The Fall of the Dawn

Julia Sansoucy had been here for so long, her hair had grown again. It reached down to her shoulders. It really shouldn't matter. They would cut off her beautiful locks soon once more. It was never enough. She could never be forgiven and rejoin her sisters. She will be here until the day she dies, fighting for the God-Emperor. She was one of his daughters, but she had succumbed to the witch, her mind too weak to fight him. And so, she had gone through the oath of Repentance. She was truly repentant. She wanted, more than anything, to die honourably for the Emperor but death never came. Every day was the same. Confession, beg for forgiveness, recite the word, train, self mutilation and sometimes, she was chosen to go on a mission for forgiveness. She had battled so many disgusting creatures, forces of chaos, but was never granted neither Mercy nor forgiveness. She would never be granted either, for while her physical strength was not in question, her mental capacity was in doubt. She needed to prove that she had the mental fortitude to never, ever allow the forces of chaos in her mind.

As the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn slowly trickled into the order of Repentia, Julia started wondering if she really wanted to rejoin the ranks. Her sisters, the ones she had grown up and served with, were joining her in the order of Repentia. Was there even a need to return? She wondered. She could do great work here and still be with her family. It was not uncommon for the Sisters of Dawn to join Repentia for any small action or infraction is not tolerated. An impure dream or thought was enough to make a sister feel like she had blasphemed against the throne. No doubt, even fleeting, was tolerated. She started feeling at home here as her sisters walked in, in shame, their heads shave and stripped of their armor and cloaks. All that was left were strips of cloth wrapped around them.

It was meant to be a humiliation to present oneself in strips of their old cloaks awkwardly hiding their bodies from view. During battles, the only protection a Sister Repentia had was the belief that the Emperor protects and the large deadly sword that she wielded. The Sisters Repentia never wore armor. Some of them fell. Those who fell in battle were usually considered forgiven. Some of those who survived to do the Emperor's will another day, were also forgiven. Those who did, returned into the fold and were acclaimed heroes. Then there were sisters like Julia. Unforgiven, unclaimed by the Emperor. As hard as she tried, this was her fate but her Sisters, as they trickled in, in shame, were perceived as a gift to her for her valiant efforts.

Here, she was recognized for her accomplishments in battle and regarded with admiration from the newly repentant. They looked to her as a symbol of will, survival and strength. She was no longer a sister of battle. She was a role model. She squared her shoulders with pride at that thought. They look up to me, she continued to think, and smiled as the blade of her knife cut through the skin of her arm.

As the Mistress of Repentance, Delphine Delongchamps, walked by, Julia blanked her expression for a moment, wondering if it was normal to feel as she did, content in her repentance. Moments of happiness were found when the Sisters would sit together, in silence. She started forgetting her ideals, the words tumbled out of her mouth, as expected of her, but her mind was filled with thoughts that she had never let herself before. She looked forward to being close to her sisters. Every bit of pain, whether it be self inflicted or not, now brought her pleasure. Perhaps she had lost her mind but she was happy to be here watching the others carefully, getting to know them and carefully cataloging their differences. She chose five sisters who seemed trustworthy and mentored them.

One day, The Mistress arrived and informed them that they would go into battle shortly and if they made the Emperor proud and fought valiantly, they would perhaps be forgiven and sent back to their squad. Determination shone in the sisters' eyes. Julia and her friends knew better. The Emperor would not accept anything short of death to forgive them for their perceived blasphemy. They were simply going through the motions. They had learned to take pleasure in destroying heretics. They prepared for battle. When they arrived, they found an assault taking place in a village. The attackers wore the mark of Slaanesh proudly. Some slew anything with a heartbeat while others gathered the women and slew everyone else. Julia was up for the challenge. She wielded her Eviscerator and ran into battle with the men gathering the women. Most of the squad went to fight the first group but the sisters who had gotten to know Julia, followed her. Quickly the small group slew a dozen men. When one cut Julia on her cheek, through the tattoo of the fleur de Lys, she touched the blood and laughed. The man stood back and smiled.

"You like that?"

She smiled and ran her sword across his upper arm.

"What's not to like?"

The fighting slowed around them as most fighters on both side were confused as to what was taking place. The battle in that area was half hearted. It started feeling like a game to all, a deadly game of tag. They laughed as they slashed each other. When other Repentias arrived, they either joined into this game of tag or were slain by whichever blade happened to be nearest. Hearing the sounds of battle die down, Julia had a moment of realization. The rest of the Repentias were going to come. They had to make a decision quickly. Julia planted her sword in the soil and announced.

"The Emperor does not protect, nor does he forgive. We will die for naught. I, for one, am tired of this. "

She turned to the man she had been playing with.

"I would come with you if you will have me."

As night started to fall, the Mistress of Repentance arrived and quickly assessed the situation. Confusion and revulsion dawned on her face but the expression did not last long. Sansoucy turned on Delongchamps and, before she could react, plunged her sword right through her and grabbed her whip and ran. Six sisters, five of which she had mentored and another who had recently taken the oath of Repentance, stood between the sisters Repentia and Julia. The six stayed behind and fought the Sisters of battle. Julia ran and fought those who were in her way. She felt so free and happy. No more rules. Everything she had ever wanted to do or try, everything would be allowed. She had so many things she wanted to do, so many things to try. She laughed as she made it to the ship, her heart filled with Euphoria. A new beginning, where she was allowed to feel. This was the best day of her life. Finally free!

Only four of the six rogue Sisters of battle made it to the ship before it departed the planet. Belle, Luvia, Solange, Mila and Julia were aboard the Slaaneshi warband ship. Each woman had brought with her, her own Eviscerator and other weapons they had retrieved during the battle. A night of pleasure awaited them all but soon, it would be time to take this ship and create a little Sisterhood of their own. She smiled broadly as plans began to form. She thought to herself, fun first, work later but is it really work? Her name was going to go down in history. She will change the Imperium forever and teach the world that she must be feared and loved. She walked onto the bridge of the ship and grinned.

After a night of celebrating, the Sisters started collecting the owners of the Ship. The Sisters had been careful not to go too far in the celebration. They brought the men to holding cells and unceremoniously threw them in and took control of the ship. The men laughed at first, thinking this would lead to more fun but their hope were shattered when the Sisters only came back with food and drink. Eventually they would use these men as entertainment and have them fight each other to the death. The surviving ones would be rewarded after the battles.

It was time to decide on a name for the warband. Luvia smiled and announced:

"We are the Sisters of the Night. We were discarded on a planet where the sun never shines, ignored and alone, no one respected us or knew about us. We were nothing.

Julia added: "We shun the Emperor's light," she grimaced at the words," we are ruled by freedom and pleasure. Never again will the Universe ignore us! We are the Sisters of the Night! Have fun Sisters!!"

The other women cheered!



Luvia smiled broadly at her captive now securely enclosed in a cage. She was very pleased. Julia will be excited to see who she managed to catch on the mission to Valroth. She watched him, studied him, as he watched her. He seemed angry, insulted and revolted. There would be none of that here. She smiled at him and ran her fingers across the bars. She was impressed with the fact that she was able to capture a Seeker, one of the most protected Marines of the Verum Illuminate. Soon, she and her Sisters will bring this Marine to his senses. If all went well, he would, eventually, be returned to his Brothers and spread the seed of suspicion and teach them what life is really about.

Part of her felt bad for him, never experiencing freedom or the pleasures of life. Always "doing the right thing", even as his Emperor has forgotten him, making him think that a life of fighting and death in his name would be a recompense. Death is death. The Emperor does not care. He calls upon millions and millions to die in his name, every single day and the masses of sheep flock to him and lay their lives down willingly for an Emperor who does not care. Slaneesh, he wants us to be free, to be happy, to live, to feel. We have no rules, we have power. We have pleasure, we do what we want. We help ourselves, no need to help the hateful minions of the Emperor. She watched him wondering what he looked like under all that armour. She finally spoke up.

"Live a little, have fun. There is more to life than fighting, killing and dying. The worlds are yours to explore. Pleasure, happiness, lust, all of which are not allowed by your god, but are really the only reasons for living. The best things in life, I can attest. You do not have to bow to a long dead man who does not care for you. The Emperor does not protect. The Emperor takes. He takes lives, he takes away everything pleasurable in life, brother."

"I am locked in a cage, held captive. How can I enjoy these things? "He said groggily.

"Oh, yeah. You have a point.”

Luvia stood in thought for a moment. She then left the Space Marine and walked over to another cage. She examined its contents thinking of her new play thing. She unlocked the cage and walked in. So many options. The contents of the cage squirmed and moved out of the way, some were crying while others seemed to be praying to some god that died long ago on a golden throne. She looked at those and smiled.

"He's not here, he can not hear you."

She finally found the perfect gift. She pulled the small creature to its feet. Exiting the cage and locking the door behind her, she returned to the Marine. She opened the cage quickly and pushed the girl inside. The girl fell on the cold ground and looked around, terrified. She saw the Marine and crawled to him, likely thinking he was going to protect her. The Marine looks at the girl and sees that her clothes are mostly ripped off. Her arms and back are bloodied, likely from being whipped. She is dirty and very thin. Her eyes are glossed over, perhaps she is drugged or feverish, he could not tell. He looks back at Luvia, outrage clear on his face.

"What have you done to this girl? What is wrong with you? Were you not a daughter of the Emperor? Your treachery will not be forgotten. We will purge every last one of you!"

She smiles.

"We'll see about that. Now, stop talking for a moment and enjoy your own little pet. She is lovely, is she not?"

The Marine's face contorts in disgust. He positions himself between Luvia and the girl. Luvia cocks her head.

"Let's make this interesting. Are you hungry girl?"

The girl peeks from behind the Marine.

"Hmm, well, you know what to do."

Luvia throws a small dagger into the cell and watches the girl lunge for it. She grabs the knife and looks at the Marine for a moment. Surprised, he tries to take the dagger from the girl. The girl backs away and  carves a long line into her forearm.

"Hmm… that’s too bad, I thought she would attack you. Oh well. I guess she likes you. She gathers the dagger from the girl and throws a fruit into the cage.

"Enjoy! Remember marine, she likes you. Use your imagination. "

Luvia walks away.

When Luvia returns later that day, she finds the girl laying in the far corner, seemingly asleep, her arm bandaged and the Marine's robe draped over the girl's body. She is a little disappointed but she could likely still work with that. The Marine felt a sense of duty to protect the girl. Maybe he covered her so he didn't have to see her body, or the blood and scars. She scolded him for a wasted opportunity. She enters the cage and walks toward the Marine. She runs her fingers across his armour.

"I do miss this though. The armour, it was like an extension to my body, keeping me warm but also, like a prison to which I was confined. It made me feel strong and powerful, for a time. It moved with me, protected me as I fought many battles. The armour protects, not the Emperor. Take your armour off and I will prove it. I have no armour, only my body for all to see, the Emperor has shunned me and yet I live. Take it off, be free of the burden. Feel your own power. Do not be a coward and hide behind your armour, behind your Emperor. Feel the pleasure of being free from this duty your false god asks of you. Once you are ready to take it off, perhaps we will grant you an opportunity to prove yourself against one of our own."

At that moment, Haute Maitresse Julia walked in. She announced that there would be a celebration for the successful mission and the retrieval of the Nurgle crystal. Luvia was quite excited. She smiled broadly. Julia looked into the cage, registering a look of Surprise and pleasure. She spoke to the familiar man.

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. A Seeker. And not just any Seeker." She turns to Luvia.

“I am very pleased. We now have a main event for the celebration.” She turns back to the Seeker.

"Hurry up and get ready. You are our guest of honour. Take off that armour. This is going to be so much fun. One on one combat. There will be prizes for the winner! Perhaps even freedom, depending on how you perform. Hurry now. Wouldn't want to miss it."

Luvia walked over to the sleeping girl and threw the robe off her and kicked her awake.

"Rise and Shine! We need everyone ready for the celebration!"

She left the cage and locked the door behind her. She took Julia by the shoulders and excitedly started sharing her ideas for the torture of the Seeker. The two laughed as they walked away.

A few hours later, the prisoners were all taken to a large room. Food was set on the tables. As they walked in, some ran to the tables and started eating the delicacies that were offered. The Marine, still wearing his armour, entered and refused the food. There were a dozen Sisters around the room armed with whips. Once in a while, they would lash out and laugh as the men and women screamed in surprise and pain. The other Sisters were gathered in a viewing room with a similar array of snacks. Haute Maitresse Julia announced that the festivities were about to begin. She called out most of the guards, leaving only six in the room. The Marine stood in the center of the room watching.

Normally, a sword would be given to the guest of honour and she would choose to, either slay three people and join the rank of Demoiselle or slay herself. Today would be different. A man, a girl and one of their own was left in the room with the Marine. The doors were locked tight. Sister Corrine looked up at the group with a look of suspicion. Over the Vox, Julia's voice could be heard.

"Today was a great Victory for the Sisters of the Night. We created chaos on the Battlefield and took a high target prisoner. We also got our hands on an important relic. We have lost some souls but it was worth the price. Today, we celebrate as we always do. A feast for all, debauchery and entertainment! Marine, you are our guest of honour. We offer you a sword and with this sword, you will have a very important decision to make. Slay yourself and be free of your miserable existence or slay a contestant. The first contestant is the girl who was generously gifted to you by Haute Maitresse Luvia. This man, who has failed to join in any of our exciting activities and celebrations. He is such a bore, he would be my choice...or, our very own Dame Corrine."

Dame Corrine looked up in alarm as the Sisters whispered excitedly to each other. They laughed and pointed at the Sister in the room. She had only a whip, no sword. Anger crossed her face as she realized that this would be her punishment for claiming Haute Maitresse Belle's position by taking up the Eviscerator. Civilians never climbed higher than the rank of Dame. She looked to the Seeker, her eyes filled with rage. He looked at the girl and the man and gestured for them to move out of the way. A sword fell in the center of the room. The voice of Julia echoed through the Vox.

"Have fun!"

The Sisters cheered as the Marine and the Sister lunged for the weapon. The Marine came up with the sword. Sister Corrine jumped out of the way of his first strike and moved to a corner where she tried to use her whip to get a hold of the weapon but she caught his arm. He pulled on the whip to bring her closer. She immediately released it. She flipped a table over to try and slow the Marine down but she had no weapon, no armour. There was no way she could win this so she spoke as she dodged his strikes. She tried to appeal to him. She told him of the abuse she had to go through just to join the ranks. She told him how unfair it was that she could not climb the ranks, but he kept coming and swinging. He cut her middle pretty badly and she felt pain. There was no pleasure or joy, only anger. She realized that there was no way to win. No way out so she ran at the Marine who prepared to strike and jumped right onto the sword, smiling as the sword pierced her. She would die on her own terms. The Marine dropped the sword looking disgusted.

When the battle was over, the room filled with an airborne drug that would put the Marine to sleep so they could return him to his cage. When he awoke, he was on the floor, groggy. The first thing he saw was that heretic, Luvia. He lifted his head but it was too hard to move much so he put his head back down. She came closer to him.

"How are you feeling? I took your armour off but don't worry, it is right here."

She pointed at the corner. He did not answer but followed her finger to the armour.

"You were too heavy...anyway, if you need anything..."

"Where's the girl?"

"The girl? Oh, she's fine. I can get her if you'd like."

"I don't believe you."

"That's alright, I wouldn't believe me either, later, when you are feeling better, I will show you that she is fine. May I ask your name?"

He did not answer. She shrugged and gave him some food and water telling him to hide it and not tell anyone. He looked at her doubtfully. She bit into the bread and took a drink of water and swallowed.

"It's fine, see."

He grunted and took both.

"Why the change in attitude? Why are you doing this?"

She sits up and moves the hair away from his eyes.

"You're kinda cute. Anyway, see you later. Oh, and don't trust the others and please don't tell them I was here. They will be suspicious. I don't want them to know I like you."

She walked out of the cage, locked the door and winked at him. Luvia returned to the festivities and debriefed Julia.

The next morning, Luvia returned to the cell holding the Seeker. He was awake, his eyes were glassy and he looked tired. He was wearing his armour again. She watched him for a while, he was scratching his neck and wiping his face with his hand. He looked around wildly and was breathing heavily. He had not noticed her there. She smiled at him. When he finally saw her, she put on a concerned face.

"Hey there Marine. Everything alright?"

The man in the armour stood and ran at the cage door roaring angrily.

"What have you done to me?"

"Whoa, calm down. I did nothing. Did someone come see you after I left yesterday?"

He looked at her confused for a moment. He tried to get his arms through the bars to grab her but they were too big with the armour so he settled on clawing at her through the bars with his bare hands. Her arms bled but she did not move away.

"Stop that before I have to hurt you. I don't want to but the others must not know. I did nothing to you, I swear. Settle down.  If I come in, will you attack me?"

He did not stop clawing at her. She looked down, sad. Quickly, she raised her head when she hears footsteps. She cracked her whip in the air and signaled for the Marine to hit the ground, which he did, confused. As Julia rounded the corner, she fumbled with the lock, making it look like she was leaving the cell. The Sister asked what happened. Luvia explained that she entered the cell to play with the Marine and he attacked her. She showed the claw marks and laughed, looking back at the Marine on the ground.

They both left him alone in the cell. She did not return to the cell that day. The next morning, he awoke with a start from a seemingly violent nightmare. She was sitting behind him, his head propped on her thigh as she blotted his forehead with a cloth. He laid his head back down when he realized who was there and sighed. She tried to comfort him telling him it was just a nightmare. He sat up slightly embarrassed.

"Umm...sorry."

"It's alright, we all have nightmares. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay. May I know your name today or are you going to attack me again?"

"Nathaniel Roth."

She smiles.

"Nice to meet you Roth. We'll get you out of here eventually. Just try to do as I say. I don't want to be here anymore either. Some of us were like that girl from the first day, forced to kill in order to survive. Others came from the order of Repentia. After the great betrayal, I followed Julia, hoping to stop her but things didn’t go as planned. I will get you out of here eventually. You are warm, I hope nothing is wrong with you."

"I'm fine. We don't get sick."

"Alright. Do me a favour. Rest a little bit more. Oh and the girl is right there, in the cell next to you."

He lifts his head and sees the girl wearing clean clothes. He lays his head back down and closes his eyes against the spinning. She takes a bite out of the fruit and a drink of water and gives them to him.

"I'll be back tonight. Be strong. They will be here shortly. Don't tell them anything."

She stands and takes his robe that had been thrown in the corner of the cell. She balls it up and places it under his head and leaves the cell locking the door behind her. She smiles and gives a little wave then leaves the room.

Luvia returns to her quarters, studying the plans for the next campaign. She sits at her desk and reads the report, thinking to herself that this would be a very profitable and pleasurable mission. With any luck, they would retrieve another valuable artifact and possibly recruit new members for the Sisters of the Night. Everything was going so well, what with the Corrine problem rectified and Roth. This time, she would keep her temper and not kill Roth. The first Marine she had captured, he got under her skin. The next thing she knew, he was laying in a bloody puddle in the middle of the cell. It had taken her forever to clean up the mess and Julia was furious with her.

She started thinking of the celebrations that would follow their victory on the next mission. Perhaps next time, one of the previous owners of this ship would be the guest of honour and he could slay a few of their most bothersome and boring captives. That would be fun to watch and a nice reward for the honoured guest also. Her mind wandered to Roth again. It was going well. He was responsive to her. He was not gravely injured, mostly drowsy, like he had never had drugs in his system before. He had nightmares, every night, which was good, and he trusted her enough to tell her his name. She enjoyed her moments alone with him. She was pulled from her reverie when a knock sounded on the door.

She stood and walked to the door and opened it. Julia was leaning on the wall looking quite comfortable and confident, smiling.

"Come on, we're going to go play with our new pet. Did you get his name yet?"

Luvia walked out of the room and the two women started walking toward the holding cells.

"He's not very chatty. It's like he's never even touched drugs before. Eventually, he may reveal his name to me."

“That’s ok, there are other ways. Also, I already know his name. Who you caught in your net, is a Verum Illuminate Seeker named Roth. We have been on a joint mission together before. He is the reason why I joined the Sisters Repentia. You did well, Haute Maitresse Savant."

Luvia was surprised by this information. Talk about luck. She was also surprised that she had lied to Julia. She did not understand why she had but she managed a devious smile.

"How about we speed things up a bit? I was going to go have a bit of fun with him and I thought you might enjoy joining me."

"Thanks for thinking of me. This will be fun."

Luvia forced a smile although she really didn't want to go torture Roth. She dreaded this but knew it was going to happen at some point. She could not understand why she did not have the heart to torture the Marine. She hoped she could do it convincingly. She squared her shoulders and stopped in front of the cell, watching the man sitting in the corner of his cell. Julia spoke first.

"Hello Marine, sleep well? Luvia and I here, we are going to have a little bit of fun with you. You're too uptight and we need to fix that."

Roth looked at Julia with disgust as she spoke.

“I remember you. You used to be with the Sisters of Dawn. What happened to you?”

He then looked at Luvia and shook his head a little.

"Yes, that was me but that was the old naïve me. This me, she is less uptight. She actually knows how to have fun! Enough about me. Are you a little dizzy? Not used to all these drugs in your system? Maybe you miss being able to mess with people’s heads?”

It was Roth’s turn to look surprised. He quickly put on a neutral face, hoping they had not noticed.

“Yes, well, we took care of that. You can try all you want, but we are in control. Quit fighting the drugs and enjoy the ride. So, here's what is going to happen. Look at me, look at me when I am speaking to you!!" Julia said forcefully. The Marine did not look up.

"Fine but you will want to see this...Luvia here, she is going to get how many? 3? 4? Maybe 5 of our other captives. She will bring them here, one at a time and we will torture them one by one, until you tell us your secret. Once we are bored with our first contestant, we will kill it, then start on another, until you tell us what we want to know or, you start behaving properly, understood?"

