The sky was dark and the stars were bright. The wind howled and the rain beat against the windows. A fire burned in the grate and smoke wafted from the chimney. It was cold and drafty in the hall, and the only light came from the candles on the tables.The only sound other than the crackle of the candles and the occasional squeak of a rat scurrying across the floor, was the waft of blood from the gash on his leg. He coughed into his fist, wishing he could swallow the blood back down. His head pounded and his vision was blurred.He blinked, trying to clear his head, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Wake up, my lord," a voice said in his ear. "You must rise before the dawn. It is not right to sleep during the war." The pain in his shoulder was a reminder that he was not in his bed at Cawdor Manor.It was a place where nightmares grew and fester. He was far from home and yet he longed for it. His leg throbbed and his stomach churned. The world was spinning and he was losing control. "I need not remind you of your oath, my lord," the man said, stroking his beard. "You must take care of yourself.You are our last hope." Fulgrim blinked, trying to clear his head. The world was spinning and he was losing control. This is my last hope? What do you mean?" he snapped, sitting up in bed. "There are others. They are waiting for me in the West." "No, my lord.There is no one else who can lead the charge against the heretics. You are the only one who can command the legions. You are the only one who can bring order out of this chaos that is the Warp." "Chaos? You talk like the Emperor doesn't exist. He is the one who created this war, not me.I merely follow his commands."
The man shook his head sadly. "It is not the Emperor I fear. It is the thousands of years of history that come with him. The wars, the conquests, the annals of kings and emperors.All will be lost if we lose touch with them. We have already seen what happens when they become too proud and self-reliant; look at Slaanesh. They think they are immortal and do not need to concern themselves with the passage of time. That is why they are at war all the time. It is their nature and they cannot help themselves." "Immortal?Surely you jest!" How dare you accuse us of being immortal! We have lived among humans since we left Terra and even then there has been nothing but trouble. The only reason we are still alive is because we have hidden ourselves in the mists of time and no one knows who we are or what we look like.Even those few who live among us now, know nothing about our past lives except what little we choose to reveal through ritual sacrifices." As soon as she said it, she regretted it. The words came out wrong and she looked like a fool. Instead of convincing the man that we were immortal, she made him think we were savages.Even worse, instead of gaining strength through unity, her pride led her to divide the ranks further by calling some warriors more noble than others based solely upon their ability to kill. It was a truth she knew full well was false but she said it anyway in the hopes that it would make the man back down. It did not.Instead, her words seemed to anger him more which caused him to thrust his fists towards her face. She dodged each punch and countered with a strike of
THE END?
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