so he was most certainly not too far from where the Sanctuary was located.
As he looked around, he could spot all manner of murals, paintings, sculptures, icons, and a host of ancient designs that showcased what he assumed be the Harlequins. This had to be some type of facility for them. It didn't take him much longer to assume that this was something related to the Laughing God. Perhaps he had decided to quit using emissaries and simply decided to "summon" Ridcully to his Domain. But what was this about a show? He kept those thoughts and questions as his silent guide just continued to lead him through this hallway.
The Blind Seer was able to determine that he was looking at what could effectively be a sort of chronology of the Harlequins history. Granted he didn't know exactly how to determine an exact date or even what was happening in some of the images he was seeing. It was only near the end of his walk that he began to notice signs of Slaanesh and its daemonettes that he was likely looking at the most recent depictions of their history.
His destination ended at a massive door. It was covered in detailed, stylized images and words…very ancient Eldar from the looks of things. It was hard to piece what exactly the doors images were trying to convey, but he could make out one repeating word or phrase. He mentally translated it and then tried to piece it together, which was impressive considering Ridcullys still basic understanding of the Eldar language granted to him by Isha and his time learning the Siren script. Still, he got the gist of it.
"Hmm, 'the show must go on'?" He turned to his guide, "I don't suppose it's a reference to this same 'show' that you are bringing me too?"
The strange Eldar shook his head, "No Blind Seer, you are confusing the wording with the modern tongue. It means "the dance must not end" in the performers cant." The Eldar explained as he gestured towards the door with his right hand and simply clenched it. The door began to rumble and Ridcully was amazed to see the icons and images beginning to move and take shape.
Like tapestry of dancers whose grace and beauty was captured forever…they performed and moved with an adroit style of movement that would bring awe to those watching. However they soon twisted and became misshapen and soon a face appeared.
No, two faces appeared. One of tragedy and the other of comedy. They morphed into one image and Ridcully felt the hairs on his neck stand straight up. He felt his breathing hitch slightly and his mind start to become just a slight hazy. He felt this way before, several times in fact. He was near the entrance of a Gods Realm. The Seat of Cegorach. He had been invited into the Realm of the Laughing God, the true realm.
The Eldar behind him gestured Ridcully to enter first with his right arm stretched out, the galaxy recognized gesture for "go!" and the Blind Seer was now starting to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake in coming here. But it was too late to back out now.
He stepped forward inside…he saw only a pitch black and empty void. Well that wasn't exactly right. For in this room of no light and seemingly infinite blackness…there was a chair. It was perfectly well lit and only three or four meters away from the doorway, just sitting down innocently enough. He turned to look at the Eldar and found that he was gone. He looked frantically towards the door…and that too was gone. In the blink of the eye, both his guide and the most obvious means of escape was now gone.
"Shit." Ridcully swore quietly to himself. He knew this was a mistake but he was now stuck in it. Worse comes to worse he'd have to find a new exit out of here, which wouldn't be impossible. Ridcully just hoped he lived long enough to do. He pushed those thoughts down and calmed down just a little bit as he tried to apply some logic to this situation. First off there was no reason for Cegorach to torture or kill him. He hadn't done nothing, at least he thought he did nothing, to challenge or anger the god. Ynnead wouldn't see him die, nor the Twilight Council, or Eldrad.
Plus he remembered that he had been invited, to a show no less. So Ridcully took a deep breath and walked over to the one piece of possible sanity in this place. As he approached the chair, he recognized that it was somewhat similar to the type of seating used in Opera & Concert Hall. Ridcully had seen similar ones on Vanaheim and Asgard.
He also noticed that on the seat was a small placard; Reserved for Munstrum Ridcully. The Blind Seer could only stare with his blinded eyes and just muttered "very cute…" before removing the placard and taking a seat.
Instantly, the entire environment changed right as Ridcully sat down. Before he could even comprehend what just happened, he was now inside a grandiose concert hall. It was well lit, full of gaudy and ostentatious wealthy that would make even the richest Imperial noble green in envy, and there were the sounds of people all around him. He was high up, probably in one of those balcony seats. He had a good view of the stage.
He tried to move his body and head to get a better look of things, but all he could see was the stage and the grand displays of what he could only assume to be of Eldar design.
As he was to stare down at the stage…a humanoid being appeared. Ridcully could only guess it to be an Eldar, a male to be exact. He appeared in a burst of warp energies and was wearing what could only be described as archaic and ragged version of what a Harlequin would wear, if they were desperate enough. When Ridcully charged to sense the creature…he recoiled in pain. He promptly stopped trying to divine or gleam information from the Presenter below.
However the Presenter didn't seem to either care or take notice of the human psyker as he began to speak, "Lords and Ladies, Patrons and Guests, and those in-between…it is time for the show to begin!" Ridcully could hear the sounds of Eldar cheering…which was a very odd sound even after all the time he spent in Eldar society.
