Chapter One
"For all is one in the goddess,"
….
The sound of crunching boots echoed along the walls of the great temple where a thousand Aeldari have gathered. All of them knew of course of the evil that will soon come thanks to the decadence of their people. The Aeldari Empire, once the beacon of hope and order of the galaxy are now coming to an end. The head Farseer of the Enclave have seen it in his visions. A great powerful cosmic force opening up like a black hole sucking in all light and engulfing endless worlds as it drinks souls like water. He saw great beings of light and power try their best to put down the dark beast and failing epically as they themselves became food for it except for three. One taken as prisoner for the dark beasts amusement in many years to come, another taking refuge on the smokes it belched from itself and one torn into pieces, its soul settling in on fragments. This fate is inevitable and one that the Aeldari in all their might and power cannot change.
Head Farseer Vazanil only looked around at the weathered looks of the other Aeldari around him. Most of them are priests and monks who managed to keep themselves reined in and far from the cult pleasures that his other kin have indulged themselves in. He has shared his vision with them and they have agreed to his plan even though they know that they won't live to see the outcome.
Farseer Vazanil knew it though; he has seen it in the threads of fate; a powerful entity to challenge the Chaos gods leading a cadre of warriors against the Ruinous powers, its power excluding blue aura. It is followed by an image of a statue of a mouthless being in robes raising its hands over a shining crystal which countless beings looked at in fervor and no small amount of reverence. He saw a great golden city, almost having the same rising shape as Aeldari architecture, ships of gold and silver flying overhead majestically. It is a glorious scene of a civilization he never met. He saw battles, golden armored warriors facing off the living undead, Necrons, the Aeldari's oldest arch-enemy, daemons and their ilk, lightly armored aliens with long rifles and strange symbols, the green heavyset Orks, legions of ape-like beings with giant armored ones leading them with skulls as their symbol and insects he has never seen before coming in like sand. Against all of these he saw the golden armored ones faced without flinching, their blades of blue energy coming out of their wrists.
"Head Farseer," the voice of his second-in-command brought Vazanil out of his wandering thoughts as he turned towards the direction of his longtime friend and brother in all but blood looking tired, but dedicated at his side. "The others are ready and the circle of runes is complete. It is time…Vazanil,"
"Of course Cathanir," he nodded to the other Aeldari. "Do forgive this old one for reminiscing his thoughts and gotten himself lost on them,"
The younger Eldar only nodded before going off to join the others on the now fully powered circle of runes lighting up at the middle of the temple. Vazanil only sighed as he see loved ones hugging each other the final time, making small empty promises that they would be together in whatever afterlife they will end up at. They all participated willingly; all to serve the grand scheme that he himself plots for the good of the future generation. He himself has no idea what it will happen to all of them, or even if it will succeed. He himself knows that the images and visions he has seen are not full-proof. The threads of Fate are fickle and they are prone to changing at any notice. There is no choice however if he plan to save his species in the future. To give them a hope and something to cling into in the encroaching darkness brought about by themselves no less.
Already he has received several coded messages from Craftworld Farseers giving notice that they are finally trying to get as far away as they can from the heart of Aeldari civilization away from the encroaching storm with any sane Aeldari that did not follow the madness that is gripping their civilization. With his people trying their best to run away from the storm, Farseer Vazanil knows that it is the proper time for him to also act on his plan to give his visions a chance for reality on the threads of Fate.
He opened his aged eyes as he looked around the now gathered conclave of seers and Aeldari that heed his call. Nearly a thousand of them are trained seers; minds honed for the welfare of the planets that they've heralded from, ten thousand of them though are civilians, simply volunteers for this light of hope that he promised them for the sake of their future. They are patriots, all of them already. There's no greater heart than the heart of a volunteer and each of them have stepped forward in this time of need.
