Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

High orbit above Fenris, aboard the Emperor's flagship Bucephalus.

Nareth met the Emperor in a resplendent golden palace. After taking a seat, the Emperor smiled and said:

"Nareth, the progress of the Eleventh Legion pleases me. Since your return, more than fifty worlds have rejoined the Imperium."

"The return of the first Knight World, the Daxos Twin World System, is especially significant."

"How is the Vextrix family doing?"

Nareth replied, "The legion's techmarines and the Cult Mechanicum Magi are assisting them in repairing their Knight suits. Estimated to be combat-ready in one Terran year."

"Good," the Emperor nodded in satisfaction. "The Knights' victories will inspire Terra's people to contribute more to the Great Crusade."

"You fought on orders and defeated Russ."

"And you followed my directive, not using psychic powers."

"I've decided to reward you with five battleships from the Dark Age of Technology. They will arrive at Fenris soon."

Upon hearing this, Nareth felt something intangible inside him break and merge with his spirit.

The reward triggered a powerful psychic response, and his potion digestion progress surged dramatically.

"You may also choose two items from my private vault."

Again, Nareth felt the potion digestion accelerate; he was nearly done absorbing its effects.

'The Emperor sure is generous, and the feedback from the "Briber" potion is strong.'

Looking at the Emperor, Nareth found him more agreeable than ever. He smiled and said:

"Thank you, my lord."

"You've earned it," the Emperor replied, then his tone shifted. "Leman Russ, I need him. We need him."

The Emperor's eyes glowed with intensity, and Nareth instantly felt a crushing mental pressure, like a mountain pressing down on his soul.

For a split second, the Primarch nearly buckled under the Emperor's psychic weight.

But Nareth immediately entered the first level of the Thelema Mind State, and the mental mountain vanished.

A flicker of surprise crossed the Emperor's gaze. Nareth had withstood his psychic pressure.

While the Emperor marveled at the Primarch's willpower, Nareth calmly spoke:

"I will work with him. Fight alongside him."

The Emperor's brows furrowed, then relaxed. After a moment's thought, he stopped applying pressure.

Though Nareth didn't fully endorse his brother Russ, it met the Emperor's minimum expectations.

"Competition between brothers is encouraged," said the Emperor. "It pushes you to strive harder."

"Come. Let's go to the vault."

Nareth rose and followed behind, thinking to himself:

Classic negotiation tactic, reward first to build rapport, then make demands, then cool things off again by offering more rewards.'

In the vault, the most eye-catching relic remained, the Spear of Dionysus.

As Nareth walked around, his eidetic memory helped him mentally catalog all items and their locations.

He noticed that 14 new items had been added, and 3 were missing.

Among the new items, one emitted an intense spiritual glow: a blood-red chain.

It was about the width of one of Nareth's fingers, formed from thousands of interlocking translucent diamond-shaped crystals. Suspended inside were dark red thread-like wisps, resembling capillaries.

At the base of the chain was a round ring, resembling a thick clot of blood or a crimson moon halo.

Seeing Nareth's interest, the Emperor explained:

"This chain comes from a xenos race called the Vlads. It was a ceremonial item owned by their high priest."

"The Vlads loved to drink blood. During their rituals, the priest would soak the chain in sacrificial blood."

Nareth nodded thoughtfully.

'Blood… an item of the "Moon" pathway?'

"I'll take the chain," he said.

The chain's spiritual presence was the strongest, and he could roughly determine its mystical origin, making it a logical choice.

The Emperor deactivated the stasis field. As the chain touched his hand, Nareth felt his spiritual energy surge.

'It enhances spiritual recovery?'

That was his initial assessment; he'd study it more later.

He discovered that the chain's ring fit perfectly on his little finger, and the ruby-like chain wrapped around his wrist.

Next, Nareth went to another relic with a strong spiritual glow, which resembled a ring made by the Jokaeros.

It blazed like fire and was several times larger than a human ring, with only slightly less glow than the blood chain.

Given the blood chain's spiritual recovery effect, it made sense that it would outshine items of the same tier. So, Nareth concluded both items were of the same mystical sequence.

"This ring comes from a volcanic world. The Surtur race was towering giants who forged oversized rings," explained the Emperor.

"This one belonged to the giant king with the iron crown. Judging by your hand, it fits you well."

When the stasis field dropped, Nareth took the ring and found it fit his right middle finger; his left hand wore the power gauntlet.

Back aboard the Throne of Shadow's of Sovereignty, Nareth summoned Arsena.

"Bring up Fenris's scanned holographic images."

The Primarch's attendant activated the display with his control wand.

"I have two missions for you."

Nareth highlighted an area on the map. "This valley is called Firestone Valley by the locals."

When he mind-read the Fenrisians to learn their language, he also learned of several landmarks, like Firestone Valley and the Tomb of the Kings.

"That mountain tribe is made up of exiled psykers. They're called the Vulture Clan."

"You'll lead a team to test them."

"Those who pass the test, bring them back. Boys can be legion aspirants."

"Among the adults and girls, those who show promise can serve as your aides. The rest go to the Ninth Chapter as auxiliaries."

Arsena noted the orders and asked, "And the second task?"

Nareth pointed to another location. "This is the Tomb of the Kings, ancient burial grounds of Fenrisian royalty."

"These barrows contain ancient kings and chieftains. Their tombs are inscribed with runes that tell of their lives, glory, and legends."

"Fenrisian language stems from these runes, and their psykers' power is an extension of these inscriptions."

Nareth couldn't help but think of the Wolf King's hypocrisy, denouncing psykers while defending "Gothi" as something else.

"They claim to be 'Sons of the Storm.'"

"Even if primitive and hypocritical, their use of psychic runes has research value. Record all of them."

Since he was already on Fenris, Nareth was determined to extract every possible benefit.

"At once."

Arsena logged the orders, gathered a squad of honor guards and attendants, and flew a gunship toward Asaheim.

...

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu