Blood Strike

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Caine placed an empty gauntlet against the tree bark. He could feel the power flowing within the trunk, his aches and pains quickly receded. He felt fresh again. The Flesh Tearer let his mind wander as he relaxed and closed his eyes. The mysticism he had listened to while the Void Walker spoke at length didn't sit right with cynical beliefs but there seemed to be no other course. He felt something within the ancient timbre tug at his mind and he focused on real space. Slowly there came the sound of the steady hum from the miniature infinity gate. It was mesmerizing and soon he could do nothing more but listen to the constant vibration as it spoke to him. His mind went blank.

[1Drop]

Amazing bro.. I've just read the whole thing in one go. When will you write the next section, dying to hear more!!

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Caine awoke to find himself in a stone chapel. A high altar was set in the middle cast in iron and glimmered under the moonlight filtered in through the large murals made of stained glass. Caine looked at the three murals. One depicted an Angel fighting a daemon on top of a mountain. The Angel fought with a long halberd drenched in dark blood while the daemon fought with a long double pronged fork. They had both wounded each other driving their weapons deep. The Angel was clad in golden artificier armor studded with bright rubies around his high collar. The daemon was clad in black armor and wore pith helmet with a thin slit for the visor. Red light split out from the visor casting a crimson shade upon the Angel's golden armor. The next mural depicted an upright tomb set against a fence inside a morgue. The lid of the tomb was slightly ajar and a skeletal hand emerged from the opening. Fresh earth lay upon the ground from whence the tomb had been exhumed. There were a pair of rusted shovels laying beside the open grave. The final mural depicted a horde of daemons ascending from a gigantic crater. A huge daemon was climbing out from the pit bellowing at the vast number of daemonkin surrounding the beast. The Angel that appeared in the first mural was soaring above the mad inferno. His black feathered wings were spread wide apart and cast shadows upon the torn ground.

 

Caine turned his eyes away from the third mural and looked upon the altar again. Symbols of the Blood Angels adorned the front carefully chiseled into the cold iron. "This is the resting place for the Chalice." said a voice hidden in the shadows from behind the altar. Another Flesh Tearer stepped from the other side. "Leave the Crimson Grail here where it belongs and your mission will be done." said the other Marine. He carried a wide stormshield as high as himself and a long glaive in his other gauntlet. His face was hidden by a helmet crafted in the likeness of a skull and emerald lenses filled the eye sockets.

 

"Show me your face Chaplain. Our chapter is small and I should know of you." said Caine.

 

"I am the Keeper of the Crimson Grail." He lay down his glaive and removed his skull helmet. His face was identical to Caine's except more wizened and there was a touch of grey streaking his mantle of long black hair tied back in a pony tail. "Surely you know me."

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

"Where am I?" asked Caine. "What is this place? Tell me who you are!" shouted Caine as he clutched the chalice.

 

"As I said I'm the Keeper of the Crimson Chalice and this chapel is it's resting place." said the doppelgänger. "Set the chalice upon the altar and you will understand everything."

 

"Something doesn't feel right." Caine countered. "If you were truly me then a singularity should have occurred the moment we met. Two identical beings cannot share real space together."

 

"You are wary, as you should be. This place is a joint out of time so to speak. There are things that exist beyond both the warp and real space. This chapel is one such place."

 

Caine looked about searching for a point of exit but none were to be found. "It's a trap." said Caine.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Keeper moved forward lifting his glaive. "Be reasonable." he said as he smiled. His flesh crinkled quickly morphing into the face of the Void Walker. "Is this better?"

 

Caine drew his glaive up ready to fight.

[ReachOnyx2552]

Totally awesome! keep up the great work.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Keeper of the Grail smiled in a wicked way showing his teeth. "There is no way out. This is your destiny. Accept your fate."