"Brothers, sisters," he spoke out loud, his voice echoing around the white stones despite his thousands of years of age. "At the end of our time, at the edge of our hope, we have no one but each other," he paused even as every eye look at him in attention as he strides forward at the center of the rune circle that they are all inside in. "Our civilization for good or for worse will soon come to an end," he continued on, every inch of his emotion lacing his words. "The stars that we have called our own will soon not belong to us. The Aeldari Empire that we know will meet its downfall. We cannot change that, Fate has decreed it that it will come to pass. No matter what we try, it is too late to save it," he paused watching many of his fellows wearing weary faces as he expected them to be. Despite all his words that brought them altogether here, he's aware that some of them still held on to the hope that their world will retain some sort of salvation. He doesn't want to disappoint them but the bitter truth is miles better than the sweetest lie. "What we can save though is our future," he proclaimed letting hope fill his words. "Even now what is rest of our untainted kin escapes to the stars away from this doom. They would be a nomadic people, never resting always traveling bearing with them the memories of what once was. They would be hunted, they would be alone and they will always be afraid. They will carry the legacy of our race. We cannot help the Empire but we can help them with our sacrifice! So I ask you now brothers and sisters. Will you lay down your lives with me for the future? Will you step forward and give them hope when they have none?!"
"YES!" the roar of the gathered Aeldari roared across the temple as each and every one of them felt the emboldened words of the Head Farseer to their souls.
"Steel yourselves then brothers and sisters for in this darkest hour, we will not give in to the wiles of Chaos and with our last breathe, let the galaxy know that we are not afraid!" he roared, the aged voice sounding like a resplendent battle cry even as he activated the master rune at the center of the temple.
White light immediately engulfed the entire open area and Farseer Vazanil can only close his eyes and heart as he heard his fellow Aeldari scream out in agony and pain as their very essence is ripped out and torn, coagulating to the center where the slowly dissolved body of the Head Farseer stood. Despite his pain and upcoming death, Vazanil only smiled as he used the last of his essence and physical body to fully activate the rune at his feet. Even now he could feel that explosion that the newly born Chaos god caused as She-Who-Thirsts awake and the first of the Eldar gods died under her path. He could feel her gaze pierced on him and the ritual he's making. Despite dying he could only smirk in defiance at the newly born Chaos god as he felt her fear at the realization of what he's making.
"Our will is not so easily broken demon!" he hissed through the warp knowing it could hear him. The firstborn will not fear you one day!" and everything turned to white as the last of his being is absorbed by the portal, his last thoughts that of peace and rest.
….
Tha-thump!
"Where am I?"
Tha-thump!
"Am I still alive?"
Tha-thump!
"What is this place?"
Tha-thump!
"Who am I?"
She had no idea who she is or what she is. The last thing her mind remembered was laying down to rest and sleep before waking up here. Now here she is…confused and eager like a little child brought down on a newly found garden. She remembered teaching beings like her; little angels that smile and wave their small hands as she rewarded them with her smiles and hugs. She remembered walking on a stone smooth road of asphalt with many like her but also does not look like her. She remembered the metal things zipping past her, making honking sounds as they followed instructions of three lights. She remembered tall metal rods looming over her left and right like watchers, their glass covered sides showing the light of the sun at the day and the silvery glow of the moon and stars at night. But what is she really? And what are those things she knows in her memories?
Her gaze turned left and right even as her mind for the first time awakened. Confusion ripped her entire being as she surveyed the place around her. Broken pillars and beautiful marble busts of white now entangled by vines, nature slowly claiming it back for itself. Once it might have been beautiful at the height of its architecture, but now it is slowly falling into ruin. It looks like an opened plaza with bright light filling it from a broken circle opening window from above. This is not the place she remembers when she closed her eyes before.
She tried to move and frowned as the realization finally sets in that she has no body of her own. In fact now that she noticed it, her view can only rotate into a hundred and eighty degrees left and right. Only her senses can feel the things around her and by instinct her mind for some reason deciphered them for her making her immediately know their shapes, their color and what they look like wholesale. Still that doesn't change the fact that she can't move. Frowning she looked around hoping for something, not knowing even what she is looking. Everything so far is just rock and plants; nothing else is around her, nothing to oh…be that what she thinks it is?
Her inquisitive mind focused on the skeleton barely covered anymore by the decomposing once pristine robes it wore. So far the vague images and memories in her head relates to her thoughts that the skeleton can be compared a little similar to what she was once before…interesting. But what good is a skeleton to her? She's still trapped here and it's not like the skeleton is moving and alive for her to take over.