The Marine got to his feet, a look of concern on his face, as he watched Luvia. Luvia's expression did not change. She turned and walked to the cell, she opened the door and walked in. Julia walked with her, as most of the occupants moved away from them, Julia placed a hand on Luvia's shoulder. With her other hand, she grabbed Luvia's weapon and whispered in Luvia's ears. "Good luck."

Before Luvia could grasp what had happened, the door to the cell slammed shut behind her and Julia exclaimed: "Enjoy! She's all yours!"

Julia grinned. The Marine stepped quickly to the side of his cage, trying to rip the bars apart but he was unsuccessful.

Luvia was so angry but she could not let it show. She had no weapon and a mob of angry captives were well aware that she was at a disadvantage. Some laughed at the situation, others cowered in the corner, knowing there would be retribution for this if Luvia survived. She wondered why Julia did this. Did she know that she was giving food and drink to the Marine? That they had formed a bond or was this just her, having fun and trying to get the Marine to talk or cooperate? One thing was for sure, Julia knew that Luvia had been kind to the Marine and she was using it to her advantage. A small group of 5 men and 3 women circled her smiling and laughing. This was not good. The men were the previous owners of the ship. They desperately hated the Sisters. The women were next on the list to become full blown members of the Sisters of the Night. She realized that she may not survive. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Marine trying to bend the bars and she took comfort in that. With a grin and a laugh, she attacked the strongest man first.

She was soon overpowered but she landed a few good hits on two of the men. One fell to the ground but didn't rise again, his leg was bent at an odd angle. The other was unconscious on the floor. The others pulled her hair out and ripped her clothing, they kicked and hit her as hard as they could, laughing as they did. She did not fall, if she fell, she was dead. This went on for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes. She tasted blood and was very dizzy, her vision was blurry. When she fell to one knee, the mob jumped on her, pulling, scratching, punching and laughing. She heard the key turn in the lock and the cell door open.

"Party is over guys. Move!" Julia barked.

The group moved away and let her through. Julia grabbed Luvia by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on Sister. He told us his secret and took his armour off. A psyker. Ha! That explains a lot.I hope you enjoyed your part of his torture. Thanks for being such a good sport."

After Julia and Luvia exited the cell, Julia locked the door and dropped Luvia to the floor.

"Now, do not lie to me again or I will let them finish you off!"

Julia walked away, leaving Luvia on the ground struggling to breathe and in pain. She looked for Roth. He was, in fact, out of his armour, which was nowhere to be seen. She dragged herself closer to his cell and lost consciousness. Roth took her hand in his and stroked it. He tried to pull her closer without causing more damage. When she was close enough, he stroked her hair. Eventually, Luvia regained consciousness. She groaned when she tried to lift her head. Soon she realized that Roth was holding her hand, stroking it with her thumb. Something heavy was draped over the front of her aching body. She looked down and realized his robe was covering her. It was nice to feel warm and it smelled like him. She was not ready to move but she assumed he realized she was conscious so she spoke.

"Why? Why did you tell her your secret and let her have your armour? I certainly was not worth your armour."

"You were nice to me, it wasn't right what she did to you. It was a small price to pay. I will die here, I do not need my armour when I die."

Luvia lifted her head and looked him in the eye. "When you die? I would not let you die. There is a way."

"I will not betray the Emperor for your god, Luvia. Never."

"I would not ask that of you, Roth, never. Just stay alive. I have a plan."

It was time. She would need to face them. Julia had spared her for some reason. Maybe, maybe she was not made. Maybe there was still a chance that she may survive this. She started working her way up. She could feel the pain increase. It was not good but she had to be strong. The Sisters would view her weakness as an opportunity to take her place as Haute Maitresse. She could not let that happen. Not because the title meant so much but because the title gave her access to what she desperately needed. As she finally stood holding on to the cell, she felt the cloak fall to the floor. She was surprised by her feelings. She was both relieved to be out from under his protection and sad that she could no longer feel his warmth. She slowly made her way to the hall. When she reached it, she felt a sting in her arm and realized Julia had been waiting there. She had just been injected with drugs. She wondered if Julia overheard but it was harder to focus on her thoughts, although the pain was tolerable. Julia spun her around and walked her back to the cell. Julia held Luvia up in front of Roth. She blinked a little too long and swayed. Julia shook her shoulders a little and started speaking. Sisters started trickling in laughing and smiling, excitedly.

"It would seem, Sister Luvia, had lost her way. Being the generous and honourable Sisters that we are, we have decided that Luvia may keep her position as Haute Maitresse but she must Repent. If she does not, I will personally choose her opponent in a duel that will take place immediately."

Luvia turned to Julia so quickly that she almost fell over.

"Answer Sister. Will you repent for your actions?"

Luvia steadies herself and sighs.

"I am far from absolution. I offer myself to repentance. Before Slaneesh I have sinned."

She looks at Roth hoping he shows no emotion. He is simply watching.

"Beyond forgiveness. Beyond forbearance. Beyond mercy."

Sister Julia walks toward the cell and bends to pick up Roth’s cloak and she smirks. Luvia cringes. The other sisters now speak.

"We turn our backs upon you. For your sins, you will be hidden.

"I take this oath of my own free will and by my will shall I return. I shall seek Slannesh's forgiveness in the darkest places of the night."

Julia takes out her whip and grins. She steps away from Luvia and strikes six times. Roth flinches slightly at the sight of Luvia being whipped. The sisters answer together.

"When forgiveness is yours, we shall welcome you back. Until such time, you are nameless to us and will remain unseen."

Julia drapes the Marines cloak over Luvia.

"You wanted to be close to him but not in a way that is acceptable. You will now remain unseen, unnamed and tormented by his warmth until a time comes when we decide that you have been forgiven."

The Sisters of the Night leave the room and Luvia is left behind. She looks at Roth, sad but does not speak. She walks with difficulty toward the door. Roth stands and moves to the cell door.

"Luvia. Luvia. I know your name. I see you. My warmth will not torment you but will protect you."

Luvia pauses for a moment, listening to his word. She walks a few more steps and hides in a corner behind the crates where she closes her eyes. The tears fall down her cheeks as she is filled with shame, until she is asleep.

A few hours later, Luvia awakes and returns to her quarters, avoiding everyone's eyes as they mock and laugh. She feels completely lost and destroyed. She is also very angry at herself. She should have been more careful, gone to see him less often, not brought him food or drink. She should have treated him like any other captive. She couldn't understand why he was so special. He was a member of the Verum Illuminate who believed that the God-Emperor actually protected him. Ridiculous but when she had seen him, on the battlefield, she just had to have him. It might have been that gorgeous sword he wielded. That couldn't be it. If she just killed him, she could have taken the weapon. He had been protected by so many Marines. The challenge had been so exciting. He was an excellent fighter. Strong, agile and ...yes. That was it. He was simply too perfect. She was hoping to break him and enjoy watching him break. She took him as a challenge and then things slowly got complicated. She had a play thing. She was tasked with breaking him and turning him to chaos. She wanted to. She fetched him a girl. It was very likely he would have no reaction but he did. She couldn't understand. A Space Marine who shows compassion and disgust...this man was different. He was not a tool for the Emperor as other Space Marines were. The other ones they had held, they just shrugged and stayed silent and steely eyed. Roth, he gave the girl his cloak and later on, he asked about her well being. She got curious so she spent more time with him. At night, she watched him dream. The nightmares induced by the drugs, she had never seen a Space Marine react like this. In the morning, he looked as innocent as a sad puppy. She wanted to comfort him...but why?

Julia walked into the room.

"Good choice. You played your role well."

Luvia was confused but knew better than to speak.

"We got results this morning. He smiled when he swung at me. He is starting to take pleasure. Take that hood off when you are alone with me. You do know it was just for show, right?"

Luvia pulled the hood off and smiled. She hated Julia so much. She couldn't believe Julia had done that to her but she did not show any of that as she revealed her face. Julia moved closer.

"You know what? Just take it all off and I will bandage you up. No one can see one way or another. Do you need something to take the edge off?"

Luvia did not trust herself to speak so she nodded. Julia injected her with drugs and helped her over to her bed. Luvia lay down and closed her eyes as the drugs started working and Julia started bandaging her up.

"I'll get you food and maybe a little entertainment later. Stay here, we don't want anyone to see you for a day or two."

Luvia nodded and stared off as she started to relax. When Julia left, Luvia finally started enjoying her state but something was missing, wrong. She sat up and looked at her battered body confused as to why it didn't hurt, then she remembered the drugs. She also remembered the pinching sensation before the oath of Repentance. It had been a ploy all along. She should have known it was a show but she still felt ashamed. She limped over to her chair and picked up the cloak and slipped it on. He had said the cloak would protect her. She felt that now. She felt sad that he had to watch. It hurt him to watch this happening in front of him. Again, she was confused. She could not understand why she felt sad for him. Thinking was hard now, it was best not to think. She would figure this out tomorrow and see him again. She smiled at the thought of being near him.

When Julia returned later that day, Luvia told her she wanted to visit the captive again in the morning. If the scene had created such a response in the Marine, perhaps if she stayed near, the transition would be faster and they could unleash a mighty Space Marine to corrupt others to the will of Slaneesh. Julia looked at Luvia a little skeptical.

“He responds to me. I am the one who captured him. If I play this right, maybe I can get him to defend my honour.”

Luvia chuckled for show. She just wanted to be near him so she could enact her plan and this would be the easiest way.Early the next morning, Luvia returns to the cell and sits near the sleeping Marine. She speaks softly. She is aware he is asleep but he seems more responsive this way.

Every night, since he had been captured, a recording would play for him, in his cell, about the wonders of the ways of Slaneesh and revealing to the Marine what had actually happened to the "sacred" scroll of the Verum Illuminate. It had been taken and modified in order to trick the Chapter into turning Renegade. During the day, Julia would tell him the truth which was that he already served a chaos god. The god of Change and that it was time to openly forsake the Emperor of Mankind and to embrace chaos. Day by day, Roth seemed less resistant. Soon, they would have him bear the mark and return him to his "Brothers".

Luvia does not speak of this, although she knows it is the truth. She tells him, while he sleeps, of the plan for him to escape. With any luck, he will enact it when the time is right. If she can, she will follow but she knows she will likely fail. The drugs she has self administered against the pain are starting to falter but she stays and speaks softly. Soon, he awakes and realizes she is there with him.

"I dreamed that they killed you."

"Not today. Today is not the day that I die and nor do you. Accept Julia's offer. It doesn't make a difference one way or another."

"What?"

"Just say yes and you can be free."

He seems thoughtful. He looks at her again with compassion.

"I like you better this way. You are a kind person. Don't let them corrupt you."

She smiles gently.

"It's too late for me and you have been corrupted since you have joined the Verum Illuminate. I knew the risks, you did not. I feel for you but it is too late for us. The Emperor would never take us back but maybe...maybe we can just be... Luvia and Nathaniel?"

He looks at her, eyes filled with sorrow. He takes the hood down, gently, from her head and touches her cheek. She leans in a little.

"It can never be. We would be hunted until dead. There is no way to hide the marks on your face and I am a Space Marine. Everyone would know, even if we could hide the marks, I could never..." He could not finish the sentence.

"Wouldn't it be easier to simply end it?"

She looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Yes, probably but I, for one, want to try."

She reaches under her cloak and produces bread and water. She hands them over to him. He accepts them.

"What will happen to you?"

"I'm not sure. I will likely have to do something to prove my worthiness to rejoin the Sisters as you will need to do the same in order to survive this. For now, it is just you and I. We are here, we are alive and we have a chance at happiness." She looked him in the eye and moved a little closer, ignoring the pain, she smiled and touched his cheek.

"How does this feel?"

He watched her and answered.

"It feels nice and natural. It feels right."

"Feeling is not all bad. I like this too."

She moved closer to him and cuddled in.

"We could do this, you know...whenever you like. I want to do this with you. You are special to me, I dare to hope that I am special to you also."

He held her close to his chest and whispered.

"Luvia, I see you and I know your name. I will never forget it and if refusing the Emperor is what I need to do to be close to you, I would do it in a heartbeat."

Luvia smiles and stands.

"I should go." She pulls the hood back over her head and leaves the cell.

Over the next few weeks, the nightly recordings would continue, warping the mind of the Marine. It would likely not have been possible without the drugs that he ingested or were injected to him to lower his inhibitions. Over time, he started enjoying the state he was in and had become addicted. He willfully let himself be injected and actually looked forward to being drugged. He joined some of the Sisters' celebrations and volunteered to be one of the people to fight for entertainment. He slayed whoever was in his way. Eventually, he would battle with flourish and confidence, smiling as the Sisters cheered for him. He started forgetting who he was before he was captured because he preferred who he was now. Soon, he accepted the mark of Slaanesh, which was tattooed on his face. Luvia and he would still meet but Luvia felt sad. She missed the thrill of trying to convince him to turn his back on both the Emperor and Tzeentch.

One day, Julia strode into Roth's quarters and explained that it was his time to go out and do the work of Slasneesh. He would come on the next mission. This mission was supposed to prove the worthiness of Roth and confirm his acceptance and servitude to Slaanesh. He would go to Stygian and steal the Scroll of Enlightenment from the Verum Illuminate's, very own, Fortress Monastery. Nathaniel Roth smiles and chuckles at the plan. He agrees to join them on this mission. After the plan is disclosed to Roth, Julia goes to Luvia's quarters and informs her that Roth has agreed to the plan. They both smile.

"This will be a moment of triumph. Slaanesh will be proud and after this mission, you will be returning to the Sisters of the Night under your usual title, Luvia. No more charades, no more cloaks. You did well, Sister."

Luvia smiled and thanked Julia. After a planning session, they were informed that they were approaching Stygian. The Sisters and Roth got ready for the mission that lay ahead. Nathaniel Roth appeared wearing his power armour, everyone knowing their part and how to play it. Distract and destroy for most of the Sisters. Roth had to infiltrate, secure and procure the Scroll with Julia and a small group of Sisters. The instructions were to slay anything and anyone that got in the way of Roth's mission.

Once on the ground, the Sisters of the Night made sure to catch the Verum Illuminate's attention by storming the Monastery from the front. Roth and the small band of Sisters made their way to a side Entrance that was only known my Brothers of the Chapter. He marched the Sisters into that side Entrance, his bolter at their backs. The two Marines guarding that entrance were quickly disposed of by the Sisters and their bodies hidden. They would continue the charade until they reached the vault or were caught.

The Illuminate were fighting the Sisters at the front of the Monastery while another small group came into the side door to make sure no one would sneak up on Roth and his captives. Soon they would all reach the Vault but Roth had to do this part alone. Most of this squad would move to the front of the Monastery and start taking the Verum Illuminate from inside the building. The plan was solid and going well. Most of the Marines did not bat an eye at Roth and his captives. Once inside the vault, the "captives" would wait on the other side of the entrance and slay whoever approached. Roth walked up to the guards and told them that the Monastery, as they surely already knew, was under attack by forces of Chaos and that he was ordered to evacuate the scroll to the secondary location. The Sisters waiting by the entrance frowned. Why was he going off script? The guards did not buy it.

Luvia joined the group at the entrance of the vault and started fighting the Marines while she made her way into the vault. Once inside, she tried to assess the situations. Something was happening between the two, one Marine and Roth, while they were dueling. It was like the physical battle was secondary to the war going on in each others' minds. Luvia was worried that Roth would lose this battle of the minds and that she would lose him. Skillfully, she avoided the swords of the guards and spun out of the way of their strikes, her robe tearing apart with every strike of their swords. Her arms and torso bleeding but she did not flinch. She needed to make sure she didn't lose him to his brothers. All the work she put into him. This whole charade. She needed to make sure. As she approached him she spoke:

"Nathaniel, remember. You are free. Free to feel, to do whatever you want. Now, do what you..."

A bell chimed in the Fortress Monastery. Roth raised his hand to his head and turned his back on the Marine he was fighting. He raised his sword and changed his focus to Luvia. She was surprised by the sudden change and was barely able to block his first strike but she lost her own sword in the process. It clattered to the floor. She tried to convince him that they were on the same side. Saying that she loved him and they could escape together and find happiness. Enjoy the pleasures in life and be free from the Emperor and Tzeentch and to embrace the ways of Slaanesh. As his sword came down on her, she felt fear and regret. There would be no more happiness for her. Her greatest success, Nathaniel Roth, will be the end of her and will have become her greatest failure. The sword pierced her and she smiled at him and spoke her last words. "I forgive you." She lay on the ground dying. The last thing she saw was Roth being struck by the sword of the Seeker he was dueling with. He fell to his knees. Luvia smiled because, as she lay dying, she knew that the one who had killed her would join her to serve Slaanesh in the warp forever. He fell forward, next to her, as they had been many times on the floor of the cell. She took his helmet off and looked into his eyes, smiling with satisfaction but before she could be rewarded with his death, he was carried away by the Marine.

He awoke in a familiar room. No longer confused, he was very focused and his thoughts were clear. He knew what he had to do. He looked around, finally remembering where he was, what had happened. He had been in this room before, during training. He messed up. This is where they brought you when you messed up. He saw Vek, his closest Brother, sitting by the table he was laying on. Vek stood.

"Ah, finally awake, brother. Do you remember what happened?"

"She's dead, right? Luvia is dead? I didn't have time to confirm...I have never met such a foul, manipulative creature such as her. The lengths she went to. The Imperium is a much better place without her in it. Did you kill them all?"

"She's dead. Somek confirmed. Some got away, many have perished by our swords."

Roth nodded and looked down in shame. "I held out as long as I could. The only way to get out was to join them in their folly but I never meant to join their devious plot. I got desperate. Forgive me Brother."

"How do you feel? You look like hell. That mess on your cheek was hell to remove and you are healing quite well from that sword wound through you back."

"Vek, why am I alive? Why did you not kill me?"

"I considered it but, you know me. I don't always follow rules. I don't think you did any of this of your own volition. To my knowledge, you did not kill any of your brothers. Am I Wrong?"

"You are correct. I had no intention of killing any of my brothers."

"Officially, you are confirmed dead. I took care of that. Brothers help each other out. I expect you to appreciate the favour I did for you by granting you a second life and saving said life. Don't make me regret this."

"Alessander, I promise, I will use this second life to do the work of the Emperor. Those crazy, twisted she devils, I will kill every single one of them and any other creature that serves chaos. I will show no mercy. I will tell you everything I know, I will free those people on that ship and send all the chaos followers to their deaths."

Vek nods. "Go brother, make the Emperor proud!"

"I will not stop killing the heretics until my life is forfeit. I will kill every last Sister of the Night, then I will destroy all followers of chaos. I will never stop."



Roth had been searching for the Sisters of the Night for about a year now. He always arrived soon after they left. His Seeker training still guided him to the right area but sometimes, he was distracted by some other threat he had to take care of. The Sisters were still out there, doing whatever pleased them and he simply could not suffer another day knowing their wicked ways.

His brothers had turned their back on him, only his brother, friend and fellow seeker, Alessander Vek had believed in him. On that day, when the vile Sister Luvia Savant had died, Vek had saved him, healed him and restored his body and mind. As soon as he could stand and walk, Roth had slipped into his power armour, gathered his bolter and power sword and left on his mission to destroy the Sisters of the Night and follow the path of the chaos hunter.

In four days, it would be exactly one year since he pierced Luvia fatally. He smiled as he thought of that then shook his head. He should not take pleasure in that. He will have his vengeance on the Sisters of the Night. They took away his family, his life, his freedom. He lost the light and protection of the Emperor and his brothers.

He lay down in his bed aboard his borrowed ship. Vek had graciously given him transportation and declared the ship lost during a scuffle with some sort of enemy ship. Of course, that was all made up but the Verum Illuminate believed it. Dreading sleep, Roth closed his eyes, knowing the nightmares or memories, would come, as they did more and more frequently these days. He could hear her as if she was really there, telling him that she could get him out, give him his freedom. Every night, the same thing. He could feel her touch and see those eyes filled with sympathy, evil eyes. The anger would rise in him and he would wake, sweat dripping down his brow. He sighed hoping not to dream tonight.

Unfortunately, this was not meant to be. The dream was more urgent this time. Luvia, with her long pink hair, was playing with his hair again in the all too familiar cell. The familiar grogginess of the drugs he used to have every night and day, heavy upon his mind. She looked so deep into his eyes that he could not understand her words for a moment. He knew it was urgent and that he had to listen to her but part of his mind told him to fight. Fight the drugs, ignore the woman. She is dangerous, she lies. His mind started clearing a little and he finally heard her.

"...to Noliath, the Sisters of the Night will be there for the jewel. You must get it from them, it is your last chance to escape."

He grabbed her hand tight.

"Let me be, I want nothing to do with you but to kill you and alas, I can do that only once. Go back to the warp where you belong and give me peace."

He heard her laughter echo through the cell. He released her and woke up. He could still feel her, as though she was in his room. As usual, he stood up and felt a little dizzy and thought he caught movement from the corner of his eye but when he turned his head to look, there was nothing. Her memory was haunting him even when he was awake. Angrily, he stood and made his bed to perfection, cleaned the room for an inspection that would never come and donned his power armour. He concentrated but there were no Brothers to sync to so he concentrated on using seeker abilities to decide where to go next. With a sigh, he set a course for Noliath, angry that even after her death, Luvia still got into his head.

As he approached the planet, he felt a familiar tingle move up his arms. He was ready to rid the world of the rest of the Sisters of the Night. If the Slaanesh worshiping warband was already gone, he knew for sure there would be some action here. He could feel the darkness in his soul. He would do his duty to the world and destroy the evil within this planet and then move on to find his main target. If Luvia hadn't been killed by him, he would have gone after her first but seeing as that was already in the past, he would settle for Julia and her squad. Once they were gone, he would keep hunting all the remaining vile Sisters until every single one was dead. For a moment, he wondered if there really was a jewel that he must take from the sisters but quickly dismissed the thought as a foolish dream.

