- Location
- United States
Has our AM Production reached the point where we can give our Helltroopers both options?
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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
It was touched upon when we divined the Korks talking about all the Waagh s heading to their way.
- Location
- The internet
Alpha legion is so cellular in structure that that doesn't mean much.
.... It's the intrigue branch of Chaos that we didn't intercept immediately. Word WILL be getting out.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
Both options of what?
Hydra intensifies.
I wonder what are the odds that we can get that Tier 3 to focus on the Hive Fleet?
Its certainly a better fight than any of the local Major powers are going to give Bludbusta.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
Please god no.
The two fighting each other is a loose loose scenario in 3/4 options with the positive 4th having such a low chance of success its barely worth mentioning.
Scenario 1: Orks win= Orks now have grown exponentially stronger and more veteran, now we have to deal with it.
Scenario 2: Nids win= Nids now have what can be tactfully described as all the biomass
Scenario 3: neither win both start escalating= everything in the region is obliterated as they beat the shit out of each other worse case scenario
Scenario 4: One side wins, but is exhausted= We can swoop in for the kill.
Problem with scenario 4 is that it denies the orks fundamental nature and relies on the orks vanishing their biomass into the ether.
Also reminder, that having the two fight necessitates Bloodbusta coming towards us.
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
I think he might be talking about the Pulse and Volkite option.
Option Four is possible if the biomass vanishes into a large enough series of explosions and Dakka. Or if the Orks beat the Hive fleet, but (at least mostly)die to the planetary infestation.
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@Durin
1 how big of a favor does it cost to assassinate a level 3 warboss from the Eldar?
2 if we do what are the chances the orks turn on each other enough for us to mop up a level 3 Waagh without a warboss?
Ok the idea is apparent we drive the orks into the hive fleet buying us time. The orks win we get the Eldar to kill the warboss both weakening Tryanid, chaos and ork forces in the region. Now these is risky but it costs us the least and helps save more lives.
Edit assuming Bloodbusta brings half of his forces that is 50 plus hulks, 7,500 capital ships, 100,000 escorts and 50,000 roks. Which should be enough to take the hive fleet.
1 how big of a favor does it cost to assassinate a level 3 warboss from the Eldar?
2 if we do what are the chances the orks turn on each other enough for us to mop up a level 3 Waagh without a warboss?
Ok the idea is apparent we drive the orks into the hive fleet buying us time. The orks win we get the Eldar to kill the warboss both weakening Tryanid, chaos and ork forces in the region. Now these is risky but it costs us the least and helps save more lives.
Edit assuming Bloodbusta brings half of his forces that is 50 plus hulks, 7,500 capital ships, 100,000 escorts and 50,000 roks. Which should be enough to take the hive fleet.
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- Location
- United States
Sorry, should've been clearer.
I meant both weapon options at once instead of 50/50
EDIT: I think we should fill out the Volkite due to the Tyranids focusing more on Speed than Armor.
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People were against that because of the drop in skill, or they wanted full Volkite or full pulse, so a compromise of 50/50 was reached.
- Location
- United States
My mistake, I didn't see anything about lowering skill, just the cost.
I'd hope our Avernite nature would block the change from being signifigant, but...
Final Holocaust
- Location
- Australia
Thank you @random_npc for your advice
@Durin
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Divine Martyrdom
Martyrdom was an important part of the culture of the Imperium of Man, and continues to be so in the cultures of many of its descendents, but in Aan, where the death god Zaghâsh rules, it is integral. Through the selfless sacrifice of countless heroes, the polity has survived numerous invasions that should've seen the extinction or corruption of its people.
Given how willing Zaghâsh's people are to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, it's perhaps no surprise that his divine servitors are much the same. Of all the daemons and divine servitors in the galaxy, Zaghâsh's servitors are among the few that are all willing to face True Death for the sake of something greater than themselves. Of course, this very rarely happens. Only the Heralds and Saints might be able to destroy themselves, and there just aren't many situations where the benefits of their martyrdom would outweigh the long term costs given their duties, power, and limited numbers. Zaghâsh's immortal servants commit to their own destruction only ever to erase the very worst of his enemies.
***
Prelude to Destruction
Zagroth Hopeblight's push into the Caligo Expanse had been the first and greatest offensive undertaken in the First Miasma Crusade, but by no means was it the last. More daemons and Nurgle polities would answer their father's call to arms, marching to bring great suffering to the realms of gods and men alike.
Among the besieged realms were those of Bel-Caerel, the mortal kingdom of Ilfeliare the Radiant, and the Land of the Dead, the holy realm in the Sea of Souls whose custodian was Zaghâsh, the Lord Death. For long have the two realms defied the will of the Plague Father, the latter especially, and so it was inevitable that they would be great targets of ire.
Seeing the inevitability of total war, Zaghâsh approached the Goddess of the Sun and presented unto her an offer of trade.
Among the gods on her level, Ilfeliare was most able to survive combat, for she had bolstered her fate several times over with the creation magic of a star's heart. Furthermore, she was a divinity, not subject to the limitations of mere mortals, and greatly knowledgeable in sorcery from her thefts and studies and nature besides. Fate and fortune were hers not only to have, but to give. Priceless beyond measure, only to the Earth Titan and Storm Wyrm had she as yet shared gifts of sun-forged fate, but to the Death God she would as well.
Zaghâsh's compensation would not go to Ilfeliare, nor even to her distinguished and long-lived kingdom in the mortal realm. The Storm Zealots, the redeemed demigods of Karzarot, to they would go his newest servant. The servant's name was Bothor, and no other of Zaghâsh's servants held such mighty and terrible power, for he was the first Doombringer, a Greater Divine Servitor of Zaghâsh.
Upon the transaction's completion, the phoenix-dragon asked her compatriot what he planned to do with his purchase. The grim-faced man's lips turned upwards in a facsimile of a smirk. He but said to her "To bring fire and death," and with propriety promptly departed from the meeting place. Partways annoyed and intrigued, the sun goddess would herself leave and resume preparing for total war.
***
Setting the Stage
The target of the Black Crusade was Zuntîram's World. Most of the Kingdom of Bel-Caerel was bordered by impassable warp storms and post-awakening orks. Attacking through the latter vector would deplete much of the Crusade's forces and hit the most fortified, well-armed sides of the Kingdom. Through the Kaerae Worlds then, surrounding by ork domains kept regularly and vigorously culled by the Firmament's forces, then to Zuntîram's World. The rewards: a petty god removed from the playing field; a Kingdom crippled, to buckle under the weight of the orkoids; a staging ground for future extermination.
One thing gave the Firmament hope for victory: a singular large staging ground was necessary for the enemy they would face, the infamous Daemon Prince Pargegrouth the Jealous.
***
The Anointed
Pargegrouth's reputation began in his days of mortality. He would often cull the members of his own cult from his Warband, fearing they would thieve away from him the unholy attentions of their Father. Even following his Ascension, he loathed his brothers and sisters in the Warp and would not countenance their presence. This had ironically saved Bel-Caerel from an earlier assault, as he had dismantled a major build up by a rival Nurglite force so that he could claim the glory in their stead.
Conversely, he was famously excellent at working with the followers of the other Chaos Gods even during the days of his mortality, for they did not seek the eye of the Plague Father as he did, and so weren't a threat in his eyes. Pargegrouth had made strong allies of his peers in the days of the Warband, and with his aid had each of the three had Ascended.
The Khornate was Keviverix the Edge, who only accepted Ascension once she mastered bloodthirsty savagery and deep-minded strategic acumen in total and equal measure.
