The 'reckless' location Nareth had chosen was one of the waypoints on the Maw route, a place that would later be called the Shrine.
This perilous passage had many waypoints, offering travelers refuge from powerful Warp storms.
Among these waypoints, some were relatively 'safe,' while others were even more dangerous than the Warp storms themselves.
The Shrine was a relatively 'safe' waypoint, located on the halo star's edge, providing a respite from the Warp storms.
In the future, ships traveling the Maw, when caught in its fluctuations, would seek shelter here rather than return to Port Wander.
Some pious Rogue Traders even saw the Shrine as a manifestation of the Emperor's Tarot, deliberately staying in the area for a day, hoping for His protection throughout the perilous journey.
But once you approached the Shrine's orbit, the dangerous asteroid belt was nothing. Interfering with any of the stone spheres within the region would lead to misfortune and a violent death.
Nareth was interested in the Shrine because those stone spheres might have been placed there by some ancient deity.
'Which deity?'
'And why did He place those hundreds-of-meters-wide spheres there?'
Curious about the secret, he judged that the creations of a deity lost to the tides of history were less dangerous than another waypoint on the route, the Daemon World. He decided to investigate.
After ordering the Fourth Chapter to build a teleportarium on the Sondheim system and mine the adamantium and other resources, he ordered the Fifth Chapter's one-company fleet to assemble around the Shadow's Sovereignty.
In November of 894, a gleaming 'egg' appeared in the halo star region of the Northwestern Galaxy, in the void between Warp storms.
As the light faded, the black fleet materialized in realspace.
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, before the floor-to-ceiling viewport,
Nareth stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the void.
Beside him, Arsena reviewed the auspex scan results.
"My Lord, scans show the system's star is a dead, dark star, emitting faint light."
"There are no planets, no dust, no gas in the entire system."
The silver-haired Arsena asked, puzzled. "My Lord, this place seems to have no value."
Nareth stared into the void, his voice deep. "Have you considered why there are no planets here?"
Arsena checked his data-slate. The reports from the Techmarines and the Fifth Chapter's "Stargazer" captains concluded that Warp storms had torn apart any planets and somehow shaped them into rocks.
He did not answer immediately. Since the Black Emperor had asked, there must be a reason.
He examined it from a seasoned "Detective's" perspective, then said, surprised.
"Every rock is a sphere, hundreds of meters in diameter."
"If torn apart by a Warp storm, they wouldn't be perfect spheres. They would be irregular chunks and scattered debris."
The Primarch stared into the void, nodding slightly.
"Correct. These spheres are not natural, nor are they the result of Warp storms."
He was now certain the spheres in the Shrine region held some secret.
"Prepare a Stormbird."
He turned and walked towards his quarters.
In his bedroom, with a thought, the Order's Hand was sent to the Kingdom of Disorder for the first time since being "linked."
The Sword of Vaul and other items vanished as well.
He went to his office, his gaze passing over the spoils on the weapon rack: Russ's Kraken's Bane.
He paused for a second, then continued to his private armory.
The door opened. He walked in, took the Dionysian Spear, and put on the Pegasus ring.
The only items he was willing to lose were the Dionysian Spear and the Pegasus ring, both crafted by the Emperor.
Though the Dionysian Spear, when infused with energy, was a devastating weapon, a true relic, not comparable to mere pretenders, he disliked the cursed feeling when holding it, and was wary of the Emperor's possible scrutiny.
He handled the two items as he walked to the flight deck.
Both items were made by the Emperor, undoubtedly rare. In danger, they would be highly valuable as a medium for a "Backroom Deal."
He probably wouldn't die. He could retreat unscathed.
'The Dionysian Spear is the priority. I likely won't lose it.'
A fallen deity's power should be less than the Emperor's.
Nareth, without the black wolf Freddy or the gyrinxt John, boarded the Stormbird alone, targeting a 530-meter-diameter sphere.
Three standard hours later, with the runes showing six kilometers to the sphere, his communication bead buzzed.
He pressed it. Arsena's voice came through.
"My Lord, all scanning arrays, aetheric readers, auspex matrix, are at full power."
"The reports show all the spheres are ordinary rock. No activity."
"Acknowledged." He ended the call, then instructed his personal pilot, Nelsen.
"Open the hatch."
"Father," the "Calamity Priest's" intuition was not triggered. "I sense no danger."
"Though your intuition is high, you cannot perceive all hidden dangers." Nareth reminded him.
The "Mentor of Disorder's" commanding voice made Nelsen instinctively obey.
The hatch opened silently. Nareth's wings beat.
He landed silently on the sphere's surface, in a system without any atmosphere. He bent, his right hand touching the surface.
The rock was slightly cold, its texture clear.
The Primarch sensed nothing unusual. But he knew the rock was not ordinary rock.
He remembered that in the future, when expeditions tried to drill into the spheres, their mining equipment would mysteriously fail after drilling only a few centimeters.
One Rogue Trader even fired a lance at a sphere, causing no damage.
Both the one giving the order and the one executing it died soon after.
As he rose, he drew the Dionysian Spear from his back and ascended to the third level of the Thelema mindstate. Cautiously, he extended his consciousness, touching the rock's surface.
Hard. Cold.
He frowned slightly. His keen senses detected nothing unusual.
He bent again, hand on the surface, telekinesis surging.
"The unknown rock resembles shale, or basalt."
He rose, activating his Spirit Vision.
He stared for over a dozen seconds. Nothing unusual.
He continued walking slowly, maintaining his Spirit Vision.
The sphere beneath his feet, along with the others, orbited the dim star in staggered patterns.
After the sphere completed four rotations, his intuition stirred. His Spirit Vision involuntarily shut down.
He gripped the Dionysian Spear, looking around vigilantly.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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