"For tonight's performances…we give you the harrowing tale of the Fall!" Ridcully could hear exaggerated gasps of excitement…and he thought even fear. He had no idea what the Fall was, he could only assume it had to do with something involving a "fall" of something related to the Eldar.
"Witness the end of the Empire, the end of hope, and the birth of She Who Thirsts! Let its story be a warning to all…that corruption exist in all creatures' hearts and the temptation of power can bring ruin to the mightiest of men." He spoke the last line with a sort of vicious and taunting like manner. Like he was aware of an inside joke with that line, and that the rest of the people watching were fools for not realizing it. There was something twisted and cruel in the air around this Eldar. Ridcully was wondering what exactly he was in for and how exactly he was going to get out of here.
As he contemplated his current predicament, the Eldar Host spoke up one final time.
"Now then…ON WITH THE SHOW!"
---
It was hard to imagine but Eldrad Ulthran was on edge. He felt this way for the better part of two standard days (Avernus time) and he couldn't figure out why. He tried to divine what might be happening inside the Black Library, but that was somewhat difficult and he could only put so much time and effort into what his peers in the council would call a "frivolous" use of his powers.
So he ultimately sent some underlining's out to check on things. They returned with nothing but observations. It seems that the Harlequins were in a, to use a human term, "tizzy" over something happening inside the Black Library. That did peek Eldrads attention and he initially wondered if the Laughing God was planning an operation of some kind.
While this was happening, Eldrad decided to go pay Ridcully a visit and inform him of the recent developments in the war against Turoq. His journey to the Sanctuary was a fairly mild affair, but as he got closer he began to sense that something was different and off with the air around the healer's sanctum. There was powerful, incredibly so, residual effects from a warp ability.
As he got closer, he summoned for the Staff of Ulthamar from a small pocket dimension within the warp. He readied for battle but as he got closer, he began to notice that the warp signature around the air was quite familiar…it soon began to dawn on him what might have just happened and what exactly the aims for this "attack" was directed towards.
Eldrad entered the Sanctuary and found the Spirit Healers on the ground asleep. No worse for wear, but quite undignified all the same. He growled at the sight, though not in anger at the Healers having been caught by surprise but over who did this. The Grand Seer tapped the bottom Staff of Ulthamar on the ground inside the Sanctuary. Eldard channeled his power into each tapping and soon a buzzing, electric sounds could be heard throughout the Sanctuary as the ancient Eldars very will dispelled the lingering warp presence.
The Spirit Healers stirred and then suddenly all awoke. They looked around frantically and spotted none other than Eldrad Ulthran moving further into the Sanctuary. He didn't bother looking at either of them as Eldrad head towards Ridcully's room.
It was as he feared when he saw the empty room. Ridcully had been the target of this event. Eldrad looked around and spotted a blast hole on one of the walls in the room. Placed inside the force bolt induced scarring was a small card. It looked like something out of a poker deck.
Eldrad already knew whose calling card it was, the only entity in the Black Library that would use the bloody joker card.
"Cegorach." Eldrad sneered at the card and used a minor pyromancy ability to burn it. The Laughing God was playing a rather dangerous game, especially as he had effectively kidnapped an honored guest of the Empire and someone that was recovering from the whole Nurgle mission as well.
Honored as the Laughing God was in the Empire, he was just being quite the bastard in this moment. That said, it was likely because he knew he could get away with it and knowing Cegorach he wasn't intentionally looking to cause any harm. It still left Eldrad both annoyed and slightly concerned for Ridcullys safety.
The Grand Seer quickly decided that he would have to confront Cegorach about this…but first he needed some help. He walked back out to the entrance to the Sanctuary as the Spirit Healers attempted to figure out what the hell happened. Once again Eldrad paid them no heed as he summoned forth the warp and his own will to make his own Gate.
He sincerely hoped this was not going to turn into a family squabble with his actions.
---
Ridcully was…completely enthralled, completely encapsulated, and truly engrossed at the play that was going on in front of him.
But this wasn't anything like he'd ever seen before. This was not just a bunch of actors and dancers performing some sequences in time with the music or telling some story…they were reliving the events that unfolded before him. Their psychic powers enhanced every aspect of the play.
The music, the imagery, the sets, the very acting was projected into his mind and allowed for Ridcully to witness the full effects and visions and emotions and passions of the actors on stage. He was perhaps one of the few remaining humans in existence that had borne witness to such a majestic and terrifying retelling of the Eldars Empire fall, the Birth of Slannesh, and the death of the Gods.
He didn't know how long the play went on for. It felt like hours and yet somehow the play seemed perfectly capable of telling their history as tens of millions of years old civilization. Their rise, decline, and eventual fall as a species. In some ironic fashion, he felt himself imaging what it would be like if someone was to tell the story of the Imperium and its similar story. He figured it would be a lot shorter in the grand scheme of things.
After an untold amount of hours…the final act approached and he bore witnessed to what could be considered the start of the Eldars current history. The play would ultimately end on a truly tragic and heartbreaking note…but even Ridcully could sense the hope, the defiance, and restrained fury of the Eldar as they slinked away into the dark and cold reaches of space.