For some reason she doesn't like it as her current thoughts frowned, she doesn't like things to be dead, she wants them alive. She wanted this skeleton to be alive, vibrant and active like the plants around her, like the people in her memories. She wants it alive and walking with her as it, able to go where she wish to go without thought and without worry. She wanted to be it, able to see the world with eyes again, not…this.
Her frustrations mounted and she gives off an equivalent of an irritating huff like a petulant child not getting what it wants. Unbeknownst to her, her thoughts give birth to psychic might bending on her will and the unhappy being can only gawk in awe as different particles and minerals from the ground gather around the skeleton lifted up by her psychic might. She knows she's the one who's making it, but how, she has no idea. She could feel it, the power leaving her as it reconstructed the being that was and taking the information from the great treasure troves of memories that just unbidden supplied themselves into service to adjust to the needs of her will…..interesting.
As it is, she only watches in wonder as the new body of the dead skeleton are formed inch by inch, its template coming from her memories and its previous form. Organs formed slowly followed by being encased with muscle, flesh and fat as it took the desired form that her mind and powers granted it. She has no idea how long she has been there focusing on the slowly being formed body. Her desire to create it is something new to her; it is as if creation is like a drug to her, an art that she wants to perfect and perform. She simply doesn't want it, she needed it.
At first she has simply wanted to create a body out of curiosity and for her to take over so that she can feel a little sense of normality. Now she doesn't want to simply create a body. Her newly found desire to create has awoken something in her, a desire to make life, to create and design them, to lead them and guide them. She wants someone to teach and for someone to acknowledge and love her in return. This is foreign feelings and she has no idea why she's thinking this way but she likes it.
Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months as the two suns and three moons of the planet she's in rotated above her. But for the being on the temple, nothing mattered to her but her craft. Every inch of the body she's making is taken with great care, the power, architecture, and the talent of thousands of beings that made an Empire that lasted for millennia's pulled into one helping her subconsciously as she tries to make her dream come true. No move of her psychic might is wasted. Every splicing, every turn and contour is a work of art…..and finally it was done.
Powerful being she may be but she can also feel exhaustion. Still she would be lying if she says that she isn't proud. No sign of the dead rotting bone that she used as basis for her making and inspiration. What now floats in front of her is a beautiful being that later would be heralded as an Anathema to the Chaos gods of the warp.
The new body in front of her is extremely beautiful even in Eldar standards. It is voluptuous and tall giving off an aura of both intimidating and lovely at the same time. Long pinkish red hair fell down its back with golden braids. Angled features designed her face giving it an elvin appearance with catlike features. Her ears of course are angled and pointy, but not at the length of an Eldar, rather it is like those Elves in Tolkien's mythology. Wispy white robes cover her body of course, showing off much but hiding also a little. Golden belts, armbands and high heels surround her and even a small golden four winged design is at her back. All in all the female body in front of her does not disappoint.
If she had features, she would have smiled as she felt majority of her consciousness and power being slowly transfer themselves to the floating body in front of her. Already in her premonition she knows that this is the first steps of her life and destiny to change not only this world but the galaxy as a whole.
Golden eyes opened, brown irises taking in. She breathed in, the beautiful pinkish lips curving into a smile as her receptors for feeling once more is registered by her senses. She laughed, her tinkling voice echoing along the empty marble halls as she let herself down feeling the familiar touch of gravity on the ground. She breathed in, the clean air of the former temple filling her and adding even more to her joy. She laughed again as she danced around the empty halls her golden heels not lessening the grace and beauty of her actions, in fact it even enhances it. Any sane individual who would have seen this marvelous performance would have been struck dumb.
Everywhere she went, beauty and light followed, her powers reacting well with her joy as she moved. She loved every second of her living and this new body. She loved the touch of the air, the heat of the sun, the eternal music of the planet she's on and the sensation of being alive kissing her brow. This is life at its finest. Free, beautiful and unrestrained.
It took a while for her joy to be abated as she finally manages to pull her senses together. Going back to the open plaza where the conduit of her consciousness is centered. She allowed herself a small frown as she stared at the giant blue crystal steaming like ice pulled out of a refrigerator in front of her. There it is floating in mid-air at the middle of the temple without a care in the world. She stepped towards it cautiously, not knowing herself (and the thousands of embedded memories) as to what it is. One slender hand went up warily towards its surface, gently touching it, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. She's not exactly sure what she expected, maybe a spark of electricity, a burst of pain or fire, or even something. All she felt though is nothing but cold, intense cold like that of solid ice. Her palm slowly swipe on its surface marveling at its smoothness. It is obviously not natural if its edges are any indication. This is made by someone, but by whom and for what? This is not simply a product of nature and it is made for a reason. She could feel the power within….her power acting like an anchor of her massive consciousness. Already her senses are pulling her to try and go back inside where the rest of her sentience are.