The Tzeentchian was Ezriquey the Nine-Fold Victor, whose magicks had seen the defeat and enslavement of the Nonarchy of Aratrius, earning her Ascension.
The Slaaneshi was Syknacus the Monogamous. None but Pargegrouth know what depraved misdeeds he committed to win the heart of a Keeper of Secrets, only that his moniker had something to do with it, and that his Ascension gave him the means to fit it into his chest.
The four were as close to friendship as could exist amongst the higher ranks of the Ruinous Powers. They went their separate ways, but rarely, when a great reward lay for the taking, the Four would gather and show their enemy the true power of Chaos Undivided.*
*Following the death of the Emperor, Abominites would almost always be their target. None of them worshipped Tjapa so it was easy to get support for attacking him.
Of course, while Pargegrouth's comrades would accept him as the Anointed for conceiving of the Compact, for they had always profited greatly in these joint ventures, their followers were another matter. They were common examples of their kind and loathed the idea of working for the follower of another's god, and so Pargegrouth had to keep them all together under his watchful eye lest they scatter or launch disorganised assaults on their own, spoiling the campaign. To maintain the control they required, the Warband conquered the corrupted Hive World of Ahachite to use it as a staging ground for their campaign. Home to hundreds of billions of servants of the Ruinous Powers, its industry would easily support the Black Crusade's manpower and materiel requirements, all while serving as an effective base of operations.
***
Muster
A great host was gathered to launch an assault on Ahachite.
The Kaerae Socii, the buffer worlds beyond the Kingdom of Bel-Caerel, would contribute all their military power, for their existence would be the first to be extinguished should an assault by the Enemy commence. These Emperor-worshipping worlds had endured centuries of war against the Ruinous Powers and the Ur-Barbarian, and so were very well accustomed to conflict. Greatest among the Kaerae Socii were the Arctodons, a loyalist Space Marine chapter given permission to recruit throughout the entirety of Bel-Caerel. They would field Angels of Death and the billions-crewed ships of hard-bitten fleets, all bearing traded-for Bel-Caerel technology.
Behind them came the armed forces of Bel-Caerel. The navies of the Kaerae Worlds themselves would join, but that was not all. The Bear Warriors of Raga would assemble for the counter-crusade, the power armoured elites providing boarding power second only to Space Marines. As well, the priests of the Cult of Ilfeliare would go out in force to guard the souls of the sun goddess' people and smite the unclean, as their powers and abilities dictated.
Leading the clergymembers was Shanin the Prime, the Alpha-level Hierophant of the Shrine World Cymis, home to the greatest store of sanctic sorcery in the entire Kingdom outside of the planet Bel-Caerel itself. With him he brought not only the strongest psychic mind in the entire Kingdom, but ten thirteenths of all Bel-Caerel's Astral Lions, so strong was his call to them. Shanin would travel abroad the personal flagship of Ilfeliare herself, the Lightbringer, and use his extraordinary psychic abilities, divinely tinged as they were, to power its god-reliant features.
Whatever other Bel-Caerelian ships could be spared for the counter-crusade were, and added to the total force.
Ilfeliare herself would not introduce her corpus to the war, but would instead remain far behind, listening to the whispered words spoken by the stars with god-wrought machines sensitive to such things. What information she could glean from them would be passed on to the Hierophant of Cymis. Sunfate would aid her in this matter.
Finally, the forces of Karzarot would go to war. The garrison of the Drirh Cyclone would stay stationary, the treasure within demanding an honour guard, but the fleets of the Wyrmhome could leave without fear. The Storm Zealots would go with them in full force, as would the dragons attached to the chapter. Most of Karzarot's other divine servitors would join as well, the rest remaining behind to provide supernatural protection to the mortals remaining. But joy be unto the war ships of the Wyrmhome, for Karzarot himself would fly with them, and do so as he had never done before. He would possess the Battle Barge of the Storm Zealots, acting in the Materium as a godship. It wasn't built to house his august form and so he suffered the indignity of discomfort, but it was necessary, for only with a godship could the Firmament hope to succeed in its plan.
***
Terminus
The battle began soon after the Firmament's forces emerged in the Ahachite system. The fleet travelled very quickly thanks to the godship and the Lightbringer's warp lantern, but it also gave advance warning to the enemy, who began moving their fleet elements to the edge of the system. The light elements and the Slaaneshi contingent moved with haste and reached it first, leaving the rest behind to catch up. This would've given the defending fleet a substantial edge by unleashing shots as they exited the warp and then acting as an effective skirmishing force, but they did not enter the system through the Mandeville Point as expected. Instead, the invading fleet emerged somewhat closer to the middle of the Ahachite system - a normally rather perilous thing, but the literal god within the fleet's ranks made it a simple task. As it was, over a quarter of the Chaos fleet - the Slaaneshi ships and many the rest's escorts - were simply bypassed.
The invaders would not be so lucky as to warp in to the flanks of the rest of the Chaos fleet, but they were at least at the halfway point between the Mandeville Point and the planet Ahachite, and they had caught the enemy by surprise. With so much of their escorts away, the initial volley of fire did major damage to the enemy even as they were still outnumbered, shocking and disorganising much of the enemy fleet. However, the Khornates managed to keep their mettle under the leadership of Keviverix, and under her orders would launch a full-scale ramming operation straight into the heart of the enemy fleet. A simple and brutal tactic, typical of their ilk, but in this case it was a very correct decision.
The invading fleet was so completely focused on causing as much damage while the enemy was disorganised that they had left themselves open. The Khornates' attack halted the decimation of the Chaos fleet, and even as the Khornates began taking heavy damage from the invaders they themselves inflicted disproportionate casualties via boarding parties. In particular, the Khornate Daemonship attempted to ram the Lightbringer, the ship assumed to be leading the attack. This charge was spoiled by the Arctodons' Battle Barge, which rammed the unholy ship in the side before it could hit the Lightbringer. The Daemonship would be kept from thanks to the arc of its trajectory and the active efforts of the Arctodons' Battle Barge, which was subjected to a brutal boarding action by Khornate daemons, Chaos Warriors, and Keviverix herself. Meanwhile, the rest of the Arctodons' ships would desperately lay down as much heavy fire on the Daemonship to kill it before it ended their Battle Barge in a ceaseless tide of blood.
Though the Khornates as a whole would suffer greatly for rushing forward without support, they had done their job well, giving their allies the breather they needed to recover from the initial shock. The Nurglites and some of the Tzeentchians would move forward to reinforce them, adding another Daemonship and Daemon Prince to the fight. At the same time, Ezriquey and her coterie of enslaved sorcerers would begin work on a grand ritual to banish the Storm Wyrm back into the Warp, where he would be devoured by the multitude of powerful daemons in the area. In response, the Storm Zealots would break out of the clusterfrak the space battle had descended into and wheel around the reinforcing Nurglites and set a course for the Tzeentchians. Ezriquey's fleet still had enough firepower to crush them even with their godship, so Pargegrouth elected to focus on the enemy ahead of him and take advantage of the rather successful pinning action his allies had undertaken. The Lightbringer began charging its Supernova Cannon, which convinced Pargegrouth that he had taken the correct course of action. The blast from the superweapon would soften up enough of the Tzeentchians' protective chaff to give the apostates a chance at cutting through them and into the Ezriquey's ship, interrupting the ritual and banishing Ezriquey. The Tzeentchians, no longer bound by their master, would, after destroying the Storm Zealots, either leave the battle entire or outright turn on him.