And just like that…it was over.
Ridcully didn't even realize that whatever was restraining him had lift as he stood up and began to passionately applaud the whole thing. It took him nearly five seconds before he realized that he was back in the dark and empty void and he was clapping to nothing. He idly waited a few seconds for something else to happen and then he stepped away from the chair.
For a brief moment he wondered what would happen next and soon he felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw it was the strange Eldar, the one with blackhole mirror for a face, and he was standing only a meter away from him.
The human figured he'd be polite to his guide, "A truly wonderful, specular show! I had heard the rumors but I had assumed they were exaggerated!" Ridcully approached the guide and soon noticed that he wasn't moving and that when he gazed upon the blackhole mirror he wasn't staring into the abyss anymore.
"Umm, hello?" He approached and even got the nerve to poke the Eldar right shoulder. What happened next was completely and terrifyingly unexpected.
The Eldar's body seem to morph and shift. Soon it's entire being seem to move as one and then shattered into thousands of small things, into what looked like insects.
Spiders to be exact. If Ridcully still had his eyes, they would be practically bursting from their sockets as he gazed upon thousands of Deaths Hand warp spiders from Avernus. He didn't even think as he willed fire around his very being and channeled everything he could into utterly burning these nightmares before they could get him.
One panic induced explosion occurred soon after and not even that was able to light up the pitch black room. However when the proverbial dust settled, Ridcully saw no charred spider corpses. Ridcully quickly looked around for any more of the skittering death bringers. Instead he began to hear someone laugh.
"Who is there?!" He called out to the darkness. "What the hell was that just now?!" Ridcully could soon hear more various forms of laughter and it soon become a cacophony of deranged glee over what just transpired between Ridcully and the spiders. Soon enough the laughter brought with it a strong migraine of a headache to the human psyker.
He soon heard clapping and laughter that overpowered the background mirth and Ridcully looked over and saw the same Eldar that introduced the show. The Blind Seer was able to get a better look at him now. His clothing was of tattered elegance mixed with a jester's garb. He had several masks upon his waist. So many strange and peculiar looking things. One with smiles, the other with tears, and another that looked furious, and one that looked shocked. But the creature wore none of them upon his face.
This allowed for Ridcully to see an Eldar looking visage that was utterly bizarre to human. There was no beauty or elegance to be seen. His eyes were bloodshot, his a sickly yellow, his skin a pale white, and his physical features looked outlandish and almost like a caricature of what an Eldar face would look like.
The smile though, the smile sent shivers down Ridcullys spine. It was the biggest and sadistic looking smile to ever be directed towards the Psyker. It felt like the Blackhole Mirror was now gazing at him in this very moment.
So marked his first meeting with the Cegorach the Laughing God.
"Hehehe, I knew you Avernites were jumpy…but I do say that was a very, ahem, explosive reaction to say the least?" Cegorach started to laugh again and Ridcully backed up as the Eldar God approached him.
The human felt as if each step the Laughing God took towards him, he could feel a knife near his throat."It is uhh, sort of normal to respond that way when you encounter a blink spider, Lord Cegorach." Ridcully wasn't sure what the proper title was for the Laughing God, at this point he'd figured Lord would be an acceptable stand in for this situation.
The Laughing God just kept giving a twisted smile and chuckling all the same. The God was for the most part seemingly interested in Ridcully. "So you are Blind Seer that found my sister? Well I suppose a thank you is in order!" He started to laugh again.
"No thanks necessary Lord Cegorach. I'm sure it goes without saying." The human gave a very strained smile and took a pair of steps back from the Lord of Harlequins. Ridcully couldn't shake the feeling that he literally coming close to dancing with death (ironic considering he hadn't met Ynnead yet). This was in fact one of the closest instances of interaction with another God next to Isha.
The Laughing God however seem quite enthusiastic about giving Ridcully a boon though. "Now, now my dear boy…what kind of host would I be if I didn't thank the one who got the message from my sister back to our people." He then turned his head sideways and Ridcully could hear the snapping of his neck as he did, "Because it would be quite rude to deny a gift from me…very rude, dangerous even."
Ridcully really tried to not sweat at the gaze that was directed towards him, "Uhh, I mean, I don't want to intrude upon your hospitality…"
Cegorach stared and then started to laugh again. Faster than Ridcully could even imagine, the Laughing God was at his side and had his right arm around the human psyker. "Oh lighten up Munstrum. Contrary to popular belief I am quite easy to chat with, just need to take everything I say with a sense of humor and lightheartedness. "
Ridcully felt himself relax just a little bit, "Oh, well sure then. I guess that makes sense." Although he idly wished he could back out of the small embrace the god had on him. Ridcully also noticed the same ethereal strands that were on the first Eldar on Cegorach as well, very curious.
