No, psykers still have material souls, the variance is in their immaterial souls being gates of some sort. Blanks are defined, so far, as purely having no immaterial soul. If there's gradients of blank then that means there's a trait beyond absence of that soul that comes into play.
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The Lost Primarch Quest
- Thread starter Daemon Hunter
- Start date
- Location
- USA
Stronger psykers have stronger immaterial souls. A stronger blank has a stronger material soul compared to another blank. Its that simple.
- Location
- The Golden State
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Over 1260+ under sidestory and still going…bruh that will take me long ass time to read them all 
Last edited:
- Location
- Elsewhere
I would say it's between Aurelian and Abdul.
You don't really know, Magnus seemed to have a few seperate theories, the leading one being their materium soul is stronger.
Now that is a question that is currently unknown
Years 46 - 50 - Part 2 The Sons of Kesar
- Location
- Elsewhere
"Eli should have been lynched years ago, but the Imperial Army is filled with shortsighted fools." - Lord Commander Soraya "Old Gunpowder" Van Sterk when asked about the new Lord Commander's aggressive policies.
"Fine, treat me like a damsel. It's not like I can do anything about it." - Lord General Militant Karcer in her response to Eli's request.
"The Emperor won't be on Terra for a few months, nor will Malcador." - Corvus Corax in a conversation with Skullface.
"By order of the Imperium, you are sentenced to death." - Imperial Army Special Task group 437 to 4800 Imperial officers.
"What are you up to Kharn?" - Lhorke
"Whatever is needed." - Kharn
"Why come to me?" The First Captain of the Wardens had a reputation for a reason. He was paranoid, distrusting, and suspicious, yet also more often than not those personality traits had proved necessary. So for someone to come to him, rather than the more trusting Primarch, sent up multiple red flags in Oriacarius' mind.
"Father would take my words at face value," Baldur said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You, however, haven't trusted me in years."
"I don't believe you," the First Captain replied, stepping towards the other Astartes to try and unbalance him. "You want something more out of this, I just haven't figured it out."
"Call it plausible deniability then." Baldur waved Oriacarius off, smirking at some inside joke. "It's easier if our father doesn't find out."
The First Captain instinctively thumbed his chainsword, then to Baldur's armaments. The calculus made, Oriacarius looked back at Baldur's face, finding it irritatingly vague. "I do not keep secrets from him."
"Then you should start," Baldur began explaining, "he trusts the Hydra far too much for my liking."
At this point, the First Captain un-holstered his chainsword, but didn't activate it yet. "Explain."
Baldur looked unconcerned, "No, I don't think I will."
"You do not get to make that claim without backing it up," Oriacarius calmly explained, "consider this an order. Explain."
The Astartes in question sighed, "Alpharius has been assassinating generals that support Vulkan's reforms. Has been for over twenty years now."
"And no one has noticed?" Oriacarius began. "I'm going to need more than just your word."
Baldur's brow pinched in irritation, "you're asking me for evidence of crimes by the Alpha Legion." Then he smiled, "Luckily I have that, General Eisengard killed himself 3 years ago, that wasn't a suicide. The medical examiner was bought off, but had a drinking problem and blacked out when performing the autopsy."
"They had backups they didn't remember … " Oriacarius trailed off, realizing what this meant. "I'll look into this myself, until then, you're confined to this ship."
"Fine, I have a few contacts that need orders, however, mind having someone take care of it?" At Oriacarius' nod, Baldur sighed, "I really expected this all to be simpler."
"So why keep this from Kesar? He should know what his closest brother is up to."
"Because he'd confront him immediately," came the blunt reply, "and then Alpharius would say he was conflicted, he really tried hard to find another way out, then father will explain why what he's doing is idiotic, and Alpharius will sigh, say he won't do it anymore, then the moment father leaves, he'd go back to his old ways."
"You give Alpharius too little credit," the First Captain probed, "the Alpha Legion is more open-minded than you think. We've worked with them for decades now."
"Is Malcador?"
That gave Oriacarius pause. Taking a moment to analyze the situation, the First Captain thought back to several of his Civil War contingencies. In most of them, the Sigillite was predictably stubborn and unyielding. He learned and adapted of course, but his core ideology remained the same throughout. "It's not Alpharius you care about," Oriacarius realized, "you worry about the Sigillite directing him."
"I do," Baldur agreed, making the First Captain immediately doubt his conclusion. "Malcador is incredible, a rare genius with humility and experience. But he is not without his flaws."
"Humility?" Oriacarius repeated the word. "The Sigillite? Humble?"
"He knows he can be outplayed at times," Baldur explained, "and has plans for if that were to occur. He knows precisely how skilled he is."
"That doesn't make him humble, that just doesn't make him completely out of touch."
"You haven't heard him ramble about the Unification Wars," Baldur said with a haunted look on his face. "And I hope you never do."
Oriacarius didn't respond for a moment, instead finalizing a temporary decision. "I will keep your words secret for a decade, after which I shall reassess."
"That's the best I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?" Baldur asked with a clearly displeased expression on his face.
"I am being far more generous than I should be already," came the blunt reply.
"Then let me tell you a story of what I've done over the past 15 years…"
To Lord Primarch Kesar,
I am writing to inform you of my recent conversation with Baldur. He has requested I keep that conversation a secret, but I thought it prudent to inform you regardless. If it is possible, please avoid sharing this information with anyone unless necessary.