The next stage of the battle commenced. The Arctodons had failed. In a truly heroic action in the classical sense, Keviverix's forces had mauled their way through the Space Marines and Chapter Serfs of the enemy ship, including the Chapter Master, and the Khornate daemonship successfully made an emergency warp translation before they could destroy it. Following the Chapter Master's last orders, the Arctodons returned to the battle to reinforce the Lightbringer, which the Nurglite Daemonship had successfully boarded. The enemy was being held back by an excess of holy protections and a full garrison of Bear Warriors, but with Pargegrouth himself leading the attack, and with Shanin not contributing, they were doomed to fall without the aid of Space Marines. The space battle as a whole had reached a stalemate. The Khornates broke when they saw their daemonship destroyed, and though they rallied once their leader made them aware of her continued survival, the lull in the fighting had allowed the forces of Order to deal damage to the fleeing ships and reorganise. The stalemate could not last forever, though, as the Slaaneshi ships at this point were close to reentering the battle.
The Lightbringer, contrary to Pargegrouth's expectations, did not fire its deadly ordnance, but held it. Shanin, now free from building up the charge, did not join the fight, however, but focused his powers on divination and communion with his goddess. The Storm Zealots also defied expectations. Instead of attempting to disrupt the ritual, they simply went around the Tzeentchians. As they did so, the chapter's Librarians worked with their god to create a powerful, heavily warp-tinged storm around the godship, impeding Ezriquey's attempts to banish Karzarot to the Warp he was now partially in. She would still eventually succeed, but it would take more time.
The penultimate stage of the battle had begun. With the Arctodons' help, Pargegrouth's boarding forces had been repulsed, only to once more begin losing ground once more when Keviverix joined in the fight, and only brought to stalemate once more by a devastating flank attack by the Astral Lions. The stalemate as a whole held, but then ended, for Syknacus' fleet had at last reached the battle and began to cut into the combined fleets of Bel-Caerel, the Socii, and Karzarot's people. As for Karzarot himself, they had reached Ahachite when Karzarot sensed the enemy's ritual was nearly complete. In mischievous fashion, he and all his divine servitors left the ship and returned to the Warp, and then the Battle Barge activated its warp drive, cutting a hole into the Warp in front of it. Ezriquey quickly grabbed hold of the excess warp energy before it could cause backlash and then noticed three things.
1. The amount of psychic energy she was channelling to banish Karzarot was overkill. He was much weaker than she thought.
2. The reason Karzarot seemed so strong was that there was a Greater Daemon within the godship, masked as simply more of the storm god's strength.
3. The Greater Daemon was bound in a weapon that was now above the planet with all her ground troops.
She could not peer through the skeins of fate to see what would happen next, her powers focused on channelling the spoiled ritual's unrestrained energies, but she did not need to. The enemy's plan had apparently been succeeding, and from experience knew that allowing them to finish was a bad idea. She and the Nonarchy shaped the energy into a protective barrier around the ship, allowing it to translate into the warp and exit near the planet safely. She appeared in front of the Storm Zealots' fleet, amidst the planet's defence stations.
Then Shanin, backed by divination and divine guidance, opened a portal into the Warp in front of the Lightbringer, and the Supernova Cannon fired. The projectile sped into the Warp, then through the Warp, then out of the Warp through the rift the Storm Zealots' Battle Barge had made, then into the body of the defence stations with the Tzeentchian Daemonship caught within.
Then the song began.
*
The Holocaust power was the most powerful technique of the sanctic daemonology discipline practiced by the Imperium. It ignited the user's very soul to produce soul-killing flames that wash out and away from the psyker. Should the psyker die during the use of the power, by the power's use or by other means, their soul is destroyed.
The followers of Zaghâsh have this power as well, but also a more power version of the ability: Final Holocaust, activated by the completion of the Death Cant of Ultimate Martyrdom. It does not burn the outer layer of the soul, but its entirety, dooming it to die with no hope of survival. But for as long as the psyker uses the power, the burning flames of sacrificed immortality would multiply their strength and power.
*
The cyclonic torpedo with the infused Doombringer flew from the Battle Barge and sang its song. Strikecraft was sent against it, but it dodged and raced past them. It reached the atmosphere and unleashed a death god's hate. Bothor, he was no more. The hundreds of billions of slaves beholden to the Ruinous Powers, they were no more too.
With the aid of his Librarians, Karzarot once more entered the still storm-submerged Battle Barge and, together with the rest of the Storm Zealots' fleet, fired upon the damaged and now-solitary Tzeentchian Daemonship, destroying it and banishing Ezriquey. With all their ground forces gone, this was the last nail in the coffin for the Tzeentchian fleet, which scattered and fled. Order's fleets rushed forward, desparate to escape the destruction being levelled upon them by the enemy. A few vessels stayed behind to hold off as much of the enemy as they could, the Lightbringer among them. Keviverix knew what would happen next and ordered her fleet to retreat, telling her allies they should do the same. The Lightbringer, now towards the rear of the invading fleet, stopped, and began charging its plasma drives for detonation. Keviverix and Pargegrouth's personal forces were too close to escape, so they pushed forward. At last the Lightbringer's garrison buckled in one of their lines and the servants of Chaos broke through. They reached the bridge but, thanks to constant harassment by the Astral Lions, arrived seconds late to stop Shanin. The Lightbringer, all those on board, the Nurglite Daemonship, and several other Chaos ships were destroyed in the heart of the newborn star.
The rest of the survivors of the fleets of Bel-Caerel and her allies would escape. The Lightbringer's sacrifice had bought them space, which they used to rush forward and meet with the Storm Zealots. Then, together, they warped out, the storm god once more aiding to prevent their destruction.
The Firmament was victorious. In proportion and absolute numbers, they had lost more of their fleet than the Daemon Princes, but they culled the enemy's vessels and, more importantly, totally destroyed their ground forces. They would suffer heavy raids in the years to come and had lost a Battle Barge to the enemy, but the existential threat at least was gone.
There would one day be a reckoning, however. The defeat, rather than push apart the Daemon Princes, drove them closer together. Not since the days of the Imperium had they met a force that so rabidly and successfully defied them and the Dark Gods, and the experience mentally drove each of them back to their roots. The destruction of the Firmament was no longer a mere opportunity for them, it was now their shared driving goal.
***
From the remnant flames of apocalypse, Zaghâsh would forge for himself a sword. His sword. In raw power it would not equal Bothor's strength, but it would bear a unique, indefinable edge that could not truly be measured in mere units of power. Bothor was born for genocide. The sword was genocide. But more than that, Zaghâsh placed part of his own essence into the blade. It would be his own self, as much as his limbs and beating heart. And as well, he would infuse it with Ilfeliare's reward for reducing a world to ash by holy flame.
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@Durin
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Final Holocaust
Divine Martyrdom
Martyrdom was an important part of the culture of the Imperium of Man, and continues to be so in the cultures of many of its descendents, but in Aan, where the death god Zaghâsh rules, it is integral. Through the selfless sacrifice of countless heroes, the polity has survived numerous invasions that should've seen the extinction or corruption of its people.
Given how willing Zaghâsh's people are to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, it's perhaps no surprise that his divine servitors are much the same. Of all the daemons and divine servitors in the galaxy, Zaghâsh's servitors are among the few that are all willing to face True Death for the sake of something greater than themselves. Of course, this very rarely happens. Only the Heralds and Saints might be able to destroy themselves, and there just aren't many situations where the benefits of their martyrdom would outweigh the long term costs given their duties, power, and limited numbers. Zaghâsh's immortal servants commit to their own destruction only ever to erase the very worst of his enemies.
