Ultima Segmentum, Mancora.
Mountain ranges, like enormous serpents, sprawled across the surface.
Shadow-pattern Stormbirds, concealed within the various mountain ranges, observed the wars fought between the local nobles.
Chief Librarian Thomas, accompanied by the young Ethan, walked up a slope several hundred meters high.
Ethan gazed into the distance. His gaze pierced through rocks and trees, reaching the edge of the battlefield where the knights of both sides clashed, lances and greatswords colliding.
"Guard my body!"
Ethan accepted the solemn command. An Osiris mind staff and a force sword materialized in his hands.
"As you command, my Lord."
Thomas's eyes deepened. He entered the first level of the Enumeration, then successively ascended to the second, third, and finally the fourth level.
Compared to his mastery of the Thelema mindstate, custom-created by the Black Emperor for Shadows of Order, he was less adept with the Enumeration and had to enter each level sequentially.
Thomas closed his eyes, attuning himself to the wind's caress, the faint tremors of the mountain stones.
Following the Aetheric Flight of the Thousand Sons, as taught by Hathor Maat, his light-body was liberated from his flesh.
Thomas did not allow his light-body to ascend into the Great Ocean; that was dangerous and unnecessary for his current purpose.
He carefully drew a sliver of power from the Warp, using that raw, pure, vibrant energy to propel his light-body aloft.
His physical shell remained behind, guarded by Ethan.
Freed from the confines of flesh, Thomas felt reborn. His myriad, keen senses far exceeded ordinary human comprehension, even surpassing Astartes understanding.
Only when he activated his Warp Insight could what he saw barely compare.
His light-body, like an arrow, flashed dozens of kilometers in an instant.
His incorporeal form passed directly through stone, passed through trees.
He left a gleaming trail in the sky, visible only to those with Aetheric vision.
Thomas reached the battlefield. From his light-body state, he looked down below with his supernatural Aetheric vision.
The knights' grey fear before the charge, their blood-red battle-lust...
Complex emotions mingled, like the chaotic colors of an overturned dye vat.
The entire battlefield, from the perspective of pure emotion beyond the physical, was brought into his perception.
The Shadows of Order attempted to activate his Warp Insight, the genetic gift bestowed by the Black Emperor.
He felt his eyes, detached from his light-body, observe from a superhuman perspective.
The Shadows of Order found his field of vision abruptly narrowed, yet still wider than in his purely physical state.
He simultaneously observed the clash of dozens of knights at the battle's center.
The defensive gap in the right shoulder exposed when a knight couched his lance and charged with his left arm.
The unprotected abdomen when swinging a sword two-handed.
....
Finally, the "Warlock" activated his "Eyes of Mystery Prying." His field of vision further narrowed, limited to just six individuals.
He saw not only their red desire to kill, but also their rock-hard will.
Through his "Eyes of Mystery Prying," Thomas saw the waves stirred by the knights' war cries, rippling through the Warp.
He saw the invisible golden wings within those sound waves.
The "Warlock's" mind raced, comparing the three supernatural visions he commanded.
'The Thousand Sons' Aetheric Flight offers the widest field of view, allowing observation of emotions.'
'But the physical body is exposed, and the light-body itself can be attacked. My Lord once said Magnus often used this state to travel the Warp, communicating regularly even before reuniting with the Emperor.'
'His state of mind was precisely created to fend off predators while traveling the Warp.'
After summarizing his first experience with Aetheric Flight, he considered the power granted by the Black Emperor.
'The Warp Insight, my Lord, granted Shadows of Order doesn't require leaving the body. It's safer for use in combat, focused on discerning the enemy's essence and probing weaknesses.'
' Hmm, another key difference: Hathor said only some Thousand Sons masters can control Aetheric Flight, while Warp Insight is far easier. Every squad leader has now mastered it.'
'The "Eyes of Mystery Prying" not only examines emotions but also the mysteries behind phenomena. These knights of Mancora have grasped part of the mystery of the "Griffin's Roar."'
As Thomas pondered, he saw two crowned knights, each leading hundreds of men, charge.
'Now is the time!'
With a thought, Thomas drew a thread of power from the Warp. His light-body suddenly surged upward, like a shot from a cannon.
'Not good! I drew more power than I can control!'
As his mind raced, his "Eyes of Mystery Prying" saw a form formed of golden light dive down, unleashing a deafening roar.
The roaring sound waves struck his incorporeal body. Agony wracked him. His light-body dimmed rapidly.
