Chapter 189: The Covenant of Necessity
Cegorach was compelled to demonstrate his power before the Custodian Guard, a necessary display to earn an audience with the Master of Mankind. The golden sentinels observed with cold appraisal before one departed to convey their petition to the Throne.
When the Emperor's permission was granted, Cegorach and his entourage were escorted toward the heart of the Imperial Palace.
Walking through the resplendent halls of Terra's seat of power, the Laughing God witnessed the home world of Humanity bathed in the Emperor's radiance. Above, in low orbit, grand structures defied the void, monuments to human ambition and industry.
With each step closer to the Throne Room, the immensity of the power contained within pressed against them like a physical weight.
Even the Ruinous Powers could never match such an overwhelming presence.
Cegorach understood then how far human civilization had truly advanced. They had already surpassed the Aeldari. Given time, even the Old Ones, the ancient creators of his own people, would be eclipsed by humanity's ascent.
'The Aeldari are no longer fit to compete with humanity,' he thought with bitter acceptance.
How glorious the Aeldari had once been. Now their proud civilization was reduced to scattered remnants, their former prosperity nothing more than fading memories. The upstart humans they had once dismissed now commanded the galaxy, objects of Aeldari admiration rather than scorn.
The Aeldari who accompanied the Laughing God remained silent, equally shaken by what they witnessed. Each understood with crushing clarity that their era had ended.
Even if they escaped She Who Thirsts, reclaiming their position as masters of the galaxy was impossible. Humanity had risen too far, too fast.
The Emperor received the Laughing God and his followers in the Throne Room, seated upon the golden throne that had become his prison and his power.
"Greetings, great Lord of Humanity," Cegorach said with uncharacteristic respect, his usual divine arrogance absent.
He understood his position perfectly. Terra was not a place for presumption. The danger here rivaled entering a Chaos God's domain. One wrong move, and his head would decorate the palace gates as a warning to others.
The Aeldari behind him bowed deeply, their once-proud heads lowered in deference.
"It is truly unimaginable that you would come to me." The Emperor's expression remained impassive, his features absolute as if carved from stone.
He was no friend to xenos; his opposition to alien life was well-documented and absolute. That he granted this audience at all was solely due to Cegorach's divine nature. A god, even a diminished one, warranted caution.
The Raven perched upon the Emperor's shoulder, cocking its head to study the Laughing God. Cegorach stood taller than typical Aeldari, his smiling mask an eternal fixture, divine power pulsing beneath his form.
To have survived the War in Heaven and escaped Slaanesh's birth-scream, this one possessed genuine strength.
"We seek to establish a formal alliance with the Imperium," Cegorach said. "If you are willing, the Aeldari will share the legacy of the Old Ones, including Webway construction technology and access to the Black Library."
"Webway construction technology? The Black Library?" For the first time, the Emperor showed interest, leaning forward slightly.
"Yes. In exchange for your oath not to pursue the Aeldari's extinction, allowing our people to survive and rebuild, we will share the Old Ones' legacy with you." Cegorach stated his terms clearly.
The Old Ones had once been masters of the Immaterium, wielding powers beyond mortal comprehension. Many galactic races, the Slann, the Jokaero, the Krork, had been either created or guided in their evolution by these ancient beings.
At their zenith, the Old Ones may have ventured beyond the galaxy itself, perhaps transcending the boundaries of this universe entirely. They had crafted the Webway, an impossible network of interdimensional tunnels that spread knowledge and life across countless worlds.
In many ways, they had been gods, architects of life, shapers of destiny.
Their legacy was a treasure beyond measure.
The Emperor was tempted. If humanity could inherit the Old Ones' knowledge, their control over the galaxy and reality itself would ascend to unprecedented heights. Why stumble through millennia of trial and error when the answers already existed?
"I can agree to your conditions."
The Emperor met Cegorach's gaze directly, god to god-like being.
"But I have conditions of my own. The Craftworld Aeldari and Harlequins may continue to exist, but you must help us eradicate the Drukhari hiding in Commorragh and the other Webway cities."
The Old Ones' legacy was worth any compromise. If Cegorach was willing to share it, the Emperor would permit the Aeldari to exist, disarmed, diminished, but alive.
"Eradicate the Drukhari of Commorragh?" Cegorach hesitated, turning to the Aeldari Seers who had accompanied him.
The Raven followed his gaze, quietly reading the information embedded in each figure.