Deep inside, she knows that if this massive crystal ever breaks, her life also would come to an end. Self-preservation kicked in and by instinct her hand immediately touched the ground, psychic power escalates all around the temple gathering lighting and thunderstorms towards it. The ground churned itself up like water as it bubbled, its matter no match with her psyshcic will. Softer and softer it grows as her thoughts and will peel layer and layer of earth turning it to mush, going deep into the planet's core.
Rain started to fall down and the sunny weather turned to a thunderstorm as she remain kneeled there drenched with the tears of the sky. Currently it's not easy despite her strength. Precise and accurate she may be; much of her energy beforehand is spent on trying to create this body she's wearing. Every last bit of energy she's pouring in must be taken into account and nothing should be wasted.
For her it may have felt like an hour but actually it's less than twenty minutes before her subconscious finally managed to reach the acceptable depth it wanted. Smiling, her eyes opened once more as she stood up and touched the surface of the floating blue crystal as large as her. She must hide it if she wanted to protect it. Already the threads of Fate are giving her an oversight of the upcoming danger that she will face in the future. Even if this body dies naturally or not and her main conduit remains safe, her being and consciousness would be secure and she can be reborn. Only with the destruction of this crystal will she pass away.
One flick of her finger and the large crystal immediately plunged down on the now excavated earth straight down to the passageway she built with her mind and power. Very little resistance it met as it achieved incredible depths in the span of seconds. She herself guided it with her mind as it went down to its new home and destination forever more. Feeling it finally touching the end of the tunnel she built, she allowed herself a small smile. Now it is safe deep inside the planet's core.
Touching the ground once more, she gently urged the mushified particles to solidify once more back to their usual state, hiding the crystal from prying eyes forevermore. As she finished the final preparation, she stood up, allowing herself a satisfied smile as she looked at the ground where she made the large passageway beforehand. No evidence of it remained of being disturbed other than the psychic residue that she used to dig it in the first place. Here on this very spot later would her followers erect the temple in her honor for feeling that same residue that she used today.
As it is with the center of her being so close to the planet core, she could feel the entirety of the planet itself. Every rock, tree, blade of grass on the surface, not to mention the alive organisms also scurrying on its surface, the waters it contain and many more on this garden world. This is a planet of beginning, a new start purposely made for her to shape as she wills. With it her entire being smiled.
Now she knows her purpose in life. Her memories and the wisdom and knowledge of those that created her are at her disposal to create something anew. She is no longer that person who slept on their bed and woke up today and she's also not the people that give creativity and knowledge to the majority of her consciousness. She is something new. She is a being of creation and by all that is good she would do her best to fulfill that duty set for her. She would create, grow and be perfect as expected from her. With the treasure trove of knowledge at the back of her mind, she knows that this world is not the only world out there. She knows that there is a massive galaxy that waits outside these skies. She knows that that galaxy is anything but friendly. She knows that there are other beings out there that are as ruthless and powerful. She would need her creation to be ready. She must get them ready. It is her duty if she plans to make into reality the reason as to why she's created. But first of all, she needs a name.
Walking to one of the white marble benches, one wave of her hand immediately clears the dust and the leaves that have settled there as she sat, one elegant hand making as a support to her face as she leaned thoughtfully looking at one of the empty white walls. If one would look closer though, you could see that her golden eyes are unfocused and is looking instead in the threads of the future which seemed to go bleaker the more she focuses on it. She saw Chaos and Order in eternal war plunging the galaxy in total chaos as war, death and destruction reigned supreme. She saw someone like her, an anathema of Chaos stuck in eternal agony on a golden chair, unable to move as he tried his best to provide a ray of hope to his own species. She saw an elfin being used as a lab experiment, crying for rescue that never came as she remains trapped on that hellscape of sickness and despair. She saw reason being thrown out of the window as mortals fought for the barest scraps and for the dumbest of reasons.