 

Caine lifted the chalice and looked inside the cup. There was a small pool of bright red blood sitting in the bottom. Huge gems of polished rubies were encrusted along the inner edge interwoven with small diamonds and silvered filagree. They sparkled in the faint moonlight. Caine clasped the Grail to his belt and gripped his glaive with both gauntlets. He felt the chalice vibrate with raw power and it filled the Flesh Tearer with both awe and strength. "You'll have to pry it off my cold dead body before I hand over this relic. I have no idea what it is but I know it's very important and I have sworn a blood oath to deliver it to the right hands."

 

"The Crimson Grail is said to have been a gift to Sanguinius from the Emperor. It dates all the way back to the beginning of the Great Crusade and is a relic of sublime power. The Emperor came upon the Grail on some forsaken planet on the edge of the Eye of Terror. It was smithed by an ancient servant of a god that has existed long before the coming of man. The Grail must be returned to it's rightful owner. It grants the gift of prescience and with it the very strands of fate can be rewoven. If you return it to me I'll grant you any wish. You can become a god of war in your own fashion. Accept this offer and you can rebuild your chapter into a true legion. Entire armies will be yours to command! You could rule one thousand worlds. Your epics will become legend. All will bow down to your might! Look what you could be..." The Keeper suddenly transformed into a giant reaching up to the top of the ceiling. He was clad in a suit of bright red tactical dreadnaught armor and carried a huge glaive whose blade had been hammered from the finest steel. The glaive shone bright and great runes of blood had been intricately carved into the gleaming metal. "You could down an Avatar with one sweep of this mighty blade!" bellowed the Keeper. A huge double barreled boltgun had been fastened to the top of his left gauntlet. "This weapon can pierce any armor with but a single shot!" The Keeper took one step forward and his shod boot rang like a tolling bell and it's sole rocked the stone floor. "This could be you. Think of the power!"

 

Caine felt his rage begin to flow again as he lifted his glaive up in a defensive posture taking a low stance. "This is all just an illusion created by Chaos to beguile me and nothing more. I have no desire to possess these so called gifts you offer. Prepare to die!"

 

The Keeper then rushed forward swinging down his giant glaive. Caine leapt aside at the last moment and the huge sword struck the stone floor splitting the marble tile as if it were nothing more than loose dirt. Chips of marble sprayed out from the savage blow engulfing the chamber in a shower of sharp rocky shards. Caine ducked back as bits of rock struck his armor cutting deep grooves into his armor. The Keeper then lifted up his huge bolter firing a salvo of rockets at Caine. The Flesh Tearer turned sideways to avoid the blast then quickly sprinted around to the other side of the chamber. "There's no escape here. You've made your choice and now I'll have your head. You're just another Astartes and nothing more. I'll show the errors of your ways!"

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Keeper moved forward slowly cutting off any lane of retreat. Caine positioned the altar between himself and the Keeper. The giant sprang forward and cut the iron altar in twain with one deft blow from his huge glaive. It split in half, each side toppling over. His boltgun sang as he fired another round of rockets at the Flesh Tearer. Again Caine turned aside just missing the exploding missiles. The wall behind him cracked and the mural depicting the exhumed tomb shattered. Quickly Caine jumped through the opening and landed outside the chapel. The landscape was all twisted about. Caine could see that the chapel sat upon a high plateau a top a high mountain. There was a narrow twisting path that lead down towards the far valley below. The wall beside the Flesh Tearer ruptured as the giant charged through. Caine drove his sword hard into the exposed torso of the Keeper. The armor was hard like heavy stone but the tip of his sword penetrated it as the blade cut in deep. Shouting out in pain the Keeper of the Crimson Grail knocked Caine aside like a rag doll with one wild punch.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Flesh Tearer rolled with the blow. He saw dark spots before his eyes and his ears rang. It felt like his helmet had cracked. The Keeper lunged at him again swinging it's glaive in a wide arc. Caine ducked underneath the blade running his sword into the side of the giant. This time he was able to penetrate more deeply as he pushed on the hilt with both gauntlets locked tight. The sword cut through with the tip exiting the rear side of the giant. Caine leapt up driving the crown of his helmet underneath his foe's chin. He heard his teeth chip as he landed bringing his glaive about for a blinding riposte. The Keeper had mimicked his facial features again and blood ran freely from his nostrils. Diminishing in size the doppelgänger stepped back revealing his true form. A birdlike beak thrust out from it's face and multi colored wings covered it's daemonic body. It's glaive re appeared shimmering as it transformed into a long staff of gold. "Tzneetch daemon!" shouted the Flesh Tearer as he renewed his attack.