Over the past 15 years, Baldur has consistently underplayed his skillset to us. Notably, he was simultaneously working on understanding the politics within Svarga, as well as hunting for a corrupt Sigillite agent. During this time, he succeeded beyond all expectations, and grew considerably in both skill and experience, to the point where most would describe him as a hero of the Legion.
This resulted in a situation where he was effectively given free reign within Svarga, as the work he told us would take a decade, instead took just a mere four years for him. Over the other six years, he instead worked to create a sophisticated intelligence network for Malcador, which is intended to inform him of any action we take to prepare for a civil war against the Imperium.
While most of the network is run by the Sigillites and Alpha Legion, I have begun taking the liberty to suborn a small portion of it, which I expect will assist in a variety of roles. Thus far, I have discovered that around 5% of our taxes are embezzled by the Alpha Legion for their operational expenses. However, it appears that the rest are natural byproducts of a variety of economic issues within the Imperium.
More relevant, however, has been a pseudo-breakdown of what is causing the majority of our corruption issues. I should note that these values are extremely imprecise, so may not be as useful as one may expect. The current primary source of embezzlement seems to be planetary governments overcharging for required services (estimated 20-80%). Secondarily seems to be basic incompetence and greed (estimated 10-50%). Third is piracy (estimated 5-30%), with several other causes that are of dubious reliance.
In terms of power blocs, I shall directly quote Baldur:
"In Svarga, there are four main power blocs present. The Mechanicum, House Trinakis, the Homeguard, and the Coalition of Allied Worlds."
"First, and most powerful, the Mechanicum. With the twin political capitals of Bara I and Mezoa, the branch within Svarga is well known for its focus on more technologically advanced assets as well as producing items with lengthy lead times. Combined with the continuous Mechanicum construction that is still ongoing, this has made them notably more interconnected than any other domain besides Ultramar. While the local bloc has periodically thought of increasing prices due to their strong position, they have been repeatedly warned by Mars not to do so, and to instead keep prices low for the Exalted of the Omnissiah. As such, I fully expect the main body of power within Svarga to remain very pleased with the Wardens."
"House Trinakis is a notable Rogue Trader dynasty that is most well known for focusing entirely on services for the Imperial Army. The primary source of entertainment for most guardsmen, they are known to have civilian vessels following Imperial Army fleets before turning into mobile cities for soldiers to use as shore leave. Additionally, they use knowledge of the army's movements for insider trading, oftentimes purchasing key goods directly before price spikes which has made them fabulously wealthy. Overall, they don't really care about the Wardens."
"Thirdly, we come to one of the only factions with considerable criticism of the Legion, the Homeguard. A collection of allied Imperial Army officers that wish for greater emphasis to be placed on the Imperial Army and on Imperial worlds, they have openly criticized the Emperor and most of the Primarchs for what they view as overly aggressive campaigns. Most high profile of these is the current Maelstrom War, which they view as a campaign that should be performed later. One issue with this group is that they are highly fractious, with the vast majority of participants joining in the past 5 years. Galvanized by what they saw as an ineffective response from Lord Commander Militant Aldritch, the lack of a personal appearance of Father in the Maelstrom, and the rise of Lord Commander Militant Eli, their numbers have since swelled, and are estimated as having a full 15% of Imperial Army generals as members."
"Lastly, we have the Coalition of Allied Worlds. A group of 500 planets spread throughout Svarga, these worlds have similar political ideologies, primarily ruled by monarchies. These worlds are by and large rather pleased with the Wardens, for having let them continue to rule over their serfs, and often causing them to grow extremely wealthy as the income from infrastructure and technological improvements primarily goes to them rather than their citizens. While these are surprisingly productive worlds, due to carefully managed labor practices that optimize for employee productivity, they also consistently rank as some of the least desirable worlds for one to live on. Nonetheless, this group does consistently sponsor Imperial Army regiments, which has won them a fair few friends. Note, they have attempted to do so for the Legion, but have thus far been rebuffed."
When it comes to Captain Baldur, I have confined him to the Vigilance, and have tasked Captain Bader to maintain his intelligence network. As for how trustworthy he is, I will freely admit that I rarely trust anyone, and Baldur is no different. However, it is my belief that we should take a trust, but verify approach, and as such I have elected to keep certain parts of the conversation a secret while I work to verify them.
Additionally, I have begun to receive reports of dangerous worlds in the Maelstrom, along with a notice from the Emperor that he will be handling what seems to be an Ork station the size of a moon. This then leaves us with a series of major deployments that Lord General Militant Karcer and I disagree on. I shall keep you updated on these matters.
- Oriacarius
Oriacarius realized that he had gotten used to Kesar's presence. Decisions that were once his father's now became his. The ties that Kesar used to connect the Legions now had to be replaced by weaker ties between various First Captains. Raldaron was the most helpful, helping introduce him to members of other Legions, but so too was Bjorn, who had put him in touch with Zunia once more.
He would have to keep this up in the future, the advice he received for nearly free was well worth it. Oriacarius received an outside perspective and alternate ideas, and in exchange, he informed Zunia of some of the finer details of Kesar's economic plans. But while there were parts he enjoyed, there were also parts he liked far less.