***
Prelude to Destruction
Zagroth Hopeblight's push into the Caligo Expanse had been the first and greatest offensive undertaken in the First Miasma Crusade, but by no means was it the last. More daemons and Nurgle polities would answer their father's call to arms, marching to bring great suffering to the realms of gods and men alike.
Among the besieged realms were those of Bel-Caerel, the mortal kingdom of Ilfeliare the Radiant, and the Land of the Dead, the holy realm in the Sea of Souls whose custodian was Zaghâsh, the Lord Death. For long have the two realms defied the will of the Plague Father, the latter especially, and so it was inevitable that they would be great targets of ire.
Seeing the inevitability of total war, Zaghâsh approached the Goddess of the Sun and presented unto her an offer of trade.
Among the gods on her level, Ilfeliare was most able to survive combat, for she had bolstered her fate several times over with the creation magic of a star's heart. Furthermore, she was a divinity, not subject to the limitations of mere mortals, and greatly knowledgeable in sorcery from her thefts and studies and nature besides. Fate and fortune were hers not only to have, but to give. Priceless beyond measure, only to the Earth Titan and Storm Wyrm had she as yet shared gifts of sun-forged fate, but to the Death God she would as well.
Zaghâsh's compensation would not go to Ilfeliare, nor even to her distinguished and long-lived kingdom in the mortal realm. The Storm Zealots, the redeemed demigods of Karzarot, to they would go his newest servant. The servant's name was Bothor, and no other of Zaghâsh's servants held such mighty and terrible power, for he was the first Doombringer, a Greater Divine Servitor of Zaghâsh.
Upon the transaction's completion, the phoenix-dragon asked her compatriot what he planned to do with his purchase. The grim-faced man's lips turned upwards in a facsimile of a smirk. He but said to her "To bring fire and death," and with propriety promptly departed from the meeting place. Partways annoyed and intrigued, the sun goddess would herself leave and resume preparing for total war.
***
Setting the Stage
The target of the Black Crusade was Zuntîram's World. Most of the Kingdom of Bel-Caerel was bordered by impassable warp storms and post-awakening orks. Attacking through the latter vector would deplete much of the Crusade's forces and hit the most fortified, well-armed sides of the Kingdom. Through the Kaerae Worlds then, surrounding by ork domains kept regularly and vigorously culled by the Firmament's forces, then to Zuntîram's World. The rewards: a petty god removed from the playing field; a Kingdom crippled, to buckle under the weight of the orkoids; a staging ground for future extermination.
One thing gave the Firmament hope for victory: a singular large staging ground was necessary for the enemy they would face, the infamous Daemon Prince Pargegrouth the Jealous.
***
The Anointed
Pargegrouth's reputation began in his days of mortality. He would often cull the members of his own cult from his Warband, fearing they would thieve away from him the unholy attentions of their Father. Even following his Ascension, he loathed his brothers and sisters in the Warp and would not countenance their presence. This had ironically saved Bel-Caerel from an earlier assault, as he had dismantled a major build up by a rival Nurglite force so that he could claim the glory in their stead.
Conversely, he was famously excellent at working with the followers of the other Chaos Gods even during the days of his mortality, for they did not seek the eye of the Plague Father as he did, and so weren't a threat in his eyes. Pargegrouth had made strong allies of his peers in the days of the Warband, and with his aid had each of the three had Ascended.
The Khornate was Keviverix the Edge, who only accepted Ascension once she mastered bloodthirsty savagery and deep-minded strategic acumen in total and equal measure.
The Tzeentchian was Ezriquey the Nine-Fold Victor, whose magicks had seen the defeat and enslavement of the Nonarchy of Aratrius, earning her Ascension.
The Slaaneshi was Syknacus the Monogamous. None but Pargegrouth know what depraved misdeeds he committed to win the heart of a Keeper of Secrets, only that his moniker had something to do with it, and that his Ascension gave him the means to fit it into his chest.
The four were as close to friendship as could exist amongst the higher ranks of the Ruinous Powers. They went their separate ways, but rarely, when a great reward lay for the taking, the Four would gather and show their enemy the true power of Chaos Undivided.*
*Following the death of the Emperor, Abominites would almost always be their target. None of them worshipped Tjapa so it was easy to get support for attacking him.
Of course, while Pargegrouth's comrades would accept him as the Anointed for conceiving of the Compact, for they had always profited greatly in these joint ventures, their followers were another matter. They were common examples of their kind and loathed the idea of working for the follower of another's god, and so Pargegrouth had to keep them all together under his watchful eye lest they scatter or launch disorganised assaults on their own, spoiling the campaign. To maintain the control they required, the Warband conquered the corrupted Hive World of Ahachite to use it as a staging ground for their campaign. Home to hundreds of billions of servants of the Ruinous Powers, its industry would easily support the Black Crusade's manpower and materiel requirements, all while serving as an effective base of operations.
***
Muster
A great host was gathered to launch an assault on Ahachite.
The Kaerae Socii, the buffer worlds beyond the Kingdom of Bel-Caerel, would contribute all their military power, for their existence would be the first to be extinguished should an assault by the Enemy commence. These Emperor-worshipping worlds had endured centuries of war against the Ruinous Powers and the Ur-Barbarian, and so were very well accustomed to conflict. Greatest among the Kaerae Socii were the Arctodons, a loyalist Space Marine chapter given permission to recruit throughout the entirety of Bel-Caerel. They would field Angels of Death and the billions-crewed ships of hard-bitten fleets, all bearing traded-for Bel-Caerel technology.
Behind them came the armed forces of Bel-Caerel. The navies of the Kaerae Worlds themselves would join, but that was not all. The Bear Warriors of Raga would assemble for the counter-crusade, the power armoured elites providing boarding power second only to Space Marines. As well, the priests of the Cult of Ilfeliare would go out in force to guard the souls of the sun goddess' people and smite the unclean, as their powers and abilities dictated.
Leading the clergymembers was Shanin the Prime, the Alpha-level Hierophant of the Shrine World Cymis, home to the greatest store of sanctic sorcery in the entire Kingdom outside of the planet Bel-Caerel itself. With him he brought not only the strongest psychic mind in the entire Kingdom, but ten thirteenths of all Bel-Caerel's Astral Lions, so strong was his call to them. Shanin would travel abroad the personal flagship of Ilfeliare herself, the Lightbringer, and use his extraordinary psychic abilities, divinely tinged as they were, to power its god-reliant features.
The Lightbringer is an ultra-capital warship, built to the same scale as a Gloriana Class Battleship over the course of two millennia. It is built to the highest quality.
One of the Lightbringer's central features is the Throne of Light, situated in the bridge of the ship. The Throne of Light connects a psyker to the ship's secondary reactor so they can be used to their full potential.
The Lightbringer is powered by two plasma reactors. The primary reactor is ordinary, powering most of the ship's system. The secondary reactor powers the weapons, propulsion, and void shields. The secondary reactor is different in nature to the primary, as it can tap into the power of the Warp to fuse with the generated plasma to energise and enhance the systems it powers. The secondary reactor is normally set to act as an ordinary plasma reactor. While incredibly well-designed and protected with wards and inscribed sun parchment, activating its warp-drawing power is risky. The longer it's active, the more time it gives the neverborn to find a way through the drive's anti-daemonic protections and use the device as a doorway into the ship. A psyker of sufficient faith, knowledge, and power can interface with the secondary reactor via the Throne of Light to dynamically recalibrate the anti-daemonic defences, preventing the denizens of the Warp from slipping through.