Letting off a sigh, she put one hand in her temple wanting to cry unto what is to come. Despite her power, she knows that only one of her can do nothing against what she has seen. At best she can change very little if she ventured out there and try to change something. In fact a large part of her knows that even trying would not impact the galaxy as a whole to change the events. What she needs is allies, or better yet…followers.
She's reluctant on doing it though. Her purpose is creation, but would she be willing to let her created experience the horrors of the galaxy? This is the only way she can see right now. Alone she can't do it. But with people loyal to her, she could make that change greater. But first she had to make sure that her people are strong, stronger and more powerful than the horrors that they would face. They would be stronger, faster, purity of being and purity of form. They would bring light to the galaxy and hope to the hopeless. Darkness will flee at their coming and they would be her warriors and her bearers against the coming darkness.
Already from the back of her head, her will and resolves are slowly bringing memories to bear that would suit her needs. Gene and body modifications to enhance a being, how to manipulate the mind to one's will, loyalty practices and religious ways to keep whatever people that she wanted to create in her sway. With it came thoughts of powerful weapons, ideas of machinery of peace and war, great ships to traverse the void of space and a billion more ideas that came from the forerunners before her that made her fort for this task. Great cities made by her creation, bastions of hope in this galaxy where warfare would be the constant. Golden armadas of light traversing the stars and laying waste to those who dare oppress the weak. Yes, it is all possible and she laughed aloud as she realized that everything that is needed for her to make her desires and thoughts come true is simply sitting at the back of her mind waiting to be unlocked by the demand of her will. Billions of innovations kept on guard and key until they are needed. She had the tools; now all that she needed entirely is the raw materials to make what would later impact the galaxy in a tremendous scale. In fact her thoughts this day would cause more than one Chaos god enough grief to focus on her created instead of the Imperium of Man.
Standing up, she immediately glided towards the edge of one of the temple's still remaining balcony overlooking a large forest that stretch on for miles on the horizon. From her height she could see a couple of lakes and dozens of small gullies and streams connected to a river that stretched towards an ocean at the far distance. Present also are mountain ranges from afar like giant sentinels, their white cone peaks giving evidence to them filled with snow. Atop, the two suns of blue and yellow shines from above the sky giving a peaceful look over this garden world. Around her, the sounds of the native animals that called this world home could be heard.
She only laughed as she felt each and every one of them. Apparently putting her entire being on the core connected her entire being to this planet making her feel every single living being here to the most minute of them. It feels as if she is the very planet itself. Glad and happy thanks to the finding of her purpose, she let her entire mind stretch out everywhere to search for something that will fit her requirements for the dream that she aimed to turn into reality.
Of course as per her nature of being an entity of creation and being an anathema to Chaos, her preferences mostly fell under the two categories of purity of form, and purity of being. The modifications that her memories provide would be able to transform the required needed sentient form to the shape that she would require. What she need to find though is for something that would fit her requirements. Of course a being as she is prefer the being that suits her needs that needed the least tampering. Change is good after all, but too much change would render her created as puppets not beings anymore of sentience. She might have her dreams and plans for her creation, but she doesn't want to bereft her creation their freedom of choice and decisions simply to achieve her desires.
Most leaders might have ignored the smaller pictures in favor of the big picture but not her. This thinking does not belong to the thousands of memories that provided for her the foundation of the people that would later be a powerful faction in the stars but from her former one of being a teacher. Sure the bigger picture matters in the long run especially if you're making a plan for the future and the sake of the greater good overlarge but one must tend to remember the little picture that most of the times gets trampled for the sake of the greater good. It is after all the little pictures that make up the big picture and if too many of them gets torn away, there would be no need for a bigger picture.
She has no idea how long she has been standing there as she picked up the species that would be her created and fitting to the factors that she provided, but of course success always goes to those who are determined. She smiled as she pinpointed two that she managed to pick before jumping off the ledge and gracefully landing on the uneven ground in her golden heels. It is time for this planet to finally meet the Lady of Creation.
…
Author's Note:
This is my first story, so hooray! I never played Warhammer but I've read the lore. Hopefully it would be more than enough to get me through this. I love the Emperor of Mankind and I hate the morons that is the Inquisition.