Previously, Kesar would be the one that planned deployments, now it was once more up to him. While he had done well for now, there was always that part of him that screamed 'What if?' Oriacarius could be obsessed at times with that question, but it was what kept his brothers alive, what kept the Legion alive, and what would likely help keep Kesar alive should matters escalate. But while the deployment plans were still being planned, which he expected Karcer to disagree with yet again (at least she was reasonable about her objections), there were outside perspectives he could still seek from her. Not to mention he had been informed of some troubling news regarding the Lord General Militant.
"You're being sanctioned?"
Rather than respond through grinding teeth, she instead threw a vellum scroll at the First Captain. When Oriacarius had read half of it, Karcer finally said something out loud. "It seems that casualties were too high for Old Gunpowder."
Throughout the reading process, Oriacarius felt his eyebrows rising higher and higher in confusion. The letter described Karcer's actions as hasty and foolish, resulting in the deaths of billions of guardsmen due to her general actions and the decision to oversee a compliance that the Eternal Wardens had easily managed. "This … you have enemies in high places."
"Nothing new for me these days," Karcer remarked with no real worry in her tone. "I'll just need to defend my decisions again."
"You aren't worried about this harming your career?"
"No, of course not. That's already in the dirt." Karcer remarked flatly, "No, my chief concern is being executed for incompetence."
"That will not happen," Oriacarius growled, causing Karcer's mask to slip momentarily.
Slightly surprised, Karcer rallied quickly, her neutral mask returning in less than a moment, "Considering a tenth of the Imperium's officers have been executed this year, it isn't unlikely." She sighed, "Your assistance would be helpful, how much?"
"..." Oriacarius paused, "I'll do it for free, Old Gunpowder is either a fool or using her position to abuse her subordinates."
Karcer snorted, "I would have expected your father to do it for free, not you." She smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling slightly, "and Old Gunpowder is no fool, just stubborn."
"Why does Old Gunpowder have it out for you?"
"I shamed her entire family because her grandson was a coward and I didn't rescind my proclamation of him being craven."
"I see..." Oriacarius commented, thinking deeper about what he would be doing over the next few months. "You're hosting a celebration for some regiments in a few months, correct?"
"Yes, would you like to attend?" Karcer asked, "A speech from you would help quite a bit."
"I can get Lord Primarch Kesar to - "
"No!" Karcer interjected, "his assistance is unneeded."
"I don't understand," Oriacarius began, unsure of why Karcer was so unwilling to accept a solution to her issues, "the word of a Primarch means much."
"I do not need charity," Karcer practically growled, "Lord Primarch Kesar has never met me, he has never seen my work, he has only seen your reports on me. He would add nothing but his name to my defense, forever casting me in his shadow."
"Fine, I'll keep him out of this," the First Captain grumbled, dragging a hand across his face. Sometimes people can be so stubborn about nothing. "I'll go through the Legion, you have a good reputation among the Wardens, it's only right you get to use it."
"Fine, I'll accept that," the Lord General Militant allowed, before sighing, "For now, leave me, I need time to think."
"Very well, if I can be of assistance, send me a message." Oriacarius stepped out of the room before walking away, only pausing when his enhanced senses heard Karcer throw a dataslate at a wall with a suppressed cry of rage.
Taking out a vox, the First Captain asked for yet another meeting, "Baldur, I need some advice."
Doom Slayer was in the midst of a spar. Arrayed against him was a company of Wardens, along with a thousand Valhallan Guard. There used to be two companies, but that was at the start of the exercise, and the Slayer had taken care to remove the more dangerous combatants first. As he shifted tactics to reduce the sheer numbers arrayed against him, the spar was interrupted by a shrill voice coming from the ship's intercom
"Warning, Gellar failure imminent. All forces standby to repel boarders."
The Hero of the Wardens growled, before gesturing towards the Astartes and guardsmen to take up supporting positions. As daemons began to manifest throughout the ship, he reloaded his weapons, now with real ammunition instead of training rounds. A dull crack echoed as his boot fell upon a manifesting Daemonette, crushing its skull even as his eyes tracked the room, before settling on a Lord of Change wearing a … brass collar?
A warning flashed in his helmet's HUD, and the Slayer ducked, as a storm of shrapnel passed over his head. Rolling sideways, he brought the roaring Eviscerator in an upward arc, seeking to bisect the robotic Slaaneshi daemon prince. But before he could do so, his sword was met by a shining blade wielded by a surprisingly fast daemon prince of Nurgle.
Clad in rusted iron armor, wielding a deceptively strong bone sword, the daemon prince stepped back, "may this end with the death of one of us."
Doom Slayer's response was a low growl, even as he twisted around the rusted knight, using them as a shield from the robotic Slaaneshi. Getting a closer look at said daemon prince, Doom Slayer noticed the various weaponry attached to multiple points on the robot's body, a full set of 66 light machine guns that unleashed absurd amounts of firepower that coated the entirety of the room. As the rusted knight pressed Doom Slayer, the robotic daemon showered him with bullets, which would eventually wear away at his armor, all while the Lord of Change acted as a sniper, wielding a crossbow that sought to take advantage of any lapse in concentration to end the Warden. Yet while he saw multiple openings, Doom Slayer didn't take advantage of any, instead looking around him, seeking the fourth daemon he expected. And true to expectations, there was in fact a fourth Greater Daemon.