"And besides," He gave a very crocked grin to the mortal, "If you angered me at all I'd have already killed you!" He paused as he rubbed his chin in a very human like matter, "Come to think of it, I imagine it wouldn't have been very fast at all. I tend to take my time with all my performances. Always remember Munstrum that a good actor can lose themselves in such things. It can be quite difficult to bring them back to reality!" Cegorach half-explained and seemingly half joked to the psyker.
Ridcully could only stare for a few seconds and then just nodded, "I suppose that is true all things considered. Granted I can't tell if you are refereeing to what they call method acting or just straight insanity. I imagine they are both delusional in their own right." The human paused as he effectively just realized he implied that Cegorach was insane. Then again, was that truly much of a stretch to believe true?
Evidently that was the right thing to say as the Laughing God kept to his namesake and laughed even harder, "Such blunt witticism that humans are so very well known for. If you actually practiced for a thousand years you could almost have the same caliber of jokes that my Death Jesters can unleash."
"Uhh, whatever you say." Ridcully didn't really care for what he assumed to be an off-hand compliment.
Cegorach seemed to calm down slightly into a chuckling fit, "Ever the straight man. You know Munstrum…you and I could do great things together!" That wasn't what Ridcully was expecting to hear even more so at the enthusiasm that the Laughing God displayed at the idea.
"W-well I mean I appreciate the offer but…" The Blind Seer was now desperately trying to move the conversation away from a "partnership" as it were.
Cegorach however seemed interested in the idea now, "Just think, the two of us working together…a modern day version of Belsen and Iserad, or the Foolish Brothers, or Abbott and Costello."
It was getting harder to keep up with Lord Cegorach. Ridcully could still feel the invisible knifes edge around his throat and this migraine he felt was unreal. The worst part was that he could only assume that Cegorach was holding back a lot of his power. The psyker could only imagine what would've happened to him in such close proximity to a god otherwise.
"And I do believe you could benefit greatly from such a partnership. I have significant influence with the Empire and the Twilight Council, even I can convince the Phoenix Lords sometimes." Ridcully noticed that while the background laughter was still present…Cegorach was leering at him. "Your Imperial Trust could most certainly benefit from my aid as well. Unlimited access to the Webway at no cost, the use of Black Library catalogues, and entire Masques of Harlequins to aid in military affairs. Can't spell laughter without slaughter, am I right?"
Ridcully was very shocked at the offer. Cegorach was offering a full alliance to the Imperial Trust or at least just Avernus in exchange for being a partner. But Ridcully wasn't a fool and knew there were hidden strings attached to such a gesture.
"And what exactly would I have to do in exchange for this partnership? No offense Lord Cegorach, but from what I've heard you'd be the type to tell me to do something ludicrous. Like sneaking into Slaanesh Palace and…placing a trap in her bra or something so you can make a "booby-trap" joke at her expense."
The Laughing God actually paused at that suggestion and then started to laugh uproariously, "Okay, I'm going to keep that idea in mind! But don't you see Munstrum, not even partners yet and we are already coming up with ideas!" Cegorach leaned forward until his face was right next to Ridcullys.
"But such things aside, I don't need you to do anything like that…yet. I just want you to do something very simple. What I have in mind is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, to use an ancient human phrase."
The smile was so large on his face, Ridcully could an unnatural set of yellow teeth. It looked similar to all the game he had hunted on Avernus, right before a predator went for the kill.
"I need you to spy on Eldrad Ulthran for me."
---
Outside in the Great Theater Hall (the one that Ridcully arrived and walked through) another portal soon appeared exactly where the last one took shape. The other side of this particular Gate felt like death and anger as Eldrad stepped out.
The Grand Seer looked quite disturbed and annoyed after what had just happened on the other side and now even more so as he approached the entrance to the Great Theater. Eldrad had been down these halls only three times and he normally would marvel at the history it displayed, the very legends that made up the dances of the Harlequins masques.
Yet as he strove down the Great Hall, he moved with purpose and like a man that had been given a rather thankless task. As he moved further in, he could sense the hundreds of Harlequins watching him from the shadows.
The Staff of Ulthamar was glowing a violent blue as he strode towards the entrance of the Great Theater. At a few points some of very brave or very foolish Harlequins attempted to impede his little march. Every time that happened he just simply had to flex a simple sliver of his power and they tended to get the picture.
Cegorach was also impeding him…twisting the very reality of the Great Hall into several obstacles. The normally straight and narrow hallway became twisted and in some instances Eldrad had to go up or down several flights of stairs that had now appeared.
The Laughing God even attempted humorous obstacles, such as a ticket booth or lines of spectral figures that were hoping to get inside the Great Theater. It was grating on his nerves to stay the least.
But try as the Laughing God might, these were nothing more than little impediments and Eldrad soon approached his destination. He idly hoped that Cegorach hadn't done anything to Ridcully.
---
"You want me to spy on Eldrad?"
"Yes!"
"…one of the most powerful psykers in the galaxy?"
"Correct!"
