Capítulo 88: Chapter Twenty-Seven: The View from Ulthwe (Part VI)
Location: Prospero, at the foot of the Great Pyramid.
Date: 895.M30 (Imperial Standard Time)
Eldrad Ulthran and his entourage stepped from the temporary webway portal and onto Prospero. Arriving just as the Mind-Locust swarm took flight. The eldest Farseer smiled as he watched the Parasites take flight. Things were unfolding exactly as he predicted. The Godling had unleashed the Mind-Locusts and would be forced to expend himself destroying the swarm. Leaving him open to a hidden blade. But that method had been tried already. Eldrad had learned of the Laughing Gods attempt and would try something else. The Farseer slipped a simple palm sized box from his robes and held it out before him. He focused his psychic power into the box and into the runes that covered it.
Slowly but surely the box unfolded. Spinning discuses of gold and perfectly polished gems floated up and started to vibrate with unseen force. Soon The box formed a head-sized cube of shifting components. Moving in mathematically perfect order with increasing intensity. Then with a surprisingly subtle click the cubes member shapes stopped mid-air. A pulse of energy, undetectable except to those looking for it, flowed out across the planet, instantly shutting off the nervous systems of the Mind Locusts. Eldrad watched the vermin rain down as the box started to wind down back into its original shape. It had taken him some time to track down this curious trinket but it had been worth it. For all their sins, the Old Ones knew how to create things of incredible power.
Ending the Locust threat would hopefully buy Eldrad some good will with the Godling. Looking down at the shining box in his hand, Eldrad mused to himself how wonderful it would be if only all of the Old One's mistakes came with such an easy solution. Looking up at the Pyramid, he watched the heavily armored human warriors surrounding the Godling descend from its heights. Eldrad had observed some of the battle and found the Arcane Brotherhood slightly more palatable compared to the other human armies he had witnessed. While crude and unfocused, their psychic potential was present. Maybe if this went well he could barter a few basic warpcraft tricks for aid in other endeavours. A telepathic nudge stole Eldrad's attention as one of the Wraithlords accompanying him spoke. "I again question the wisdom of meeting with these Mon-keigh young Eldrad"
Khiraen Goldhelm was ancient, having served as champion of Craftworld Ulthwe for centuries before the Fall. While still clothed in flesh, Khiraen had been one of the finest warriors the Aeldari Empire had created. His soul had completed the circuit of rebirth close to a hundred times, serving as an exemplary soldier and commander in each of those lifetimes, only for his last life to be cut short by barbaric humans centuries after the Fall. The sins of the Croneworlders denied him his right to attempt another reincarnation and he found himself sealed in a weaponized tomb of Wraithbone.
Smiling at his friend and counselor Eldrad responded "We have to try, this galaxy is filled with things far worse than humans. I understand your distaste for them, and I thank you for accompanying me"
The Wraithlord twitched in a gesture a human might interpret as a shrug, and that an Aeldari would see as a sign of tentative and worried acceptance. Eldrad stepped forward, between the ranks of Seers and Wraithbone warriors to greet the Godling. Speaking in perfect Terran Gothic, the first Farseer addressed the Imperial force nearing the pyramid's bottom.
"Lord Primarch Magnus Rubricar, scion of the Anathema and Learned One amongst Men. I come in peace with hopes of cooperation and mutual understanding."
The Godling paused mid stride, as did his entourage, momentarily put off by the xenos' use of Gothic and formal address. Weapons were readied and tension filled the air, accompanying the stink of rotting Mind-Locusts. The brutish guards clad in metal slabs seemed ready to open fire on the Aeldari delegation, and for a few painful moments Eldrad feared the Primarch would give the order. Then a slight gesture from Magnus had the guards relax and step aside, allowing their genetic source to reach the bottom of the pyramid. The Primarch reached the plaza and stepped on a Psychneuein. Its body crunched under the Godlings heavy boot and he stopped his advance. Casually, Magnus swung his hand before him, like he was wafting away a foul smell, and flames erupted from his feet.