Backflipping into the fray came a lithe human, who seemed less like a daemon, and more like a five-foot-tall human. The only thing that revealed who they were was their face, which shifted from face to face, covering multiple skin tones, genders, and facial features each second. Practically dancing around the Doom Slayer, the daemon prince of Tzeentch was absurdly agile and quick, with even the eyes of an Astartes being insufficient to pick out some of their movements.
"Witness the might of the gods!" Shouted the rusted knight, before their very armor began to weep pus, their joints suddenly moving even more rapidly, almost matching the Tzeentchian's own speed. Almost every Astartes would lose to the two duelists alone, let alone when they were supported by two ranged combatants.
Doom Slayer's response was to stretch out a hand, his hand wrapping around the Tzeentchian's leg, before the Warden slammed the daemon into the floor, shattering their entire upper body. Someone still alive, the daemon prince let out a weak gurgling sound, even as the Daemonsbane wound up, and threw the broken body through the robotic daemon, creating a hole in the Slaaneshi. And in one move, four Greater Daemons became two. As the rusted knight laughed, "Oh my, I have to do that from now on!"
Doom Slayer didn't bother responding, instead taking a look at the battle around him, which was going far worse than he would have liked. While the lines remained stable, the daemons had substantially more forces to throw forward. Rolling his shoulders, the Warden idly blocked the laughing rusted knight's series of blows, before using his overpowered shotgun to tear apart a dozen Nurglings that were ripping down a makeshift barrier created by guardsmen. "I did say this would happen," the Lord of Change said, even as the Daemonsbane ripped and tore through several lesser daemons in pursuit of the Greater Daemon.
"But this is far more fun!" Said the Rusted Knight. Doom Slayer really wished they'd actually say their names. It'd make it far easier to remember who they were.
The Lord of Change fired yet another bolt of blood at the Slayer, which he caught one-handed, then used to spear a herald of Slaanesh. "I prefer living," responded the Greater Daemon to their friend.
Doom Slayer interrupted the conversation with a shotgun shell, the projectiles tearing through the Lord of Change's skull, banishing them to the warp. Turning on the Rusted Knight, the daemon prince just laughed. "As much fun as it would be to duel to the death, my friends would kill me if I did." Saluting with their sword, the Daemon Prince returned to the warp, even as Doom Slayer charged them to try and truly kill them. A mere second too late, the Astartes roared, before turning towards a thoroughly terrified blue horror.
It died quite quickly.
Over the next two hours, the ship was rapidly cleared of daemons, assisted both by the vessel's return to the materium, and the rapid withdrawal of lesser daemons now that Doom Slayer was free to rip and tear. When the dust settled, 60 Wardens would be carved into armor, while a force of a half million Black Covenant daemons had been pushed back.
You have 5 runic action years to spend. Normally it is 10, but 5 is locked for the rune world. You can choose to remove these if you so wish.
[X] Rune World -
[] Rune of Subtlety (5/8 Years, DC40)
[] Write-in
"Fine, treat me like a damsel. It's not like I can do anything about it." - Lord General Militant Karcer in her response to Eli's request.
"The Emperor won't be on Terra for a few months, nor will Malcador." - Corvus Corax in a conversation with Skullface.
"By order of the Imperium, you are sentenced to death." - Imperial Army Special Task group 437 to 4800 Imperial officers.
"What are you up to Kharn?" - Lhorke
"Whatever is needed." - Kharn
[X] Accept Eli's offer. Locks 5 research years in Years 51-55. Other unknowns.
[X] Accept Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar in years 51-55. Locks 1 research year.
[X] Accept Fabius' request to vivisect Kesar in years 51-55. Locks 1 research year.
"Why come to me?" The First Captain of the Wardens had a reputation for a reason. He was paranoid, distrusting, and suspicious, yet also more often than not those personality traits had proved necessary. So for someone to come to him, rather than the more trusting Primarch, sent up multiple red flags in Oriacarius' mind.
"Father would take my words at face value," Baldur said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You, however, haven't trusted me in years."
"I don't believe you," the First Captain replied, stepping towards the other Astartes to try and unbalance him. "You want something more out of this, I just haven't figured it out."
"Call it plausible deniability then." Baldur waved Oriacarius off, smirking at some inside joke. "It's easier if our father doesn't find out."
The First Captain instinctively thumbed his chainsword, then to Baldur's armaments. The calculus made, Oriacarius looked back at Baldur's face, finding it irritatingly vague. "I do not keep secrets from him."
"Then you should start," Baldur began explaining, "he trusts the Hydra far too much for my liking."
At this point, the First Captain un-holstered his chainsword, but didn't activate it yet. "Explain."
Baldur looked unconcerned, "No, I don't think I will."
"You do not get to make that claim without backing it up," Oriacarius calmly explained, "consider this an order. Explain."
The Astartes in question sighed, "Alpharius has been assassinating generals that support Vulkan's reforms. Has been for over twenty years now."
"And no one has noticed?" Oriacarius began. "I'm going to need more than just your word."
Baldur's brow pinched in irritation, "you're asking me for evidence of crimes by the Alpha Legion." Then he smiled, "Luckily I have that, General Eisengard killed himself 3 years ago, that wasn't a suicide. The medical examiner was bought off, but had a drinking problem and blacked out when performing the autopsy."
"They had backups they didn't remember … " Oriacarius trailed off, realizing what this meant. "I'll look into this myself, until then, you're confined to this ship."