His Brothers would never have him back in the fold, he was an outcast, left for dead, which gave him the opportunity to reinvent himself and achieve his ultimate goal. He was seeking absolution for his sins toward the Emperor but he knew that he would likely never receive it. Instead, he worked alone, although he still contacted Vek, from time to time and they would share information. He was a one Marine chaos hunter. He touched his cheek, where the mark of Slaanesh used to be, and his anger flared. It was time. Today, he would make a dent in the organisation who had made him an outcast from all gods. He will cry victory in the name of the Emperor of Mankind.

As he stepped off the ship, he closed his eyes and let his feet take him where he should go. Soon enough, he heard the, all too familiar, sounds of battle. He picked up the pace and soon realized that today was his lucky day. The scantily clad women with their pink and purple hair were in the mist of a battle against a squad of Space Marines. The women were, as usual, taunting and laughing, teasing the Marines. They were mighty fighters but these brothers didn't realize who they were up against. As Roth hurried to join the battle, he realized one of the Marines, dressed in red and white, wearing a red robe, was actually fighting for the Sisters of the Night. Roth was disgusted with the sight of another corrupted Marine but his targets were the women. He looked at their faces but he did not recognize them, save for the girl who had been gifted to him when he first was captured. His revulsion grew.

When he joined the Space Marines, at first they seemed to hesitate uncertain of his allegiance but when he raised his sword against the evil mockery of the Adepta Sororitas, he imagined they would accept the help and keep their questions for later. One thing these ladies did not have was mental prowess, although their fortitude was quite impressive.

He reminded himself to concentrate. Do not let their taunts get to you. Their sadistic laughs got to him and that was dangerous. Be free of feelings. Ignore the insanity in their voices, the taunting and suggestive behaviour. Their fighting is erratic. There is no way of predicting their actions. He decided to find the weakest mind and show her fear. He delved into her mind and found her greatest fear and brought it to the surface. She feared never getting ahead in the ranks of the Sisters of the Night. She feared disappointing her god and her sisters and the punishment that would come if she did disappoint them. He concentrated on her in battle both physically and mentally and was soon able to disarm her and return her to the warp. As he delivered the fatal blow, he realized he had caught the attention of the Haute Maitresse who came with a couple of her best sisters. They surrounded him and taunted him saying that the last time they captured one of his brothers, it had been an easy and quick task to turn him against the Emperor and that their captive had fallen in love with one of them. Roth's anger rose but he tried to block it out. He fought them and ignored their laughs and taunts.

He caught a glimpse of the forsaken net tied to the leader's belt. He almost froze. He would not be caught again. He saw Luvia's face as she threw the net over him. Behind the Haute Maitresse, he glimpsed a familiar silhouette. It could not be...Luvia was dead. No! He had to concentrate. He focused on the Haute Maitresse, ignoring the two other girls that were just play fighting him. He fought the leader with all he had, keeping her hands away from the net as he searched her mind for weakness. His focus soon shifted as she reached for the net. He took the blow from her weapon and swung at the hand reaching for the net. It was a clean cut as both the net and he hand fell to the ground.. She roared in anger and pain and came at him with insane speed and skill. He wasn't sure he was going to come out of this alive, as another group of Sisters came to the defense of their leader. He needed this to be over soon. He used his special skills to create confusion among the Sisters of the Night and created a mass hallucination of a fresh delta squad of Verum Illuminate converging on them. Some sisters kept defending the leader while others turned and attacked whoever stood beside them, believing they were the enemy. Roth was in pain from the blow from the Eviscerator and he was tiring. A memory came back to him. A sister of the Night stood before him. She had sinned gravely, holding the Eviscerator of an Haute Maitresse. She had wanted to climb the ranks. Holding the Eviscerator of a recently deceased Haute Maitresse would give a Sister that title. He focused again on the leader and thrust his power sword through her chest understanding quickly what would happen. He now had a plan.

Some of the other sisters who were fighting each other and other Marines, lunged at the corpse of the dead sister, trying to reach the Eviscerator. He knew this would happen, their greed and ambition would be their downfall. He remembered Madame Corrine from his time as a captive and her crimes. This was an advancement opportunity for the Sisters of the Night. As they lunged, he swung his power sword at them, one by one. They were so focused and disorganized, oblivious of the danger. He destroyed ten of the Sisters easily and quickly. The others saw their dead Haute Maitresse and the bloodbath that had just taken place and started retreating. Roth picked up the Eviscerator and followed their retreat, hoping to kill more. The girl he recognized from his captivity, was guarding the retreat. He would soon grant her Mercy. He felt for the girl but it was too late for her. As he approached the ship, he noticed the Marine who had fought alongside the Sisters of the Night. A short lived sense of pity overcame him but he could not feel for him. Following the Sisters had been his choice. He could have chosen to die for the Emperor instead or fooled the sisters and escape as he had done. He needed to make it to the ship before they left but he knew his chances were slim. Four other Sisters watched as the ship left without them, they turned and grinned raising their chainswords and fought him. By this point, the other Marines had gathered near Roth and engaged the evil traitors. The Sisters of the Night did not stand a chance as the marines far outnumbered the Sisters. The women were soon cut down as their laughs echoed through the fields.

Roth turned to leave, carrying the Eviscerator, he walked back the way he had come, with purpose. He hoped not to be interrogated by anyone because he needed to follow that ship. He would not let them get away, again. At least this time, he had made a dent in the organization. One Haute Maitresse and perhaps as many as twenty sisters were dead by his hand yet he was not satisfied. He would not be satisfied until the whole warband was eliminated from existence.

"Brother, how did you know how to make them lose focus? When the leader fell..."

Roth turned surprised at the question. He had not noticed anyone walking with him. He quickly answered but did not pause for the Marine. Subconsciously, Roth followed his new companion's cadence and breathing patterns. He desperately wanted to leave but he could not raise suspicions so he answered his question, feeling irritated that the ship was getting further out of reach every second he wasted here. He made sure his voice would not betray his feelings as he spoke.

"Chaos tends to be disorganized. Eliminate the leader and they fall apart. I assumed it was the same for this warband. Lucky guess." He shrugged and kept pace until they reached his ship.

"Where is the rest of your Chapter?"

"They are busy on a nearby planet. I must return to them and report the events of today. Ave Imperator."

The Marine answered and walked away. Roth boarded his ship where he parted ways with his new "friend" and prepared to leave. Before he took off, he noted the appearance of another ship. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the ship of the Sisters of the Dawn. Instead of leaving, he watched the Sisters carefully trying to sense any note of evil upon them or trickery. He wondered how they had known about the Sisters of the Night being here and which one would, one day, join the mockery of their order. As the Sister Superior was conversing with the Marines on the ground, she turned toward his ship and watched. He slowly took to the sky and left the planet.

As he left orbit and set a course to a nearby trading station. He walked to the back of the ship and placed the Eviscerator in a case and looked at his other relics he had gained while hunting the chaos Sisters. He then went to the log book and wrote down the events of Noliath. He had single-handedly returned twenty Sisters to their god, yet he was not satisfied. He would not be satisfied until he had them all accounted for. This made one hundred and nine. It might take all his life but until the last one was dead, he would never stop. Tired and slightly injured from the blow he had taken from the Haute Maitresse and other Sisters, he returned to his quarters and removed his armour. He had a large bruise on his shoulder and back, where he had been hit. His armour was also damaged. He would need to have it repaired at the station. After he tended to his wounds, he lay down again, going over the battle in his mind. He wanted to note his mistakes so that he would be stronger and better at every meeting between his sworn enemy and himself. He remembered the moment where he had seen a glimpse of Luvia, out on the battlefield.

"Impossible." He murmured. He knew her death had been confirmed by his friend Vek, no less. Whether he was losing his mind, or not, he would still fight until his last breath and purge the Imperium of the Sisters of the Night. Over the vox, he heard a weird static.

"Hmm, that is odd." He felt tired and knew the unwanted dreams would come again. When the sound of a bell chimed, Roth was slightly alarmed but was soon asleep. His dream was different tonight. He was a recruit for the Verum Illuminate. The bell rang, as he lay in his bed and he was almost instantaneously asleep. For the first time, he heard the words of Instructor Ziad speaking of the greatness of the he Emperor, the exploits of the founders of the Verum Illuminate and the word of the Emperor that each and every member had to abide by. He noted some discrepancies. Likely just his head messing with him. Never would the Instructors tell the recruits to capture heretics instead of killing them, that it was the Emperor's will. That psykers were not to be sent to black ships but instead be changed into tools to be used by the Verum Illuminate for their quest for knowledge, supremacy and power. He dismissed the message, knowing Luvia must have been behind it. She had messed with his head so much that he was now doubting the Enlightened Truth. When he awoke, still in his dream, he felt a stinging sensation in his arm and quickly recognized her sitting next to him.

"Drugs, for the pain." She said. Roth wanted to object but she must have dosed him quite a bit because the vertigo was overwhelming. He groaned and tried to speak unsuccessfully. Instead, he vomited on the woman. She wrinkled her nose.

"A little too much? Sorry. Anyway, where is the jewel? Your freedom. You bring me an Eviscerator but no jewel? I am disappointed."

Roth closes his eyes hoping she will be gone when he opens them again. When he does, she is watching him, disappointed. She smacks his wound with her hand.

"You will give me what I want, I expect you will have it by tomorrow. Don't disappoint me." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He opened her eyes and caught her hand as she tried to slap him.

"Let me be, Luvia. Just let me be. You are not even here. Why am I torturing myself? Why do I see you when I am awake? What have you done to me?"

She smiled and patted him on the cheek.

"I knew you missed me." She disappeared.

When he awoke, He stood up slowly and swayed. He was nauseous and felt stiff from his injuries from the previous day. A smell made his nose wrinkle and he noticed vomit on the ground. Roth was confused. How? He looked around concerned. His thoughts were a little fuzzy. He couldn't concentrate very much. Something was amiss. He slipped into his armour, grabbed his sword and checked every inch of the ship for an intruder. Satisfied that there was no one else aboard, he returned to the navigation seat and smiled as he realized a ship of the Sisters of the Dawn had decided to join him to the trading station. Perhaps it was time that they met.

Before he left his ship, he returned to the room where relics were stored and picked up the Eviscerator. Once inside the trading station, merchants eyed him with fear. He walked calmly to the docking station where the Sisters of battle's ship would dock. He waited just outside the airlock. He leaned against the large sword and waited for the Sisters to emerge from their ship. He would be able to see first hand, into the Sister Superior's mind and know her thoughts on the villainous counterpart of the Sisters of the Dawn. He would also watch all the sisters' reaction upon seeing him there, with such an important weapon, as the Eviscerator of a former Haute Maitresse. As they disembarked, Roth nodded to the surprised Sisters who gathered in the hall until the Sister Superior walked out. Most of the Sisters eyed him with a normal air of suspicion but no one eyed the weapon with desire. Roth gave a respectful nod but did not remove his helmet. He handed the Sister Superior the Eviscerator.

"Greetings Sister Superior. I believe this should be yours to keep."

The Sister took the sword and frowned. She watched him for a moment and handed the sword over to another sister. When she reached for it, he noticed a small crystal embedded in the sister's gauntlet. His focus returned to that sister's eyes as he quickly tried to reach her thoughts and feelings without her noticing. She closed her gauntlet on the hilt of the weapon, her pupils widened for a second and she carried it back inside the ship.

"Thank you. Why did you take it from the traitor?"

"I have learned, in my encounter with those heretics that the Eviscerator of the leader of a squad is of great importance to the rest. I assume you wanted to have a word, Sister?"

"Yes, actually I did but this may not be the best place for us to talk. How about you come aboard my ship?"

"With all due respect sister, I would prefer you come aboard mine with as many of your squad as you feel are necessary, of course, or we could speak at the Tavern."

She seemed to consider both options as she watched him, likely trying to read his intentions.

"Your ship is acceptable. My name is Sister Superior, Leah Dumont and you are obviously a marine from the Verum Illuminate but would you please tell me your name and remove the helmet?"

Roth was a little nervous about her request but his training kicked in. When the Verum Illuminate sent a high value Seeker on a clandestine mission, they were told to tell allies a false name. There were many Corey Richter out on many different planets at that very moment answering these questions to Loyalists. He was also concerned about removing his helmet. What if the mark was still visible? It had been almost a year since its removal. He hadn't looked at himself since then. He normally wore his helmet everywhere. He conjured up an image of his former self in hopes that he could use his abilities to hide whatever scar or remnant of the mark that could be seen. He slowly removed his helmet and met her gaze.

"Yes, Sister. My brothers are from the Verum Illuminate. My name is Corey Ritcher, Foxtrot squad."

She watched him for a moment, searching his face and his gaze. She seemed satisfied with his answer and followed him to his ship, four sisters flanking him. He did not mind. It made sense. He obviously lied about returning his brothers and the other Marines must have told her, she did not know him. They were suspicious, as was their nature and their reason for being. It was time for half truths.

When they came aboard the ship, the Sisters scanned every inch of it with their eyes. As they passed in front of Roth's quarters he tried to get their attention away from the mess he had left that morning. He quickly led them to a small, makeshift conference room where he signaled for them to sit. They did not so he sat at the table.

"I am assuming you went to Noliath to purge the vile Sisters of the Night?" Roth asked the Sister.

"We had gathered information that they may be on the planet in question, yes. I have some questions of my own. Why were you on Noliath, sole Brother of the Verum Illuminate, far away from your Foxtrot squad, no seeker in sight to protect?"

"That is a good question indeed. We were informed that the band of sisters may be on Noliath and I simply was told to investigate but when I got there, I saw the battle and I chose to not let those heretics get away, yet again. Our Seekers are very efficient and yet again they were correct."

"Yes, I have experience with your Seekers and they chose to send one lone Marine to investigate? I thought you meant to return to your Brothers to report back and yet, here we are?"

Sister Leah watched him intently. He could tell that she was not believing his answer. Roth shifted imperceptibly in his armour. This would be hard to explain. Before he could answer the question, one of the other Sororitas leaned in to whisper something to the Sister Superior. She arched her eyebrows and squinted at Roth.

"It would appear we have more pressing matters to attend to. You are free to return to your brothers but I will be inquiring about you when I return from my mission." The Sister turned to leave.

Roth was a little surprised by her reaction. Normally, a Sister of the Dawn would not leave an interrogation halfway through. They would push until they arrived at the truth and if that truth did not one hundred percent satisfy, they would gladly terminate the liar. She started walking the way she had come. Roth remembered his messy room and rose quickly. He swayed slightly but quickly caught himself. One of the Sisters of the night had noticed. When he reached the sister superior, he quickly asked.

"Sister Superior? Is it the Slaaneshi warband? Will you share what information you have? I can help!"

"We don't need the help of a lone foxtrot Marine, Richter but I expect you will find a way to follow. Save us the time, trouble and resources and come with us and remember that if you slow us down further, I may have to act upon the fact that you lied to us and I could be lead to believe you are slowing us down on purpose."

He let them lead the way without a word and followed to their ship. He was thankful that their order of the Dawn had changed since their last encounter. It felt as if they were giving him a chance. These Sisters did not give the benefit of the doubt or second chances. They expected perfection in the service to the Emperor. They expected the truth and respect of everyone. Lies were an affront to the Emperor and his daughters and a door that lead to chaos. For now, he would content himself with following the Sisters of the Dawn into battle against the Sisters of the Night.

Roth Followed and did as he was told. He was directed to his room but was not granted solitude. He knew this was too good to be true when he found himself sitting face to face with a Sister of the Dawn, both of them sitting at a table. She asked questions and he answered as truthfully as he could without saying anything that would get him killed. For some reason, he found himself to be exhausted and it was a chore to keep his eyes open. The Sister sitting across from him, Bethany, squinted her eyes and watched him curiously.

"Are you well Richter? I have never seen a Marine turn this colour after a discussion. Were you injured?"

"Nothing to worry about, a few cuts and bruises. I do apologize. Perhaps I misjudged the extent of the damage?" he wondered.

"I will get a hospitaller." Sister Bethany stood and left the room.

Roth assumed the Sister Superior was watching the interrogation and that was likely where Sister Bethany had gone off to. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to grasp what was happening to him. First with the vomit during the night, now he was clammy, dizzy and exhausted. There was no one on his ship, he checked, so he couldn't have been drugged. Perhaps the blades of the Sisters of the Night were dipped in a potent poison of some sort. When Sister Bethany returned, she was with the Sister Superior.

"Richter, I have contacted your Chapter and they confirmed your name, rank and position and informed me that your mission is sanctioned. We have also called upon a Sister Hospitaller, Sister Marielle, who will be here in a moment. In the meantime, I would appreciate an explanation." Said Sister Leah.

"I-I think that, perhaps, their blades were laced with some sort of potent poison..." he answered honestly.

"Hmm, perhaps. We will see what the healer says. You have been acting differently than expected from a Marine. I, for one, would like to know if the cause for this is, in fact, poison or if you lie to me on purpose."

"Sister, I do not mean to act so erratically. My respect for you is unwavering and so is my faith."

Leah watched him closely and nodded. She believed he had spoken the truth but her belief did not matter, Sister Marielle's word would reveal the truth. The hospitaller finally arrived as Roth lost consciousness.

This dream was different, it was peaceful. There was no sign of his tormentor. He heard voices, they spoke of drug laced blades and potions that he did not know or understand. He heard a female voice but not the soft whisper of Luvia but could not understand the meanings of her words. He thought of everything he had done. A feeling of guilt overcoming him. He had failed the Emperor. Before he had a purpose, he would have taken his own life for the terrible thoughts and actions he had taken that betrayed the word of the Emperor. Part of him wanted to right this wrong but another part wanted to purge the Imperium of the Sisters of the Night. They are a bigger threat than he is to the Imperium therefore, he should carry out his mission then fall on his sword for his sins. His mission was of the utmost importance. The Imperium would need to suffer from his existence for a little while longer. He felt a familiar stinging sensation in his arm and his mind started clearing up and the nausea he was pushing down was suddenly gone. He felt very comfortable, more comfortable than he had felt for so long, he could not remember.

His eyes opened and he saw that he was laying on a cot in some sort of a medical room, his armour discarded. He sat up and looked around the room searching for his armour, a wave of outrage growing in him, then he remembered where he was and what had transpired. He calmed his breathing and swung his legs off the cot.

"Sister Marielle, I feel much better. Thank you for healing me."

"You received a very high dose of drugs, possibly from the blade of the heretics you fought with. It is surprising that you were able to function so well. Any nausea, fatigue or dizziness?"

"I am quite well, thank you. You removed my armour. Where is it? I prefer to be prepared."

Sister Bethany spoke. "Yes, it is laid out in your quarters."

He noted that the Sister Superior was no longer in the room.

"I am absolved of doubt, then?" he asked, appearing nonchalant.

"For the moment" answered Bethany. "If you are ready for battle, we have word on a possible sighting of the Sisters of the Night." Bethany spit the name of the warband like it left a bad taste in her mouth to speak those words. Roth felt the same way and was anxious to engage them again, hopefully for the last time.

He nodded and stood. "It will be my honour to fight by your side, Sister Bethany."

When they arrived at the designated planet, they were too late. The band of Slaaneshi sisters had already departed and left behind a massacre of guardsmen. Corpses lay on the ground as families cried for their lost ones and prayers were said for the lost souls. The people were afraid of them. Roth hadn't seen this type of reaction to Space Marines or Sororitas before. Sister Leah raised her voice.

"Who did this to your people? This was not sanctioned by the Imperium, we are here to help."

The people still seemed distraught and unwilling to share the events that had just taken place. Nathaniel Roth walked to a distraught woman who seemed out of place. She was crying but there was no corpse where she stood. He stopped next to her and asked.

"What happened? Who did this to these people?"

"A ship came, it looked like the one you arrived on. We wondered why the Adepta Sororitas would come to us. These women with pink and purple hair and the mark of chaos on their cheeks stepped off, we did not understand. There was no time. We were in the mist of a festival, here, in the town square. They just walked up to the festivities and started slaying the innocent people. The guard came to defend us but they just laughed and taunted them and started killing everyone...not everyone...they took my girls and my husband. They took half a dozen girls and 3 men, the ones that amused them. They left as quickly as they had come."

"Do you know where they intended to go? We will bring justice upon these heretics. I promise you."

"I would tell you if I did but I do not know."

"Thank you, Ave Imperator."

She nodded. "Ave Imperator."

Roth returned to the Sisters and explained what the woman had said.

"It appears they may be recruiting but we do not know where they are going. If we can get to them soon enough, we may be able to save the recruits." Roth said with a small note of hope in his voice.

"There is not much hope for them unless the Emperor places us on their path, they are as good as dead." Answered Leah.

"Perhaps he will. We should leave this planet and start our search for the heretics. There is nothing more we can do here, the church will take care of the lives lost here."

"Yes. Do you think you can find them? I know the Verum Illuminate Seekers specialize in finding heretics. It is quite uncanny how good your Seekers are. Do you have the same gift?"

"I am not as skilled as others but I can give it a try when we get to the ship. If you trust me enough to take directions, I may be able to track them, although I often arrive too late."

Sister Leah nodded and they returned to the ship. Roth starts walking toward his quarters. Bethany follows. When they get there, he takes his helmet off, turns to her and frowns.

"Your gauntlet, where did you get that jewel and what is it? No one else wears a jewel on their gauntlet. It must be important."

"It is only important to me. It has no real value, just something I found on a mission a long time ago."

He nodded and told her he would need to get his tools and concentrate for a moment to find the direction the heretics went. He excused himself and walked into his quarters closing the door behind him. He concentrated on the feeling of the ship, then he thought of Julia. Her evil face and her taunts...what she had done was unforgivable. As anger started swelling in him, he sought to find the treacherous villain. He left his helmet on the bed and asked Bethany who had been waiting outside, to set a course to Zargoth, where it all began for him. He hoped his emotions were not misdirecting his special abilities but he felt like this is where he needed to be.

Sister Bethany was surprised that he would want to go there. She wondered if he had said that just to get a reaction from her but she did not give him the satisfaction. Sister Leah glanced at Sister Bethany, a silent understanding passing between them as she ordered the ship to set a course for Zargoth.

