Inside the Pyrae Pyramid, Magister Templi Kalophis sat upon his crystal throne.
No outsider could enter the Pyrae Sanctum and withstand the raging flames.
Aetheric spirits soared, their ethereal forms trailing blazing paths.
Kalophis's Tutelary, Si'orda, hovered above him like a dazzling angel. Since the bombardment began, its form had swelled.
Nourished by the planet's fires, it was now as majestic as a Primarch.
Pyrae Cult Thousand Sons surrounded Kalophis, standing within a sacred hexagram of interwoven water and fire, holding crystals from the Reflecting Cave.
"My lord, are you certain you wish to perform this dangerous ritual?"
Kalophis's fingers, resting on the ruby armrests, crackled. Sparks leaped, racing across the crystals.
"I have never been more certain. I am the Magister Templi of the Pyrae Cult. Flame is my servant. I am the Lord of Inferno. Today, I will burn the Wolves."
"Begin."
Pharis withdrew. The Pyrae Cultists were about to burn their lives, to unleash the crystals' violent power, when Kalophis, his eyes blazing, looked towards the sanctum's entrance.
"Hathor, why are you here instead of directing the battle?"
"To save your life." Hathor Maat said, pushing open the door.
His eyes grew pale, his pupils vertical. Invisible waves of spirituality surged forward.
The pressure of "Awe" rolled outward. The Pyrae Cultists shuddered as if struck by a hammer.
Several left their positions in the hexagram, spinning in confusion.
Pharis and the remaining cultists stood frozen, trembling.
"Hathor, what are you doing?"
Kalophis roared. A wave of searing flame, like a dragon, shot towards Hathor and the Shadows of Order beside him.
The Magister Templi of the Pavoni Cult raised his hand, his marble-like palm pushing forward.
Lightning shot out. A series of sharp cracks sounded, and the flame was split in two.
"I am here on Lord Nareth's orders to save you."
The Wyvach, cowering behind the throne, trembled. Black mist flickered in its eyes.
Si'orda snarled. Kalophis was about to merge his mind with it, when he stopped.
"Lord Nareth…"
"Now!" Hathor shouted.
The "Notary" beside him, his obsidian eyes blazing gold, intoned in Dunnic: "'Notarize,' Holy Light Summoning!"
The golden light grew purer, forming a seal-like projection, branding itself onto the "Notary."
A beam of sacred, pure light descended, striking Si'orda within the wall of flame.
Bang!
Like a bursting balloon, the angelic form shrank rapidly.
"Roar!" Si'orda howled, raising its hands.
Seeing this, the Shadow of Order drew a glass grenade from his belt and hurled it at Si'orda.
The glittering glass grenade struck the flaming form.
Amidst the shattering fragments, the Warp-brain worm opened its maw of shimmering teeth.
"Ah!"
Si'orda let out a piercing shriek and exploded, sparks flying.
"Hathor, have you gone mad?!" Kalophis rose from his crystal throne.
Even he required a psychic array and a series of summoning rituals to call forth a Tutelary as powerful as Si'orda.
"The Wolves are raging. I need Si'orda's power."
"You were about to kill yourself." Hathor extended his spirituality, using a "Psychologist's" tone to "Placate" Kalophis.
"Follow me. I will show you."
Flames flickered in Kalophis's eyes, flaring and dying. Sparks shot from his mouth.
"I hope what you show me justifies your madness."
He looked at Pharis, who had regained his composure, approaching through the flames.
"Mobilize all the Castellax-Achea Class Robots."
As Kalophis, furious, followed Hathor from the Pyrae Pyramid, Russ crossed the burning banks of the Ressam.
Heavy cannons along the city wall roared. Shells rained down on the Wolves wading through the water.
The river evaporated. Iron-grey armor shattered. Wolf bodies were torn apart.
Russ howled, drawing Mjalnar.
Since his two defeats by Nareth, who had taken his Krakensmaw, and his frost axe, the Helwinter, he had wielded Mjalnar.
This frost chainsword, also known as the Sword of Night, was also forged from a Kraken's fang, but not one Russ had killed.
Mjalnar was forged from the fang of the legendary Fenrisian Kraken, Gormenjarl, of the Age of Strife.
The Lord of Winter and War strode towards the wall.
The gunners turned their cannons, targeting Russ, heedless of the fleeing civilians.
Boom, boom, boom.
The ground shook. Hundreds of civilians were torn apart.
Russ howled, charging with Freki and Geri.
The two wolf-brothers ran and leaped, weaving left and right, darting through the smoke.
Freki and Geri leaped onto the wall at the same time, their claws scraping sparks.
Their claws found purchase on the stone. Las-beams grazed their fur.
They leaped again, landing among the gunners.
Freki's jaws closed, swallowing a gunner whole.
Geri's claws swept, cutting another gunner in half.
Rumble!
The entire wall shuddered as Mjalnar struck the gate.
Frost spread instantly across the door.
The chainsword roared, its teeth vibrating. With each rotation of the teeth, the gate shuddered.
Boom!
The gate exploded into ten thousand fragments, each covered in Fenrisian frost.
The bronze statue of Magnus, standing on the high cliffs of the Magna Acropolis, looked down upon the city he had designed, now engulfed in flames.
The Wolves poured into the Acropolis, slaughtering civilians and soldiers alike.
Steward Elan Nilay led thousands of civilians into the white mountains. Brave soldiers fought a desperate defense at the northern gate.
The iron-grey Wolves were mired in a sea of blood.
Two hundred soldiers held the armory gate. Their guns and cannons poured out an unrelenting storm.
First Company Cataphractii-pattern Terminators were hurled back, cratering the ground.
They rose, raising their heavy bolters, firing at the armory gate.
Boom, boom, boom.
Bolts roared. Smoke filled the air.
The iron fortifications at the armory gate were leveled.
The Cataphractii Terminators advanced on the gate. Dozens of iron fortifications opened fire simultaneously. A torrent of fire hammered the Wolves.
Bang!
A Cataphractii Terminator fell.
The iron-grey tide surged.
The waves crashed against the gate, only to be driven back by the concentrated fire, only to surge again.
The back-and-forth lasted ten minutes. The first Cataphractii Terminator broke through.
He swung his chainaxe, striking the iron fortification.
Boom!
Iron fragments sprayed. The chainaxe spun. Blood splattered.
The Terminator, covered in gore, charged the gate.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of deafening explosions sounded. The armory erupted skyward.
The detonating explosives unleashed a torrent, consuming the iron-grey armor.
Several Cataphractii Terminators near the armory blazed.
Through the flames, heavy transports descended, crushing the walls.
They disgorged iron-grey war machines. Predators and Vindicators crushed the rubble.
Whirlwind missile launchers rumbled down the ramps, their square launch bays aimed at the cliffs.
Missiles shot skyward, striking the majestic bronze statue.
Russ strode from the mountain's peak, looking at the burning Magna Acropolis.
He looked up as the molten storm shattered Magnus's statue into ten thousand fragments.
The debris, like a mudslide, crashed into the inner bay of the Puri Sea, swallowed by the waves.
....
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