"Fine, I have a few contacts that need orders, however, mind having someone take care of it?" At Oriacarius' nod, Baldur sighed, "I really expected this all to be simpler."
"So why keep this from Kesar? He should know what his closest brother is up to."
"Because he'd confront him immediately," came the blunt reply, "and then Alpharius would say he was conflicted, he really tried hard to find another way out, then father will explain why what he's doing is idiotic, and Alpharius will sigh, say he won't do it anymore, then the moment father leaves, he'd go back to his old ways."
"You give Alpharius too little credit," the First Captain probed, "the Alpha Legion is more open-minded than you think. We've worked with them for decades now."
"Is Malcador?"
That gave Oriacarius pause. Taking a moment to analyze the situation, the First Captain thought back to several of his Civil War contingencies. In most of them, the Sigillite was predictably stubborn and unyielding. He learned and adapted of course, but his core ideology remained the same throughout. "It's not Alpharius you care about," Oriacarius realized, "you worry about the Sigillite directing him."
"I do," Baldur agreed, making the First Captain immediately doubt his conclusion. "Malcador is incredible, a rare genius with humility and experience. But he is not without his flaws."
"Humility?" Oriacarius repeated the word. "The Sigillite? Humble?"
"He knows he can be outplayed at times," Baldur explained, "and has plans for if that were to occur. He knows precisely how skilled he is."
"That doesn't make him humble, that just doesn't make him completely out of touch."
"You haven't heard him ramble about the Unification Wars," Baldur said with a haunted look on his face. "And I hope you never do."
Oriacarius didn't respond for a moment, instead finalizing a temporary decision. "I will keep your words secret for a decade, after which I shall reassess."
"That's the best I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?" Baldur asked with a clearly displeased expression on his face.
"I am being far more generous than I should be already," came the blunt reply.
"Then let me tell you a story of what I've done over the past 15 years…"
To Lord Primarch Kesar,
I am writing to inform you of my recent conversation with Baldur. He has requested I keep that conversation a secret, but I thought it prudent to inform you regardless. If it is possible, please avoid sharing this information with anyone unless necessary.
Over the past 15 years, Baldur has consistently underplayed his skillset to us. Notably, he was simultaneously working on understanding the politics within Svarga, as well as hunting for a corrupt Sigillite agent. During this time, he succeeded beyond all expectations, and grew considerably in both skill and experience, to the point where most would describe him as a hero of the Legion.
This resulted in a situation where he was effectively given free reign within Svarga, as the work he told us would take a decade, instead took just a mere four years for him. Over the other six years, he instead worked to create a sophisticated intelligence network for Malcador, which is intended to inform him of any action we take to prepare for a civil war against the Imperium.
While most of the network is run by the Sigillites and Alpha Legion, I have begun taking the liberty to suborn a small portion of it, which I expect will assist in a variety of roles. Thus far, I have discovered that around 5% of our taxes are embezzled by the Alpha Legion for their operational expenses. However, it appears that the rest are natural byproducts of a variety of economic issues within the Imperium.
More relevant, however, has been a pseudo-breakdown of what is causing the majority of our corruption issues. I should note that these values are extremely imprecise, so may not be as useful as one may expect. The current primary source of embezzlement seems to be planetary governments overcharging for required services (estimated 20-80%). Secondarily seems to be basic incompetence and greed (estimated 10-50%). Third is piracy (estimated 5-30%), with several other causes that are of dubious reliance.
In terms of power blocs, I shall directly quote Baldur:
"In Svarga, there are four main power blocs present. The Mechanicum, House Trinakis, the Homeguard, and the Coalition of Allied Worlds."
"First, and most powerful, the Mechanicum. With the twin political capitals of Bara I and Mezoa, the branch within Svarga is well known for its focus on more technologically advanced assets as well as producing items with lengthy lead times. Combined with the continuous Mechanicum construction that is still ongoing, this has made them notably more interconnected than any other domain besides Ultramar. While the local bloc has periodically thought of increasing prices due to their strong position, they have been repeatedly warned by Mars not to do so, and to instead keep prices low for the Exalted of the Omnissiah. As such, I fully expect the main body of power within Svarga to remain very pleased with the Wardens."
"House Trinakis is a notable Rogue Trader dynasty that is most well known for focusing entirely on services for the Imperial Army. The primary source of entertainment for most guardsmen, they are known to have civilian vessels following Imperial Army fleets before turning into mobile cities for soldiers to use as shore leave. Additionally, they use knowledge of the army's movements for insider trading, oftentimes purchasing key goods directly before price spikes which has made them fabulously wealthy. Overall, they don't really care about the Wardens."
"Thirdly, we come to one of the only factions with considerable criticism of the Legion, the Homeguard. A collection of allied Imperial Army officers that wish for greater emphasis to be placed on the Imperial Army and on Imperial worlds, they have openly criticized the Emperor and most of the Primarchs for what they view as overly aggressive campaigns. Most high profile of these is the current Maelstrom War, which they view as a campaign that should be performed later. One issue with this group is that they are highly fractious, with the vast majority of participants joining in the past 5 years. Galvanized by what they saw as an ineffective response from Lord Commander Militant Aldritch, the lack of a personal appearance of Father in the Maelstrom, and the rise of Lord Commander Militant Eli, their numbers have since swelled, and are estimated as having a full 15% of Imperial Army generals as members."
