End of the Apostasy

[Eiric Hakon]

^_^ End of the Apostasy

 

The corridors were dark, an inch of dust muffled the sounds of the advancing footsteps while the ornate stain glass windows were dark with grime . Attackers.

 

So far in? The defences hadn't fallen! Their master would not be lost to these Heretics! She and her sisters would halt them, no matter what the cost!

 

Their bolt guns were ready, they were silent. No one would harm the saviour of Humanity! The Emperor himself saw to his protection as well as they.

 

The attackers emerged. And a unearthly chill rand down her spine. Their armour was polished gold, their helmet plumes, cloaks and tabards darker than the void between the stars, they held long shafted halberds.

Custodes, Adeptus Custodes! The Emperor's personal guard had turned on Vandire! The first crack appeared in their will.

 

The Custodes were made to look nearly ten feet tall by their elongated helms. Their eyes too were cold, black voids. Their weapons hummed as they were brought round to face her and her sisters. Thier own bolts came up to position, they stood no chance, but they would buy him time to escape.

 

The Custode Leader spun his short sword around his hand with a drum of his fingers before thrusting it into its scabbard. His men brought their weapons up to rest, with the tall blades reaching the top of their helm. They moved with majesty that she had not seen, their skill at arms was...unparalleled.

 

With a slow movement their leader raised his arms to his head and gripped his helmet. With a click and a hiss he pulled it off, revealing a young face with ancient eyes. There was an aura of mourning around him, sadness and grief gripped his soul, she could see this for she was a good judge of men.

 

"Stand aside, allow us passage to the Traitor's chambers"

 

She tensed. They dared to call Vandire a Traitor! The Custodian noticed her tense.

 

"He burns the worlds that the Emperor united, he burns those that swear allegiance to the Emperor above all, he burns the very ideas the Emperor built his Empire on. He is a Traitor"

 

She did not move. She would not move unless the Emperor himself told her otherwise. His pleas fell of deaf ears. She felt a grim sense of satisfaction that a Custodian was, pleading to her, pleading that they be allowed access.

 

"Lay down your weapons"

 

It was an order, an order that could well mean death if they did not obey. Some of her sisters hesitated, making to lower their weapons, when...she was glad that her face was hidden under a helm, she would not have been able to hide her surprise. It was the Custodes that laid down their weapons. The order had been to his men.

 

"Come"

 

Those words were not an order, they were an invitation and she resisted.

 

"Come and see Him"

 

Him? The Emperor? Her curiosity, her reverence, could not be resisted. His men were prisoner, if she did not return they would be killed. The Custodian lead her away from Vandire's inner sanctum. Lead her away from the fighting. Towards the Inner Sanctum of Terra's palace.

 

 

The throne, the golden throne, stood taller than the gargantuan god Machines that flanked it. The twin Emperor Class titans could not dwarf the power of the man that they protected. Holy energy crackled through the device, filling the air with power, the soundless voices of the phsychic choir entered into her body, into her soul.

 

Her strength left her. Both; her strength of will and her strength of body. Her legs shook and gave way, bowing before collapsing under her completely. Her helmet rolled across the floor. She could see Him with her own eyes. Tears filled her eyes, tears of mourning, tears of joy. All was revealed to her as she bathed in his light, grovelling at the foot of his throne. She thought she could hear him whispering, whispering to her.

 

She understood now, she understood why the Custodes had not killed her and her sisters, why they had not simply forced entry. Because it was not their way. They would not kill those that were loyal to the Emperor, they would not kill his flock, they would guide them back onto the path. She resolved, that never, not while she or her sisters drew breath, would anyone corrupt the minds of the faithful ever again.

 

Her steely resolve returned. She rose and back from the throne room, careful never to turn her back on Him. Her helmet lay forgotten. The Custodian smiled as he followed her out, bowing to his Lord and Master.

 

 

The magnificent carved wood door opened. And She entered. The chamber of lit only by the shimmering galactic map in the chamber's heart. He was abandoned by his officers, by his most trusted, and yet he still barked orders and cursed them. She was glad her face was hidden by shadow. She was glad he could not see her disgust. A mockery of all the Emperor stood and fought for.

 

"You have committed the ultimate heresy. Not only have you turned your back on the Emperor and stepped from his light, you have profaned his name and almost destroyed everything he has striven to build. You have perverted and twisted the path he has laid for Mankind to tread. As your own decrees have stated, there can be no mercy for such a crime, no pity for such a criminal. I renounce your lordship, you walk in the darkness and cannot be allowed to live. Your sentence has been long overdue and it is now time for you to die."

 

His response made her suppress a bitter laugh. Her power sword glimmered. Her arm came up, her tendons tightened, and muscles contracted. The blade moved swiftly, reducing his Rosiarius to scrap metal in an explosion of light, a final movement and the sword tip flicked across his body. The Traitor, Vandire was dead. The Age of Apostasy was over. The door closed, leaving his carcase to wallow in a pool of blood.

 

 

Just a short story about my view of what happened...It isn't one of my best but it is postable IMHO! :P

 

Edit: Changed the last part to include the canon that I foolishly overlooked

[Melissia]

Aside from the last bit, it's probably rather correct.

 

I'd work in the canon accusations and reply, though:

 

 

 

Here's a Lexicanum summary, based on third edition C:WH:

 

 

The Centurion leading the Custodian band then made one final attempt to convince the Brides of their error. He eventually persuaded the leader of the Brides, Alicia Dominica, along with her bodyguard to follow him through the labyrinth of passages into the presence of the Emperor himself. It is unknown what transpired there (the Brides have been sworn to utmost secrecy), but Dominica was filled with righteous anger, as she had finally become aware of Vandire's evil. She returned to the Brides, spoke to her sisters of the treachery of Vandire and the perversion of their order; the order returned to their old name, Daughters of the Emperor. A ceasefire was reached with the invasion force.

 

Dominica then went into Vandire's inner chamber, where he stood alone with his galactic map, feverishly barking out orders to commanders and scribes who had abandoned him. She pronounced him a traitor -

 

You have committed the ultimate heresy. Not only have you turned your back on the Emperor and stepped from his light, you have profaned his name and almost destroyed everything he has striven to build. You have perverted and twisted the path he has laid for Mankind to tread. As your own decrees have stated, there can be no mercy for such a crime, no pity for such a criminal. I renounce your lordship, you walk in the darkness and cannot be allowed to live. Your sentence has been long overdue and it is now time for you to die.

 

Vandire's response to these charges was simply a feverishly "I don't have time to die... I'm too busy!", and Dominica executed him on the spot with her own Power Sword, cutting his Rosarius in half and singlehandedly ending his bloody reign.

 

[Eiric Hakon]

Aaah thanks, I'll change what I've written