Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Primarch's Office.
"My Lord," Arsena reported, data-slate in hand. "The Third Chapter has breached the archives. The Hrud on Gurgan have been cleansed."
"I have compiled the casualties of the four Chapters. Total fallen: two thousand eight hundred forty."
'Losses less than one-tenth of the Iron Warriors.' Nareth smiled.
'This time, the greatest credit is undoubtedly mine. Through three rituals, I eliminated most of the Hrud in stages.'
'Next is the Void Fist, which destroyed the Hrud's void power.'
'The four Chapters' beyonders were also a significant factor.'
Finally, Nareth silently praised Perturabo.
'And of course, your stasis device was indispensable. Without it, I couldn't have drawn the Hrud.'
He reined in his thoughts and issued orders.
"Settle colonists on the Gurgan system. Construct a teleportarium gate."
"The Fifth Chapter is responsible. It will also be their exclusive recruiting world."
Sak'trada Deeps was far from Imperial-controlled space, and he intended to keep it hidden. Only the Fifth Chapter, with access to the Kalium Gate, could be easily deployed there.
The complex Gurgan system was also suitable for a "Astrologer's" roleplay.
Leaning back on his throne, thinking of Gurgan still intact, the Vulpa Straits under the Legion's control, he thought with feeling.
'This is a true victory.'
He recalled that when Perturabo deployed his stasis device on Gurgan Prime, the Hrud of the entire system had gone mad.
The gathered Hrud had turned Gurgan's yellow dwarf star into a rapidly expanding red giant.
Gurgan had been destroyed by spacetime energy, rendered permanently uninhabitable.
Barabas Dantioch had aged three thousand years, yet failed to hold the Vulpa Straits and Golghis.
Large numbers of Hrud had been forced to abandon the Gurgan system, migrating elsewhere.
Perturabo had isolated himself for a week, charting the Sak'trada Deeps and planning to use a more powerful stasis device to conquer the remaining Hrud worlds and achieve a true victory.
But before he could act, he received news of Olympia's rebellion.
He returned to his homeworld to put it down.
Then, he rebelled himself, never again having the chance to execute his plan.
Thus, Perturabo's victory had been hollow.
Thirty thousand Iron Warriors dead. Gurgan shattered, unusable for colonization or development.
Most of the Hrud had migrated to other systems.
Nareth glanced at Arsena. 'I've aged a thousand years, but I've also achieved a brilliant victory.'
'Perhaps, after extracting the secrets of making John Grammaticus a Perpetual from Slau Dha's mind, when I convert Arsena and the others, I should also turn myself into a Perpetual.'
'A Perpetual's immortality is only relative, but until I advance to Sequence 0, it's still a useful ability.'
If a Perpetual suffered damage beyond a certain threshold or was killed by an athame, they could not revive.
Nareth recalled the deaths of Perpetuals: Malcador, burnt out on the Golden Throne.
Ollanius Persson, the Emperor's first Warmaster, killed by Horus in a single blow on the Vengeful Spirit while protecting Him.
Anval Thawn, the last known Perpetual, a Grey Knight, was prophesied by an Aeldari Farseer to die before the Golden Throne.
Many future Perpetuals would die. Only the Emperor and Vulkan would be truly immortal.
'But at least it will allow me to maintain peak condition after dealing with the remaining billions of Hrud in Sak'trada Deeps, and grant me a degree of resurrection ability.'
'A True God has no need to worry about lifespan. "Black Emperor" is the Sequence 0 with the strongest resurrection ability. But I don't know when I'll advance, nor when the Kingdom of Disorder might grant me that ability.'
'Until then, being a Perpetual is still useful. And the two might overlay, creating a beneficial change.'
As he thought, he noticed Arsena was still silent. "Arsena, what are you thinking?"
The Primarch's Aide started.
"My Lord, having faced the Hrud myself, I find it hard to believe we've eliminated nearly a billion of them at the cost of fewer than three thousand Shadows of Order."