"Lastly, we have the Coalition of Allied Worlds. A group of 500 planets spread throughout Svarga, these worlds have similar political ideologies, primarily ruled by monarchies. These worlds are by and large rather pleased with the Wardens, for having let them continue to rule over their serfs, and often causing them to grow extremely wealthy as the income from infrastructure and technological improvements primarily goes to them rather than their citizens. While these are surprisingly productive worlds, due to carefully managed labor practices that optimize for employee productivity, they also consistently rank as some of the least desirable worlds for one to live on. Nonetheless, this group does consistently sponsor Imperial Army regiments, which has won them a fair few friends. Note, they have attempted to do so for the Legion, but have thus far been rebuffed."
When it comes to Captain Baldur, I have confined him to the Vigilance, and have tasked Captain Bader to maintain his intelligence network. As for how trustworthy he is, I will freely admit that I rarely trust anyone, and Baldur is no different. However, it is my belief that we should take a trust, but verify approach, and as such I have elected to keep certain parts of the conversation a secret while I work to verify them.
Additionally, I have begun to receive reports of dangerous worlds in the Maelstrom, along with a notice from the Emperor that he will be handling what seems to be an Ork station the size of a moon. This then leaves us with a series of major deployments that Lord General Militant Karcer and I disagree on. I shall keep you updated on these matters.
- Oriacarius
Oriacarius realized that he had gotten used to Kesar's presence. Decisions that were once his father's now became his. The ties that Kesar used to connect the Legions now had to be replaced by weaker ties between various First Captains. Raldaron was the most helpful, helping introduce him to members of other Legions, but so too was Bjorn, who had put him in touch with Zunia once more.
He would have to keep this up in the future, the advice he received for nearly free was well worth it. Oriacarius received an outside perspective and alternate ideas, and in exchange, he informed Zunia of some of the finer details of Kesar's economic plans. But while there were parts he enjoyed, there were also parts he liked far less.
Previously, Kesar would be the one that planned deployments, now it was once more up to him. While he had done well for now, there was always that part of him that screamed 'What if?' Oriacarius could be obsessed at times with that question, but it was what kept his brothers alive, what kept the Legion alive, and what would likely help keep Kesar alive should matters escalate. But while the deployment plans were still being planned, which he expected Karcer to disagree with yet again (at least she was reasonable about her objections), there were outside perspectives he could still seek from her. Not to mention he had been informed of some troubling news regarding the Lord General Militant.
"You're being sanctioned?"
Rather than respond through grinding teeth, she instead threw a vellum scroll at the First Captain. When Oriacarius had read half of it, Karcer finally said something out loud. "It seems that casualties were too high for Old Gunpowder."
Throughout the reading process, Oriacarius felt his eyebrows rising higher and higher in confusion. The letter described Karcer's actions as hasty and foolish, resulting in the deaths of billions of guardsmen due to her general actions and the decision to oversee a compliance that the Eternal Wardens had easily managed. "This … you have enemies in high places."
"Nothing new for me these days," Karcer remarked with no real worry in her tone. "I'll just need to defend my decisions again."
"You aren't worried about this harming your career?"
"No, of course not. That's already in the dirt." Karcer remarked flatly, "No, my chief concern is being executed for incompetence."
"That will not happen," Oriacarius growled, causing Karcer's mask to slip momentarily.
Slightly surprised, Karcer rallied quickly, her neutral mask returning in less than a moment, "Considering a tenth of the Imperium's officers have been executed this year, it isn't unlikely." She sighed, "Your assistance would be helpful, how much?"
"..." Oriacarius paused, "I'll do it for free, Old Gunpowder is either a fool or using her position to abuse her subordinates."
Karcer snorted, "I would have expected your father to do it for free, not you." She smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling slightly, "and Old Gunpowder is no fool, just stubborn."
"Why does Old Gunpowder have it out for you?"
"I shamed her entire family because her grandson was a coward and I didn't rescind my proclamation of him being craven."
"I see..." Oriacarius commented, thinking deeper about what he would be doing over the next few months. "You're hosting a celebration for some regiments in a few months, correct?"
"Yes, would you like to attend?" Karcer asked, "A speech from you would help quite a bit."
"I can get Lord Primarch Kesar to - "
"No!" Karcer interjected, "his assistance is unneeded."
"I don't understand," Oriacarius began, unsure of why Karcer was so unwilling to accept a solution to her issues, "the word of a Primarch means much."
"I do not need charity," Karcer practically growled, "Lord Primarch Kesar has never met me, he has never seen my work, he has only seen your reports on me. He would add nothing but his name to my defense, forever casting me in his shadow."
"Fine, I'll keep him out of this," the First Captain grumbled, dragging a hand across his face. Sometimes people can be so stubborn about nothing. "I'll go through the Legion, you have a good reputation among the Wardens, it's only right you get to use it."
"Fine, I'll accept that," the Lord General Militant allowed, before sighing, "For now, leave me, I need time to think."
"Very well, if I can be of assistance, send me a message." Oriacarius stepped out of the room before walking away, only pausing when his enhanced senses heard Karcer throw a dataslate at a wall with a suppressed cry of rage.
Taking out a vox, the First Captain asked for yet another meeting, "Baldur, I need some advice."