The Griffin's roar had actually damaged his light-body.
Thomas hastily ascended through the levels of the Enumeration.
The various levels of the Enumeration served different functions, suited for different situations. A higher level was not always more powerful.
While most Thousand Sons simply and brutally used their highest mastered level in combat, Thomas was different; he demanded the ability to switch between levels according to the situation. But for psychic defense, it was different.
Like the Thelema mindstate, higher levels of the Enumeration offered stronger psychic defense than lower levels.
Ascending to the fifth level of the Enumeration, Thomas felt the cutting sound waves become like tiny arrows. His light-body's glow stabilized.
Ascending to the sixth level, his psychic power completely isolated the sound waves. His light-body gradually brightened.
Just as Thomas stabilized his form, golden light flared. Four griffins dove down.
'Not good!'
He cursed inwardly and hastily began to descend through the levels of the Enumeration.
The highest level of the Enumeration he had mastered was the sixth. It was insufficient to withstand a roar that struck directly at the soul.
The moment he completely exited the Enumeration, the deafening roar struck.
In an instant, Thomas ascended to the third level of the Thelema mindstate. Psychic armor formed around his light-body, enveloping it just before the storm hit.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
Invisible collisions erupted in the supernatural realm. Thomas's light-body stood unmoving.
Calmly, he formed a staff from his psychic power and swung it through the air.
SCREECH, SCREECH...
The griffins cried out in alarm, turned, and fled.
Thomas carefully guided his body, steadily back into his flesh.
'The Thelema mindstate created by my Lord, while lacking the many functions of the Enumeration, offers stronger psychic defense. It is more suitable for the perceptive Shadows of Orders.'
Thomas withdrew from the Thelema mindstate. With a thought, Ethan and the eight nearby Librarians heard his voice simultaneously in their minds.
"Move out!"
The Librarians boarded the Shadow-pattern Stormbirds. Engines roared. Landing gear retracted.
As the Shadow-pattern Stormbirds reached the battlefield, Thomas instructed the pilot:
"Land!"
He rose and walked towards the hatch, simultaneously pressing his hand on his custom-fitted armor. The psychic circuits, improved by Shadows of Order based on Squat technology, lit up.
Light and shadow flickered in Thomas's eyes. The Librarians immediately felt the surging rush of Warp energy.
The Chief Librarian, like the center of a storm, gathered immense power.
With a thought, the hatch opened of its own accord.
He stepped out. His Osiron mind staff blazed with dazzling light.
"Stop!"
At his command, the staff swung down.
In the Librarians' Aetheric vision, a brilliant psychic storm erupted fifty meters below the surface.
At the invisible storm's center, the crowned king and the hundreds of knights beside him fell from their warhorses, crashing heavily to the ground.
The psychic storm's aftereffects swept the surroundings.
Thousands of knights on the battlefield suddenly heard a voice in their minds, letting them understand the command spoken in a language they didn't know.
Involuntarily, they stopped their actions and stared up at the black-armored giant in the sky.
Their stillness gradually spread further, affecting knights who hadn't been psychically impacted.
The clamorous battlefield fell silent in dozens of seconds.
The two kings, using their swords for support, climbed to their feet. They stared in astonishment at the descending black metal bird and the black-armored giant emerging from it.
Their gaze finally settled on the black-armored giant descending from the sky, meeting those gem-like, piercing, pitch-black eyes.
Instinctively, they lowered their heads. Simultaneously, a commanding voice sounded in their minds.
Through the Librarians' telepathy, the feudal kings and knights learned of the existence of Shadows of Order and their Lord.
Ten days later, one hundred Librarians completed the conquest of Mancora.
Thomas, accompanied by Ethan and several Librarians, ascended Mancora's highest peak.
The Chief Librarian instructed, "Build a fortress on the summit. This place will be as important as Shadowhold and the Librarius on the Shadow's Sovereignty."
"As you command, my Lord," a "Melee Scholar" immediately replied.
Thomas turned to Ethan beside him. "Ethan, are you ready to fly?"
Ethan was taken aback. Then he heard the rushing wind. Two great birds descended from the sky.
They were lion-like in form, covered in thick golden fur.
Their eagle heads were held high, their eyes golden, their hooked beaks sharp as knives.
Their wings, which blocked out the sky, beat slowly as they descended.
The gyrinx fur bristled. It was on edge, as if facing a great enemy.
.....
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