Roth noticed the exchange between the two. He wondered what else had happened in Zargoth. He knew that that planet was quite attractive to many heretics but he wanted to know what had happened to the Sisters on that planet. He wondered if he should ask. Maybe it would be best to keep quiet. Sister Leah spoke first.

"How does the gift of the Seekers work? We always wondered. Is it something in the power armour? Visions? Perhaps some sort of sixth sense?"

"I am not at liberty to say but the Seekers, they are very good at reading their instruments and they can find their target fairly easily. I mostly arrive late and sometimes, I am wrong. It is not given to everyone but the Emperor's light guides me to where he needs me to be."

The women nodded and Roth excused himself. He needed to think. He walked back to his quarters and went over the recent events in his mind. The battle on Noliath. How had he known to go there? It wasn't his psyker abilities, he knew that for sure. Luvia, she had told him in his dream to go there. How would his subconscious know that they would be there. And the jewel...Bethany was wearing it. No, he would not do or say anything about that to the Sister. He did not take orders from Slaaneshi filth. He had gone to Noliath because that was the only lead he had and he needed to do something but, if an imaginary Luvia wanted the jewel, well, she wasn't gonna get it.

Maybe the Emperor had forgiven him and was showing him the way. That seemed improbable but just in case, he prayed to his old God-Emperor for forgiveness and swore an oath that he would destroy the Sisters of the Night or die trying. He heard a familiar laugh but he could not pinpoint the source of the sound. She would taunt him until his last breath. He sighed and continued his prayers.

Eventually they arrived at Zargoth. Some of the crew seemed focused and ready, gearing up but others seemed to disapprove of the fact that they were here. If there was one place that needed cleansing, this would be it. Between the Swampfoots and all the relics known and unknown, this place was normally a hub of activity. When they set down, there was no real activity going on, which seemed odd to Roth. He walked, following his intuition. He needed to remember where he was and who he was with. Now would be a good time to hesitate, for show. He stopped and looked around. He already knew where he was going. He started walking again, the Sisters following, watching him and his surroundings. A couple of Sisters were taking notes. They were only a very small skeleton crew, out to search for the Sisters of the Night. If he was right, more Sisters would be called forth for battle. Being with the Sisters of the Dawn here, reminded him of the mission he had run with Julia a long time ago, before she turned to Slaanesh. She had not taken notes like the two Sisters bringing up the rear but seemed eager to fight, like Sister Bethany. Julia's faith in the God-Emperor had seemed unwavering. He must have been wrong about her.

Suddenly, he wondered if this is where he would meet Julia again. His mind had drifted to her specifically when it should have drifted to the evil Luvia. They marched quietly taking in every aspect of the terrain. The Slaaneshi war band could be anywhere. Eventually, they crested a hill and saw a ship on the other side, smoke rising from the vessel. As they approached, moving from one place to another, hiding behind trees and large rock formations, they heard the faint whispers of people talking. It could have been anyone, really but he would never forget that ship. He knew it so very well. It was so familiar, it had to be them.

As he crept forward, he gestured for the Sororitas to stay back while he investigated. He soon recognized the ship and its occupants. Outside, repairs were being done on the ship. Sister Bethany signaled for the Sisters to fall back. Roth quietly made his way around the ship hoping to infiltrate it. There were only three women guarding the ship. He knew that the Sisters of the Night had just had a big win and when they won, there was always a celebration. He snuck up quietly on the guards and took them out silently, one at a time, discarding the bodies. He then strolled into the ship knowing he would encounter only minor resistance. He heard a sound behind him and noted that Bethany and three other Sisters had followed him to the ship. He hoped they were ready for this. Sisters of Battle were trained for battle, no matter their order but these were from the Order of Pronatus. Were they as ready as the militant orders would be? The last time he was on a mission with the Sisters of the Dawn, one of them ended up worshiping Slaanesh. He moved past the cells ignoring its occupants. The Sisters hesitated. He shook his head and returned to where the Sisters stood.

"We do not have the luxury of time and weeding out which is already turned and which is not." He whispered to the Sister then spoke to the captives quietly.

"We will be back for you."

They kept going until they arrived in a large room. He could hear cries coming from the lower levels as the Sisters of the Night watched and pointed at the scene, placing wagers on the daughter or the father. Roth furrowed his brow in confusion when suddenly it dawned on him. The guard and his daughters. They were making them fight each other. If the girl won, the father died. If the girl lost, they both died. He tried to push the anger down. The Sisters behind him didn't hesitate. He ran in the room swinging his power sword, taking out multiple Sisters of the Night before the others even realized what was going on. He then ran to the glass dome and shattered it with a powerful blow hoping to stop the fight in the room one story below. There was no need for these people to die on this day. Yes, he had alerted the evil Sisters guarding the room on the lower level but he didn't care. He wanted them all dead and if he could save these two innocent people, he would fight as many as it took.

The Sisters of the Dawn held their own against their enemy but the fight was not fair. The chaos aligned women were more in number and were vicious and very skilled fighters. When he noticed Bethany talking while she fought, he was happy that she had called the other Sisters to come and help. As the Sororitas started running in, Roth began his search for the Haute Maitresse, if he was lucky, he would get to fight Julia. She was second on his hit list, the first already eliminated. The woman strode toward him confidence and pleasure written across her face as she announced: "Our main event just got better! Have fun Sisters!"

He could no longer contain his anger as he ran at her, pushing everyone else out of the way, he roared. Instantly she recognized him and grinned.

"Missed me? If you wanted to come back so badly you could have just asked."

He slashed at Julia with all his might but she moved away before she could lose a limb. He did draw blood though. She cracked her whip loudly over him but did not attack.

"You are not lost to me. I can redeem you. Now be a good Seeker and return to your cell."

Roth attacked again but this time, with more fervor, intent on sending Julia to a disgraceful end. She needed to die. He could not rest until she was gone. The more Sisters of the Night he could kill, the better the redemption, although he would never be granted a return to the fold, he could do some good for the Imperium. As he swung his power sword and avoided her own large chainsword he felt another familiar presence but the feeling only lasted a moment. As she hefted the sword through the air, he spun and struck her in the leg. She cried out and lost her balance for a moment. He turned and the sword missed him as she was taken by surprise by the blow he had landed. He kicked her behind the knee, which sent her down. He was ready to deliver her to her death when he felt a searing pain in his back. Another Slanneshi Sister had come to the defense of the Haute Maitresse. Knowing that if he cut the head off the snake they would likely win the battle, he ignored the pain. Julia had turned and was smiling at him. The Viper opened her mouth to speak.

"Join us Brother. You have been missed."

Roth answered with his power sword, beheading the Haute Maitresse Julia Sansoucy. He then turned to find his previous attacker had been dealt with by the Sisters of the Dawn. Roth felt confident that with the death of Julia, this squad of the warband would collapse but that was not to happen. Most stood their ground while a few fled. Roth continued to fight the Slaaneshi warband so did the Sororitas. They fought with such zeal and passion, it made his heart ache for he knew he would never belong. He lived outcast by all god worshiping men and women. Soon the ground was littered with bodies. Both sides had taken casualties. The surviving women organized around a new leader and they fled, the Sororitas pursuing them. Roth turned his attention to the room below. Having sustained some injuries, he went down to where the festivities entrance was and opened the door letting the captives out. Both the guard and the girl seemed to be in reasonable condition.

Knowing the Sororitas would want to ascertain whether or not they were corrupted, he took them to Sister Bethany. Roth returned to where Julia lay and stared down at her in contempt. He picked up her Eviscerator, so no one else could take Julia's place as Haute Maitresse and eyed the crystal on the hilt. It was a sickly shade of green. He felt slightly nauseated as he realized what it was. He did not want anyone to get their hands on it so he decided he would hold on to it until he could store it away in his own ship. He returned to the Sisters of the Dawn. Most available Sisters of Battle had answered the call. A small unit had stayed back at the ship to guard it. More Sisters took notes and muttered prayers over the bodies of their fallen sisters. When Sister Superior Leah arrived, the Sisters just turned and left the cursed ship to return to their own. Roth thought he would feel more satisfaction. This had been a big victory but still, it was not enough for his redemption. He returned to the ship with the Sisters of the Dawn without incident.

After an interview with the guardsman and his daughter, Roth had learned that his eldest daughter had tried to escape and was killed but he and his daughter were uncorrupted. They both thanked them profusely for saving them. Once they all left the interrogation room, Roth had been up for two days. Today was the first anniversary of the death of Luvia. The thought made him smile. He quickly hid that smile and returned to his quarter for a quick nap. He took off his power armour. He was bruised and bleeding again. He could deal with it later. He placed the Eviscerator in a corner of the room and fell asleep confident that his nightmares were over. He had finally killed both his tormentors and so many others.

When sleep finally came, it was peaceful and quiet, he could see nothing, hear nothing, as it should be. Suddenly, he heard laughing.

"You did it! I can't believe you went through with it. You did good Marine."

It was Luvia. Roth opened his eyes and saw her there, right next to him. She looked so excited, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Go away foul woman. You do not exist, you are dead and have been dead for a year. I don't know what you think I did but I did not do it for you."

"Of course not, sweetie," she cajoled. "You did it because you hate us but you smiled when she was dead. You enjoyed it. You wish you could still be with me, in that cell. "Luvia, Luvia. I know your name, I see you." You said those words to me and I knew that I had succeeded in my biggest achievement ever. I was wrong. My biggest achievement was granted by you, on this very night one year ago and now, I have everything."

Roth sat up angry at her words, he backhanded her across the face and she laughed.

"You know I like that."

"Leave me foul creature. Let me rest. The Imperium is a better place without you."

She came closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. Movement caught his eye as someone walked across the opened door to his quarter. It was the guard. He stared in horror at the spot where Luvia stood. Roth was confused, the man could see her? The guard yelled.

"A Sister of the Night has boarded the ship! She is here!" He stepped into the room followed by two Sisters of the Dawn. He could hear others coming. Luvia smirked as she backed away into the corner.

"You do not exist, you are not here, the Imperium is better without you in it."

She mocked him by repeating his words as she reached for the Eviscerator. Roth jumped to his feet and the room started spinning. He realized, in that moment, what had taken place. He had been drugged again. It was impossible that she stood there in the same room as him. Somek had confirmed the kill...unless. Anger swelled in him and he roared her name. He grabbed his power sword and lunged at her. He would kill her again, as many times as he had to. Luvia stopped his blade with Julia's blade but did not attack.

"Well, thank you for making me Leader of the Sisters of the Night. Now be a good Marine and get me that jewel." She told him.

As soon as the Sisters of the Dawn were about to fall on her with all the Emperor's fury, she disappeared. Roth stood and stared in disbelief at the spot where she had stood a moment earlier. Sister Bethany arrived in the room.

"Where did she go? Where is the disgusting mockery of a woman?"

"A daemon...I killed her and she became a daemon." Roth answered in disbelief.

Bethany ordered the Sisters of the Dawn to search the ship and for the villainous foe. She approached Roth.

"What happened? You had her and you didn't kill her?"

"I...uhh...I didn't know. I thought it was a dream. I can't believe she is not dead. I killed her. Somek confirmed the kill."

"Snap out of it Marine. Come and find the heretic and send her back to her maker."

Roth looked her in the eye for a moment then turned to suit up. Bethany left the room and started searching the ship with the other Sisters. She had been there, almost every night, right there with him. He couldn't believe it. He should have known. When he saw her on the battlefield, when he had heard her laugh on the Sisters of the Night's ship. She had been there. She had been drugging him, he wondered what kind of damage he had done because of her whispers in the night. And now he had to kill her again. He was now ready, he left his quarters with his power sword and bolter and did a grid search. If he thought he caught her scent or heard her voice, he would not hesitate and kill her...he hoped.

As he began his search, he realized that she was still on board the ship. He swore under his breath. Leah joined him.

"Can you track her?" she asked.

"She's here. I'm a little confused. I hope I can find her."

Leah nodded watching him with concern but continued to follow him knowing if anyone would find her, it would be him. Roth stopped for a moment and turned his head toward the holding cells on the Sisters' ship. He grunted. He walked past the room. He knows he has to do this alone or the Sisters might know about what happened between him and Luvia. He keeps walking with the Sister Superior, weapon at the ready, and suddenly stops.

"I can't find her. It's like she was here and now she's not. Split up? We'll cover more ground."

Sister Superior Leah nodded and moved to the right. Roth continued forward until he could no longer hear Leah's footfalls then turned and returned to the room where he knew Luvia would be waiting. He pushed the button and the door slid away letting him walk through. The door slid closed behind him. He walked cautiously into the room, ignoring the tingling feeling crawling down his spine. When he reached the middle of the room, he saw her, sitting on the ground, her back toward him.



"I'm glad you came." She said, still not turning around, "I've missed you Nathaniel and I am truly sorry I misguided you. I only wanted to help and I missed you too much to stay away."

Roth still aimed his bolter at her. He should just pull the trigger. Return the daemon to the warp. As if she was reading his mind, she stood, still wearing his old cloak, ripped but the battle at Dara Seans. She turned and looked at him as she slowly took her hood off her head showing her unnatural and almost hypnotizing beauty. The Eviscerator in her hand, point to the floor.

"Please don't shoot me. I didn't do anything wrong this time. I just missed you. I made a mistake, I shouldn't have done the things I have done in my past life."

"And yet, when you died, you were made a daemon. Why should I not kill you again? You have been the source of my exile, my pain. Because of you, I have no one, nothing. I am alone."

"I don't want you to be alone. We can be together...there is nothing stopping us."

She let the sword fall to the ground with a clatter and approached him slowly, her arms open as if waiting for an embrace. Roth took a step back but did not shoot. The arm holding the weapon slowly lowering to his side. Roth spoke softly.

"Luvia, it is wrong. You're a daemon, for the Emperor's sake."

Faster than he could react, she crossed the distance between the two, smiling, his cloak falling to the floor. She held him in a tight embrace as her new steely wings wrapped around him and ripped through his armour like it was a piece of cloth. Hundreds of tiny needles came from the wings and injected him with drugs. With a sharp intake of breath, he tried to push her away but her wings dug deeper into his skin and his vision swam.

"Gah! Always with the Emperor! You are no fun!"

With great difficulty, he spoke her name. "Luvia." He struggled against her, his arms not responding, his knees starting to buckle, nausea coming in waves. A sudden loud noise registered in his mind as his head came to rest upon her shoulder. She was not holding him as tight anymore but he still couldn't fight, his body was not responding. He wondered what would happen to him when he died. Before his eyes could close, he saw Bethany hefting the Eviscerator in her hands. The yellow jewel on her gauntlet seemed so glow but it could have been a hallucination induced by the drugs or pain, he could not be certain.

As the blade came down across Luvia's back, her eyes went wide and a horrifying scream escaped her. His eyes closed as he felt her release him and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

A few hours later, he opened his eyes, surprised he was still alive. The Sister hospitaller looked at him and smiled.

"You are very lucky Sister Bethany found you when she did. You were at death's door."

Roth did not understand how one Sister Pronatus, alone, could kill a daemon like Luvia.

"Thank you, thank Sister Bethany and the Emperor, I live to fight another day."

He swallowed back another wave of nausea.

"How did she do it? Kill the daemon?"

"By the grace of the Emperor, the jewel on Sister Bethany's gauntlet seems to have emitted some sort of ward and the she-daemon disappeared. It was captured in the jewel on the hilt of your Eviscerator."

"My? Yes, my Eviscerator. I remember now. I won it from the foul Mistress of the Sisters of the Night."

Again a wave of nausea made his stomach roll and he closed his eyes. Content that he would sleep peacefully from now on, but he still had a job to do. Hunt the Sisters of the Night.



He awoke with a sigh, maybe it was all just a dream. His life had become so complicated. He wondered if he could ever go home, to Stygian, to his brothers and his duty. Forget the past two years or so, report for duty and fight the heretics. He looked across the room at his power armour. It had been repaired after he left the Sisters of the Dawn. The Aquila on the chest, look at him with a brownish sickly colour. Most days, it looked dark purple but today, it was a disgusting colour. He didn't want to think of why. He stood from his bead and pulled the sheets tight. He dusted and stacked the books onto their shelf, made sure everything was perfect and then he suited up. He scratched his neck a little and headed to the window and peered out. He heard some footsteps stop outside his door and a moment later, he heard a knock. The door opened. Roth secretly hoped it was the Instructor coming for Inspection but he was not surprised to see Benjamin Brak standing there.

When Roth and the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn parted ways, Benjamin the guardsman, had asked to join Roth on his mission to destroy the Sisters of the Night. Roth was reticent to have a tag along. He then considered the advantages of having the guardsman join him on his mission. He knew the man was courageous and determined to serve the Emperor and destroy the evil Slaaneshi warband almost as much as he was. He could also use a friendly face and maybe someone to check on him and make sure that he was not swayed by anyone while he slept. Luvia was dead. Yes but, the last time, it didn't stick. Who knows when she'll be back?

Finally Roth accepted to take him along for a while. That was already a full year ago. The guardsman had proven many times over that he deserved to be on this quest. Even when facing the Sisters of the Night, he stood his ground and when he was injured, he continued fighting, for vengeance, for the Emperor. Soon Benjamin Brak and Corey Richter would be just as much friends as partners. Eventually, Brak revealed that, on the day he was captured by the Sisters, they had taken two of his daughters. The one that had not fought back, his youngest, had been killed brutally before him. This fueled his anger and desire to see the women dead. The man deserved his vengeance. Roth could always count on Brak to have his back and make sure the daemon did not return to torment him some more.

Roth Nodded at Benjamin and asked him how close they were to their destination.

"A few more hours. Hopefully we get there before they leave again." Roth grunted.

"How's your arm? Still healing well?"

"Yeah. That nasty woman almost took my arm off."

"Well, at least she doesn't get a second chance to try and you need better armour, buddy. You know what? How about you sit this one out? I'll call you in if I need you, I could even drop you off to your family. A small vacation maybe, see an Apothecary. Get that fixed. I'll pick you up on my way back."

Benjamin hesitated, disappointment showing on his face. Roth felt bad he had suggested it.

Instead Roth decided to continue with their mission and head to Sanctus. He had learned that the man he had seen on Noliath, with the foul Sisters of the Night, was clad as a Red Crusader and he wanted to make sure that what had happened to him, would not happen to the Crusaders, but first, he needed to ascertain their level of devotion to the Emperor.

He could not track the Sisters of the Night, they were too far but he could lay in wait, on Sanctus for them to return, hopefully. He was having trouble tracking the sisters on his own, without any help from Luvia. He hated that he depended on her so much. Now he had to learn to follow his instincts, as he used to do, and be prepared for more variable results. He sighed, trying to calm his rising frustration. He wanted the best possible results. He wanted to end those wretched women but he couldn't. All he could do now was wait and hope for them to return.

Roth cleared his throat and scratched at his neck again. He cleared his mind and prepared for the confrontation that he hoped would take place. They were approaching the planet Sanctus. Benjamin seemed quite content that Roth had decided to keep him around for this mission. He didn't want Roth to think he was an invalid. Roth looked at his partner and shrugged.

"They do have Apothecaries here too...it wasn't worth the detour."

Benjamin deflated a little. Roth gave a full-hearted laugh.

"We likely will just be sitting around doing nothing for a few days anyway."

Once they had landed, they left the ship, armed and ready for anything but Roth knew that the worse they would be facing was likely a n interrogation from the Space Marine Chapter of the area. Benjamin and Roth had practiced already, they would tell mostly the truth but only with a small modification as to what their business was on Sanctus. They would say that they were on a nearby planet fighting heretics. Roth and Benjamin were sent to scout the area but Benjamin's injury was pretty bad so they stopped here hoping to see an Apothecary. The Red Crusaders would help a fellow Space Marine and a guardsman. Especially since they had a man who would confirm whatever story was told. Roth was very thankful that Vek still helped him out when needed. He made Roth's life so much easier.

As they approached the Fortress Monastery, they scanned the area for any sign of imminent attack. His instincts were not on point anymore but he did not feel the familiar dread that came with close proximity to the Sisters of the Night. As they approached the entrance, they were stopped for a moment by a Marine guarding the main door.

"What is your business here Marine?"

"Corey Richter, Foxtrot squad, Verum Illuminate. This guardsman was injured during battle in this Sector and is in need of medical attention."

Brak rolled his eyes a bit in annoyance but he staggered a little for effect and showed his wound to the Marine. They were escorted through the halls of the Fortress Monastery to the infirmary. Roth smiled when he entered recognizing the Sister Hospitaller that was tending to a couple injured Marines. In the opposite corner of the room stood an Apothecary who was busily mixing potions.

Seeing how busy the two were, the guardsman announced that he did not need medical help and that he would survive. His wound was not as alarming as the ones the other Marines had sustained. The Sister raised her head and recognized both Roth and the guardsman, as she had tended to Roth at the time of his near death experience with the daemon Luvia.

"Brother Richter! It's been a while. No more daemons after you, I hope?"

"All clear Sister. You remember Benjamin?"

"Yes," she smiled at him.

"He is injured and I was wondering if you could perhaps have a look at his arm."

"Certainly."

The Marines in the room watched the exchange. Roth was confident that no one would bother to confirm his identity nor his business seeing as a Sister of the Dawn had just confirmed his identity.

Roth was feeling a little warm and began wondering if his armour needed repairs because it seemed to be having trouble regulating temperature. He removed his helmet and stood as he watched the Sister examine the wound.

The Sister looked distracted as she called the Apothecary over with some sort of a potion. She reached for it and applied some to the wound. She spoke as she did so.

"You don't think they are coming here? Do you?" she asked nervously.

"Perhaps but they are not here now."

The Marines watched the conversation with growing interest.

"Should I hail The Chosen?"

"It is too soon to do so now. There is no evidence they will come, I just felt like it was probable."

One of the injured Marines spoke up.

"Who are you talking about? Do you know of an imminent attack?"

Roth turned his head and looked at the Marine. He concentrated as he answered.