Doom Slayer was in the midst of a spar. Arrayed against him was a company of Wardens, along with a thousand Valhallan Guard. There used to be two companies, but that was at the start of the exercise, and the Slayer had taken care to remove the more dangerous combatants first. As he shifted tactics to reduce the sheer numbers arrayed against him, the spar was interrupted by a shrill voice coming from the ship's intercom
"Warning, Gellar failure imminent. All forces standby to repel boarders."
The Hero of the Wardens growled, before gesturing towards the Astartes and guardsmen to take up supporting positions. As daemons began to manifest throughout the ship, he reloaded his weapons, now with real ammunition instead of training rounds. A dull crack echoed as his boot fell upon a manifesting Daemonette, crushing its skull even as his eyes tracked the room, before settling on a Lord of Change wearing a … brass collar?
A warning flashed in his helmet's HUD, and the Slayer ducked, as a storm of shrapnel passed over his head. Rolling sideways, he brought the roaring Eviscerator in an upward arc, seeking to bisect the robotic Slaaneshi daemon prince. But before he could do so, his sword was met by a shining blade wielded by a surprisingly fast daemon prince of Nurgle.
Clad in rusted iron armor, wielding a deceptively strong bone sword, the daemon prince stepped back, "may this end with the death of one of us."
Doom Slayer's response was a low growl, even as he twisted around the rusted knight, using them as a shield from the robotic Slaaneshi. Getting a closer look at said daemon prince, Doom Slayer noticed the various weaponry attached to multiple points on the robot's body, a full set of 66 light machine guns that unleashed absurd amounts of firepower that coated the entirety of the room. As the rusted knight pressed Doom Slayer, the robotic daemon showered him with bullets, which would eventually wear away at his armor, all while the Lord of Change acted as a sniper, wielding a crossbow that sought to take advantage of any lapse in concentration to end the Warden. Yet while he saw multiple openings, Doom Slayer didn't take advantage of any, instead looking around him, seeking the fourth daemon he expected. And true to expectations, there was in fact a fourth Greater Daemon.
Backflipping into the fray came a lithe human, who seemed less like a daemon, and more like a five-foot-tall human. The only thing that revealed who they were was their face, which shifted from face to face, covering multiple skin tones, genders, and facial features each second. Practically dancing around the Doom Slayer, the daemon prince of Tzeentch was absurdly agile and quick, with even the eyes of an Astartes being insufficient to pick out some of their movements.
"Witness the might of the gods!" Shouted the rusted knight, before their very armor began to weep pus, their joints suddenly moving even more rapidly, almost matching the Tzeentchian's own speed. Almost every Astartes would lose to the two duelists alone, let alone when they were supported by two ranged combatants.
Doom Slayer's response was to stretch out a hand, his hand wrapping around the Tzeentchian's leg, before the Warden slammed the daemon into the floor, shattering their entire upper body. Someone still alive, the daemon prince let out a weak gurgling sound, even as the Daemonsbane wound up, and threw the broken body through the robotic daemon, creating a hole in the Slaaneshi. And in one move, four Greater Daemons became two. As the rusted knight laughed, "Oh my, I have to do that from now on!"
Doom Slayer didn't bother responding, instead taking a look at the battle around him, which was going far worse than he would have liked. While the lines remained stable, the daemons had substantially more forces to throw forward. Rolling his shoulders, the Warden idly blocked the laughing rusted knight's series of blows, before using his overpowered shotgun to tear apart a dozen Nurglings that were ripping down a makeshift barrier created by guardsmen. "I did say this would happen," the Lord of Change said, even as the Daemonsbane ripped and tore through several lesser daemons in pursuit of the Greater Daemon.
"But this is far more fun!" Said the Rusted Knight. Doom Slayer really wished they'd actually say their names. It'd make it far easier to remember who they were.
The Lord of Change fired yet another bolt of blood at the Slayer, which he caught one-handed, then used to spear a herald of Slaanesh. "I prefer living," responded the Greater Daemon to their friend.
Doom Slayer interrupted the conversation with a shotgun shell, the projectiles tearing through the Lord of Change's skull, banishing them to the warp. Turning on the Rusted Knight, the daemon prince just laughed. "As much fun as it would be to duel to the death, my friends would kill me if I did." Saluting with their sword, the Daemon Prince returned to the warp, even as Doom Slayer charged them to try and truly kill them. A mere second too late, the Astartes roared, before turning towards a thoroughly terrified blue horror.
It died quite quickly.
Over the next two hours, the ship was rapidly cleared of daemons, assisted both by the vessel's return to the materium, and the rapid withdrawal of lesser daemons now that Doom Slayer was free to rip and tear. When the dust settled, 60 Wardens would be carved into armor, while a force of a half million Black Covenant daemons had been pushed back.
You have 5 runic action years to spend. Normally it is 10, but 5 is locked for the rune world. You can choose to remove these if you so wish.
[X] Rune World -
[] Rune of Subtlety (5/8 Years, DC40)
[] Write-in
- Location
- Elsewhere
You can do that for one rune research action, but do expect it to primarily not assist Kesar's work, but rather to help background actions performed by your Librarians. So it'd be a subtle bonus.
At long last! The Black Covenant has appeared!