A psychic brushfire shot out from the Primarch and lept between Psychneuein corpses. Tongues of flame gobbled up millions of Xeno corpses and spread across Tizca. Eldrad gripped his staff hard as fire danced around his entourage. Never coming close enough to hurt, but pushing a wave of heat across the Aeldari. It took only moments but the meter deep tide of Psychneuein disappeared from the grand plaza. Leaving a sea of ash and flickering sparks. The fire continued outwards and Eldrad expected it would continue for hundreds of miles, until it reached the very edge of Tizca.
The message was clear, theAeldari were not the only ones capable of psychic miracles. It had not been exactly what Eldrad had hoped for but considering the violent and direct nature of Humans it was to be expected. Stepping through the piles of ash, Magnus approached Eldrad and looked down at the Farseer. At this distance it was impossible for Eldrad to ignore the psychic power radiating off of the Godling in waves. He looked at the Primarch and found himself feeling momentarily dizzy, an alien sensation for an Aeldari. Eldrads senses, both natural and psychic, tried to make sense of the giant figure before him. The Farseer had stood before an Avatar of Khaine once, experienced the overwhelming bloodlust that dripped from it. The Avatar was a piece of a sapient Idea inhabiting a hunk of alien metal. He had expected the Anathema's godling to feel similar. Both being products of the same process. In some ways Magnus did feel similar, the sensation of drowning in psychic pressure. Yet there were fundamental disturbing differences.
Eldrad thought back to Ulthwe, and the Eye of Terror slowly shrinking away in the distance. The flickers of monstrous, incomprehensible presences that peered through the rupture in realspace. Magnus felt like one of those primordial horrors from the Warp had been cut into the shape of a human. Something powerful and otherworldly forced into a mind and body similar to the naked apes of Terra. The Anathema had done something incredible and terrible. Giving spiritual beings flesh and convincing them it was their native existence. Trying to compose himself, Eldrad returned the Godling's gaze and started to speak. Fearing on some level that the Demigod inside that suit of metal and flesh would break free and unleash unimaginable destruction. Before his lips could fully open the Primarch interrupted him.
"Why have you come here, Aeldari? Your kind nearly cost me a brother. Tell me why I should not destroy you?"
The message itself was what Eldrad expected, he did not expect it to be delivered in Tar-Eltharin, the language of the Aeldari. While slightly antiquated in style, Magnus spoke with fluidity a human mouth would find impossible. Eldrad guessed the Primarch had learned it from ancient Aeldari texts, hence the archaic style. Breaking free from his momentary shock Eldrad responded in Gothic. "Please Lord Primarch, I come before you and speak your tongue as a token. Let us speak in Gothic and discuss matters simply."
Magnus glared at the Eldar and repeated his earlier question in Gothic. Magnus did not know if the Alien was attempting to be obtuse and rude intentionally. He suspected this was as close to polite an Eldar could be with humans. Nodding, Eldrad responded to the Primarch in a heavily accented perversion of gothic. "I come here Lord Primarch to start communications between our peoples anew. The actions of the Laughing God and his followers were…. Extreme. Humanity is one of the few races with any potential to resist the Dark Gods, and we Aeldari have millions of your years of wisdom to draw upon. Why must we fight each other when the looming danger of Chaos holds a blade to our necks."
"You speak of diplomacy and alliance Xeno. Why have you brought this before me and not my Father?" spoke Magnus,
Beneath the onyx helm he wore Eldrad tightened his face in something close to an uncomfortable smile. "We both know that answer Lord Primarch. The Harlequins actions have, as your people say, 'burned bridges'. I fear approaching the Anathema directly would not be constructive. Instead I hoped to speak to one of his creations, one well vested in Warpcraft and renowned for their wisdom."
"His sons, we are his sons, not his creations." growled Magnus in a resonating baritone which Eldrad felt in his bones.
The Farseer did not respond to the Demigod's correction. It seems this Godling would need to come to that conclusion by himself. Maybe he could supply a few pieces of the puzzle. This was playing with fire, but he had not explored the Black Libraries depths out of mere curiosity. Eldrad had learned many dark and terrible things about the being humanity called the Emperor. He would have to be careful, but perhaps a seed of doubt might open Magnus up to more fruitful discussions.
"I understand this new Human Empire you represent has no love for the other peoples of the galaxy? Even those untouched by Chaos or similar corruption. A pragmatic if grim approach to the state of these stars. I hope to prove that reaction is not always warranted. I understand mankind once worked alongside other species for mutual betterment. How might my Craftworld attempt to foster such a relationship with your kind?"
By the standards of Eldar and especially Farseers, Eldrad was being incredibly direct. He could not allow any misunderstanding or assumptions when dealing with the Primarch. No matter how exceptional the Godling seemed, he was the primitive product of a barbarian species. Being painfully blunt would hopefully hammer home his point to the Mon-Keigh prince.
Slowly Magnus leaned down so that his massive face was perhaps a foot away from Eldrad's helm. "Mankind once sought such coexistence and understanding. We are much wiser now. Xenos have proven themselves far too dangerous to trust in any regard. I will offer you a simple mercy. You and your kind stay away from humanity and I will ask my father to refrain from exterminating you."
The Primarchs eye flicked down to the Farseers chest, towards the swirling jewel fixed there. "Of all the species in this galaxy, I cannot think of one I would trust less than the Eldar. The actions of your people's civilization are not unknown to me, Eldrad. You claim you wish to stand with humanity against Chaos, when you and your ilk are already damned. I do not see fellow strugglers against the Primordial Annihilator when you stand before me. I see vermin that drowned the galaxy in death by gnawing through a dyke. Vermin that have the gall to approach those rebuilding and asking for a place in our world."
Fighting back the urge to step back or summon up psychic defenses the Farseer started to respond. The Primarch had used his name, that was progress? Even these vague threats were better than actual violence. When dealing with Mon-Keigh any success in diplomacy could not be taken for granted.
"You judge me for an act we were not responsible for. My Craftworld saw the corruption of the Old Empire and fled with as many refugees as it could. Many of us, including myself, were born after the Fall. My ancestors' crimes are not mine, but I still work to rectify those mistakes. You and your "father" pass judgment when ignoring humanity's own crimes and hypocrisy. But I did not come here to argue over the past, but to try and chart the future."
Pulling back slightly Magnus asked: "And what crimes and hypocrisy do you speak of Xeno? Nothing could match the creation of a Chaos God. The mistakes of a young species forced to survive in this ugly galaxy do not compare to the Aeldari Empire's crimes. It is not mankind that ruled uncontested for millions of years. With access to near immortality, unimaginable technology and the inheritance of the Old Ones. And yet became reduced to depraved addicts who turned their homeworlds into a mouth into hell."
Eldrad ignored the Primarchs grossly over-simplified account of the Empire of a Million Suns. Magnus had taken the bait, he would gladly inform the Godling of its creators hypocrisy and madness.
"You and your Empire speak with such loathing of those you call Alien, hating and fearing those not of your species. Yet you serve and worship such a being. This Imperium of Man is founded on a million lies, but I know the worst of them all. You think it's a coincidence a Psychic being strong enough to battle the Dark Gods just happened to be born on your homeworld? A coincidence you and your siblings were created using a technique of the Old Ones? Have you never wondered why your so-called Father clads himself in every single trope of regal and divine power? Magnus have you ever wondered who- no, what your creator is?"
It took Eldrad a moment to understand what he was seeing. He went from staring into the eyes of a godling, to peering up at the ashen skies of Prospero. An ugly crack forced him to focus, at least one of his ribs had broken. Telekinetic pressure had flattened him to the Plaza's square, and threatened to burst him like an insect. With momentous effort he looked around and saw his entourage and the Primarchs honor guard aiming weapons at each other. Both sides ready to start yet another pointless war. With a gasp Eldard turned one of his compressed breaths into a cry: "No! Stand down!"
Neither side reacted but the psychic pressure started to fade. With much less grace than normal, the Farseer rose to his feet, wincing as his bones started the slow process of knitting together. "I did not mean to offend you, Primarch Magnus. I had heard you were a seeker of truth and knowledge. My hope was to share some of my understanding with you. I wish to work towards a better fate for both of our species."
Slowly both Aeldari and Astartes lowered their weapons. Magnus cut through the settling tension, his normally cultured speech clipped by rage. "Explain yourself Xeno. I may be willing to excuse your insanity as the result of an Alien mind."
"I am not mad and I speak only what I know to be true. I do not know the reason why but your Emperor has deceived you. He is only marginally more human than I am."
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