"A man that can potentially flay me alive with his mind."
Cegorach considered and then laughed, "More of a "certainty" if we are being truthful here."
Ridcully stared again and he wanted to explode with something akin to "are you out of your mind?!" but that was probably a redundant question or just a setup for another joke. Instead he decided to just probe deeper.
"I don't understand, can't you do it? Eldrad and the Twilight Council live in the Black Library at this point!" Ridcully tried to explain which was likely obvious to the Laughing God. "I figured no one could keep secrets in your family."
"Oh but Munstrum my dear boy, Eldrad has a natural talent for concealing his activities." It was around this time that Cegorach finally pulled away from the shoulder locked embraced. Ridcully made sure to take a few steps back from the Laughing God.
"You can scry all you want, put spies and listening spirits in his bloody room, and even attempt to skim the surface of his mind for secrets…but you'll get nothing." Cegorach looked actually annoyed before he turned to Ridcully, who took another step back into the infinite void.
"But you Munstrum, he actually trusts you." The Laughing God took a few steps forward and now the human was feeling the invisible knife start to inch closer to his throat. "And you see, even if you only ever learned one secret from Eldrad, one measly little piece of knowledge, you'd have done something no one in the galaxy has ever done. You'd have beaten the mental fortress that is Eldrad Ulthran by literally getting invited inside it."
"I don't understand, why the hell you want to spy on Eldrad?!" Ridcully started to shake. His body breaking into a cold sweat and his mind beginning to splinter from the pain caused by Cegorach will being forced upon his own. The knife at his throat was ready to pierce him.
The Laughing God was now practically busting a gut from laughing, "Well because I'm curious! You don't know much about your 'friend' do you? That he has started on a path that could very well altar the very foundations of the galaxy!" He leaned forward slightly and Ridcully could hear the skin break as it started to stretch to encompass the wide smile. "Don't you get it Munstrum, a moment of new divinity could be upon us all! All I need to know is what dear old Eldrad has planned for that moment and I do believe you can be the one to discover it!"
The laughter all around the black void room grew in volume yet Ridcully could still perfectly hear Cegorach speak, "So my boy, how about we just agree to be partners so we can both work on witnessing something that would be oh so marvelous to see play out." Cegorach very being suddenly looked terrifying and unnatural, like a creature out of a nightmare.
Still, Ridcully had enough willpower left to get the last word in this. He was not about to betray Eldrad, not even if it meant getting all that aid for Avernus. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself anyway.
"I-I-I must respectively decline the generous offer, Lord Cegorach." Ridcully now waited for the other the Blink Spider to drop after saying that.
Instead…Cegorach returned to normal and frowned. "Hmm, very well." Cegorach said with a dismissive wave of right hand. Instantly the pain in Ridcullys head went away and the spectral knife around his throat was also gone now. He could finally feel himself think again, even over the din of laughter and other such noises in the void.
Then he heard the sound of a rumbling that actually shook the void. Cegorach didn't looked worried but he was quite annoyed. "Oh bother! He went and tattletailed to her. Great, now I won't hear the end of this for the next century."
Ridcully then sensed what sounded like warp blasts coming in a particular direction in the void. Again, the Laughing God didn't look any more than perturbed over the interruption.
"And I see Best Friend has also come to take you home. Well I better let him in before he scratches the paint outside." Before he performed whatever action that was needed, he turned one last time to the human. "Remember my offer…I'll leave it on the table for you to consider."
Cegorach held up his right hand and clenched it in the direction he was looking. Ridcully was quite relieved to see that the same door he used to get in was opened again and Eldrad strode into the room.
Ridcully was very relieved to see his friend here. Considering he didn't have a way to get back, it would've been quite awkward for asking Cegorach for a way back to the Sanctuary.
Eldrad looked quite annoyed at the Laughing God, "Cegorach…was this all really necessary?"
The Laughing God looked like a man that was just caught doing some incredibly offensive and was simply shrugging it off, "I just wanted to give the human an entertaining show. Do you know how bored their species get when they aren't killing or burning something or praying? I was being a good host."
"You could've asked the Superior or the Council for permission to do something with our guest."
Cegorach rolled his eyes, again a very human gesture that looked positively bizarre on an Eldar. "The best things in life are spontaneous! Romance, adventure, war…I mean what kind of person had an excitement when on a schedule." The last part caused the Laughing God to practically gag.
Eldrad stared and shook his head before he looked at Ridcully, "I don't suppose you are done here?"
"Yes! I mean, I believe we are done here." Ridcully hurriedly walked towards his friend before he turned and bowed to the Laughing God. "I was telling the truth, the show was quite excellent. I will most likely be remembering it for as long as I live."
Cegorach seemed pleased with that and laughed, "A human with culture and taste? Will the wonders of the universe never cease!?" And with that the Laughing God began to cackle and howler in mirth as his form soon disappeared into the void and the laughter that followed him soon ceased as well.
