The Doomhammers Meet Ishtar

[Erasmus of Baal]

This is the first draft of how my current IA, the Doomhammers, meet a minor Warp-entity who will end up being essentially a patron saint or guardian angel. Sorry for the wall of text!

 

EDIT: made some edits in the early sections of the story to increase believeability and changed the names to my own satisfaction. Please note, if you read the original, that I only changed the second paragraph (the one that starts with "In 976.M40").

 

 

Rare indeed are mighty Space Marines who willingly accept aid from a Warp entity in M41. Rarer still are those few who do so and remain loyal to the Imperium. This is the chronicle of either the rise or the fall of the Doomhammers, for it is written record of their steps away from the Astronomican but, as they would argue, towards the Emperor’s light.

 

In 976.M40, Chief Librarian Enki [this is actually the name of the current Chief Librarian, I’ll change it when I pick another one] had a disturbing vision in his sleep. He gazed upon the Emperor, standing upon the galaxy itself, with millions of lights at His feet, working in His name. Suddenly, one cried out in fear and dimmed. The Emperor pointed at Enki, and then to the dimmed spirit, and spoke the single word “go” before he awoa ke. Wondering at this, Enki chose to consult the Emperor’s Tarot for answers. He beheld the Fortress with the Great Eye in association, indicating battle against a stronghold of Chaos. Following this was the Despoiler, inverted, and the Demon, also inverted; this puzzled him, as it seemed to indicate a hero to fight Chaos born of the Warp. The reading concluded with the card of the Emperor, a sign of hope in the void. Concluding that action must be taken soon, he immediately took his concerns to Chapter Master Ellil [again, this is the current name; it will be changed later]. While refusing to believe that the Warp could possibly spawn something worth noting for anything besides destruction, the Chapter Master sent Enki with High Chaplain Lugal [again, name to be changed] with roughly half of the First Company to embark with the Fifth and Eighth Companies, which were preparing to embark to destroy a Chaos stronghold on the Desert World of New Akkadia.

 

The battle was a typical such combat. The Space Marines had minor issues dealing with the cultists’ sorceries, but the fortress had been constructed in such haste and defended so poorly that it was easy to penetrate. During the battle, Chief Librarian Enki heard psychic screams which sounded to him exactly as that of the light that had dimmed in his dream. He discovered the source of the screams in the innermost chamber of the hold: some unknown Warp-creature was bound, apparently to be sacrificed by the cultists save that the Doomhammers’ assault had interrupted the preparations. It was not difficult for Enki to determine that this creature was what the Emperor had sent him here for, that this Warp entity might be freed rather than destroyed. Unwilling to accept that this creature would not simply strike out at him, Enki assembled two squads of veterans and the High Chaplain together as he broke the bonds, both physical and magical, that held the creature imprisoned. Thus freed, its shape became more defined as a human woman as large and strong as a Space Marine. It addressed Enki, thanking him for hearing its cries for help and claiming to be Ishtar, a minor Warp goddess formed from the self-sacrifice of millions in the Emperor’s name, especially those who risked themselves to heal their brethren. It also claimed that the fortress which the Space Marines had just conquered had originally been a temple built to it and the Emperor, but the priesthood had recently become corrupt and turned the temple to the worship of Tzeentch, at whose name it spat. It offered to assist the Doomhammers, empowering the Chapter’s healers and psykers with its own strength. The Chief Librarian requested that the High Chaplain remain guarding the entity with the two squads of Veterans while Enki returned to the strike cruiser the force had arrived on to consult the Emperor’s Tarot. The Tarot first showed the Space Marine, then the Great Host, clearly indicating the Doomhammers chapter. This was followed by the Despoiler inverted and the Great Eye inverted, indicating some great hero to rise up and combat Chaos. Enki took careful note that there was no indication that the hero was a Space Marine and the reading’s layout even hinted at the hero coming from outside the Chapter. The Tarot ended with the Shattered World inverted, which suggested to Enki that New Akkadia was to be healed of the scars that the Chaos fortress had left upon it and to be reforged in the Emperor’s name.

 

With all of this in mind, Enki contacted Chapter Master Ellil astropathically and informed the latter of all that had come to pass on New Akkadia. Ellil had been considering finding a planet for the fleet-based Chapter to claim as their own for some time and was therefore very receptive to the idea of using New Akkadia to this purpose; it was a Death World that the Chapter had recruited from many times before and had an excellent strategic location within the Chapter’s normal theater of operation. However, Ellil was highly reluctant to accept this “Ishtar” as a long-term ally; had he not had some concern of this after his initial conversation on this topic with Chief Lirarian Enki, Ellil would have revolted at the idea. They agreed that Ishtar should be kept under heavy guard at all times pending further investigation, and the Chaos fortress should be leveled and the ruins purified to make way for the Chapter’s Fortress-Monastery.

 

 

 

It should be noted that I invented two Emperor's Tarot cards to supplement those already in either canonical or Black Library fluff. Also, I'm not sure where to take the story next, although I am sure that I want the Chapter to end up in agreement with Ishtar. The end result is some minor editing of the nature of the Apothecarion (making them essentially Sanguinary Priests) and possibly the addition of a unit of the veterans of special devotees to Ishtar (essentially Sanguinary Guard).

 

If you actually read all the way down here, thank you even if you don't comment. If you were expected a tl;dr, [censored]!

[Shinzaren]

Read the whole thing ;) My only real comment is just a question on practicality. Would a Space Marine chapter really trust any Warp being? Especially when literally every single one ever to encounter the race of Man has sought to subvert, enslave, or destroy Mankind? I think the FAR more likely scenario is that they would gun her down and call it a day. Not saying it's not possible, but it goes hard against my suspension of disbelief and would need to be very well justified for me to accept it.

 

One Librarian's vision and word would not be enough to grant asylum to a Warp Entity. Especially since Chaos itself often works through dreams. I'm not saying it's bad, just needs more work, and perhaps more explanation. Perhaps multiple Librarians, and even non-psykers, like Chaplains or Captains had the same dream. Going to show that it's not one crazy Librarian, but rather a chapter wide event. Other than that, looking forward to seeing how this is explained and how it plays out ;)

[Erasmus of Baal]

I like it! Change made.