When the secondary reactor is fully online, it can be used to supercharge the ship's propulsion, increase a ship's firepower, or provide the void shields with a plasmatic field latticework that scorches munitions that would otherwise pass right through. Unfortunately, this would scorch any returning strikecraft, which forces the Lightbringer to rely on point defence turrets.
The Lightbringer is armed with two plasma battery broadsides, lances, and a prow-mounted weapon known as the Supernova Cannon. The Supernova Cannon fills the same role as the lesser Nova Cannon as a powerful area of effect weapon, but is both far more powerful and requires the full power of the Lightbringer's secondary reactor to function. Rather than launching a projectile, it instead fuses together an enormous amount of matter into an incredibly unstable and energetic state, held together by bonding strings of pure warp energy. Once fully charged, gravimetric impellers launch the volatile projectile across a vast distance at a significant fraction of the speed of light, whereupon the warp bonds holding it together unravel and the projectile explodes in a titanic expression of power.
One of the Lightbringer's central features is the Throne of Light, situated in the bridge of the ship. The Throne of Light connects a psyker to the ship's secondary reactor so they can be used to their full potential.
The Lightbringer is powered by two plasma reactors. The primary reactor is ordinary, powering most of the ship's system. The secondary reactor powers the weapons, propulsion, and void shields. The secondary reactor is different in nature to the primary, as it can tap into the power of the Warp to fuse with the generated plasma to energise and enhance the systems it powers. The secondary reactor is normally set to act as an ordinary plasma reactor. While incredibly well-designed and protected with wards and inscribed sun parchment, activating its warp-drawing power is risky. The longer it's active, the more time it gives the neverborn to find a way through the drive's anti-daemonic protections and use the device as a doorway into the ship. A psyker of sufficient faith, knowledge, and power can interface with the secondary reactor via the Throne of Light to dynamically recalibrate the anti-daemonic defences, preventing the denizens of the Warp from slipping through.
When the secondary reactor is fully online, it can be used to supercharge the ship's propulsion, increase a ship's firepower, or provide the void shields with a plasmatic field latticework that scorches munitions that would otherwise pass right through. Unfortunately, this would scorch any returning strikecraft, which forces the Lightbringer to rely on point defence turrets.
The Lightbringer is armed with two plasma battery broadsides, lances, and a prow-mounted weapon known as the Supernova Cannon. The Supernova Cannon fills the same role as the lesser Nova Cannon as a powerful area of effect weapon, but is both far more powerful and requires the full power of the Lightbringer's secondary reactor to function. Rather than launching a projectile, it instead fuses together an enormous amount of matter into an incredibly unstable and energetic state, held together by bonding strings of pure warp energy. Once fully charged, gravimetric impellers launch the volatile projectile across a vast distance at a significant fraction of the speed of light, whereupon the warp bonds holding it together unravel and the projectile explodes in a titanic expression of power.
Whatever other Bel-Caerelian ships could be spared for the counter-crusade were, and added to the total force.
Ilfeliare herself would not introduce her corpus to the war, but would instead remain far behind, listening to the whispered words spoken by the stars with god-wrought machines sensitive to such things. What information she could glean from them would be passed on to the Hierophant of Cymis. Sunfate would aid her in this matter.
Finally, the forces of Karzarot would go to war. The garrison of the Drirh Cyclone would stay stationary, the treasure within demanding an honour guard, but the fleets of the Wyrmhome could leave without fear. The Storm Zealots would go with them in full force, as would the dragons attached to the chapter. Most of Karzarot's other divine servitors would join as well, the rest remaining behind to provide supernatural protection to the mortals remaining. But joy be unto the war ships of the Wyrmhome, for Karzarot himself would fly with them, and do so as he had never done before. He would possess the Battle Barge of the Storm Zealots, acting in the Materium as a godship. It wasn't built to house his august form and so he suffered the indignity of discomfort, but it was necessary, for only with a godship could the Firmament hope to succeed in its plan.
***
Terminus
The battle began soon after the Firmament's forces emerged in the Ahachite system. The fleet travelled very quickly thanks to the godship and the Lightbringer's warp lantern, but it also gave advance warning to the enemy, who began moving their fleet elements to the edge of the system. The light elements and the Slaaneshi contingent moved with haste and reached it first, leaving the rest behind to catch up. This would've given the defending fleet a substantial edge by unleashing shots as they exited the warp and then acting as an effective skirmishing force, but they did not enter the system through the Mandeville Point as expected. Instead, the invading fleet emerged somewhat closer to the middle of the Ahachite system - a normally rather perilous thing, but the literal god within the fleet's ranks made it a simple task. As it was, over a quarter of the Chaos fleet - the Slaaneshi ships and many the rest's escorts - were simply bypassed.
The invaders would not be so lucky as to warp in to the flanks of the rest of the Chaos fleet, but they were at least at the halfway point between the Mandeville Point and the planet Ahachite, and they had caught the enemy by surprise. With so much of their escorts away, the initial volley of fire did major damage to the enemy even as they were still outnumbered, shocking and disorganising much of the enemy fleet. However, the Khornates managed to keep their mettle under the leadership of Keviverix, and under her orders would launch a full-scale ramming operation straight into the heart of the enemy fleet. A simple and brutal tactic, typical of their ilk, but in this case it was a very correct decision.
The invading fleet was so completely focused on causing as much damage while the enemy was disorganised that they had left themselves open. The Khornates' attack halted the decimation of the Chaos fleet, and even as the Khornates began taking heavy damage from the invaders they themselves inflicted disproportionate casualties via boarding parties. In particular, the Khornate Daemonship attempted to ram the Lightbringer, the ship assumed to be leading the attack. This charge was spoiled by the Arctodons' Battle Barge, which rammed the unholy ship in the side before it could hit the Lightbringer. The Daemonship would be kept from thanks to the arc of its trajectory and the active efforts of the Arctodons' Battle Barge, which was subjected to a brutal boarding action by Khornate daemons, Chaos Warriors, and Keviverix herself. Meanwhile, the rest of the Arctodons' ships would desperately lay down as much heavy fire on the Daemonship to kill it before it ended their Battle Barge in a ceaseless tide of blood.
Though the Khornates as a whole would suffer greatly for rushing forward without support, they had done their job well, giving their allies the breather they needed to recover from the initial shock. The Nurglites and some of the Tzeentchians would move forward to reinforce them, adding another Daemonship and Daemon Prince to the fight. At the same time, Ezriquey and her coterie of enslaved sorcerers would begin work on a grand ritual to banish the Storm Wyrm back into the Warp, where he would be devoured by the multitude of powerful daemons in the area. In response, the Storm Zealots would break out of the clusterfrak the space battle had descended into and wheel around the reinforcing Nurglites and set a course for the Tzeentchians. Ezriquey's fleet still had enough firepower to crush them even with their godship, so Pargegrouth elected to focus on the enemy ahead of him and take advantage of the rather successful pinning action his allies had undertaken. The Lightbringer began charging its Supernova Cannon, which convinced Pargegrouth that he had taken the correct course of action. The blast from the superweapon would soften up enough of the Tzeentchians' protective chaff to give the apostates a chance at cutting through them and into the Ezriquey's ship, interrupting the ritual and banishing Ezriquey. The Tzeentchians, no longer bound by their master, would, after destroying the Storm Zealots, either leave the battle entire or outright turn on him.