Ridcully looked over at Eldrad and he looked exhausted but quite thankful. "Thank you, for whatever you did Eldrad."
The Grand Seer just shook his head, "It is fine. Let us go back to the Sanctuary. I hate this suffocating room." He looked around at the still void black room and Ridcully hastily made for the exit. As Eldrad turned to leave he heard a voice.
It uttered true power, not the one that Ridcully had been interacting with. It had no form or substance to it. He simply was in the chamber of black void.
"Do not interrupt my performances again." And for a split second, Eldrad felt pain in his mind and what felt like several knifes hovering around his person. He didn't say anything and promptly left.
---
The return to the Sanctuary was met with no excitement or issue. Ridcully and Eldrad arrived back, much to the joy and relief of the Spirit Healers. No doubt when Superior Arakeza returned to the Sanctuary, she'd like be furious and probably complain to the Twilight Council. She also was likely to off on the Spirit Healers for being lax in their awareness.
However that was an issue that Eldrad would have to deal with later. For now it was early "morning" in the Black Library as the Blind and Grand Seer enjoyed the company of each other. Ridcully found it amusing watching Eldrad Ulthran preparing tea and even more so when he served it to the human.
"Thank you for getting me out of there." Ridcully remarked as he looked over the rather exquisite looking teacup.
Eldrad just waved it off. He didn't seem too interested in getting any thanks from the human. "As I said, it's fine. Cegorach went too far with his games. I'm sure he's getting an earful from Ynnead."
"Ahh, so that was what he meant when you tattletailed on him."
"Tattletailed?"
"Just an archaic expression. Effectively you told Ynnead what was happening and got her involved." Ridcully explained as he sipped on his tea. The Eldar were certainly masters of tea among many other things it seems.
Eldrad looked slightly perturbed, "I believed it was necessary. It wasn't like I could've forced Cegorach to do anything else."
"Especially in his Domain?"
"That wasn't his Domain." Ridcully paused as he looked quite confused now but nodded all the same. "I suspected as much. It felt so real though."
Eldrad nodded and looked quite certain, "What you entered was one of the many chambers of Cegorach home, this one was known as the Great Theater. It is for the most part a harmless place."
"I guess it was too much of an expectation. I mean, be directly invited into another Gods Domain."
Eldrad took a sip of his tea, "Rarely do most creatures enter a Gods Domain, and that is probably for the best as you've experienced."
"I just can't get over what was in there…it was so grandiose yet so empty. I felt like I was in the center of a blackhole."
The Grand Seer now looked amused and sat down his tea cup. Ridcully had seen that look on plenty of professors back at the Unseen University when they had to explain some principal or law.
"Cegorach is a god of mischief, illusions, lies, and misdirection on top of his usual aspects. He seems to have a fundamental understanding of creating the perfect set-pieces and reality bending effects."
Ridcully looked uncomfortable as he realized that he didn't truly know what he might have encountered inside the not-Domain.
"Then…was I even dealing with Cegorach directly?" He was sure he knew the answer and when Eldrad shook his head it confirmed it.
"No, you were dealing with…his faces. They are like puppets."
"Puppets?"
"Think wraith-constructs."
That seemed to do the trick and Ridcully nodded, "Fascinating. They seemed so real and they were able to project his will."
"Cegorach tends to use many proxies to enforce his own agenda, the Harlequins are just the most common we see these days." Eldrad looked slightly uncomfortable mentioning that. The Blind Seer wondered if Eldrad had come into conflict with the "Faces of Cegorach" from time to time.
Ridcully and Eldrad were silent for a bit. It was the Blind Seer who spoke, "I don't know what he really wanted from me. He brought me to this Great Theater and showed me the Fall of the Eldar Empire." Eldrad winced at the mentioning of that. "Then he gave me a proposition, I denied it, and he didn't even seem to care."
The Eldar in front of him just seemed to shrug again. Ridcully was a tad annoyed at his friend, here he was searching for some explanation or insight into what happened…and the Grand Seer just shrugged.
Ridcully idly thought about mentioning what exact proposition entailed, but he honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to bring it up. However the more he thought about it the more he realized…Eldrad probably already knew all this and being truthful likely was the better option in the end.
"Cegorach mentioned something about you and Ascension." Ridcully was being intentionally vague, not really sure how to bring up such a topic in polite conversation.
"Ahh, so he did mention that. Probably wanted you to spy on me."
"That was indeed suggested by Cegorach."
Eldrad scoffed at the idea and just drank his tea. Ridcully found the conversation a bit too awkward for this tastes now. It didn't help that he had become part of something of an internal power struggle inside the Empires of Ashes. He couldn't begin to imagine what the other members of the Twilight Council, the Phoenix Lords, or Ynnead thought about Eldrads future.
But you never knew the whole truth when it came to the Eldar. Perhaps it was better that way. Ultimately he didn't push for the topic and decided to just let Eldrad deal with the fallout of this minor incident within the Black Library.
"Oh yes." Eldrad spoke up now. "There is news from the war against Turoq."