Eldrad Ulthran, Chief Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé. Efrene, who would one day become a Shadowseer of the Ynnari. Lharian Sunstar, currently a Striking Scorpion Exarch and future Chosen of Ynnead.
Each had lived for millennia, possessing wisdom and power far beyond ordinary humans.
"They are our kin," one Seer objected.
"No longer," another countered sharply. "From the day the empire fell, they ceased to be our people. They cling to the decadence that birthed She Who Thirsts. Their souls are already claimed."
Before anyone could respond, a third Seer spoke up. "We cannot turn on them. What guarantee do we have that humanity will honor this covenant?"
"We have no choice," another replied grimly. "Either we cut them loose and preserve what remains of our civilization, or we all face extinction together."
The debate erupted into a heated argument, with voices rising in the Throne Room.
The Raven, the Emperor, and the other Imperial representatives waited patiently, allowing them to reach their own conclusion.
"If we wish to move toward the future, we must sever ties with the past."
Cegorach stepped forward, silencing the debate with his presence. As the only surviving free Aeldari god, his authority was absolute.
"After the Fall, the survivors in Commorragh did not learn restraint, they became worse, indulging in every excess, accelerating the Webway's collapse." His voice was steady, final. "Abandoning them is not merely pragmatic. It is necessary for our survival."
After quelling the dissent among his followers, he turned back to the Emperor. "We agree to assist in eliminating the Drukhari. But humanity must sign a binding covenant. If you violate your oath and turn on the surviving Aeldari, you will be cursed to suffer the same fate that befell our people."
"Agreed," the Emperor said. "As long as the Aeldari comply, I will not risk damnation to destroy you."
The calculation was simple. The Aeldari birth rate was catastrophically low. Their technological advantage had evaporated. The Solar System alone held more humans than all remaining Aeldari combined.
In time, the surviving Aeldari would pose no threat whatsoever. They would become living relics, specimens for future generations to study, reminders of the enemies humanity had surpassed.
Cegorach and the Emperor signed the covenant, a pact that would bind both parties across the ages. The Emperor promised the Aeldari access to the rebuilt Webway and permission to establish their own cities within it. The Craftworlds could remain, though heavily restricted in armament.
In return, the Aeldari would join Imperial forces in annihilating the Drukhari and help humanity claim the Old Ones' legacy.
Covenants possessed their own power. The consequences might not manifest immediately, but over time, they would push any oath-breaker toward their agreed-upon fate.
Once the pact was sealed, Cegorach began to explain the Old Ones' legacy in detail.
Among the countless wonders the Old Ones had created, the most valuable was the Black Library, a repository containing knowledge vast enough to reshape the universe itself.
If humanity could access the Black Library, they would inherit everything the Old Ones had left behind.
"Do you want the knowledge our race has gathered? If you want it, you can have it all, go find the Black Library! We have placed everything there."
Those were the words spoken by one of the last Old Ones before their extinction.
The Black Library existed in a place that was neither the Warp nor realspace, a pocket dimension accessible only through the Webway. During their height, the Aeldari had visited freely.
However, as their empire decayed from within, they lost the technical expertise necessary to navigate its approaches.
The library's defenses were formidable. Without a deep understanding of the Webway, any attempt to reach it would trigger lethal traps. Even gods could be wounded, or worse.
"Currently, we can only wander the library's outer reaches, gathering fragments of the Old Ones' wisdom," Cegorach explained. "The truly transformative knowledge, technology capable of reshaping reality itself, lies in the deepest vaults. To reach it, we must open the library's inner sanctum."
The secrets of the Black Library were beyond imagination. It was not merely a structure, it was semi-sentient, continuously collecting ancient and forbidden knowledge since its creation.
Even after the Old Ones vanished during the War in Heaven, the Black Library continued its function, gathering secrets across the eons. The Old Ones had exhausted their considerable wisdom to protect it.
Even Cegorach dared not force his way into its depths.
"How do we open the inner sanctum?" the Emperor asked.
"We must gather three fragments to create a key," Cegorach said. "One fragment is located on Caliban, the home world of your First Primarch, guarded by an ancient keeper."
"A key? Caliban?" The Raven's head jerked up, realization dawning. "You're not referring to the Ouroboros, the Heart of Life, and the Tuchulcha Engine, are you?"
Cegorach's masked face turned toward the Raven, surprise evident despite the fixed smile. "You know of them?"
[End of Chapter]