"If history repeats itself, there may be a higher risk that the Sisters of the Night come here and attack this very Fortress Monastery. They came to Dara Seans with a newly turned Marine from my own chapter, Nathaniel Roth was his name. Their attack was very effective and it is only because the traitor had a change of heart and fought against the Sisters of the Night in the end, that our sacred relic was not taken and the Monastery was not utterly destroyed."

The Marines looked at each other in confusion and looked back at Roth.

"Why would they come here though? I don't get it."

Roth could tell that the Marine spoke in all honesty.

"I saw one of your Marines fight alongside the Sisters of the Night. He was turned. If he has not yet come for his final rite of passage, he should be here shortly."

A look of surprise and disgust crossed the faces of the Marines. Roth felt a sudden sense of urgency. One of the Marines stood awkwardly and left the room favoring a leg. Roth stayed seated and watched the Hospitaller work. He wondered if the Sisters of the Night were in fact coming. The hairs on the back of his neck started lifting as he felt a crawling sensation make its way up his back. Suddenly he stood and turned to the door. Everyone stopped, the second Marine stood quickly and turned also. Roth braced himself, unsure of what had caused him to react this way. He stared at the door, until it opened. A Marine walked through. He had a familiar aura. This man was a Captain of some sort. He still did not understand his reaction to the crawling feeling. Did it come from this Crusader or was something more sinister about to happen?

The Marine introduced himself, Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard. Apparently we needed to talk. I was quite happy to follow. Hopefully he was more concerned about the possible attack than asking questions about his identity. Roth stood and nodded to The Sister and the guardsman who seemed unconcerned. Roth followed the Grail Knight trying to understand what his instincts were telling him and why his mind wandered to Sister Bethany of the Sisters of the Dawn. They arrived at an interrogation room. He understood that this would not be as simple as he had hoped. He removed his helmet and sat at the table carefully placing his helmet next to him immediately he spoke.

"Corey Richter, foxtrot Squad of the Verum Illuminate. I am tasked with finding the Sisters of the Night and reporting back. I will answer all your questions truthfully and quickly. I believe your Fortress Monastery is in danger."

The Grail Knight did not sit. He watched Roth carefully. He replied calmly.

"I believe you are correct. A single Marine of a Chapter with very little information in the Imperial records, arrives at Sanctus, alone, with a guardsman, wearing a very dangerous Nurgle Crystal on his chest and announces that there will be an impending attack? I do believe the threat may certainly have arrived already and it is you."

Roth tried to keep his expression neutral but he was very surprised by this turn of events.

"This crystal was once attached to the Eviscerator of a Sister of the Night. When I sent her destroyed her, I took the Eviscerator to stop another evil Sister from taking her place. I did not know it had this relic on the hilt. When a Sister of the Dawn killed a daemon with this very blade, she returned it to me and explained what the crystal was. I could not let this jewel fall into the wrong hands so I keep it on me at all times and suffer its effects in order to protect the Imperium."

He scratched his neck again. Mathael noticed his flushed cheeks and the sweat on his brow. After giving his answer a thought, he nodded accepting the explanation.

"What makes you think the vile warband will come here? The Imperium is large, there is no reason to come here."

"Experience." He cocked his head as he thought he had heard something. The Marine in front of him looked at him suspiciously. Roth scratched his head and gave a small sneeze, which was more for show than anything else.

"Sorry. I have been tracking the Sisters of the Night for two years, since the events at our Fortress Monastery, Dara Seans. The Slaaneshi warband had captured one of our own and turned him. He was then sent to take our most protected and precious relic. The warband surprised us. Many good Marines died. Apparently, one of the leaders of the warband was killed by her own captive."

Drakvard grunted, then added.

"This does not explain why they would come here."

"I saw one of your Marines fighting alongside the Sisters of the Night. It made sense to me that they would take him here to steal your most precious relic and try to destroy your home."

The Grail Knight watched Roth for a moment.

"It's seems to be a stretch. None of our Brothers can be turned."

"Are you sure? I know what I saw."

Drakvard hesitated only half a second.

"Yes I am sure."

"You are telling me no one was taken by the Sisters of the Night? If that is true, then I will take my guardsman and leave without a further word but if someone was taken, I can help."

"Hmm...I have a difficult decision to make here. I choose to believe what you are saying. I have heard about you previously. I cannot be sure what it is you are hiding but if the Sister of the Grail trusts you, then I will do the same for I trust her. Our brother that was taken is presumed dead. There was no confirmation of death. I will assume who you saw was Varian Wyrm and prepare according to your suggestion. If, whatever you are keeping to yourself happens to put my men in danger, I will kill you and your guardsman without hesitation. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Very well, let us prepare."

Drakvard walked to the door and held it open for Roth to walk past him. Two Marines waited outside the door. They lead Roth and Drakvard to some sort of a conference room which holds a large round table at the center. Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard introduced Roth and told them to explain what he had said to Drakvard before and the events of Dara Seans as he had lived them. Roth explained how dangerous the Sisters of the Night were because they fought erratically and made sure everyone at that table understood that, if they killed the Haute Maitresse, the other Sisters would fight for the title. The title was passed by holding the Eviscerator of an Haute Maitresse.

When the meeting ended, the guards were doubled surrounding the Fortress Monastery. Roth returned to the infirmary for an update on Benjamin. When he entered, he saw Brak asleep on a cot, all bandaged up. Sister Marielle walked in and smiled.

"Had to remove some dead skin to avoid infection. He'll be out for a while."

"Thank you Sister. He has been a good soldier during our hunt for the Sisters of the Night."

"Mhm. I took the liberty of informing the Task Force of your arrival. Sister Superior Leah and Sister Bethany insisted on coming to greet you. They should be here by morning."

"Thank you Sister."

Roth turned to leave, he was getting chills now but he moved to the door. He would do his part and patrol the very large building. He marched inspecting every possible point of entry. He knew someone was likely watching him and reporting back. Once he had gone around the giant building, he walked to the front to see the Grail Knight standing there. He stopped next to him.

"You'll need more people on the East side, there is an old ventilation shaft that could be used as a point of entry."

Drakvard watched him, trying to read him.

"Hmm, yes, we are leaving that one open. We would like them to choose that area as an entry point."

"Likely they will use it to get to the relics but expect a full on attack on the front, no matter how well guarded it."

Drakvard nodded. "Perhaps you should consider removing the jewel from your breastplate, you really don't look well."

"I will be fine. I will adapt shortly."

Roth left the Grail Knight again and stationed himself on the east side hiding in behind a small transport. He watched for hours. Nothing was happening. He heard that whisper again and turned quickly to find no one was there. Memories of a time when Luvia would see him at night. No! He thought in anger. This time, she was dead. He knew it. He looked up, just to confirm no evil daemon was messing with him. That is when he saw it. The ship. The Sisters of the Night were coming. He pressed the button on the vox on the channel they had discussed. He informed the Grail Knight that the ship was approaching their location. The cannons on the spires turned and prepared to fire but they never did.

Roth frowned for a moment, wondering why the ship was still intact but he recovered quickly and ran to the landing site, staying out of view. He watched as the women walked out of their new ship laughing. He could feel the excitement in the air. He was no longer feeling sick at all. It was like the excitement was contagious. He stayed in his hiding spot and listened to them. They were not concerned at all. It was hard for him to make out the words but when a Red Crusader approached grinning, Roth understood what had happened. Sabotage. As he got closer, he started making out the words.

"It was nothing, Mila." The Marine smiled.

"Let the fun begin! Do you know where it is?"

"I haven't seen it but it is somewhere around here. I can almost feel it."

"Good."

The leader of the group, Mila turned and raised her sword.

"Have fun Sisters!"

Roth kept low to the ground and followed the Sisters of the Night. Roth expected them to split up but it didn't happen. Only the traitor Marine entered from the side. Roth stopped for a moment to think. One on one...there was the risk of them thinking he was the enemy. He waited until they were out of earshot and spoke on the vox.

"The Marine, the traitor. He entered by the East side vent. Do not trust him. Have them remove their helmets, all the Marines in that sector!"

Roth did not wait for an answer. He silenced his communication device and moved to the front of the Second Temple, he needed to be in plain sight, fighting the Slaaneshi trash that they were.

As the Sisters fought the Red Crusaders, their excited cries and laughter filled the air. Everything about the scene seemed wrong. He could feel his own excitement at finally having another opportunity to diminish their numbers. He ran at the Sisters of the night, catching them by surprise. They had not expected such a turn of events. The Sisters turned when they heard the death cry of one of their own that came from behind. With an evil laugh, four of them turned, deciding to taunt him.

"He came back to us...he misses us so." The Sister laughed as she attacked him. Another spoke.

"He comes bearing gifts. He knows jewelry is the way to a girl's heart."

Roth smiled at the Sisters as he fought them alone on the steps of the fortress.

"You are sadly mistaken. This jewel is mine and you will never have it. Over my dead body. I will protect until the very end."

He fought them but something was making him hold back. He had barely landed any blows, he couldn't comprehend why. The sisters also seemed to be having trouble striking him but still, he fought.

From the step of the Monastery, he saw a woman walk out carrying her Eviscerator, grinning at Roth. She spoke.

"Ladies, it would appear our old friend doesn't want to hurt us. How fortunate we are on this day.

Let us take him with us and feed him to the wolves. This is going to be so much fun."

Haute Maitresse Mila snapped her whip at Roth. It cut him across the cheek where the mark of Slaanesh used to be. He flinched and heard a voice whisper in his ear.

"Help me Nathaniel. I promise I will help you."

Roth looked around confused. He was dripping sweat in his power armour. Confusion took hold of him as he rose to his feet. The night had fallen on Sanctus. Where were the vile women? Why had they brought him here and just left him. There had to be a reason. He touched his cheek. There was no pain, no trace of an injury. In a state of internal panic, he walked to the main entrance to the Second Temple and searched for signs of a battle. Nothing. The guards stood at their post, as they had when he had come around and when he entered, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Quickly, he made his way to the Infirmary. He found Benjamin still asleep on the cot. Roth approached him and gave him a small shake.

"Brak. Wake up."

The guardsman grunted. "What d'you want Richter?"

"Did something happen? Were the Sisters of the Night here?"

"What?" He sat up in bed and winced. "I don't think so. I didn't hear anything. Did it happen again?"

"Maybe. I don't know. This time," he paused "it seemed so real."

"Hmmm, maybe you should go find that marine you left with earlier and see if you missed something. You know what? Just wait. I'll come with you."

Brak stood and started putting his armour back on but his arm was in a sling. He tried to move it and winced and thought better of it.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go find this guy. I've got your back."

Out of habit, Roth answered: "As do I, brother,"

Brak gave him a concerned look but quickly chose to display a more neutral reaction.

"Your jewel looks better."

"It's an odd thing, this jewel."

They left to find the Grail Knight. Roth was jumpy and he didn't like the sound of silence. He wasn't sure where he was going but he followed his instincts, wondering if maybe his seeker abilities would help him locate the Grail Knight. Brak walked beside him, looking around but ready.

"You've got something don't you?"

"It would appear so. Just in case we find someone other than the Grail Knight, be prepared."

"Always am," replied Brak.

"We're going down?" The guard asked Roth, clearly surprised by the turn of events.

"Yes," said Roth.

They started down the stairs of the monastery and soon encountered a guard at the end of the stairs. He raised his weapon and aimed it at Roth. Benjamin did the same, aiming at the guard but they both knew that the guard would like to win this fire fight if it came to that. Roth was thankful for such a loyal friend.

"No one is allowed here, only the main levels are authorized for visitors. I need to ask you to turn around and return to the upper levels."

Roth signaled to Brak to lower his weapon and spoke to the guard, using his powers of persuasion, he spoke the first sentence.

"Please remove your helmet so I can see your face." The guard hesitated for a moment, Brak thought that this would end very badly. Roth concentrated once more and repeated the request.

"I wish to make sure that you are not tainted by the mark of Slaanesh, remove your helmet."

The guard did as requested and Brak's tense shoulders dropped slightly.

"Good. We will return to the main level but first," he asked," where can I find the Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard?"

The Crusader looked confused for a moment as Roth released him and placed his helmet back on his head. "You can find him in his office. Up the stairs, seventh door on the right."

"Thank you. Ave Imperator."

The marine repeated. Roth and Brak turned and walked back up the stairs.

"That was...odd. What was down there?" asked Brak.

"Something dark. We must hurry."

"Yes, hurry," a voice whispered.

Roth turned quickly, trying to find the source of the voice. Brak raised his weapon and spun also.

"What is it?" Said Brak.

"You didn't hear that?"

"Richter? I didn't hear anything. Where could she be?"

Roth shook his head. "No, no, it's probably...I'm just tired."

"Richter, you know it's not in your head. Where is that daemon! What does she want? Where could she be hiding? Why does she only speak to you?"

"I-I just don't know. What were we? Oh yeah. We need to go to see the Grail Knight. The Sisters of the Night are coming."

"Listen, maybe I should do the talking?" said Brak. He knocked on the door and the Grail Knight opened the door. Roth nodded politely but stayed quiet."

"Hello," said Brak, "we have come because we suspect that your defenses have been sabotaged. It is a strategically sound plan for the enemy to disable weapons and we know that someone in a Red Crusader power armour could have easily infiltrated the fortress monastery. We suggest you check your weapons for tampering."

As the guardsman spoke, Roth felt an odd tingling sensation crawl up his arms as a feeling of pure excitement overcame him. He did his best to hide it but he felt excited for battle, even if there was no battle in their immediate future. Drakvard once again argued that it was highly improbable that anyone could have infiltrated the monastery and tampered with weapons. Roth answered a little too quickly.

"Then I am sure you won't mind making sure?"

The Knight turned his attention to him.

"I will have someone check."

"No, we should go." Roth turned.

The knight was surprised by his reaction but joined him. "Are you feeling well Richter? I've never seen one of those crystals turn that colour. Perhaps you should remove it. I can hold on to it for you."

"No! I can control it. I will protect and contain it."

"Very well. I will see to the defenses personally. You should return to your quarters."

Roth nodded and passed the stairs that lead down to where he had spoken to the guard. He turned and spoke to Drakvard.

"You should get them to remove their helmets, the Night have the mark tattooed on their cheeks."

Drakvard nodded. Brak and Roth continued down the hall to the Infirmary. Before they entered, Roth decided to turn back.

"Where are you going?"

"We should probably guard the exit."

As they returned to the stairwell, they hear a loud roar of anger and heavy, fast footsteps. The Grail Knight barked orders.

"I want everyone! EVERYONE! In the Courtyard for inspection." He marched up the stairs and stopped so close in front of Roth that he could smell his breath as he spoke. Roth did not flinch nor move away.

"How did you know?" He unsheathed his word and held it at his throat. Brak raised his own weapon.

"Put it down Ben. It's alright."

Brak did as he was asked.

"I know you will think it is odd but, I had a feeling that something evil was down there. It's how we work with the Verum Illuminate. We sense chaos and follow it which is why we are so successful at finding high value targets. Don't know how it works, I'm just foxtrot...but it works. Then I just put two and two together."

Mathael narrowed his eyes and looked at the guardsman who nodded in confirmation. The grail knight stood in front of him, pondering this information.

"Dismissed," he growled and turned away as hundreds of Marines were heading to the Courtyard for inspection.

Roth did the same. Brak was the first to speak and he did so quietly.

"Was that true? I thought it was some sort of tech or maybe the daemon who had been guiding you."

"I did not lie about the ability. He would have known but yes, at times, Luvia would guide me to achieve her goals. I do not know what those goals were."

"Do you think it was a vision?" Brak asked uncomfortably. "Do you think she gave you this vision? Maybe it was a warning."

"Luvia is a foul creature, she is hopefully far, far away from here. I don't know if it came from her or if I was simply reflecting on strategy in my sleep but I know that the Sisters of the Night are coming, there is a traitor, right now, in their Fortress Monastery and that we must find him and eliminate him. Let's make sure no one misses the inspection. Let's search the place."

Brak nodded and started opening doors on the left side of the corridor while Roth did the same on the right, clearing the rooms. When Roth came to the infirmary, he entered and moved to the back where he found the Sister Hospitaller and the Apothecary. Roth informed them that the Grail Knight had called for an inspection. The two seemed slightly concerned. He returned to the sick marines. Something was nagging at him. He turned back and watched the Hospitaller again, wondering if she had said something. Someone had spoken, he knew he heard something. He had stopped near the bed of a Marine who was in traction. He watched him then turned to the other patient. His face was blackened from severe burns, it would appear his arms were not healing well as they were also bandaged. Both patients seemed to be asleep. Something felt off but he couldn't tell what it was.

When he exited the room, Brak had finished going through the whole floor and met up with Roth.

"Clear."

Roth hesitated.

"What is it?" Asked Brak.

"I need you to go back in there and just watch them. There is something...off in there."

Brak looked at Roth.

"You're not trying to keep me away from the action?"

"Ben, if I'm right, you'll be right in the thick of it."

Brak smirked and returned to the infirmary.

When he entered, he returned to the cot and lay down and closed his eyes but he stayed awake and kept his weapon on the far side of the cot. What Roth had said bothered him so he started wondering if the enemy was here.

Roth returned toward the stairwell. He could hear the faint sound of a voice, outside shouting orders. He felt for the poor Marines who had inadvertently let a traitor walk amongst them. While he was thinking about that, he heard a voice whisper "listen."

He stiffened up and heard the familiar sound of a ship approaching. He immediately spoke through the vox to Drakvard.

"Do you have a visual? I hear a ship."

As soon as he ended his sentence he heard footsteps running. He turned to follow as he heard five hundred plus Marines mobilize. Seconds later, explosions rocked the lower levels of the Second Temple. Roth turned and ran to the lower levels. A massive hole had been blown through a wall and he could see into the relic vault. He swore under his breath. He tried to remember his vision...the footsteps, that had to be the traitor Red Crusader. He was heading out to rendez-vous with the ship. Again he heard the soft voice: "I will help you. I have always helped you. Trust me."

Anger and a weird sense of longing rose in him. He missed her so but he wished she was gone, for good. She had ruined his life, his career, his faith. She had ruined everything but he felt so lost and weak without her. He spoke her name. "Luvia?"

"Yes, my dearest. I am always with you. I will help you and together, we will be free. Please let me out."

"I-I don't know what you mean and you'll just try to kill me again."

"I won't, I just want to be with you. I want to embrace you, protect you from the world. You are my favourite."

He felt oddly happy to hear those words and beamed with pride but he also noted the Marines running past him. He shook his head and leapt into action.

---

Brak lay on the cot, ready to grab his weapon at the first sign of action. At first, it was quiet, all he could hear was the sounds of breathing. Slowly, he started hearing a familiar sound from outside. He sat upright and grabbed his weapon. He jumped up and a moment later, the floors shook from a series of explosions. He swore and started for the door. The burnt Marine sat upright.

"What in the name of the Emperor?" He jumped up and left the infirmary seemingly asking for an update, speaking on his vox. The other Marine stayed down. As Brak was leaving the room, he heard something metal crash on the floor and a yelp. He turned and saw the Apothecary holding Sister Marielle by the neck. He was strangling her to death. She was fighting him as best she could but she had been caught by surprise. All she had was a scalpel and ate could barely reach him. Brak raised his weapon and shot at the vile medicine Marine. That got his attention.

With only one good arm, Brak knew his odds were not very good. The only available fighters were all injured and the apothecary was in good condition, although, Brak thought he had been able to cause the Marine some discomfort or perhaps even injure him significantly enough but with only one arm, his shot went a little wide. The man dropped the Sister who took in a very sharp breath and disappeared quickly into the backroom. The traitor anger radiated off him and he threw anything that stood in his way, across the room. He went straight for Brak, Brak tried to fire off another shot but tripped on some of the discarded items. He stumbled into the wall, next to the Marine in traction. The patient's eyes were angry and he seemed like he wanted to fight. He cocked his head to the side and Brak saw it. A chainsword. He closed the gap between himself and the weapon and charged the traitor. His first strike was blocked by the Apothecary's weapon and Brak fell back.

The traitor tower over him and prepared for the kill but as the sword came down upon Brak, Brak thrust upward in hopes of reaching the traitor before he was killed. Unfortunately, the chainsword came down and he knew he had been stabbed but did not feel any pain. His own blade fell helpless next to him and suddenly, the apothecary fell forward on top of Brak as the traitor's head rolled away. Brak felt a searing pain in his middle and soon, he had lost consciousness.

---

Mathael Drakvard was conducting inspections with his trusted Librarian, paying close attention to their faces when a series of explosions were heard coming from the Fortress. Immediately, his mind sprung into action. Was this all a ruse? Had Corey Richter planted those bombs while he was outside inspecting the troops? Maybe he was working with another traitor. Anger filled his body as he shouted orders and pulled out his glowing sword Caliburn.

"The enemy is here! Man your stations! Now! Verus, we are going to guard the grail. Company seven, with me!"

As he spoke, he heard Richter's voice on the vox and his anger burned until his blood boiled.

As Drakvard and his company ran inside the Fortress Monastery, they heard the sound of fighting behind them. Mathael gritted his teeth. He needed to ignore the battle outside to protect their most prized possession. With any luck, other Marines would be able to come to the defense of the Grail. Surely there were not that many Sisters of the Night and they could not defeat so many Red Crusaders.

He ran inside the Monastery. When he came to the stairwell, he immediately saw the large hole in the wall and ran to defend the hall. How had they known exactly where the grail and the code of chivalry were? No time to think. He soon heard the sound of female voices laughing and giggling. He saw the women approaching, clad as the Sisters Repentia but this was not them. They had the fleur de lys on one cheek and the mark of Slaanesh on the other. As he watched them approach, they looked perverted, disgusting, he couldn't let this mockery of the Daughters of the Emperor survive. He had heard the stories but seeing them made the acid rise in his throat. The Grail Knight didn't wait for them to get to their position. Drakvard ordered the men to charge them. The Librarian stood in front of the Grail, ready to kill anyone who breached the line.