---
When it was all said and done, nothing really changed. There was no follow up by Cegorach, no questions from the Twilight Council over what happened, and no real fallout from denying a proposition from a god.
All things considered it took a few days before Ridcully realized that the Empire effectively just swept the whole thing under the rug. A part of him wondered if perhaps Ynnead was ultimately the one that got Cegorach to not do anything like that again, but a part of him imagined the Laughing God making some half-assed promise to not kidnap honored guests that were also recovering.
Ridcully found it amusing that Superior Arakeza was outright furious when she found out what happened. It was rare to see the Eldar to act just like any other superior when their subordinates were caught flatfooted. Eldrad and Arakeza had a very private discussion to not follow up with the Twilight Council about what happened.
That said, the guards around the Sanctuary were increased and the Harlequins were banned from entering unless they had a medical condition. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cegorach and the Harlequins were laughing their asses off at how flustered Spirit Healers were for the next few months.
But it was a week after the whole event that Ridcully received another package. This time he was more than aware that it was the Laughing God or at least one of his minions that delivered it to his door, though he was still wondering how the hell they got past the added security. Ridcully chalked it up to Cegorach being a god and the Harlequins just having a means to move about the Black Library. When he informed the guards, they seem to bristle again at someone sneaking past them. Try as they might they were just in over their heads in this instance.
Anyway, Ridcully wasn't exactly thrilled to be getting anything from the Laughing God, afraid that accepting a gift meant he was contractedly obligated to spy on Eldrad or something like that. Then again he didn't want to spite a god's gift.
The gift was in a small box container, ornate and lovely to look at and even hold in ones hands. Open it up, Ridcully saw a book and a small letter. Taking out the letter, it was very brief…
"Not many mortals turned down a gods offer to remain loyal to a friend. A very stupid thing all things considered, but an honorable one. If you wish to aid Eldrad then that is your choice, but you might not have one in the grand scheme of things. Remember my boy, the show must go on."
A cryptic message and one that Ridcully figured he was just trying to freak out Ridcully. As he gazed down at the book he was surprised to see what looked to be a tome of plays and dances. A very…peculiar subject matter to say the least. That said, he couldn't deny that after witnessing the Fall of the Eldar, he was quite interested in learning more about their songs, dances, and plays.
As he grabbed the book, he could hear the sounds of something underneath starting to move. He looked down…and spotted a Deaths Hand spider looking ready to pounce.
"Gah!" He yelled as he jumped away and blasted the damn thing and the container with a force bolt. A small explosion of materials and the guards quickly busted inside his room weapons at the ready.
"Blind Seer is everything alright?!"
Ridcully grabbed his chest and controlled his breathing slightly, "its fine…just a nasty prank being played on me."
The one thing Ridcully probably learned from this whole situation…the Laughing God could be a real dick.
Don't know where I got the motivation to write this much, but the idea wouldn't leave my head. So hope people enjoy it. I'll attempt to fix some stuff if it is too glaring.
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Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
Well hopefully we'll be able to use the Eldar as an example etc.
Thing is that ain't the problem as far as I can tell.
We've slashed their wrists already in terms of recruitment, the issue is that they live for a ****ing long time so there's tons of conservatives in high positions who are not going to leave those positions because they're in no danger of dying or getting removed (they're not incompetent).
...Mate they've got no use for star ship tech
Joking, though in this specific case Lulana and co are more likely to hit us.
I don't think you can really call that a civil war though.
Cultists aren't avernites.
- Location
- The internet
We can expand the Avernus Admech Military to weaken the conservatives hold on the one branch of the admech they actually have dominance in.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
Not any more.
Conservatives only have 50% of the military now though I guess by dint of having the Magos prime they are still dominant.
However, that Magos prime is crazy...like completely nuts.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
It's a unfortunate that many characters which are heroes of the trust are also Avernites (ex: Tranth).
Hmm. Maybe... Archmagos Prime Sahr?
(
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ArchAIngel
Sorcerer Supreme.
- Location
- Right behind you.
...Can an Admech member of that tier even... uh...It's a unfortunate that many characters which are heroes of the trust are also Avernites (ex: Tranth).
Hmm. Maybe... Archmagos Prime Sahr?
(
Nah, it'd need to be a Biologis. Otherwise we have Problems.
- Location
- madison
depends on how you categorize it. But there are purely military definitions that would put it as one. Though "chaos rebellion" is likely considered a distinct subtype of civil wars since they come up a lot.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
[X] No additional actions
- Location
- Australia
Eldrad would know about the Fall.
New canon has it as being called the Dominion, not the Empire.
Dynamesmouse
Bzzzzzz
Couldn't we ask the Eldar to transport us to Muspelheim?
- Location
- western US
"us" being....our entire army?
would they even have the room for that? don't they already have their own army and are thus, already full of solders who are likely more effective at using their gear then us anyway?
I suppose getting them to transport US as-in rotbart might be useful....not sure where he/us are at the moment.