So the long and short of what they are is that they are a group of daemons designed by Chaos to kill a Daemonsbane. Every single Daemonsbane, at least all those since the first, has had a Black Covenant form in response to their appearance or at least attempt to form with daemons from every Chaos God present and typically an Undivided daemon as their leader, though given that it's Chaos, it's never a sure thing for an Undivided pact to actually work. Given recent events with Khorne leaving the Great Game to fight Orks, the current status of the Black covenants for each Daemonsbane has been given a massive question mark with the exception of Doom Slayer's as can be seen here.
The most dangerous of all the Black Covenants though is undoubtedly the Black Covenant formed in response to Kesar's ascension to Daemonsbane on Velnias.
U'mas, the Undivided leader of the anti-Kesar Black Covenant had a shit ton of wacky dice rolls occur and is currently a diplomacy-focused daemon of all things, with a very explicit focus on a long-term strategy to try and defeat Kesar without facing him directly as he very much does not want to face a Daemonsbane Anathema.
The origin for U'mas' Black Covenant has already been partially written, with Part 1 of my omake going over what occurred with him from Year 7-12 in TLP time.
Link to Part 1 of the Black Covenant omake here: The Lost Primarch Quest
So the long and short of what they are is that they are a group of daemons designed by Chaos to kill a Daemonsbane. Every single Daemonsbane, at least all those since the first, has had a Black Covenant form in response to their appearance or at least attempt to form with daemons from every Chaos God present and typically an Undivided daemon as their leader, though given that it's Chaos, it's never a sure thing for an Undivided pact to actually work. Given recent events with Khorne leaving the Great Game to fight Orks, the current status of the Black covenants for each Daemonsbane has been given a massive question mark with the exception of Doom Slayer's as can be seen here.
The most dangerous of all the Black Covenants though is undoubtedly the Black Covenant formed in response to Kesar's ascension to Daemonsbane on Velnias.
U'mas, the Undivided leader of the anti-Kesar Black Covenant had a shit ton of wacky dice rolls occur and is currently a diplomacy-focused daemon of all things, with a very explicit focus on a long-term strategy to try and defeat Kesar without facing him directly as he very much does not want to face a Daemonsbane Anathema.
The origin for U'mas' Black Covenant has already been partially written, with Part 1 of my omake going over what occurred with him from Year 7-12 in TLP time.
Link to Part 1 of the Black Covenant omake here: The Lost Primarch Quest
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TinyGladiator
Just another SVer
- Location
- I move alot.
@Daemon Hunter , since you said ages back on the Discord Server that you wouldn't mention the effects of these until the next rune vote, I shall copy paste the same questions I asked way before.
"Speaking of crossing and linking. Since, at least for basic runes, it just takes one year with no DC to cross and link runes...
6a. Fire * Ice, effect?
6b. Fire * Silver, effect?
6c. Ice * Silver, effect?
6d. True Light * Silver, effect?
6e. True Light * Fire, effect?
6f. True Light * Ice, effect?
and, most important of all,
6g. Fire * Fire, effect?"
Seems like a perfect time to answer these.
"Speaking of crossing and linking. Since, at least for basic runes, it just takes one year with no DC to cross and link runes...
6a. Fire * Ice, effect?
6b. Fire * Silver, effect?
6c. Ice * Silver, effect?
6d. True Light * Silver, effect?
6e. True Light * Fire, effect?
6f. True Light * Ice, effect?
and, most important of all,
6g. Fire * Fire, effect?"
Seems like a perfect time to answer these.
Nicholas Brooks
Redeemer and Destroyer
- Location
- United States
[X] Plan Subtlety And Hopefully Other Stuff
-[X] Crossed Rune of Ice*Fire
-[X] Purge Rune Inspiration
-[X] Rune of Subtlety
--[X] 3 Actions at a baseline, up to a maximum of 5 if necessary for its completion. Priority of action consumption goes "Ice*Fire First, Purge Second"
Edit: Actually, @Daemon Hunter is there a moratorium?
-[X] Crossed Rune of Ice*Fire
-[X] Purge Rune Inspiration
-[X] Rune of Subtlety
--[X] 3 Actions at a baseline, up to a maximum of 5 if necessary for its completion. Priority of action consumption goes "Ice*Fire First, Purge Second"
Edit: Actually, @Daemon Hunter is there a moratorium?
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- Location
- Elsewhere
6a. +1 to combat
6b-6f. No effect due to your Legion combat being too high
6g. +1 to combat, but may determine it to be exclusive with 6a at this time
Edit: Also, these do have narrative effects beyond the mechanical benefits, albeit minor ones.
For this no, as it's a simple enough vote.
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TinyGladiator
Just another SVer
- Location
- I move alot.
[X] Plan Subtlety And Hopefully Other Stuff
Nicholas Brooks
Redeemer and Destroyer
- Location
- United States
The plan changed since apparently Silver*Fire gives no combat bonus.
- Pronouns
- Psychic energy
[X] Plan Subtlety And Hopefully Other Stuff
- Location
- Bronx new york
[X] Plan Subtlety And Hopefully Other Stuff
- Location
- Elsewhere
I read it as remaking the Purge rune, but just making it at a higher rune tier.
Nicholas Brooks
Redeemer and Destroyer
- Location
- United States
Like making it Grandmaster? Because I was intending it to be the Inspiration thing here
- Location
- Elsewhere
Ah, I see. If that's the case, change it to add Inspiration to the Purge Rune rather than Upgrade, as I interpreted it as quite different than what you intended.