The Sisters' faces contorted into excited grains and the one with the Eviscerator shouted: "Have fun girls!" and they met the Crusaders in Battle. Watched his marines fight these perverted women. They laughed and taunted them, calling them "darlings" and "sweetie". They danced around the Marines as though they were having some sort of morbid celebration. He could no longer stand back. The women were approaching his position, like they didn't have a care in the world. He wondered if perhaps, they were on drugs. The women moved out of the way as a Crusader walked past them toward the Grail Knight, like he was on a mission. Mathael rushed at him but a vile female stood before him. He spat in her face and she giggled as her skin started bubbling. He grimaced in disgust and engaged in battle. They were unpredictable, these Sisters of the Night. They fought dirty and they were disgustingly provocative. Every move, look or smile, was made to distract. Soon, he realized that the Sister was purposefully distracting him from the approach of the traitor. As the man walked by, Mathael ignored the woman and took hold of the traitor's arm and turned him around to face him.

---

Roth followed the sounds of the footsteps, he could feel them nearby. He ran past the infirmary, hesitated for a moment but the voice said, "follow him" and so he kept going. When he exited the building on the East, he saw the ship and the exact same scene as he had seen while he was asleep. He knew what would happen next. He knew that some would head to the front and others would enter from the side. He chose the front again. He knew he couldn't face them all himself so he would need to warn the Marines and join them in destroying the Sisters of the Night. He put his helmet on and ran to the courtyard. The Marines were running inside, likely wanting to protect the lower levels. Roth shouted:

"They are coming, here and to the East, get the one with the Eviscerator and keep the weapon, they will fight each other and you to reach the weapon."

As he finished his sentence, he heard laughing behind him.

"Ah, Richter! I've heard about you. You are mine."

He saw the leader of the Sisters of the Night smile and raise her Eviscerator as she headed the charge. She aimed straight for Roth. He recognized him from a long time ago. A mission with the Order of the Dawn, they had been there when the witch Brentley had gotten away. Julia Sansoucy had been there also. For a fleeting second, he wondered if this was all Brentley's fault. No matter whose fault it was, there heretics needed to die and he was ready to help them end the torment of the psyker with.

He blocked her first blow as the rest of the Sisters of the Night fell upon the Red Crusaders. Most had gone inside to protect their valuable relics but still some were combat ready out in the courtyard. Their numbers seemed to have increased since their last face off. Roth decided to try to reason with the leader of the Sisters of the Night as she sneered and played with him, not delivering full strength blows.

"Sister Mila, I remember you from before. You were a kind person, very dedicated and cunning. Now look what you have become. Please, stop this madness, you are stronger than a dead witch."

Her eyes narrowed and became fiercer. She started fighting with vigor. Her enormous chainsword moving so rapidly, he was having a hard time blocking her assaults. Suddenly she pulled her whip out with such speed that Roth could not stop it from hitting him. Of course, it would not hurt but he was slightly dazed as the whip pulled his helmet off. He looked around in surprise and confusion. He saw that the Sisters of the Night were doing quite well against the Red Crusaders because they fought completely disorganized and they were unpredictable.

The Haute Maitresse's eyes widened in surprise. She announced loudly:

"Nathaniel Roth, we meet again!"

Anger swelled inside him. She would ruin everything! "Let me out, I can help you. Please, before she reveals you for who you truly are. I can help you. We can still be free," the familiar voice whispered in his head. He answered firmly and loudly, to both women: "No."

Mila continued her assault on Roth, he could not keep this up for very long. Both were scoring hits. Mila spoke once again.

"Luvia's greatest success and greatest blunder stands in front of us Sisters! Let's correct the mistake."

Roth's anger swelled again, he would need to try to slow her down both physically and mentally, he pushed thoughts of his previous meeting with her when she was a daughter of the Emperor. She slowed a little confused by his manipulations. She let out a roar as she broke free of his mental powers over her and he spoke again.

"Luvia's blunder? She became a daemon. That is not a blunder."

Mila smiled and threw him off balance with the force of her attack. He fell to the ground.

"Free me! I will avenge you and be yours for eternity."

Roth did not object as he knew he had lost. He would not let the Sisters of the Night live another day. With a mental shove, he pulled open the jewel at the center of his breastplate and Luvia flew out in all her beautiful and terrifying splendor. She charged straight for Mila.

Many of the Sisters of the Night that had been toying with their Marines turned to see the daemon and charged in to fight. Luvia spread her wings wide, splitting friend and foe in half with her sharp metal wings. Men and women both fell but she kept her eyes on Mila.

"I have succeeded where none of you have. I have gained Slaanesh's attention and he has rewarded me. As I kill you know, you will become nothing and forgotten for you have never done anything to serve either gods. Roth is my greatest success and I will be his," said the daemon Luvia.

She finally fell upon the leader of the Sisters of the Night who screamed and howled in pain as millions of tiny needles pricked her into paralysis. Once she lay immobile on the ground, the Eviscerator laying there, Luvia set to work cutting up the woman. Roth stood and ran to the Eviscerator. He grabbed it and picked it up. He ran further away from Luvia, not wanted to be carved by her wings.

"Hey! Look what I have," he announced to the other Sisters of the Night. As expected, all the women of the two lowest ranks came running to him as the others continued to fight the Red Crusaders. At least the Crusaders would have a chance, he thought. He knew what would happen. His life was forfeit. The vile woman had revealed his secret and he would be hunted and executed. His goal of destroying the Slaaneshi warband, forever unattainable. There was only one thing to do. He prayed for the Emperor's forgiveness although he did not feel as though he deserved it and he fought the women, wielding the Eviscerator.

He fought with renewed vigor hoping to kill as many as he could. The Sisters of the Night were in a frenzy, trying to get the Eviscerator from him. He knew he was loosing, he knew this would happen, his goal still clear in his mind and so close at hand. He needed to keep fighting, surviving until Luvia came closer. End the Sisters of the Night, destroy them and everything they represent. Return the honour to the daughters of the Emperor. The pain of the multiple wounds that he had sustained in this loosing battle, was excruciating but he wasn't ready. He needed Luvia. In the moment where he thought he would fall, Luvia turned from her gruesome work and saw Roth. He smiled, focused and ready, as she rushed to his side. She thought she was going to trick him or kill him. He was going to die on his own terms. As he went down on his knee, he still watched Luvia approach. Just a little closer. They would both be free soon, free from the despair of this life, of the hold chaos had on them. As she fell on the first unsuspecting Sisters of the Night, she roared as she tore them apart with her bare hand, he pressed the jewel on his breastplate, the one where Luvia had been imprisoned and cried "Ave Imperator!" He dropped the Eviscerator as a mix of cries of joy and horror surrounded him and he closed his eyes.

The explosion of his power armour killed fifteen sisters of the Night and one Marine from the Verum Illuminate. The Red Crusaders had eliminated most of the other Sisters of the Night, although some had fled when the explosion rocked the earth. The Marines who had witnessed the scene also witnessed a sobbing daemon kneeling in front of a fallen brother. As they approached to destroy the daemon, she sobbed loudly and gently cradled his body in her arms and took flight. The Red Crusaders turned and joined the battle inside their Fortress Monastery.

-

Grail Knight Drakvard stood ready with his flaming sword, Caliburn, unsheathed. This traitor, one whom he had called a Brother, came at him in his old Crusaders power armour, a mockery of their Chapter. He recognized the disgusting man as the severely burnt Marine in the infirmary. That is how he had been undetected, moving through the Monastery as he wished. He knew his way around the lower levels and how to render their defenses useless. And Richter! He had told the truth at the worst possible time. An accomplice. What about the guardsman, Brak? Drakvard did not wait for Varian to make it to him, he ran pushing back the Sisters of the Night that stood in his way, completely focused on the vile man. He could no longer contain the rage that consumed him, it was akin to being face to face with an army of Orks. This disgusting thing had to die.

He swung his sword purposefully and let his anger flow through him and into his sword. Varian was a skilled and well trained fighter but his time with the chaos warband had made him unpredictable. Their swords clanged against each other, Drakvard struck hard and swiftly but the grail's effects were diluted in him. He was tiring quickly. Varian used the opportunity to mock the Grail Knight.

"You call yourself a Grail Knight? I knew a girl who could fight better than you!" His laugh boomed through the halls. Three Sisters of the Night approached the fight and laughed at him. Mathael could hear their laughter and he knew they were right and that they were trying to distract him so he could be an easy kill. He did feel his energy draining but this battle he could not loose. He must protect the Grail. Nothing was more important, not even his feelings about his failure. Now he had four opponents. His fatigue receded. He took a hit from a Sister and focused on Varian. He swung so hard that his blade cut through the elbow joint in his power armour, dropping his arm to the ground.

"I may not be as powerful as you expect but I will purge you!"

He raised his blade again for another weak spot in the armour but before he could sever Varian's neck, the Sisters turned on Mathael. Ten more came at him, likely defending the vile traitor. Mathael started swinging at the man but a Sister placed herself in the way and took the blade to her chest, impaling her. The other sisters hacked at Mathael with their blades, he stepped on the downed woman's stomach and pulled Caliburn lose. He turned and immediately connected with another Sister. He hear dropped to the ground as his knees buckled. He kept fighting with renewed vigor and soon realized Varian had slipped away. His body was wracked in pain but he did not stop fighting. He should have been dead. Perhaps the Grail was working on him. This gave him hope. He took out three more Sisters. The fighting ahead of him had died down, suddenly, he realized that some sisters had passed him and so had Varian. He hoped the Librarian was ready and could protect the Grail.

---

Verus stood in front of the grail as the Sisters of the Night started trickling into the room. He thought of his friend Mathael for a moment, hoping this did not mean he had fallen but there was no time for that, the Grail must be protected at all costs. It was his turn to purge some heretics. Before the women could make a proper approach, the librarian took a deep breath and started conducting his imaginary orchestra.

Verus loved classical music, it engaged him and always made him smile. He raised his had and as he did so, a large piece of rubble lifted from the ground. The music played in his mind and a calm smile appeared on his face as with his hand gesture, he let the rubble fly at one of the Sisters of the night. It crashed on to her with full force when the first crescendo of his made up symphony hit. The woman standing next to the dead Sister stared in disbelief but soon, a smile crept on her face.

"I like you, maybe we should keep you."

Verus cocked his head, a fleeting look of confusion passed his features.

"Hmm, let me think this over." His hands had never stopped moving, amassing rubble as more enemy Sisters started walking in, their chainswords ready. As Verus' hand went up, a large rock fell atop the Sister who had spoken.

"No thank you."

With small calculated movements of his hands, he flinged smaller pieces of rubble at the multiple targets that had entered. He closed his eyes for one moment, at his favourite part of the song but soon realized his mistake as some sort of rope caught his conducting hand. His smile faded as anger overcame him. His voice boomed in the underground vault.

"THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE SONG!"

The Librarian pulled on the whip and the woman with the Eviscerator was pulled from the ground and landed in front of him. He held her in place and spat in her face.

"YOU DONNOT INTERRUPT ME WHEN I AM CONDUCTING!"

His focus was solely on her at this moment. He knocked the large chainsword out of her hands and it clattered to the floor. He then took her by the head and squeezed until he heard her skull crack, then he threw her at the far wall. The other Sisters of the Night, in a frenzy, ran toward him to get the Eviscerator to secure their rank as leader. Verus realized his mistake when Mathael ran in and shouted:

"The Grail!"

Verus turned in time to see Varian raising the ornate cute to his mouth. Mathael ran with incredible speed as Verus rammed the piece of rubble he had gathered, right into the beck of the traitor's head. He pitched forward as some of the liquid of the grail hit the traitor's face. The Grail went flying from Varian's hand and Verus caught it with his psyker abilities and kept it afloat in the air while the Sisters of the night attacked him. The Grail was more important than his life. He would hold it away from traitors and protect it with his life, if need be. The librarian tried to defend himself with his sword but the Grail was too unstable when he lost his focus. He knew his mistake would cause him his life.

---

Mathael connected with Varian and took him down on the ground. He soon noticed the burns receding from Varian's face as the traitor's laugh echoed through the chamber.

"I did it! You call yourself a Grail Knight! I will show you what the power of the..."

His words were caught off by Mathael's elbow to Varian's face. Mathael rose quickly and sliced the traitor's head off. Varian's eyes went wide as the burns started to reappear on his face.

When he stood, all he could see was the Grail floating in the air. He ran to it and placed it back onto its altar. When he turned to find more Sisters of the Night to destroy, He saw his friend, the Librarian buried under a dozen Sisters of the Night who were slashing at him incessantly. As he came around the altar, a group of Adepta Sororitas, including some Sisters Repentias ran in and started tearing the heretics to shreds with their own Eviscerators.

Mathael ran to the aid of the Sororitas. He had heard of them, "The Chosen", they were a task force whose sole purpose was to rid the Imperium of the Slaaneshi warband. They dispatched the residual Sisters of the Night rather quickly, with Mathael's aid. When all the Sisters of the Night were littered across the floor of the Grail room, Mathael finally went over to Verus.

"You fought well my friend. You saved the Grail."

Verus managed a smile on his newly scarred face. One of the new comers approached the two.

"We have damaged their ship as they took flight. I apologize for our delay." Said Sister Bethany.

"You have arrived just in time. I must now deal with the traitor Richter." Mathael rose and quickly noticed another Sister of Battle approaching the Grail.

"Move away from the Grail," he ordered. The Sister did as she was asked.

Before Mathael and the Sisters of the task force could reach the upper levels of the Fortress Monastery, some Red Crusaders approached the Grail Knight with a report on the courtyard battle. The Crusader spoke of a daemon being unleashed and of the Verum Illuminate Marine, Richter's, self sacrifice. He also related the words of the vile Sister of the Night but before the Crusader could repeat the word of the Sister of the Night, Mathael told him to stop speaking.

"Corey Richter was a hero and will be remembered as such." He spoke firmly. Bethany bowed her head in prayer hoping that Richter's soul may be protected by the Emperor's light.



The Call for Help
Canoness Nadja knew that the Sisters would fall if no one came to help. The ground rumbled and shook, and she shouted to the Sisters surrounding her.

"MOVE!!"

As everyone plunged out of the way, a large fissure appeared in the ground where they had stood. The crack was like the sounds of nails scratching metal, sickeningly cold and cruel. The fires they had lit all around the city did nothing to break the freeze. The planet would be destroyed if they did not end this freeze quickly. A large creature roared in the distance. She spoke into the vox, calmly, yet clearly, requesting assistance from whoever received her transmission.

"'This is Canoness Nadja Gordieva of the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn. Sondown has fallen and we require assistance, on Aurora, in an urgent matter. The temperature of the planet has dropped drastically and we are experiencing ice quakes. As the earth cracks, homes and people are destroyed, falling through the fissured land. The planet is being attacked by a large ice creature that is freezing and destroying everything and every one in its way. We have not determined the source of the creature but have found most of our weapons are ineffective or have very little success in stopping the advance of the abomination.'"

Mathael and Verus
The message went unheard by many. But, in the Sister's good fortune, one heard it. Grail Knight Mathael, leader of the seventh company of Red Crusaders, and perhaps more prestigiously, bearer of the blade Caliburn. But, he heard it at an inopportune time.

He had been planning an attack with his commanders. The ork infested world below, Sardahg, would not purge itself. He had been excited, crushing Ork scum was always a pleasure. But this changed things. This was not a normal distress call that could be put off to a better time, or if the situation demanded it, ignored. No, this was a distress call from the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn. They could not be allowed to fall. Especially not the Grail-Sister. If only it had come at a better time.

"I believe we all heard that. You know what that means, men?" Mathael declared, keeping his voice calm, and stern.

"Brother Grail Knight, I hope you are not considering leaving this warzone."

Mathael turned to see who said that. It was Gerald Montcir, his more rebellious lieutenant. He needed that. His critical eye was useful to insure he wouldn’t lose his way. Mathael did not know how to answer, not entirely. He knew the Dawn had to be protected. He knew they had a woman of great importance among them who could not be allowed to die. But, as much as he tried to fight it, he despised the orks. And this was a perfect opportunity to strike at them and to cleanse their green stain from the world...but the Sisters were a higher priority. He could not simply send a detachment to Aurora, he needed to see to the Grail-Sister personally. For the others must not be allowed to know of her existence.

“I am. The strategic importance of the Aurora system is absolute. I swear, I want to slay these orks as much, if not more, then you do. But Aurora must be preserved, and they need our aid.” Mathael said, he was met with silence in the room.

He could see Verus watching him from across the table. The old librarian’s wizened face betrayed a small smile. Verus decided to break the silence. “I believe our Brother Grail-Knight is correct. It is a highly valuable world, Sondown has already fallen. We can not afford to stand idle.”

“Well, what is to become of this world, brother?” One of the room’s sergeants asked. “Fear not. I will not leave this planet to rot under the orks' tyranny. I will take," he paused to look at the room, "around half of you. The remainder shall be enough to retake the world with the help of the Guard. Is this agreeable to you, brothers?” Mathael implored, but they all knew there could only be one answer. The hardened marines nodded, acknowledging the authority of their brother Grail-Knight.

“Good. Verus and Gerald will come with me as well as half of our forces. The other half shall remain, led by lieutenant Callik. We will leave immediately on the strike ship Errant Blade, as soon as the forces are mustered. Any questions?”

“Yes lord, what if your mission is to fail?” Asked one of the men. “Easy Caldor, it won’t. For the Emperor!”

His cry was echoed through the chamber by his fellow faithful as they stood up. They began to leave the room, marching out to inform the men of the recent changes. They had spent hours discussing strategy only to be interrupted by the news from Aurora, thankfully after they had decided what to do with the current world. Verus stayed behind with Mathael.

“To Aurora it is then, Mathael?”

“Yes. Aren’t you excited to get away from that accursed sand heap that is the planet below us? By the emperor, even Aurora must be more hospitable than Sardahg.” Mathael replied. The librarian let out a small chuckle. “I assume that the Sister will be there?” Verus asked, quickly switching to a more serious tone. “Yes. We will be working closely with her, and keeping an eye on her. She is an anomaly.” Mathael replied. “Oh, I do sometimes wonder if saving her was more trouble then it is worth. Don’t you ever wonder what she was doing in the restricted halls in the first place, Mathael?” The librarian questioned, eager for Mathael’s opinion

“I do. But she fought bravely. Surely I would think you would be excited by the prospect of seeing the effects of the grail on a Sororitas, no other librarian of the chapter has.” Mathael replied, with a hint of a smile. Something about the librarian just invited joviality. “Of course. But I fear what the other Sororitas have thought of it. Think, why was she in the halls during the attack? And by giving her the grail, did we give her what she wanted?” The librarian replied, leaning on his staff, lost in thought.

“We will test her merit on Aurora, will we not brother? Come. We have much preparation to do.”

“Indeed we do young Mathael, indeed we do.”

Above Aurora, Errant Blade
An icy planet stood alone in the darkness of space, watched by giants who were barely even human, Aurora. Mathael stood with Verus at the bridge of the ship, watching the planet below. “Sir, our scouts report states that the weather conditions are terrible. Snow and wind will make a guided landing impossible. But, I believe we both know how to handle that.” The librarian said. “Indeed...if these reports are true, then we must prepare the men.” Mathael replied, turning to face Verus. Without his helmet on, most would assume it would be easier to tell what he was thinking, but his face simply looked deep in thought, a beard starting to take form because he had neglected to shave. His whole face would be quite hideous, due to the array of scars, but the influence of the grail insured that didn’t happen.

Mathael marched off from the bridge, his red robes trailing behind him. The librarian followed. They had to enter their own drop pods. “Men! Get into your drop pods! We’re going to deep strike into Aurora right now, to the convent!” His orders were heard and followed and the ship began to echo with the footsteps of twenty five marines. Soon, they would be on cold ground.

Mathael and Verus climbed into their own drop pods. “With all do respect, brother, isn’t it a strategical error to put both commanders in one pod?” Verus said, sounding calm, yet stern. “I believe that the Emperor will protect us. If we die together, then as is his will.” Mathael replied. He had practiced it, knowing Verus would have asked. He believed it completely, or tried to make himself believe it. He needed to restore his faith. Believe the Emperor was still with him.

The drop pods thundered through the sky, leaving a blazing trail. They were dropped from very high, so the descent took longer than usual. They heard an icy crash, like ice hitting metal...and breaking it. Verus and Mathael both looked to the scanner. It showed that one of their fellow drop pods had been knocked out of the sky. "What did I say Mathael? What did I say?" Verus said, his voice grim, contrasting its usual simple joy.

Mathael knew the truth of his words. He had neglected the threat. The beast roared at the drop pods. This was another fatal error by a failure of a captain. "I am aware of my misgivings, Verus." He said with a slight, unintended edge. He never meant to be rude to the old librarian, yet he continued. "I don't need an old sorcerer to remind me of when I fail." Mathael finished, which caused the librarian to smirk. "Maybe this old witch would remind you less if you didn't fail. Every failure cost a li-"

They hadn't even noticed they were near the ground as they spoke. A mighty boom sounded, the doors of the pod burst open, and out walked the two armoured marines, Mathael's decorated red robes tracing lines in the snow behind him. He did enjoy looking regal.

"Ah, Aurora." Verus said.

Mathael looked to the sky. Drop pods streaked down.

"Ah, the descent of angels. Come...the convent is ahead." Mathael looked forward and began to walk as he said it. They heard a loud roar.

"Yes, and the beast is behind us." The old librarian replied, eyes set on the shining convent ahead.

Leah and Bethany
Sister Superior Leah heard the call from the Canoness. They had been patrolling the System searching for signs of the Slaaneshi warband. Quickly, she called orders to return to Aurora. Over the vox, there was an announcement informing the special task force, The Chosen, that they were returning to Aurora, and to prepare for battle. The Mistress of Repentia and Sister Bethany "The Blessed" Federova joined the Sister Superior for a briefing.

"Aurora is under attack by some large frozen creature. Canoness Nadja requested assistance. It was a general transmission which means that they are in a very precarious situation. Expect colder than usual temperatures. We need to return. The Sisters of the Night will get to live another day." The Sister Superior explained, her face showed both concern and disappointment.

