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Told from the first person perspective of protagonist Hazen Toramane, the story will open on the private chambers of the Chapter Master of the Black Templars. He will be in council with the Toramane and the Captain of the Third Company, Gillian Connelly. Toramane is at this point an Epistolary. Toramane and Connelly are petitioning the Chapter Master to splinter the Third Company off from the Black Templars due to a recent change in thinking brought on by a campaign on the hive world of Agefo. While reporting the campaign, Toramane will flash back to the events that took place starting with a meeting with Connelly that took place prior to planetfall. During the meeting Connelly asks Toramane to read the Emperor's Tarot whilst in the Warp. Toramane is reluctant, but agrees. During the reading, Toramane comes into contact with a Daemon that threatens Toramane's soul and promises to meet him again on the planet of Agefo. Upon regaining his senses, Toramane loses consciousness. Toramane regains consciousness as the Company begins landing on the planet. Toramane puts his doubt aside and joins his Librarium squad for the descent. The landing is met with fierce opposition as the Chaos cultists swarm through the area. After clearing the area of cultists, Connelly regroups with Toramane in an improvised headquarters. While discussing their plans for the conflict to come a scout enters with news of recent developments. The scout informs Connelly and Toramane of a major concentration of cultists in a nearby mountain range. Connelly dispatches a band of scouts to assess the situation. Toramane feels the pull of destiny and joins the scouts. After arriving in the mountains, Toramane and the scouts find the cultists in celebration outside a cave, slaking their blood thirst on captured civilians. Toramane again hears the dark voice of fate tempting him to go further and orders the scouts to follow him into the cave the cultists are gathered around. Toramane leads the scouts into the cave to find a Khornite altar surrounded by sacrifices. Sitting atop the altar is a small child with eyes that constantly drip blood. When the child speaks it is the voice of the daemon from Toramane's Tarot reading. Toramane speaks with the daemon and finds himself conflicted. He then leads the scouts in retreat. Connelly in turn orders the Company to assault the cultist's position and destroy the altar. During the battle Toramane finds himself face to face with the daemon child again. Toramane finds himself torn as he battles the daemon child. The daemon throws Toramane to the ground and just before delivering the final blow, the daemon child is wounded by a plasma blast from the heretofore unseen Inquisitor Magnolia. Toramane then stands and delivers the final blow. After speaking briefly with Magnolia, Toramane returns to the present as he is declared a hero by the Chapter Master for his wisdom and then banned from the Black Templar halls alongside Connelly and the entire Third Company as they are given leave to create their own Space Marine Chapter, the Dark Scions.
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My name is Hazen Toramane. I am the Epistolary for the Third Company of the Black Templars. There are some amongst my battle brothers who would label me ‘pariah’, while there are others who look up to me as a ‘revolutionary idealist’. Either way its all the same in the end. The rumors started on the hive world of Agefo in the Imperial Calendar year 342.M41. It was a productive year for the planet and with a higher level of production came an increase in the Chaos cult activity that spring up on the world. Agefo was a major supplier of food byproducts for the Segmentum Tempestus at the time. The Khornite faith was a major threat at the time, and had found its way into the populace of the Agefians in the fall of that fated year. I distinctly recall my Company Captain calling me into his quarters before we made planet fall. The door slid open with a hiss and clanking of ancient engines. At the time, I was but a mere Codicier, still not experienced enough to call upon for advice beyond psychic phenomena. “Codicier Hazen, welcome.” I stepped into the room and was struck with a sense of trepidation unlike any I had ever felt before or have since. I nodded my greeting and stood before the Captain waiting. Captain Gillian Connelly, almost four centuries of service to the God Emperor and at the time not yet my friend. His appearance was young for someone as experienced as Gillian. He stood taller than me by at least six inches and had eyes that could spot the smallest inconsistency from almost a kilometer away. With my own eyes I had seen the captain on the battlefield and to say that he wasn’t able to lead would be folly. “Brother Captain Connelly, how may I assist you?” My voice was gravelly even to my own ears, and as I spoke I was filled with visions of the planet to come. Visions of fire and blood. “I have recently received an astropathic message informing me of the Chaos scum’s latest movements on Agefo. There have been reports as well of a dark presence on the planet that the cultists seek to awaken.” His words had the subtle scent of dark chaos in their meaning and the visions I had been having surged forward as if of their own volition. I momentarily thought ahead to the planet to come and was assaulted by the stench of blood and bodies left laying in the open after a long day’s battle. “I sense something horrible on the planet before us. How is this possible? I was assured the planetary governor had a tighter control over his population.” “As were we all, Brother Hazen. I’ve asked you here to read the Emperor’s Tarot so that we may seek the truth behind these rumors.” “A Tarot reading in the Warp! It’s never been done successfully before, Brother Captain! All those who have tried have found their minds torn apart by daemons and their bodies inhabited with the denizens of Chaos! To even consider this is folly. The stuff of Chaos holds sway in this nonplace. If it were not for the Emperor’s guiding light, traveling the Warp would be suicide!” The Captain nodded his assent and took a moment to think. “I am fully aware of the dangers of this decision, Codicier, but I would not ask this of you without just cause. We are not equipped to deal with an awakened Chaos being and I need to know what we can expect so that I can send for our brothers as soon as possible should we need them. I have also been informed that the Inquisition was alerted of these rumors and may have an operative on the planet’s surface already.” The full force of his words was not lost on me even then in the days of my supposed youth. The implications of the Inquistion’s presence left me with more than a few questions that were not my place to ask. After a few moments of consideration I replied, “Vox the bridge. I will need use of his astropaths to ensure a clear connection with the Emperor.” The next hour or so passed quicker than I would have preferred. I spent the time in prayer, fervently begging the God Emperor to spare my soul during the trial yet to come. The astropaths arrived shortly thereafter without preamble and I solemnly sat down with more composure than I felt to read the Emperor’s Holy Tarot.
LifesEndlessSorrow · Thu Feb 28, 2008 @ 07:23am · 0 Comments |
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