Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

Nareth opened his vox communicator and sent a message to Sanchez:

"I've captured the Black Wolf."

Placing both hands on the Black Wolf, he focused his thoughts and transferred it into the Kingdom of Disorder, placing it into the third spatial layer.

A blood-colored chain coiled around his right pinky finger seemed to have blood flowing slowly within it, radiating a faint spiritual glow.

The Black Wolf was a Beyonder creature of Sequence 4. Besides forming a link with the third spatial layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, Nareth still needed other means to make it submit.

His spent spirituality had already recovered. He focused his will and reconstructed the Silver Tower.

Spiritual energy flowed, depleting and replenishing, as he rebuilt every scene in the Silver Tower.

The Primarch walked over to the Black Wolf and threw it beneath the Silver Tower, smiling as he said:

"You were once the nightmare of countless people; now it's your turn to experience the cycle of nightmares."

As that thought formed, Nareth's spirituality was instantly drained. The endless looping dream he had prepared for the Black Wolf began to unfold.

After his audience with the Emperor, his authority had increased. Though he hadn't yet unlocked the fourth layer, his control over the existing space had improved significantly.

By invoking the Kingdom of Disorder, Nareth was able to construct this looping reality, as long as he replenished his spirituality before it was fully drained.

His eyes gleamed with flickering light as he activated Subspace Insight to peer into the looping zone.

A few moments later, he had to give up with a sigh.

'I can only vaguely sense it... Some power, something tied to rules, is influencing this region, causing the loop. Once I advance to Baron of Corruption and undergo my first qualitative leap, I should be able to partially unravel the secrets within.'

Returning to the real space, Nareth boarded the gunship and headed toward the transport ship. On the way, he gazed out the viewing window at the dark side of the Moon.

'I know the Prime Materia is in the Herodotus Omega Dome, but Ta'lab Vita-37 placed seven layers of genetic seals on it. She's a powerful Selenar gene witch. While defeating her isn't difficult, she could destroy the Prime Materia before I break through those seals.'

'It's too risky. I'll wait until the Solar War, when Abaddon raids the Moon and she's forced to call for help, that will be my opportunity.'

Nareth thought further:

'Striking then could also win her loyalty. With a Selenar gene witch at my side, studying the original Astartes and genetic secrets would go much smoother.'

Upon returning to the Throne of Shadow's Soverignty, Nareth resumed work in the Primarch's Office within the palace.

"My lord, I've coordinated with the representatives sent by the Regent. The new Forge World of Mars is established near the Vostroya sub-sector, is now operational."

"According to your agreement with Lord Malcador, our resupply burden will drop by twenty percent."

"The representative also passed on the Regent's gratitude, and Lord Malcador's personal invitation to attend a banquet at the Imperial Palace tomorrow."

Nareth nodded slightly. This was good news, especially with the coming campaign on the Wheel of Flame.

"What kind of banquet?"

"A personal banquet hosted by the Regent, for you and Lorgar."

"In addition, the chieftain of Talrawa, Sol, along with other nobles, have also requested an audience with you."

After a brief moment of thought, Nareth made his decision:

"I'll attend the banquet. The next day, I'll meet with Chieftain Sol."

"My lord, I've also sorted the data files Tierney delivered. Of particular value is the dossier on Cardinal Tang, the Techno-Warlord defeated by the Emperor near the end of the Age of Strife."

"As a Gene Lord, his research into biological evolution and life extension, though driven by elitist genetics, is still valuable."

Nareth nodded. Even though Tang had implemented brutal policies and was eventually imprisoned in the infamous Nusa Kambagan, where he was despised and killed by fellow inmates, his research still held merit.

"Store the data and make two backups, one for Mikael and one for Malena."

"My lord, besides the genetic data, we also have complete specs on the Stormbird."

"The model recorded here differs from both the Yndonesic Bloc version and the variant produced by the Mechanicum using shared tech. There's a special variant with higher mobility and a quantum field repulsor."

Hearing this, Nareth was instantly intrigued. The special variant his primarch aide mentioned resembled the characteristics of the Darkwing.

He recalled that the Stormbird was developed to replace older Sky Spear gunboats from the Unification Wars. The technology originally came from the Yndonesic Bloc.

The Yndonesic Bloc produced Stormbirds for the Imperium and shared the designs with the Mechanicum.

The Stormhawk was a Stormbird variant, while the Darkwing, used by the Raven Guard, was a special model known for its stealth.

'Cardinal Tang was the warlord of the Yndonesic Bloc. The technology in his hands would be more complete.'

"Give the data to our Techmarines for analysis."

At the same time, on Terra, in the region once ruled by the Techno-Warlord Tang, now home to Tierney's base.

The Emperor had loathed Tang's brutal, genetics-based policies and reduced the area to ruins. Tierney had built his base atop this wasteland.

"In the coming days, your task is to prepare dossiers on Terra's nobility, Personality traits, behaviors, family history, vault treasures…"

The 'Swindler' assigned his subordinates to prepare for a grand deception, then left the broken palace and entered a circular ruin.

This had once been an arena, now half-collapsed.

Tierney walked to a cage where a gyrinx with tawny-orange fur sat.

"You and I, our abilities together will be a perfect combo."

"We'll be an unbeatable duo. Trust me."

The Swindler's charisma was immense. Though not very intelligent, the gyrinx, captive for years, had deep, ocean-blue eyes filled with thought.

But once freed from the cage, the cat immediately ran.

After advancing to Sequence 8: Swindler, Tierney's speed and agility had greatly increased. With a flash, he blocked the cat's path.

The cat's blue eyes flared with fire, blasting several fireballs at Tierney.

The moment the Swindler locked eyes with the cat, he ducked and rolled forward.

BOOM!

Flames slammed into the arena floor. As the shockwave from the fireburst spread, the Conman was already in front of the cat.

"Didn't I tell you? You can't escape the palm of my hand."

"When will you realize, following me is your only and best option?"

The Swindler's silver tongue made the cat hesitate.

Seizing the chance, Tierney lunged and grabbed it.

The gyrinx let out a furious yowl and raised a paw.

An invisible telekinetic blast struck Tierney, forcing him to let go. He leaned back to dodge a follow-up heavy strike.

The cat hit the ground and darted toward the exit again.

The Swindler dodged and rolled with near-acrobatic ease, evading every fireball.

Just as the cat neared the arena exit, Tierney appeared in front of it.

Shaking his head, he raised a foot and kicked it squarely.

"Told you, you're not getting out."

An hour later, after completing today's session of gyrinx taming and honing his nimble new movements post-promotion, Tierney tossed the cat back into the cage.

Then he entered a tower-like building, one of the few intact structures in the ruins, and his residence.

The Swindler activated his control staff, projecting a hologram of Terra, and muttered to himself:

"To con the nobles, I need them to believe in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"One that could elevate their family to new heights…"

"And if they miss it, they'll never rise again."

As the Swindler refined his scheme, Nareth arrived at the Imperial Palace Banquet Hall, accompanied by Arsena, Sanchez, and his Honor Guard.

...

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

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