The next stage of the battle commenced. The Arctodons had failed. In a truly heroic action in the classical sense, Keviverix's forces had mauled their way through the Space Marines and Chapter Serfs of the enemy ship, including the Chapter Master, and the Khornate daemonship successfully made an emergency warp translation before they could destroy it. Following the Chapter Master's last orders, the Arctodons returned to the battle to reinforce the Lightbringer, which the Nurglite Daemonship had successfully boarded. The enemy was being held back by an excess of holy protections and a full garrison of Bear Warriors, but with Pargegrouth himself leading the attack, and with Shanin not contributing, they were doomed to fall without the aid of Space Marines. The space battle as a whole had reached a stalemate. The Khornates broke when they saw their daemonship destroyed, and though they rallied once their leader made them aware of her continued survival, the lull in the fighting had allowed the forces of Order to deal damage to the fleeing ships and reorganise. The stalemate could not last forever, though, as the Slaaneshi ships at this point were close to reentering the battle.
The Lightbringer, contrary to Pargegrouth's expectations, did not fire its deadly ordnance, but held it. Shanin, now free from building up the charge, did not join the fight, however, but focused his powers on divination and communion with his goddess. The Storm Zealots also defied expectations. Instead of attempting to disrupt the ritual, they simply went around the Tzeentchians. As they did so, the chapter's Librarians worked with their god to create a powerful, heavily warp-tinged storm around the godship, impeding Ezriquey's attempts to banish Karzarot to the Warp he was now partially in. She would still eventually succeed, but it would take more time.
The penultimate stage of the battle had begun. With the Arctodons' help, Pargegrouth's boarding forces had been repulsed, only to once more begin losing ground once more when Keviverix joined in the fight, and only brought to stalemate once more by a devastating flank attack by the Astral Lions. The stalemate as a whole held, but then ended, for Syknacus' fleet had at last reached the battle and began to cut into the combined fleets of Bel-Caerel, the Socii, and Karzarot's people. As for Karzarot himself, they had reached Ahachite when Karzarot sensed the enemy's ritual was nearly complete. In mischievous fashion, he and all his divine servitors left the ship and returned to the Warp, and then the Battle Barge activated its warp drive, cutting a hole into the Warp in front of it. Ezriquey quickly grabbed hold of the excess warp energy before it could cause backlash and then noticed three things.
1. The amount of psychic energy she was channelling to banish Karzarot was overkill. He was much weaker than she thought.
2. The reason Karzarot seemed so strong was that there was a Greater Daemon within the godship, masked as simply more of the storm god's strength.
3. The Greater Daemon was bound in a weapon that was now above the planet with all her ground troops.
She could not peer through the skeins of fate to see what would happen next, her powers focused on channelling the spoiled ritual's unrestrained energies, but she did not need to. The enemy's plan had apparently been succeeding, and from experience knew that allowing them to finish was a bad idea. She and the Nonarchy shaped the energy into a protective barrier around the ship, allowing it to translate into the warp and exit near the planet safely. She appeared in front of the Storm Zealots' fleet, amidst the planet's defence stations.
Then Shanin, backed by divination and divine guidance, opened a portal into the Warp in front of the Lightbringer, and the Supernova Cannon fired. The projectile sped into the Warp, then through the Warp, then out of the Warp through the rift the Storm Zealots' Battle Barge had made, then into the body of the defence stations with the Tzeentchian Daemonship caught within.
Then the song began.
*
The Holocaust power was the most powerful technique of the sanctic daemonology discipline practiced by the Imperium. It ignited the user's very soul to produce soul-killing flames that wash out and away from the psyker. Should the psyker die during the use of the power, by the power's use or by other means, their soul is destroyed.
The followers of Zaghâsh have this power as well, but also a more power version of the ability: Final Holocaust, activated by the completion of the Death Cant of Ultimate Martyrdom. It does not burn the outer layer of the soul, but its entirety, dooming it to die with no hope of survival. But for as long as the psyker uses the power, the burning flames of sacrificed immortality would multiply their strength and power.
*
The cyclonic torpedo with the infused Doombringer flew from the Battle Barge and sang its song. Strikecraft was sent against it, but it dodged and raced past them. It reached the atmosphere and unleashed a death god's hate. Bothor, he was no more. The hundreds of billions of slaves beholden to the Ruinous Powers, they were no more too.
With the aid of his Librarians, Karzarot once more entered the still storm-submerged Battle Barge and, together with the rest of the Storm Zealots' fleet, fired upon the damaged and now-solitary Tzeentchian Daemonship, destroying it and banishing Ezriquey. With all their ground forces gone, this was the last nail in the coffin for the Tzeentchian fleet, which scattered and fled. Order's fleets rushed forward, desparate to escape the destruction being levelled upon them by the enemy. A few vessels stayed behind to hold off as much of the enemy as they could, the Lightbringer among them. Keviverix knew what would happen next and ordered her fleet to retreat, telling her allies they should do the same. The Lightbringer, now towards the rear of the invading fleet, stopped, and began charging its plasma drives for detonation. Keviverix and Pargegrouth's personal forces were too close to escape, so they pushed forward. At last the Lightbringer's garrison buckled in one of their lines and the servants of Chaos broke through. They reached the bridge but, thanks to constant harassment by the Astral Lions, arrived seconds late to stop Shanin. The Lightbringer, all those on board, the Nurglite Daemonship, and several other Chaos ships were destroyed in the heart of the newborn star.
The rest of the survivors of the fleets of Bel-Caerel and her allies would escape. The Lightbringer's sacrifice had bought them space, which they used to rush forward and meet with the Storm Zealots. Then, together, they warped out, the storm god once more aiding to prevent their destruction.
The Firmament was victorious. In proportion and absolute numbers, they had lost more of their fleet than the Daemon Princes, but they culled the enemy's vessels and, more importantly, totally destroyed their ground forces. They would suffer heavy raids in the years to come and had lost a Battle Barge to the enemy, but the existential threat at least was gone.
There would one day be a reckoning, however. The defeat, rather than push apart the Daemon Princes, drove them closer together. Not since the days of the Imperium had they met a force that so rabidly and successfully defied them and the Dark Gods, and the experience mentally drove each of them back to their roots. The destruction of the Firmament was no longer a mere opportunity for them, it was now their shared driving goal.
***
From the remnant flames of apocalypse, Zaghâsh would forge for himself a sword. His sword. In raw power it would not equal Bothor's strength, but it would bear a unique, indefinable edge that could not truly be measured in mere units of power. Bothor was born for genocide. The sword was genocide. But more than that, Zaghâsh placed part of his own essence into the blade. It would be his own self, as much as his limbs and beating heart. And as well, he would infuse it with Ilfeliare's reward for reducing a world to ash by holy flame.
-----------
I did Setting the Stage right after reading a hagiography for my studies on the Late Roman Empire. Got that flowery way of speaking stuck in my mind and decided to roll with it.
I've found that the lyrics of the chorus for Me Quemo weirdly matches the Holocaust power despite talking about entire different stuff.
Me quemo, te quemo yo
Tu cuerpo es un incendio
Con mi sonido, te caliento
Y sube, sube, sube la calor
I've found that the lyrics of the chorus for Me Quemo weirdly matches the Holocaust power despite talking about entire different stuff.
Me quemo, te quemo yo
Tu cuerpo es un incendio
Con mi sonido, te caliento
Y sube, sube, sube la calor
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- Location
- Australia
@Durin, is it possible that for Both we do a Pulse Carbine and Volkite Charger instead of Rifle and Caliver? Maybe as a write-in?
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- Location
- Berkeley
Anonymity is not a binary. This is a galaxy where two different groups working together to handle an existential threat to both of them is an accomplishment. Sharing intelligence about a group that isn't big enough to be a near-term threat, let alone one that has some shinies you want (and naturally want to keep to yourself), just isn't likely. It's hard to say if the Alpha legion even knows that it knows about us, let alone feel it's worth sharing with their less than allies.
That said, significant Eldar and company involvement in our general area is a very hard to hide indicator that something they care about is here. Small things like the Warhost that killed Turoq are easy to explain away, as the Eldar do things like ruin the day of random promising Chaos lords no one else has heard of in odd parts of the galaxy all the time. Them actually having a reason to care about the region in particular and killing the Chas lord because of that is super easy to hide in the noise of them killing other Chaos lords all over the place. However, with each extra involvement in the area, and especially any major actions, it becomes progressively easier for others to deduce that this is a region that the Eldar care about in particular. Which brings up the immediate question of why—the Eldar don't do shit for no reason, they're generally stretched too thin for that. (Relatively) sane galactic powers are going to be keeping tabs on what other galactic powers, such as the Eldar, are doing as a matter of course, and are likely to stumble on us in chasing down that little mystery.
Now, in addition to the shield of anonymity we also have the shield of everyone having bigger fish to fry. Hostile groups learning of our existence still face a barrier in finding the time/forces needed to actually squash us. This barrier grows as we grow in strength, as it requires a larger and larger commitment of forces to actually destroy us, and is (somewhat ironically) far stronger in times of great tribulation for the galaxy. It is also stronger if it doesn't look like we're at risk of making a serious change to the status quo.
Our best chance of surviving in my mind is to stretch this period of relative anonymity as long as we can and mostly holding significant favors from the Eldar until we're facing forces well out of our weight class. Use of the favors in a preventative sense (that is, in a manner to increase our growth rate such as establishing a Krok domain nearby) is likely to backfire, as even with an accelerated growth rate there will be a substantial period of time where we show up on the big threat's radar without possessing the military power needed to survive a serious attack on their part. This is exacerbated if we use them in a manner that makes major Eldar involvement/interest in the area obvious, as it will cause larger factions to notice us before we would otherwise be worth paying attention to and thus extend our period of vulnerability.
That said, significant Eldar and company involvement in our general area is a very hard to hide indicator that something they care about is here. Small things like the Warhost that killed Turoq are easy to explain away, as the Eldar do things like ruin the day of random promising Chaos lords no one else has heard of in odd parts of the galaxy all the time. Them actually having a reason to care about the region in particular and killing the Chas lord because of that is super easy to hide in the noise of them killing other Chaos lords all over the place. However, with each extra involvement in the area, and especially any major actions, it becomes progressively easier for others to deduce that this is a region that the Eldar care about in particular. Which brings up the immediate question of why—the Eldar don't do shit for no reason, they're generally stretched too thin for that. (Relatively) sane galactic powers are going to be keeping tabs on what other galactic powers, such as the Eldar, are doing as a matter of course, and are likely to stumble on us in chasing down that little mystery.
Now, in addition to the shield of anonymity we also have the shield of everyone having bigger fish to fry. Hostile groups learning of our existence still face a barrier in finding the time/forces needed to actually squash us. This barrier grows as we grow in strength, as it requires a larger and larger commitment of forces to actually destroy us, and is (somewhat ironically) far stronger in times of great tribulation for the galaxy. It is also stronger if it doesn't look like we're at risk of making a serious change to the status quo.
Our best chance of surviving in my mind is to stretch this period of relative anonymity as long as we can and mostly holding significant favors from the Eldar until we're facing forces well out of our weight class. Use of the favors in a preventative sense (that is, in a manner to increase our growth rate such as establishing a Krok domain nearby) is likely to backfire, as even with an accelerated growth rate there will be a substantial period of time where we show up on the big threat's radar without possessing the military power needed to survive a serious attack on their part. This is exacerbated if we use them in a manner that makes major Eldar involvement/interest in the area obvious, as it will cause larger factions to notice us before we would otherwise be worth paying attention to and thus extend our period of vulnerability.
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^This, all of this.
Our cover is not blown as of yet. The Alpha Legion, a group so disorganized and spread thin that when we asked Durin if we could have Ridcully find out what their goal was and he told us that was not possible, because the Legion members did not even know themselves.
Pulling quotes:
"1. Are these Alpha Legion the chaos worshippers or the omnicidal ones?"
I'm rather confident that the info they learn from us is not going anywhere that important for a long time, so long as we don't do anything to make ourselves more relevant to important groups.....like getting Krork to appear next to us as allies.
- Location
- western US
I can't remember where, but durin as-of outright stated that the other domains feel somewhat indepted to us since they were unable to come even close to how much we contributed.
we don't have to worry about them not sharing next time ...at least with us since all of them have leaders with some degree of honor in their personalitys (to my knowledge at least)
- Location
- Berkeley
Our tech helped enough that we're automatically invited to future tech conferences just in gratitude as a semi-equal partner to the three largest uncorrupted human polities, despite the fact that we are ludicrously under qualified in size/military power and have substantially lower R&D capacity. Of the groups contributing there ours was easily the largest contribution and was probably larger than the sum of the other polity's contributions—military stuff is super important, and we brought a full DAoT set of wargear for both land and space, from the grunt weapons to the shiny stuff.
No they're not. Alpha Legion is so split that they are in a civil war. That one cell decided to infiltrate an unusually powerful and high-tech Imperial Remnant doesn't mean that we're going to have Black Crusade sent our way any time soon.
- Location
- western US
I can only imagine the faces of the admech when the primarchs returned.
...there was probably a few* days of partying
*some admech-worlds now have a holiday dedicated to our findings.
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- Location
- Australia
The Everchanging Times
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
The Everchanging Times
Eldar Intervention crushes Turoq's assaults, slays Daemon Prince!
Nemelix: "Tonight on The Everchanging Times, our correspondent in Epra gives a report on the turmoil in the Daemon Prince's former domain."
Halven: "It is utter chaos on Epra. Just a few weeks ago Epra was bastion of Tzzentchian culture and learning, with it's hallmark sorcerous industries and a booming sacrifice economy. Now, with Turoq's True Death, it's as if we are seeing the aftermath of a Khornate incursion that has just swept through his domain. Countless more die every passing moment, but the greater tragedy is with the loss of all the works Turoq created in his lifetime. Not just libraries, but also shipyards once thought unassailable are now broken husks of themselves, struck from the inside and not from the outside. I doubt this place will ever reach even a shade of it's former glory."
Nemelix: "We thank Halven for his report and dedication to news reporting even in such turbulent times. Now we got to Atlas, where the local Mechanicus is in utter shock over the lost of an entire fleet."
Vivie: "Before the fleet left for Muspelheim to acquire the bounty of promised Dark Age relics promised to them by Turoq, backed up in fact by actual intact escort-grade ships bearing incredibly advanced technology, they believed they would return with even more relics and artifacts from that vaunted age. Now they've got nothing to show for it, their rising star in recent politics having an abrupt crash. It is true that there were expectations of large losses to the Imperial Trust's superior technology and divination, but Eldar intervention here was completely unprecedented. They didn't just lose nearly their entire fleet, they lost their chance at seizing the Trust's advancement when, I quote, 'the Eldar appeared out of nowhere and just smashed right into our flank'."
Nemelix: "Thank you, Vivie. Now we go to Chron, where the Fabricator Locutus is facing trial for his fleet's failure at Asgard and his outrageous massed sacrifice of all of Tzeentch's Daemons."