 

The daemon lifted itself up in the night sky with it's pair of huge wings snarling in hot rage. It began to mouth a spell as Caine grasped the Grail and held it up towards the daemon prince. "By all that is holy!" shouted the veteran. The chalice began to glow and a red shaft of light shot out from the cup lancing the daemon. It shimmered then dissolved away. Only a few of its feathers were left and they floated upon the cold wind. Caine kneeled down to catch his breath. His head and shoulders still ached from the daemon's viscous blow.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Finally Caine was alone with the Grail. He had heard of it's legend. Supposedly the blood had been caught from a wound taken by Sanguinius after his first battle with the Bloodthirster on Terra. The Primarch's blood was eternal and forever lasting. It was a stigmata of the Blood Angels and all their successor chapters. When the dark apocalypse finally came those who still remained would each be granted one minute sip. The Primarch's blood was holy and pure daemonbane. The daemon prince had it all wrong. The forces of disorder could not allow the ancient relic to fall back into the rightful hands again.

 

He held up the chalice to his lips and tilted it slowly back until a single drop split free and dripped into his open mouth. There was the sudden elation of an extremely intense feeling that overpowered him. Caine dropped the golden chaste cup as his body went completely rigid. His flesh felt like hard stone and his muscles rippled with unbridled power. He lost control of all his senses and fell over upon the cold earth. A field of bright stars flared before his eyes. Caine could feel the north and south poles of the planet slipping back and forth as their vast magnetic field flowed through the earth passing through his taut body. He felt magnificent.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

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[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Caine heard the clap of thunder and smelled ozone in the air. He looked off to the perimeter to spy a shimmering in the air. The shimmering began to take solid form as one body after another took form. It was a squad of three Marines teleporting down to the surface. They were all huge and wore silvered suits of terminator armor. "Hand over the grail." said the tallest Marine. Caine squinted his eyes hard adjusting to his night vision and realized the party was Grey Knights.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The forward most Grey Knight spoke as he sniffed the air "Aye brothers the air is heavy indeed with the smell of taint." He then pointed at the Flesh Tearer. "That cup you hold is a ward of Chaos. It will corrupt your very soul... If it hasn't already done so. You must return with us to our battle barge so that we can check to see if you have been touched by the dark side."

 

Caine frowned. "Identify yourselves immediately."

 

"I am Brother Captain Atreedes." said the first Grey Knight. "My two companions are Brothers Paul and Memnoch. They are both Paladins and serve as my personal retinue."

 

"This chalice is a relic of the Blood Angels, my founding's chapter. You are gravely mistaken." said Caine with a grunt. He unlatched his broken helmet and threw it to the ground. His breath was like steam in the cold air and wreathed about his head. "I will return the Crimson Grail to it's rightful place."

 

Atreedes looked concerned as he drew forth his halberd. "You are sadly mistaken. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

 

Caine clasped the chalice to his belt and lifted up his glaive.

 

"So that's how it's going to be then." said the Brother Captain. The Paladins stepped beside him.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

There came the sound of an annoying buzz. Atreedes looked about scowling. A pale shadow fell across the trio and then grew dark. As the sun began to peek over the horizon it cast a blot upon the tip of the mountain peak. The Void Walker took a step down from the top. "Hail brother Knights." said the Blood Saint as he stepped off the crest. His Crozius hung from his belt with it's sharp edges all a fan. The blades sparkled in the sunlight as the soft rays collided off the fractal edges casting a prism of colors. "I'm late here but I know. Leave the Flesh Tearer be. This is a matter for my legion to attend."

 

The Brother Captain looked away from the harsh light spilling off the Chaplain. "Hail to you too." he said. "If I could I would but that cannot be."