(what is it called when you refer to yourself as "us"...I know "I" or "me" means 1st person. "you" means second and then by name is 3rd person......)
I actually was the one that posted that in the discord, but I never saw Durin confirm the Eldar in his story called themselves the Dominion. So I took the safe approach and just used Empire.
In regards to if Ridcully knew about the Fall or not, I asked Durin but I didn't get a response to my questions.
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- Location
- Philippines
Is Abbadon apathetic? ignorant? Are the chaos Gods keeping the trust secret from him? Does he comprehend the situation regarding the imperial trust and Avernus inparticular? The black sword? Overpowered heroes? Tech advantage power armor? Planet mind?
Why hasn't he if not make a move send a few support forces to Amerika and Turok's area? It will at least keep the Trust busy and in check, although it will feed the Heroes and make them more dangerous.
He does understand that the longer any chaos polities exist, the slower the imperial trust and any other polities can grow. Already the Trust on top of high tech, powerful heroes, high elite soldiers, Areatha and powerful psykers, exterminatus weapons and now had help from the eldar while he did nothing to help his faction or to at the least slow down Turok's defeat.
And now we are planning to share our tech to the other big factions.
Turok ( who is the closest level to Ridcully) and the president would have. been useful to Abbaddon as servants due to them being sane and competent, like Ridcully is valuable to the Trust.
Why has he not try to recruit them?
When we the players detected the dark eldar in Midgard we acted, because we knew that doing nothing will bite us in the ass later.
What has Abaddon been doing besides holding off the level 4 Waaagh? He lost a potentially powerful servant at the least.
Even if the imperial Trust is too small as a threat to affect him , its still powerful enough to be a threat to the chaos polities in the same area as the Trust, is he being short-sighted, Turok really would have serve him well and be useful to him.
Why hasn't he if not make a move send a few support forces to Amerika and Turok's area? It will at least keep the Trust busy and in check, although it will feed the Heroes and make them more dangerous.
He does understand that the longer any chaos polities exist, the slower the imperial trust and any other polities can grow. Already the Trust on top of high tech, powerful heroes, high elite soldiers, Areatha and powerful psykers, exterminatus weapons and now had help from the eldar while he did nothing to help his faction or to at the least slow down Turok's defeat.
And now we are planning to share our tech to the other big factions.
Turok ( who is the closest level to Ridcully) and the president would have. been useful to Abbaddon as servants due to them being sane and competent, like Ridcully is valuable to the Trust.
Why has he not try to recruit them?
When we the players detected the dark eldar in Midgard we acted, because we knew that doing nothing will bite us in the ass later.
What has Abaddon been doing besides holding off the level 4 Waaagh? He lost a potentially powerful servant at the least.
Even if the imperial Trust is too small as a threat to affect him , its still powerful enough to be a threat to the chaos polities in the same area as the Trust, is he being short-sighted, Turok really would have serve him well and be useful to him.
DkArthas
CAPITAL IS TO BLAME
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- They
Abandon is not all knowing. He probably doesn't give a shit about any backwater, I doubt he knows or cares about too much about The Imperial Trust. We are too small and weak.
As for what he is doing? Probably killing orks, keeping the huge number of his followers who worship chaos in line, all of whom would gladly stab him in the back at the slightest chance. Just look at Canon, the black crusade didn't stay united for long after the Fall of cadia. Also probably preparing for a future black crusade against the Vulcan's imperium.
As for what he is doing? Probably killing orks, keeping the huge number of his followers who worship chaos in line, all of whom would gladly stab him in the back at the slightest chance. Just look at Canon, the black crusade didn't stay united for long after the Fall of cadia. Also probably preparing for a future black crusade against the Vulcan's imperium.
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- Location
- madison
you vastly overestimate our importance. we are a minor power on the ass end of nowhere, and why would he listen to or care about some piddling demon prince? We are well beneath Abaddons notice, and even if we weren't, he's about as busy as the Imperium of old was only with extra helpings of infighting.
- Location
- western US
you are not understanding the scale of the universe we are in......
because Abaddon is dealing with a entire galaxy....even as powerful as we have become, we are still flys in comparison and will continue to be flys for 1000+ years even without any major setbacks.
He doesnt care about us...he cares about the dozen or so lvl 3's(I think thats the count?) and a near lvl 4 ork waagh that are charging the eye of terror...(FYI...the lvl 3s would curp stomp the entire trust and all neigboring pocitys without even slowing much.....the almost lvl 4 not even that.
or something along those lines...I cant remember the realative sizes of these threats but my point is that he has MUCH bigger threats then us....
and no...we are not the "oh just send a commander and a fleet over" kinda "small" threat..its the "oh, that fly is buzzing particularly loudly......in the other room" kind of threat that you ignore completely every day of your life.
even in the case that he is told of us...he won't care
Yeah, he basically inherited one of the biggest problems that came with the Imperium...you now get to defend it, because you most certainly don't want to lose it.