Ezrah: "While it's difficult to follow the politics of the Mechanicus, the Fabricator Locustus is actually expected to be exonerated of all charges against him, with no loss of rank or favor, and in fact is expected to gain influence in spite of his decisive defeat at Asgard. This is, I'm sure, appalling news to all followers of Tzeentch. Sacrificing all the Tzeentch Daemons sworn to him - And to the Plague God, no less, should ordinarily demand at the very least death, and not only is he avoiding terrible fate as dictated by a Lord of Change, he is actually being praised for keeping his fleet alive through what has been described as a horrifying series of turns where his opponents displayed seeming omniscience at his every decision, even with extreme anti-divination countermeasures and choosing random choices where even his own knowledge would be of diminished predication strength. Responding to allegations of incompetence, he refers to Valinor's own failure at assassinating the Saint Lin, where a post-battle analysis suggested the Imperial Trust had foreknowledge of their plans. Still, this is hopefully a permanent stain on his career."
Nemelix: "We thank Ezrah for his morbid report on the fates of the Tzeentch Daemons. Now we go to our analysts, who offer hypothesis of why did the Eldar choose to intervene here, of all places?"
Luvax: "Well, there are three broad reasons as to why the Eldar would choose to spend their limited strength here. The first consideration would killing the daemon prince Turoq, who as noted had displayed extraordinary competence and capability in his attacks on the technologically superior Imperial Trust, which had before crushed Valinor even as it struck with a two-pronged attack. It's a known and unfortunate occurrence where they continually strike at the brightest and most talented champions before they ever have a chance to truly develop their talents and skills.
The second is that they wanted to protect the Imperial Trust. There are only speculations as to why they would choose to do this, but it is important to note that previously they had fought off a two-pronged attack by the Waagh and Valinor simultaneously. There have been unsubstantiated claims that one of the Imperial Trust's world, the deathworld Avernus, is in fact an Eldar Maiden world, which, while unlikely, could prove to be a reason as to why the Eldar would intervene so brazenly here.
As is common to the Eldar, this intervention could simply be part of a grander scheme with tiny, negligible details of their intervention adding to something far more drastic sometime in the distant future, perhaps with consequences we don't fully understand or comprehend right now. Each one of us followers of Tzeentch knows the power of seemingly unrelated factors coming together to grand effect, and with their stouch opposition to the True Gods, it's alarmingly possible that this grand scheme involves our downfall at negligible cost to the Eldar."
Nemelix: "Thank you, Luvax. With the recent Eldar intervention, I think we can say with certainty that Amir-Ka will want more sorcerers of Tzeentch scrying the future so as to mitigate whatever plans the Eldar have in store for us."
Reporting live on the Everchanging Times, where we deliver news of change upfront to you.
AN: The Everchanging Times, is in fact, created and owned by a graduate from the Everchanging Academies in Daemogoye.
@Durin
Eldar Intervention crushes Turoq's assaults, slays Daemon Prince!
Nemelix: "Tonight on The Everchanging Times, our correspondent in Epra gives a report on the turmoil in the Daemon Prince's former domain."
Halven: "It is utter chaos on Epra. Just a few weeks ago Epra was bastion of Tzzentchian culture and learning, with it's hallmark sorcerous industries and a booming sacrifice economy. Now, with Turoq's True Death, it's as if we are seeing the aftermath of a Khornate incursion that has just swept through his domain. Countless more die every passing moment, but the greater tragedy is with the loss of all the works Turoq created in his lifetime. Not just libraries, but also shipyards once thought unassailable are now broken husks of themselves, struck from the inside and not from the outside. I doubt this place will ever reach even a shade of it's former glory."
Nemelix: "We thank Halven for his report and dedication to news reporting even in such turbulent times. Now we got to Atlas, where the local Mechanicus is in utter shock over the lost of an entire fleet."
Vivie: "Before the fleet left for Muspelheim to acquire the bounty of promised Dark Age relics promised to them by Turoq, backed up in fact by actual intact escort-grade ships bearing incredibly advanced technology, they believed they would return with even more relics and artifacts from that vaunted age. Now they've got nothing to show for it, their rising star in recent politics having an abrupt crash. It is true that there were expectations of large losses to the Imperial Trust's superior technology and divination, but Eldar intervention here was completely unprecedented. They didn't just lose nearly their entire fleet, they lost their chance at seizing the Trust's advancement when, I quote, 'the Eldar appeared out of nowhere and just smashed right into our flank'."
Nemelix: "Thank you, Vivie. Now we go to Chron, where the Fabricator Locutus is facing trial for his fleet's failure at Asgard and his outrageous massed sacrifice of all of Tzeentch's Daemons."
Ezrah: "While it's difficult to follow the politics of the Mechanicus, the Fabricator Locustus is actually expected to be exonerated of all charges against him, with no loss of rank or favor, and in fact is expected to gain influence in spite of his decisive defeat at Asgard. This is, I'm sure, appalling news to all followers of Tzeentch. Sacrificing all the Tzeentch Daemons sworn to him - And to the Plague God, no less, should ordinarily demand at the very least death, and not only is he avoiding terrible fate as dictated by a Lord of Change, he is actually being praised for keeping his fleet alive through what has been described as a horrifying series of turns where his opponents displayed seeming omniscience at his every decision, even with extreme anti-divination countermeasures and choosing random choices where even his own knowledge would be of diminished predication strength. Responding to allegations of incompetence, he refers to Valinor's own failure at assassinating the Saint Lin, where a post-battle analysis suggested the Imperial Trust had foreknowledge of their plans. Still, this is hopefully a permanent stain on his career."
Nemelix: "We thank Ezrah for his morbid report on the fates of the Tzeentch Daemons. Now we go to our analysts, who offer hypothesis of why did the Eldar choose to intervene here, of all places?"
Luvax: "Well, there are three broad reasons as to why the Eldar would choose to spend their limited strength here. The first consideration would killing the daemon prince Turoq, who as noted had displayed extraordinary competence and capability in his attacks on the technologically superior Imperial Trust, which had before crushed Valinor even as it struck with a two-pronged attack. It's a known and unfortunate occurrence where they continually strike at the brightest and most talented champions before they ever have a chance to truly develop their talents and skills.
The second is that they wanted to protect the Imperial Trust. There are only speculations as to why they would choose to do this, but it is important to note that previously they had fought off a two-pronged attack by the Waagh and Valinor simultaneously. There have been unsubstantiated claims that one of the Imperial Trust's world, the deathworld Avernus, is in fact an Eldar Maiden world, which, while unlikely, could prove to be a reason as to why the Eldar would intervene so brazenly here.
As is common to the Eldar, this intervention could simply be part of a grander scheme with tiny, negligible details of their intervention adding to something far more drastic sometime in the distant future, perhaps with consequences we don't fully understand or comprehend right now. Each one of us followers of Tzeentch knows the power of seemingly unrelated factors coming together to grand effect, and with their stouch opposition to the True Gods, it's alarmingly possible that this grand scheme involves our downfall at negligible cost to the Eldar."
Nemelix: "Thank you, Luvax. With the recent Eldar intervention, I think we can say with certainty that Amir-Ka will want more sorcerers of Tzeentch scrying the future so as to mitigate whatever plans the Eldar have in store for us."
Reporting live on the Everchanging Times, where we deliver news of change upfront to you.
AN: The Everchanging Times, is in fact, created and owned by a graduate from the Everchanging Academies in Daemogoye.
@Durin
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