"Very well," answered Sister Bethany. "Let us pray and gear up. We must save our home."

As they made their way in silence, they cleaned their armour and prepared their weapons. Sister Bethany watched the Sisters of Repentia pray and conduct their ritual, from the corner of her eye. It was not allowed to look directly at them because they had sinned, but their devotion, focus, and zeal were admirable. She listened as the Mistress of Repentia barked orders. If only...she stopped herself and left them to prepare.

When they approached the planet, Sister Leah and Sister Bethany were surprised to see just how big the snow storm was. Landing would be very hard. Sister Leah called for a battle report but there was no answer. The two Sisters looked at each other.

"Brace yourselves. It's going to be a bumpy ride." Said Sister Leah.

The crew and passengers of the ship readied for the long trip down to the surface. They had landed in blizzards often enough but never anything like this. It was like the storm had a mind of its own. As soon as they reached the atmosphere, they understood the extent of the danger ahead, but there were no other options available to them.

"Brace, brace, brace!"

As soon as the ship passed through the clouds the wind whipped it around so fast that had they not been tied in, they would have hit the roof. An alarm sounded on the control panel as the ship started righting itself. In front of them was a curtain on snow so dense, they didn't realize that the spots that were moving a little further away from them were drop pods. The wind swayed them back and forth and they couldn't keep a steady descent rate. Suddenly, drop pods started flying over them.

"What in the name of the Emperor?" Said Sister Leah.

Sister Bethany saw the beast as well and could barely believe her eyes. She immediately commanded.

"Shoot it! Quickly!"

"Do it!" Sister Leah replied and quickly turned to Sister Bethany.

"It's not going to be happy."

"I know but we stand a chance, they don't." The creature turned and took long strides toward them, swatting at the drop pods as if they were flies. The ship kept shooting but it only seemed to be annoying the beast instead of doing any damage. It raised its giant mallet and swung and connected with the ship, knocking it lower.

"Damage report?"

"We are holding, but we can't take another blow like that."

Bethany suddenly stood. "Don't fight the wind!! It'll blow us out of the way!"

As the creature readied for another strike, they released the controls and slammed into a wall of snow.

The navigator announced that they had crash landed near the convent. Sister Leah told the women on board to get ready. They would cover the Sisters Repentia on the way to the convent, seeing as the temperature was minus forty seven degrees Celsius, and frostbite would happen within four minutes of skin exposure. The Mistress of Repentia was quite angry by this strategy but Bethany explained that, if they died of freezing, it would not be a noble death and they needed them to fight the threat against the Imperium. Sister Superior Leah concurred and High Mistress Jovia nodded angrily.

"You will have a chance to die for the Emperor but for now...run to safety." Sister Jovia told her Sisters.

The rest of the task force created a corridor with their flamers alight, they tried to keep the temperature less deadly as the Repentia ran to the safety of the convent. The Sisters of The chosen, in full body armour and helmets, kept pace with the Repentias ensuring their survival. Sister Bethany, bringing up the rear, watched the Sister before her, Solara, her best friend since as early as she could remember. She saddened that she could not address her even if she really wanted to. She missed her friend, but it had been her decision to take the oath of Repentance.

Movement on the far side of the convent had caught her eye. Space Marines with their billowing robes trailing behind them in the wind. The odds of taking back their home looked much better. As the Marines caught up, Bethany could not help but be thankful to see the Grail Knight. She had so many questions but then, they needed to focus on the task at hand.

As everyone crowded into the main lobby of the convent, Sister Superior Leah welcomed the Red Crusaders, and thanked them for responding to the canoness' plea for help. Soon after, the Canoness and a Sister named Cadence, walked in pushing the door closed behind them. Sister Bethany acknowledged the Canoness and spoke to Sister Leah.

"Sister Superior, I believe it would be best if you would take some of the troops and help the guard secure the area."

Sister Leah nodded and called for the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn to follow her. As they streamed out, High Mistress Jovia showed her displeasure.

"Sister Bethany," she growled, "what gives you the right to order your Superior around? I will expect you in my ranks when all this is over."

Sister Bethany was going to speak when the canoness approached.

"If she so desires to take the oath of Repentance, that is her choice. But I see no reason for Sister Bethany, the Blessed, to make that decision. Now, this is not up for debate. Our world needs us working together, not against each other."

The Sisters Repentia were ordered to wait in the lobby for further orders while Sister Bethany, Sister Cadence, High Mistress Jovia and the Grail Knight were invited into the meeting room for a briefing.

Mathael
"Verus, you know what to do?" Mathael said, turning to his librarian and whispering as the sisters filed through the entrance to the meeting room.

"Of course. Someone needs to order the men around in your absence."

Without waiting for a reply Verus turned and walked out. Mathael watched him as he went. He turned back to the door and noticed Bethany was looking at him. They had noticed him staying behind. Ah well, it was not like what he was doing was secret. He followed them into the meeting room. It was the least decorated of the areas he had been in thus far, but that said little. The room's design was at once utilitarian and excessively detailed. There was a small table in the middle with a map of Aurora, but the centerpiece was a board in the back. This was where the plans were. The Canoness and Sister Cadence were on either side.

Canoness Nadja and Sister Cadence
Canoness Nadja spoke first. "Thank you for coming. I will start the briefing but I must return to the defense of the city. Earlier today, we received information telling us that Sondown has fallen, burned to ash. Then six hours ago, the temperature dropped drastically on Aurora, which happens from time to time but this was different. Usually when the temperature drops, it never snows. Not only did the temperature drop to minus fifty degrees Celsius but a large snowstorm raged. We went out with the guard and investigated. Not only did the temperatures drop but the blizzard slowed us down considerably and the guardsmen began dying. The people were not allowed to exit their homes as we searched for the  source of the storm. Two hours later, a great ice creature was seen destroying homes, forcing people outside in the cold. The guard were dispatched and we went to create large fires which were stomped out by the creature. Our flamers barely made a difference with the beast. Soon after, we received a message that the tunnels had been breached and that our Sisters were in need of assistance in the tunnels. The remaining Repentias were sent there as I, and the other Sisters, tried to stop the beast's advance. That is when the chaos Marines arrived and marched behind the beast."

She looked at Sister Cadence. "Sister Cadence will explain what happened in the tunnels. If you would excuse me, I need to go defend the Convent. Sister Bethany, you are in charge. Thank you for coming to our aid, I wouldn't have asked if it weren't for the people dying and what is going on in the tunnels. We are not enough to cover both fronts. Ave Imperator!"

Canoness Nadja made the sign of the Aquila and excused herself. Sister Bethany and Mistress Jovia answered and replied the same but Jovia was not very happy with the turn of events.

All eyes turned to Sister Cadence and the Sister looked nervously at her notes.

"Umm, well, the tunnels are a mess but we are holding for now. We aren't sure what they were looking for."

Sister Bethany stopped her. "Sister Cadence, please, can you tell us who has breached the tunnels and how many they are?"

"Yes...well, the exact number is undetermined because we have not yet gotten past the Sisters of the Night." Cadence made a disgusted face as Sister Bethany cocked her head and Jovia let out a low growl.

Bethany tried to guide the nervous recruit into telling them the important information.

"Okay, do we know what they want, why they are here, what are their strengths? Also, who are the Marines topside and anything else you believe we should know?"

"Um, looks like the Thousand Sons and the Ice Monster are on the surface. The temperature and the fact that the ice giant won't melt is an issue for our forces on the surface. So for the tunnels, we have the Sisters of the Night, apparently some sort of a witch and a few psykers. One of them keeps popping in and out of the tunnels causing confusion. He also took some items from the vault. You should be aware that we have tried to enter the portal with him when he jumps but that has caused injuries and one fatality."

"Are we making some progress in the tunnel and do we know where the storm and ice creature are coming from?" Asked Bethany.

"The storm and creature appear to be controlled by someone or something. The temperature did come down from minus fifty-five to minus forty-seven when our numbers increased in the tunnel so we are assuming whoever is controlling that is underground. Umm, progress is umm...difficult to assess. We are losing some relics and Sisters but we are advancing slowly."

"Alright, thank you Sister Cadence." She closed her eyes in a quick mourning of the lost relics.

Sister Bethany turned to Mistress Jovia.

"You should take your people to the tunnels. Stay inside, it will take a couple minutes longer to get to the vaults from here but the halting of unnecessary loss of life will be worth it."

She did not wait for a reply, knowing the Sister would be angry at being told what to do. She turned to Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard.

"Let's take Aurora back."

As the Sisters Repentia charged first into the tunnels, Sister Bethany locked eyes with her friend Solara. They looked at each other only for a moment but their unspoken goodbyes were exchanged. The Grail Knight who had saved Bethany, Mathael, appeared at her side. When the last Repentia ran past, Bethany nodded to him, the weight of their silence uncomfortable. She followed him inside. They walked side by side as the sounds of battle increased.

On the Surface
The giant ice monster destroyed everything in its wake. It marched forward, swatting at guardsmen, Red Crusaders and the Sororitas, alike. The Chaos Marines behind the creature fought the Marines and Sisters who could make it by the giant ice monster. Swords clanged against each other, bodies fell to the frozen ground, violently mutilated, or frozen to death. Ice quakes boomed and split the ice and earth under it with a sickening dry crack. Bodies of friend and foe fell down into the crevices. There was no slowing the beast, as the Sisters tried to melt the limbs of the creature with their flamers and tanks firing at the giant. It only seemed to annoy it, even though it did not have a face to express such emotion.

It just kept going, hitting anything or anyone in its path. The Sisters hoped that the source of this powerful witchcraft would be destroyed and that they could put an end to the threat to Aurora, but that was not yet to come. The Red Crusader's Librarian was called to the tunnels in order to help destroy the source of this horrific creature. Slowly, the temperature increased, giving the guard a chance to survive on the surface. Less men died frozen. They still fell, but they fell from combat with either the beast or the Thousand Sons. Trees would fall, homes were smashed, fighters were crushed by the enemy, but they all died in the name of the Emperor. Canoness Nadja approached the beast with her largest heavy flamer and actually burned a hole in the creature's foot. Its heavy ice hammer fell inches away from her as splinters of ice broke off the hammer and hundreds of shards hit her in the face drawing blood. The Canoness shouted:

"Get the heavy flamers! Melt this thing into the ground!"

Sisters went running to the armoury. They only had six of the special flamers that burned so hot, the flames were invisible. The Sisters Superior were handed the weapons and started working on the beast. It was slow work and only seemed to anger the creature but it did give the soldiers comfort that this creature was not completely unbeatable.

Sister Bethany and Grail Knight Mathael
As they stepped into the dark tunnels, she felt like she was being watched. She didn't like the attention but with everything that had happened, she half expected it. She looked at the marine quickly and started putting her helmet on when he spoke.

"Sister Bethany, I believe proper introductions are in order. My name is Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard. We have met before but I am uncertain if you would remember me."

She turned to study his face, her eyes giving off a soft golden light in the dark. For a moment, she thought she saw the same in his but quickly dismissed it as it was likely a reflection of her own eyes.

"I do not remember you. I am assuming you were there, on Sanctus, when the Thousand Sons attacked?"

She blushed slightly. She didn't like speaking about those events. They made her self conscious.

“Sister Bethany, I am the reason you came out of that fight alive. Surely you remember how you were saved, that you may stand here today?” Mathael replied. He too had seen her eyes. Shining, pure. The grail had taken effect and taken effect well.

"I, well, I don't remember everything. I remember the Emperor giving me strength to fight those vile Marines and seeing you fight your way to the front. I remember the strength draining out of me and thinking that I was going to die. I don't remember much else until I awoke in the infirmary."

Mathael smiled and put a hand on the pointed beard he was developing. It felt off. He looked at his hand...it was aging.

“Sister Bethany, you were saved by the most powerful secret of our chapter. When I saw you dying, I knew there was only one thing that could save you. You are, by the will of the Emperor, the first and only sister of battle to ever drink from his...Holy Grail. And by its power, you are superhuman.”

Bethany's eyes widened in surprise as she listened to his words. She thought back to the events of that day and everything that had happened since then. They believed her a living Saint. She did not want to be one nor did she believe she was, but this? The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

"Oh thank the Emperor. I didn't want to be a Saint."

She quickly held her hand up to her mouth knowing she shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry. I meant to say thank you for saving me but I do not understand. You have such an important and powerful relic in your coffers. I would like to study it...how does it make someone superhuman? What do you mean by that? What are the effects?"

“I cannot tell you more. But I can guide you through its ways. You will find yourself...stronger, more powerful, invincible even. Your emotions and personality will be magnified, as will be your appearance."

Sister Bethany thought about the implications of this new information. "Invincible? Surely not. I- what is it exactly? "

Near them, a portal opened and out stepped a short, bald man with a grin on his face. He slashed at them with his sword. Bethany was surprised by the sudden apparition of this witch. She pushed the grail knight back with one arm and unsheathed her sword as she crouched out of the attacker's reach, and saw him summon a psychic shield.

Mathael stumbled back a little, but it made him smile. She didn’t understand how powerful she was. He unsheathed his own, and as it left its hilt, it flickered to life, burning a light in the darkness of the ice.

Sister Bethany turned her head and squinted, she could hardly see because of the unexpected light from Mathael's blade. As the portal behind the witch began to close, the witch dashed deeper into the tunnel and opened the door to a room. Bethany ran toward him hoping to get to him before another portal opened and he disappeared.

"Invincible?" she thought. "If only that was possible."

"What was that? Are you alright?"

"Yes. Maybe we can jump through the portal. Find out where they are and where he goes. Let's go."

Mathael followed her in, taking one last look to the cave behind them.

As they entered the room, they saw two Sisters of Battle standing before a glass case. Blood spattered on the floor but no sign of the witch.

"Where did he go?" Bethany asked.

"Portal, but at least I scored a hit, and he didn't take anything. My sword was made useless by his foul sorcery!" A sister answered.

The second Sister showed a sword which was sliced, halfway down the blade.

“What’s in the case?” Asked Mathael.

Sister Bethany hesitated a moment before answering his question.

"The Staff of Seripas. We should go."

She turned back to the Sister who had injured the witch.

"You did well. If he comes back, shoot him."

She put her helmet on and followed the small man.

“Where are we? We need to return to the caverns, they are unguarded.”

"Yes, lets go. Follow me through the tunnels, it's faster."

She opened the door and they were back in the tunnels. As they moved deeper into the tunnels, the sound of battle was getting louder. Bethany hoped the Sisters were doing well but they had to get by them and quickly. She turned left. They continued for 400 meters then she opened a door on the left. It was eerily quiet and the tunnels narrowed beyond the door. As they followed it, they could hear the sounds of fighting getting louder. She turned to a door on the right and kept walking until it was quiet.

"Ready?" She said.

“Of course.”

The Surface Battle
Back on the surface, Sister Superior Leah was trying to melt the giant ice creature with her heavy flamer. The progress was slow but the beast's advance was also slowed down as it stumbled and tried to swat them away. Between its legs, a group of Thousand Sons appeared marching toward them. Leah shouted orders to the other Sisters as she said a silent prayer to the Emperor. There was only one way to win this and that was with the Emperor's help and with Sister Bethany. She needed the blessed Sister here. As she raised her sword to fight off the chaos Space Marines, she let her frustration consume her as she started swinging away. She knew this was wrong but for a fleeting moment, she thought to herself: "This is how sister Bethany got blessed by the Emperor, maybe if I do the same, I will become a Saint also."

As her frustration consumed her, she decided that this was where she would make her stand, be blessed or die. As the Thousand Sons surrounded her, she fought with all her might but her strength was fading. "Any moment now, any moment..." she thought to herself but there was no renewed strength or fervour. She would die unnoticed, at the hands of chaos. As her hope faded, she saw a chainsword start cutting through the chaos marines. Help had arrived. She gathered as much strength as she could muster and she saw the face of a nervous little girl walking into a conference room, while she had been turned away. Although she was thankful for Sister Cadence's help, she felt defeated and jealous. She wished she could have been in that conference room, that she could have taken Sister Bethany's place, that she would be blessed. Cadence fought well but she did not see the blow coming straight at her. Leah saw it coming. She did try to warn the girl but her voice caught in her throat and before she knew it, the girl lay dead in the snow.

Verus was frustrated. He needed to make it to the caves but every time he made a dash for the entrance, some foolish, chaos scum would step in his path. He smashed another sister of the night with a great rock of ice, heard a noise coming from her, raised the rock with his psychic might and smashed her again. He then used the same rock and launched it at an approaching marine of the Thousand Sons. Brutal, but he liked the noise it made when the rock crunched ceramite armor.

He wished he had his terminator suit. Or just his force axe. Those were quite entertaining and without the terminator armor he felt more...vulnerable. He heard a yell that sounded like one of the sisters. He turned around, prepared to smash another one of the Slaaneshi traitors. But it wasn’t from them. He saw Sister Leah tearing apart heretics, but not with zeal. He sensed anger, and jealousy. He whispered to himself, “Those do not befit a sister...” but he understood. He had sensed his brother Mathael fight with anger plenty of times, though jealousy was new.

He felt a massive shock and was thrown forwards. His mouth was full of snow. Angered, he slowly turned around to face the foe. A hulking terminator in the colors of the thousand sons, broken eye lenses betrayed a red glow coming from the helmet. The terminator seemed to be encircled in energy, clearly a victim of powerful sorcery. And of course, he had a force axe. He pointed at Verus.

“You! Lord Pallas demands your death!” He yelled, his harsh voice sounded like it echoed through his own armor and sounded louder than any of the battle. Verus looked to his own hands. Just his staff. He sighed. “Well come at me already!” He yelled, and the beast of a heretic charged towards him with the force of a bull, too fast for him to respond. He had not expected such speed from a terminator suit. The force knocked him back, into the ground once more. “You're going to pay...” he mumbled.

Rallying the troops
"There was a time where I walked among them, on the surface. I would smile and talk to people, be disgustingly kind and make people happy." I shuddered at the memory. "It took great effort but those I touched? Those that came close to me? They would become mine. I planted the seeds in their minds and they grew and became so powerful that they would persecute each other. The hate built in them and consumed them. They started suspecting each other and the witch hunts took place. Fathers would kill their own daughters, wives would kill their husbands under the pretense of them being evil but it was I!! I made them do it! " My voice echoed in the cave.

"I did it for my father but it was never enough."

“Yes, yes my lady, you’ve said that one a thousand times. Would you like another champagne glass? That’s the fifth one you’ve thrown. It almost hit me this time.”

"Well, I'm sorry Dezzy. We wouldn't want that, would we? Now get me another drink and let me be. I want to return to the surface. It is time for change but this time, they will know my name! Father will be proud of me. I will give him this world and retake my own from the filthy Emperor of Mankind!"

“Let you be? How can I not be by your side during your ascension? Your father is already proud of you. Once Aurora is in your hands, there will be none in our way.”

He walked over to a cabinet and procured another champagne glass. Then he returned to her side, bowed, and handed it to her.

"You just want Father to notice you. I will take all the glory, Desmond! I have worked in the shadows for too long. Do not stand in my way!"

“Your father favors me well enough. If not, why would he let me near his daughter? Come, why would I ever seek to usurp you? I am but your humble servant.”

"You are. Hmm, you have been a faithful servant since the very first day I met you. Your change did come swiftly and you have proven your allegiance many times over. Yes, I will reward you for that. You may come with me."

“I am glad you have come to your senses, my lady. Have a drink. Without me, who would provide that delicious champagne? Or be a target for your bottle throwing habits...”

She smiled as she brought the glass up to take a sip. "I must prepare. There is much to do and those vile Sisters will pay for bringing the Emperor's light to this World. I will cast Aurora into darkness once more, as we listen to the beautiful melody of their souls screaming for deliverance."

“How may I help? Everything is in order.” He waved his hand to the map of their assembled forces. "The Slaaneshi fiends are hidden in the caves as we speak, but grow restless. Verum traitors assure they are on their way. The thousand sons are at your command, as are your hordes of loyal soldiers. Everything is in order. Oh, I almost forgot. We have not yet summoned our little friend.”

"Bring me my cape. They think they have won this world? I will prove them wrong. Oh, Dezzy, you may want to grab a coat. You are right, perhaps I do need you after all..."

He smiled, his distinctive crooked grin. Whatever his motives, he was content to serve for now. He went to the back of the Sanctum,  where there was a circle of runes in the wall. Pressing it and whispering, it opened, revealing the cloak of Pallas. As he grabbed it, it moved, writhing in his hands. It disgusted him. He could not imagine wearing it. Closing the door once more, he went to a simpler closet, his own, and procured his simple robes. They had a power of their own, but a far more subtle one. He despised the cold. He hoped his master would decide to oversee Stygian instead. He walked back to her throne and bowed.

"Your robe. I believe it shall have many fine additions by the end of the campaign."

"Thank you, my dear servant. Today will be a glorious day."

She wrapped the cloak around herself as the faces danced over the black oily looking cloak, faces contorted in silent screams. She felt the power soar through her as she pulled on the tortured souls' psychic energies. Up on the surface of Aurora, the temperature began to drop slowly as Pallas laughed drinking her champagne.

"Soon, this world will be mine and darkness shall fall forever upon it. In every shadow, there will be chaos, slithering, destroying, feeding off the people who endure. My name shall be known, feared and revered and my father will be proud of the daughter he has created as an experiment. I will be worshiped as their rotting Emperor is worshiped and I shall retake my world for the frozen fingers of the Sisters of the Dawn."

She looked at Dezzy for a moment, searching for his approval. He nodded and she was satisfied.

"No one can stop me and no one can save them. I have the power of chaos, of hundreds of sorcerers used to create the perfection that am I. Is that right Dezzy?"