 

The Blood Saint reached up and unclasped his skull helmet. The sound of the vacuum seal voiding filled the morning air. His face was young again, all the criss crossed scars had vanished and his hair was like a golden mane. "It will be a fair fight then."

 

Another Marine walked up on top the mountain. His armor was a deep blue as if from the bottom of a deep ocean absorbing the light cast off from the Void Walker and he was missing an arm. "It is a time of death... And it is a time for death." said Mercury as he lifted his force weapon.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

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[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Note - Any constructive feedback anyone would like to offer would be appreciated. :)

 

G :eek

[Brother Nathan]

is this supposed to be the sam guy from the first scene? if so hes changed from gold to blue...? something happen in the warp?(they are still in the warp right?)

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

It's the same guy for sure.

 

:)

[Brother Nathan]

so is that accidental or on purpose? and will we get that explained? or should i not even ask and just wait and see?

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

It's okay to ask. Honestly I forgot he started off with golden armor - I can easily fix that though. They are in real space now btw.

 

G

[robot530]

This story is great Black Orange. Keep the Librarian's armor shift to blue. It worked as a visual for a power shift. Librarian suits are arcane/mystical works of art. His suit is both gold and blue depending on the situation and power usage. It's like his suit is amplified. It can always go back to gold later. Keep going with the plot twists and mayhem. I want to see some Grey Knights get wrecked!

[Brother Nathan]

oh ya was just wondering if you meant it. easiest way of explaining it would be like with copper turning blue due to oxidisation, say with the useage of his power armour somehow react with the armour. or go compleately from a unexpected angle, like in starship troopers where they end up different colours with the differing blods of the bugs they splattered...

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Mercury ignited his force weapon as the Void Walker punched his power fist into the mountain. The shock waves rippled through the dark granite stone. The Paladins fought for purchase upon the rocky top as the ground underneath their armored boots shifted back and forth. Atreedes ignited his halberd sweeping the long blade down to a ready position. "You were warned." said the Brother Captain above the hum of their synched Nemesis force weapons. "So be it."

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Atreedes silently mouthed the words of a spell as he and his two Paladins moved forward to assault. Their silver armor began to glow as if lit from within by some dark fire. Atreedes' eyes turned to bright red and his nostrils flared. The Void Walker charged straight into the Grey Knights swinging his huge power fist down in a flashing arc of electricity. Blue sparks shot off the fist as it punched through Brother Paul's chestplate cracking apart the suit of terminator armor. As the Paladin fell lifeless to the ground the Brother Captain spun about driving his halberd deep into the Chaplain's torso. Blood gushed out from the Blood Saint's mouth as the Void Walker grasped the long blade with his power fist and snapped it in half breaking off the weapon from it's haft. Atreedes dropped his broken weapon as his silver gauntlets reached out to catch the Chaplain by the neck. The Grey Knight squeezed hard and more blood flowed from the Blood Saint's open mouth. There was the sound of a sharp snap as the Chaplain's neck broke and then his head dangled from the broken vertebrae. Caine watched in silence. It could not be! In his death spasm the Void Walker ran his Crozius Arcanum into Atreedes' armor but the Brother Captain blocked the clumsy attack with an open gauntlet as he threw the Chaplain aside.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Mercury spun about like a one armed whirling dervish. His force weapon angrily howled as it's sharp edge glistened in the morning light. The Librarian turned quickly driving his weapon through the side of Memnoch's chest skewering both his hearts. Again Atreedes moved in for the easy kill as Mercury had left himself open to a fast counter attack. His grip was lightning fast as he caught a hold of the Librarian but then he stumbled. The Void Walker had stuck his free gauntlet out to trip the Brother Captain. Atreedes brought down very hard an armored boot smashing the Chaplain's arm like a rotted bit of dead wood. Suddenly Caine was there driving his glaive in a sweeping thrust to drive back the Grey Knight. Atreedes stepped back as he mouthed the words of another spell. A huge black void opened up above his head and dark energies poured down upon the Flesh Tearer and the two Blood Saints.