"It is all thanks to You."
"Praise be to my Lord!"
Arsena clasped his hands, fingers pointing downwards, praising the Black Emperor, before continuing.
"The Second Chapter suffered the most casualties: one thousand five hundred twenty."
"Most fell in the void battle, luring the main Hrud fleet to the ambush point. Others perished in Kraven's underground."
After reporting on the Gurgan campaign, his Aide continued.
"My Lord, as commanded, I have ordered the First, Seventh, Eleventh, and Twelfth Chapters to assemble at the Kalium Gate by the eleventh standard month of 880."
"I have also issued the assembly order to the Chapter Librarians and the Chief Librarian on Mancora."
As Arsena reported, in the Ultima Segmentum, on Prospero.
Ethan, the resilient psyker, boarded an Aquila Lander with his hunting squad amidst the deafening cheers of Tizca's populace.
Compared to when he had arrived on Tizca, two of his squad members had changed.
One Court Knight, one non-Court Brother.
The squad leader said happily to Ethan: "Ethan, your contribution was the greatest. We can present nine thousand four hundred ten Psychneuein to Father."
880.M30.
Barnett.
Wilshirere, having just returned from the Gurgan system, immediately came to this newly transformed agricultural world.
The "Harvest Priest" stood proudly beside him, introduced the sustainable development model she had created.
"My Lord, after twenty-three years of transformation, Barnett is complete, as planned."
"First," Kerri, her bronze skin glistening, mentioned the Second Chapter Librarians who had supported them.
"They worked with us to complete the soil remediation for the entire world."
"Testing shows the soil has reached 52% of the quality of Tanist, and the Aeldari maiden worlds."
"This is sufficient to meet the food needs of one hundred sixty billion people without damaging the environment, exceeding the projected one hundred billion."
She pointed, highlighting thirty-six areas on the hololithic star chart.
"The Librarians, drawing on the Thousand Sons' experience at Tizca, have also deployed a mechanical-psychic array, capable of accurately predicting and controlling the planet's climate without error."
Wilshirere nodded. "I'd like to see it for myself."
"Of course, my Lord." Kerri said confidently.
Moments later, the Aquila Lander landed beside a square. He saw a Shadow of Order supervising citizens practicing Taijiquan in the park.
The sunlight was warm and pleasant. Golden buildings surrounded the square.
"This is Residential Zone A-3. Every morning, the citizens practice Taijiquan before beginning their work."
Wilshirere nodded. He knew more.
Both Shadows of Order and Thousand Sons territories practiced this legacy of the Dragon Realm, discovered on the Morningstar.
On Tizca, it was to calm psykers and mutants. The Black Emperor intended it as the first line of defense against Chaos for the populace.
Wilshirere's gaze swept over the lush, low-hanging branches, lingering on the vibrant fruit.
"Only in Tizca and Barnett's parks do you see such fruit."
He turned and walked towards the farmland.
Moments later, surrounded by fragrance, he stopped before the sugar beet fields.
Wilshirere carefully pinched a small amount of soil and brought it to his nose.
He smiled.
"No smell of pesticides, unlike Imperial agri-worlds." He looked approvingly at Kerri. "You've succeeded. You've built an agricultural world that's different from the Imperial model, a sustainable one."
"All glory belongs to the Monarch and your support." Kerri said modestly, but she thought of the day she had asked Lady Marlena about seed characteristics on Symphony of the Sea.
She had never imagined leaving Symphony of the Sea to follow Lady Marlena.
Even less had she imagined receiving a gift from Lord Nareth, and being tasked with establishing an agricultural world as a model for the entire Legion.
Wilshirere's gaze lifted from the endless sugar beets, from the golden wheat swaying in the breeze.
The shadow that had haunted him, the Sun Shadow turning to rust, the Shadows of Order turning to dust, dissolved in the bright light.
As Wilshirere looked to the sky, aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Nareth's psychic projection crossed the void, arriving at Terra's Golden Palace.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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