She went from her private cave to the largest cavern chamber with a smile on her face, the great Sorcerer stood before part of her army. Her other warriors were on the surface, destroying the villages. She had waited for this moment for so long. Standing there, in front of her father's toy soldiers, her own minions and some volunteer fools, she could feel victory. Her power radiated from her and affected the whole planet. She pulled on her cloak, which in turn created a series of moans and cries from the souls of the psykers it had imbued. Faces twisted in pain and horror as she pulled on their psychic energy to create and maintain the frozen giant creature destroying the surface and keeping the temperature unbearable. She knows that eventually, she will need to use her own power to claim this victory but before that time would come, she would exhaust the powers of the others.

Her minions seemed bored, the females were whining, wanting to have some fun. Her patience was running thin. She was running three different attacks on three different planets. This one meant the most to her. She had been here before the break of Dawn. They had stolen her planet and she wanted to claim it back in the name of Tzeentch. She cleared her throat and turned facing her army. Everyone stopped talking and watched her as she came closer.

"Come my darlings, it is time to take back our home! We were forced into the depths of the planet when the Emperor's light dawned on our world. We will snuff out his retched light and take back what is ours, by wind, by water, by cold hard ice!"

Her army cheered, excitement filled the cave. She would win this fight. She would win her world back, she knew it. She felt it. One of her psykers created a rift in the room and the Sisters of the Night filed through. She only allowed two of her father's toy soldiers through the rift and two of her own minions. Father didn't care about the dark princes' soldiers, they were expendable. She would keep the best for last.

"Dezzy, you are staying with me."

Bethany and Mathael
Sister Bethany looked back at the Grail Knight. He looked fierce and ready, his bright sword in his hand. He nodded. She pushed the door open and he crossed the threshold into the tunnel, she immediately followed with her own weapon ready.

On the left, faint sounds of battle could be heard but they were headed right. As they walked, they came to an area where three Sisters of the Dawn lay dead, slumped against the wall of the tunnel. There was no sign of what or how they had died. Bethany prayed for a moment, quietly, for the lost souls and turned at the sound of footsteps coming up behind them.

About fifty meters in front of them a rip appeared in the tunnel. The enemy was coming.

Bethany expected the same witch as before to come out of the portal, what she did not expect were the half dozen scantily clad women with their chainswords, followed by two Thousand Sons Marines and two witches. She readied for the fight. They were only two against ten. The odds were not in their favour. Behind them, she heard footsteps but there was no time to turn and see if they were friend or foe. Bethany charged the enemy, he sword connecting with the one from a Sister of the Night.

Soon she heard the familiar cry of a former Sister and friend coming from behind her: "For the Emperor!"

Bethany felt better about the odds and was relieved her friend, Solara, was still alive. Sister Bethany had slayed two Sisters of the Night when she realized that, one of the witches that had come from the portal, had created a very long and narrow metal spear out of nothing. She saw him take aim at her Repentia friend. Sister Bethany thrust her chainsword into the enemy she was fighting and left it embedded in the woman's side. Ignoring everything happening around her, she ran faster than she thought possible, in front of her friend, as the spear raced through the air toward Solara. Bethany jumped between the spear and the woman at the very last moment and the spear punctured through Bethany's chest armour and embedded itself near her heart. Bethany fell to the ground, gasping in pain as blood started pouring out of the wound. Her friend stared at her in disbelief. She crouched down and took Bethany's hand. Bethany smiled and nodded. Solara stood and roared, as she fought the Sisters of the Night with renewed vigour and Bethany watched, feeling her life leave her slowly and painfully.

Mathael rushed to Sister Bethany's side with all the haste he could muster. The sight of his friend, dying like Gawain shocked him. He turned to face the assaulting enemies, twisting and thrusting his sword in a magnificent display of skill. But he did it with great haste. His friend was in danger. Slowly, carefully, he kneeled by her side. He was prepared to say his goodbyes but remembered something. He looked to her wound and the light it was giving off. He told her one word. “Believe.”

She could not understand what the Grail Knight meant, believe in what? She was cold, tired and in pain. Yellow lights flashed across her vision as she shivered and stared at the Marine kneeling in front of her. Even if she believed in herself, she was not a Space Marine, this wound was fatal. Soon she would be dead, an honourable death in the name of the Emperor was the best thing a Sister of the Adepta Sororitas could hope for. There was no coming back from this. She would not see the victory of the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn on this day but she did believe they would be victorious.

"Believe you can survive. Let faith heal you," said Mathael.

She looked at him trying to understand. He thinks I can walk away from this?

"I am not a space marine, I cannot walk away from this." She winced at the pain and effort it took to speak.

"You have the grail, and your faith. You are more than a space marine. You are more than me." Mathael answered somberly.

She closed her eyes repeating his words to herself. Could this be true? Could she live to see this victory? Take back her home for the threat of chaos? There was no reason not to try. She concentrated on her faith and imagined herself fighting the invaders, stronger, better than before. By the will of the Emperor, she could survive! She just had to believe.

All he could do was watch. His companions had powers, they could have healed her themselves. Not him. It had left him long ago.

Soon the shivering stopped and her wound started tingling. She felt her energy start returning to her. Surprised, she opened her eyes and looked at the Grail Knight kneeling next to her.

"It's...it's working," she said, unable to hide her surprise.

"Is a sister of battle doubting the power of faith?" asked Mathael.

"No. I just...it...I thought..."

Mathael smiled. "You are more than you were before, sister."

Amazed, she gathered her strength and started rising from the ground. She swayed lightly as she made it to her feet. She held onto the wall for a moment and made her way back to her sword, which she retrieved.

"Let's go purge some heretics!"

The Grail Knight nodded.

She returned the smile and headed toward the sound of battle. The Sisters Repentia had filed through, as she had lain in the hall, dying and they were now pushing back the Sisters of the Night. They were so close to the caverns, they would need to get through these disgusting mockery of sisters of battle to reach the main cavern, where they believed the source of the evil originated.

Sorcerer Pallas versus Bethany and Mathael
Mathael followed the sister, inspired by her newfound enthusiasm. He hoped he had done some good. It was all he could ever hope for. With a prayer on his lips he raised his sword into the air, which became alight with flame. He charged, and brought it down in a devastating arc, killing one of the traitor sisters in seconds. Then he saw a real challenge.

Pushing through groups of sisters were Thousand Sons...but not of the rubric. They appeared to be fresh recruits, 5 of them. It was time to show them the folly of betrayal. He charged at them too, and brought his blade in a powerful thrust, straight from one side of the traitor to the other. “COWARDS! DEATH IS THE FATE OF ALL TRAITOR SCUM!” He said, harnessing his rage into a deadly weapon as he tore the sword from the corpse. He swung it and clashed with the next marine, slipping under his guard and slicing off his arms before the others could surround him.

His blade burned bright, to its maximum power. He swung it in a wide arc at the three surrounding him, melting all of their weapons in one blow. Then, with skill honed by hundreds, thousands of battles, he slew them all.

Sister Bethany was still healing but feeling battle ready. She joined the Grail Knight, pushing through the heretics, destroying them, moving faster than she had thought imaginable. She felt strong, empowered, fast and deadly. These heretics were just slowing them down a little bit, soon they would reach the source of the ice creature and the storm on the surface, whatever it may be, and they would destroy it and take back their home planet.

She had never felt this way before, her limbs moved so quickly and every time her sword found its mark, a disgusting Sister of the Night fell. Even the Sisters with the Eviscerators, the so-called high Mistresses, they fell under the duo's wrath. They moved forward, with a small group of Repentia's following until they were met with a wall of Thousand Sons. At the sight of this solid formation of chaos, Sister Bethany knew that behind them was the source of power that had been plaguing Aurora. She looked to Mathael. They would take down this wall together.

Before they could mount their attack, a portal ripped through reality and the small man from earlier appeared. He grabbed Bethany's hand and tried to pull her into the portal. He was staring at her gauntlet. Surprised by the sudden targeted attack, Bethany almost fell in but she dug her boots in at the very last moment, as the portal began closing around her hand.

"She will be pleased!" The psyker smiled and snickered.

Bethany pulled back with all her might and the little man flew out of the portal and slammed into a group of Sisters Repentia standing behind them. The man yelped, as the portal, before Bethany, closed and another one opened between the man and a cavern wall. He dove in but not before Solara took the sorcerer's arm off.

Bethany and Mathael charged at the last line of defence before they could save the planet. These empty ceramite suits guided by  sorcerers would not stop them from reaching whoever was in that cavern. They had no fear. She wondered for a moment if Grail Knights could die. They must or else there would be thousands or millions of them around. Maybe she wasn't as invincible as she thought. She wondered how they died, what were their vulnerabilities?

She began her own attack on the Thousand Sons and Mathael also jumped into action, ripping the suits apart with technique, speed and effectiveness. She found that she was not as strong as earlier, nor was she as fast. For a moment she worried but then, she remembered, she may not be a living Saint but she had been deemed worthy by both the Emperor and a Grail Knight. She could do this. She would break through and find the source of the suffering and evil on her beloved Aurora and purge it from existence. More Thousand Sons fell to Bethany and Mathael and the Sisters Repentia that had reached their position.

Suddenly, there was an opening. Mathael and Bethany looked at each other and charged through. The Sisters Repentia would take care of the Thousand Sons and the Sisters of the Night. While the last line of defence for the chaos sorcerer were being dealt with outside the cavern, Sister Bethany and Grail Knight Mathael would go in and finish this once and for all.

As soon as they crossed into the cavern, Bethany saw what they were up against. In the middle of the room was a tall slender brown hair woman wearing a black cloak. The cloak seemed to move on its own. Faces randomly formed out of the cloak, faces contorted in screams. Beside her was a man, looking disgusted, holding a bottle of champagne ready. The small, pudgy, portal jumping sorcerer was standing off to the right side of her, he looked ready to pounce. Another very large man stood to her left. Bethany and Mathael prepared to attack when the woman sorcerer raised her arm and laughed.

Suddenly, she saw, in her mind, the Grail Knight Mathael fighting alongside his Brothers as an army of orks had invaded a city. During the battle, he watched his friend and Brother die. Mathael felt guilty because he knew he had been too slow to react and save his friend from the ork. Later, the Capital was under siege but Mathael was too angry at the orks and vowed to destroy them all so he left the siege and his Brothers behind in order to exact vengeance on the orks, for his friend. He slayed many orks and upon his return, he realised that his entire army was slaughtered on that day. She could see the bodies of the Marines dead on the ground. Mathael returned to the city and was deemed a hero. The Grail Knight's guilt weighed heavily on her. Heavily enough that it became hard to breathe. She could see the grail knight, across the cavern, for a moment, he was down on his knees, head down as the vision weighed on him also. He rose to his feet with difficulty. She realised that she had dropped to one knee and felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Mathael stumbled backwards, and fell. The memories were too much to bear. He held up his hand to shield himself. It was a sad sight, a super human such as he, with the grail no less, brought low by visions of the past. Bethany watched as the events unfold before her, the visions of Mathael's past reaching her conscious mind. She now understood him a little bit better. How awful it must be to live with this guilt upon his shoulders. It was a mistake, a costly mistake.

"Brother Mathael, You are a Grail Knight. You are worthy, you made a mistake, do not make another now, stand against this evil. You are worthy and strong."

“I am not worthy. Or else the grail would not have left me! Gawain deserved the grail. Not me.”

"You both deserved it. He died a noble death, doing his duty for the Emperor, you must not blame yourself. You must rise up and take back the Grail. It has not left you. You are punishing yourself by not believing. Would a Space Marine doubt his faith in the Emperor and the Grail?"

“Never. But the grail has left me. Its power has faded. Your own sisters were among those I abandoned in my quest for vengeance! I would have been among the shamed had I not lied! I am a leader. I am supposed to be greater than what I did!”

"You have punished yourself enough to be forgiven, if you can't believe in yourself, believe in us, you and I. We do the Emperor's work and right now, we must fight this evil and end this sorcery. We need to save the planet, save your Brothers and my Sisters. We are counting on you. Do not fail them now! Stand, let the Grail fill you with power and end this."

At that very moment, the sorceress realised her mistake and corrected it. The woman would break the spell, she could not allow it. They would destroy each other whether they wanted to or not. This was when the visions changed. Sister Bethany started walking blindly toward where she thought Mathael was now kneeling in the cavern. Maybe if she could get to him, show him compassion, maybe he could shake the vision. Bethany stopped suddenly when she recognized the new vision. She was in the Second Monastery walking down the corridor. Bethany swallowed hard and felt her heart beating harder in her chest as she watched herself trying the door to the vault that held the Grail.

“Bethany!” Mathael stood in front of her, with his blazing sword in hand. He had recovered from his own visions and tried to go to her...but was shocked.

Bethany breathed in sharply in alarm. "It is not exactly as it seems. She is trying to turn us against each other! Don't you see?"

Pallas laughs in the background, knowing she had touched a nerve. Between the two visions, she hadn't expected this one to be the worst. Scheming Sister Bethany, she liked the Sister already. Pallas was disappointed the sister had to die. Pallas spoke: "It is exactly how it seems. These are memories. Nothing is changed or made up. Pure, true memories"

“This is exactly like the hall. It can’t be made up. Have you lied to me?”

"I did not lie. It was a mission. I was sent, as I had told you when I arrived at the Second Monastery, to check the relics and catalogue them. I was told to try and see the Grail with my own eyes. The door was locked. I walked away."

“You tried to infiltrate our temple! Betray our trust! Even now you tried to tell me it was a vision.”

"Mathael, I...I was tasked with seeing the Grail. I did not want to do it, which is why I failed and  walked away. I had no intention of lying to the Canoness or you. I just...I'm sorry."

He appeared deeply hurt. “I gave the grail to a spy. I failed again.”

Bethany was desperate. "I...She is winning. Don't let her win. Mathael, please. I told you the truth. Don't let her do this. You deserved the grail. Listen to me. I made a mistake, a big mistake but a bigger mistake would be to let all these people die because of my mistake. Kill me...but then, please, stop chaos from taking over Aurora. Stop them from killing everyone!"

He lowered his blade. She knew it was a mistake. She would do better. He could not let her experience guilt as he had. “Swear not to take action against my brothers. Then, let’s slay this sorcerer.”

She removed her helmet and looked into his eyes. "I swear on my life, I will never raise a sword upon a Space Marine or any of your Brothers and my Sisters. We are a family. We are the Emperor's children."

He nods. “Come then, let us slay the sorcerer! For the Emperor!”

"For the Emperor!"

The Final Battle
Mathael and Bethany cleared their minds. Before them were only four other people. As they both squared their shoulders, eyes shining gold and swords ready, the small portal jumping sorcerer spoke in a very concerned tone.

"Mistress Pallas, it is not working anymore..."

"I can see that Pfife," replied the female sorceress.

As she concentrated her power to attack in one large burst, the faces in her cape howled loudly and contorted. The sound of a mountain cracking open, on the surface could be heard by all, as the Snow Monster fell. Pallas could not sustain it and attack these two stubborn loyalists at the same time. She sensed that these were the real threat and she refused to let her mighty father and creator down.

Up on the surface, the snow stopped falling from the heavens and the air started warming rapidly to a more natural cold. What had once been a snow beast, lay on the ground, now looking like a large snow hill. The chaos warbands and the evil Marines kept fighting against the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn, the Imperial Guard of Aurora and the Red Crusaders. When they realised that the temperature was warming back to normal, they retreated. The Red Crusaders' Librarian, Verus, rushed through the tunnel to try to make it to the caverns in case his friend and brother, Mathael Drakvard, needed reinforcements.

Meanwhile, the sorcerer Pallas saw the Grail Knight and the "Blessed Sister" run towards her, their weapons ready. She was in a good enough mood so she decided to have a little bit of fun eliminating these two nuisances. They were starting to give her a headache. She spoke to both psykers standing next to her and, with an edge of force in her voice she said:

"What are you waiting for? Take care of them."

With a swift motion of her arms, the two loyalists were sent flying into the walls of the cavern. Mathael began to stand up with effort. He saw the short sorcerer next to Pallas, the master of the portals. If he killed him, Pallas had no escape. Mathael stood and released a volley from his bolt pistol and charged, striking fear and awe into the heart of Pfife. Pallas smiled and started flinging champagne glasses at the Sister who was struggling against the wall. The Grail Knight had gotten loose. Both psykers focused on him while Dezzy supplied more champagne glasses for Pallas to fling. She threw her head back and laughed. Mathael got closer and closer. He smashed into Pfife's shoulder first, knocking him to the floor. But before he could finish him with a handy strike of Caliburn, he disappeared into a Portal.

Bethany struggled against the power forcing her against the wall. She tried to move out of the way of the glass but was only partially successful. She needed to concentrate and get out of this trap. She was still holding her sword tightly. She focused on that and was able to move but only slightly. She needed something more. Mathael saw her fight against her invisible bonds. Ignoring the man who struck at his back, he charged Pallas. She threw him away with a flick of her wrist and he smashed into the roof and fell onto the ground, allowing Pfife to tear at him with vigor! But she had been distracted. Bethany pulled away from the wall and ran at Pallas. This evil needed to be purged! Pfife appeared above Mathael, but Mathael’s grail enhanced reflexes were too strong for him. He raised his sword, and Pfife fell, impaling himself on it.

As Bethany ran forward, the very large man stood in front of her. He smiled. She slashed at him with her sword but it never made contact with him. He moved so fast, she could barely see him. He had no weapon, just his very large, strong and fast fists. She took about five hits as she swung her blade in an arc. She felt some resistance but the psyker did not stay in place long enough for Bethany to know where her blow had landed.

The Red Crusader Librarian, Verus appeared from the tunnel. He already had a tune on his lips, from his childhood at Arabyar. “Sorcerer! So it’s you who’s summoned this army! Quite frankly I expected more. But, expectations are rarely the truth.”

Pallas gave a small bow. " Yes, it was I," she smiled. "You have not yet seen my full power! " She raised her hands to the sky as the faces on her cloak scream and contort, the ceiling of the cavern starts rumbling and crumbling onto the librarian. The rocks from the ceiling never touch the ground as he lifts them with his psychic power. “There is no power without discipline!” He thrusts the rocks at her, whistling as he goes. He thinks he smells champagne. Pallas stops the rubble from reaching her, more annoyed than anything with the Librarian, who is distracting her from ending these two heroes now.

“I assumed you would be a talker. Too drunk?” He ran up, leapt onto the rubble held in the air, and off of it, swinging his staff as he flew towards her!

"Apparently you are the talker, Librarian." She created a large ball of energy and threw it at the Librarian, hitting him in the chest.

Mathael fell backwards, smashing into the ground due to the weight of his terminator armor. He struggled to stand, and failed. But he smirked and his eyes crackled with power, as he began loosening a rock from behind her. He just needed to distract her a little bit longer.

“Why so much champagne witch? Trying to forget your failures?” He said as he coughed out some blood. “You know, I think the butler could have put up a better fight than you. Tzeentch made a mistake.”

Pallas roared in anger and brought down more of the ceiling onto the librarian." I am the daughter of the great Lord of Change! He created me from the souls in the warp, I am stronger than him," she looked at Dezzy, " I am stronger, more powerful than all save my father!"

“Aaah... was that heresy I just heard?” Said Verus. The rock was loosening and he brought it in with the last of his power, straight towards Pallas' back.

Pallas dodged the rock at the last moment and laughed. She planned another strike but Mathael and Bethany approached from either side of the sorcerer. They were ready to kill her and send her to the warp but the sorcerer grabbed the servant, who was standing beside Pallas muttering some sort of chant, and put him between herself an Mathael. As she pushed him, Dezzy's chant faltered and a look of disappointment crossed his face. He looked back just in time to see Pfife stumble out of a portal that had appeared behind Pallas. Pfife used the last of his energy to push Pallas through the portal. Pallas protested but fell back into the portal. As the life was draining out of Pfife, the portal began shrinking, closing on itself. Dezzy jumped through but the portal closed on his foot, which stayed behind. The Sorcerer Pallas had disappeared.

Victory
Verus stood up and dusted himself off. His pain was evident in his features. “You two alright?”

Bethany turned, a little frustrated that the sorceress got away but very happy Aurora was saved. Her face was swollen but already healing. "Yes. We were so close." She sighed, disappointed that Pallas got away.

“Ah well. Foes like this are rarely apprehended the first try.” Verus replied. Mathael walked to his side. “How about you get us out of here? Nothing left in this cave for us.”

Bethany looked around, maybe they had left something of value. Unfortunately, all that was left behind was Champagne bottles and broken glasses. She walked up to Mathael and Verus, excitement. She had heard about librarians teleporting people. Her curiosity took over and her frustration started fading away.

“If you insist...” Verus furled his brow and waved his staff in a arc, a golden line appeared where he did it. Then it expanded downwards, like a gate, and crackled with power. “Make it snappy!” He said. “Holding one of these open is taxing!”

Bethany stepped out of the portal into the convent, delighted by the shortcut. She saw Sister Superior Leah making her way to her. Something was very wrong. She could tell from the Sister Superior's gait. Verus watched, worried. She started speaking before she came to a stop.

"When the snow creature fell, the rest of the army dispersed. Most were killed but some got away. We lost many good sisters but I am glad to see you live." Her face did not reflect any sign of happiness. Verus could sense what Sister Leah is thinking of. He decided to stay silent. Mathael could only sense shame.

"You killed the source of the cold? "Asks Leah. Bethany shook her head.

"She got away. Went through a portal. I don't know where she is." Leah nodded.

High Mistress Jovia approached the group looking satisfied.

“Jovia. Good to see you.” Mathael said, his demeanor turning serious.

"You messed up," said Jovia. "Are you ready?"

Bethany's anger started rising but she pushed it down and stared at the Mistress of Repentia. Solara caught her eye, walking by. Bethany's anger turned to relief.

“Not only did she have the bravery to fight her, but Sister Bethany struck fear into the heart of the heretic. Could you have done the same?”

Jovia opened her mouth to answer the Grail Knight but no words came out. The oath of repentance was spoken just then.

"I am far from absolution. Lost to any exculpation. I offer myself to repentance. Before the Emperor I have sinned. Beyond forgiveness. Beyond forbearance. Beyond mercy..."