The Great Hunt

[Brother Sergeant Luther]

 

Council of Angels - Part 1 of The Great Hunt

 

Azrael rubbed his temples tiredly as he looks across his desk at his companion. “Are we sure these divinations are correct? Forgive my scepticism brother but the skills of your fellow Librarians and yourself is more of an art-form than a science.” Ezekiel sighed, his features gaunt and haggard but the gaze of his lone eye steely and his bionic flashed red in the candlelight of the chamber as he looked up at the Supreme Grandmaster.

“Every scrap of prophecy, warp induced rant and clue within the Enigma chamber has been check and rechecked. I and my Epistolaries drain ourselves delving into the Warp to verify that which we know is correct, the time for denying the truth of the matter is over Azrael, what is your command on this matter?”

Azrael’s fist slams down on his desk, a spider’s web of cracks spreading out from the impact “We have had nothing, not one portent or clue on where he has been since he vanished during the…Incident” the anger seems to drain out of him as recalls the desperate battle in the debris field that was once the home of his Chapter. Azrael stands moving to the great window that dominated one wall of his chamber, looking out at the Tower of Angels as the lighting of the Rocks Void Shield lit up the great towers carved walls. “Send out the Summons, if Cypher and several Fallen are on Terra, then the Unforgiven have much to discuss. The Angels of Caliban must come together to face this future you and your brothers see united in purpose.”

 

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Azrael looked around the chamber, gathered around the giant stone chamber were the Grand Masters of the Unforgiven. Each Chapter stood apart, represented by their Chapter Master, Chief Librarian, Master of Sanctity and Masters of the 1st and 2nd Companies. Their banners held upright by the various Masters of the 1st Company, just as the ancient banner of the Dark Angels was held in the steely grip of Belial. The chambers torchlight played over a hundred ancient banners, the Unforgiven had gathered in numbers not known since the formation of the hunt all those Millennia ago.

 

Azrael nodded in greeting to the hooded Master placed at his right-hand side, Nakir and the Consecrators had earned their position at the table with the defence of the Rock when it was assailed by the thrice cursed Deathguard at the behest of their ally Astelan, may the Lion’s Shade see that he never rested. To his left stood Raguel, Master of the Angels of Vengeance, he and his Chapters position dictated by ties and oaths to their parent chapter since the Legions split. It was time, with a fluid motion he drew the Sword of Secrets laying it on the table before him, an act that was copied by the assembled Chapter Masters, and soon one hundred Heavenfall Blades ringed the table. The conclave had commenced.

 

“What is this about Supreme Grand Master, the forces of the Arch Traitors push out of the eye, the Imperium is flooded by war on a scale unseen since the Beast strode towards Terra, why have you robbed our Chapters of our Leaders when a Primarch calls us to battle?” Azrael looked towards the speaker, Maalik Chapter Master of the Angels of Redemption met his steely gaze as he motioned Ezekiel forward. “Cypher is on Terra” the Chief Librarian of the Dark Angels stated bluntly, the effect on the room was immediate. “I shall gather the Disciples and make for Terra; our prey will not escape” stated Gawain Master of the Disciples of Caliban. “Do not be a fool Gawain, you would strike out to Terra, the heart of the Imperium in force? You would see us and the Hunt undone” came the curt response from Xandor Master of the Guardians of the Covenant. Other Masters voices soon joined theirs, rising in volume as each tried to put their opinion forth.

 

“Enough!” Azrael’s voice cut through the voices leaving silence in its wake “This conclave was called not to ask your opinions on what must be done, but to tell you what MUST be done, I will not be responsible for the death of our Chapters of our Legion. Your council is welcome but I am Supreme Grand Master, it is I alone who guide the remnants of the First Legion. The torches within the chamber flickered and the banners fluttered in a breeze that suddenly entered the chamber from behind him. As Azrael turned to find out the cause a voice unknown to him spoke out rough from lack of use “You are wrong little Brother.” Azrael was the first to his knee as the owner of the Voice stepped into the chamber flanked by two Watchers in the Dark and taller than even Belial in his Terminator armour, he ran his piercing gaze across the gathered Masters and the assembled banners as they each followed the lead of Azrael each kneeling before him.

 

“It is I that command the First Legion. But you are right Little Brother your Council will be most welcome and needed, for I seem to have missed much and see only strangers before me” Azrael found his voice past his shock at seeing his Gene sire alive before him “As you wish my Lord Jonson, the Dark Angels stand ready...there is much to tell you”

Edited July 5, 2017 by Brother Sergeant Luther

[Brother Sergeant Luther]

Trophies of the past - Part 2 of the Great Hunt

 

He sat within the grand hall, lost in memories of the past while surrounded by the trophies of a time he did not understand. So much had changed, so much had been lost. He was lost, adrift amongst conflicting emotions. He had dismissed the strangers that called themselves his sons, he had learned much but he needed to think, to process all that he had learned. In solitude, he could think clearly for anger and duty warred within him, anger and disgust at what the Imperium had become, so far from the vision of his father, this was not the promise of the future that he and his sons had sacrificed so much for. Every choice and sacrifice had always been towards the future his father had entrusted to his brothers and him to bring about, but this Imperium…this was not what he had fought so hard for, for the second time those he had left defending that which was precious to him had turned away from the path that had been set, an irony not lost on him. Yet the oaths to his father and the Imperium still held, despite his disgust at the corruption and zealotry of it. Running his eyes across the gathered trophies his eyes drawn to the wolf talismans and Fenrisian weapons proudly displayed, trophies of an honour duel that his sons no longer understood. When the one called Asmodi had told him about the enmity between the Unforgiven and the sons of Russ and the fiasco that had taken place within the Fenris system, it had taken all his control not to strike down the arrogant zealot, that was one son that would never again grace his presence. Looking at the Fenrisian artefacts he felt a pang for an brother lost to him and the Imperium.

 

“Russ…where are you brother? The Imperium needs your instincts and passion more than it needs me… you would not stand for what it has become and I am duty bound to defend that which I hate. Of all our brothers, why must it be Roboute that waits for me in this forsaken place” the Lion shook his head and stood. The time for solitude was over, his sons awaited him on the bridge, for his was the voice to put the Legion to purpose.

 

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Azrael read again the summons from the Lord Commander of the Imperium, the curt language summoning the Rock to the Sol system left no doubt what it was that the Primarch of the Ultramarines wished to discuss. He turned as the Lion entered, as one the assembled Dark Angels sank to their knees, many still in awe of being in the presence of one of the Emperors sons.

“Rise little brothers, we have much to do and your duties will be much harder to accomplish from down there.” Looking to Azrael as he stood he spoke again his tone quieter addressing him alone "My brother has summoned you hasn't he? It is what I would do in his position. Well let us not dissapoint him, though let us keep my presence from him until we have heard what he has to say."

Azrael bowed his head "As you command my lord." Azrael turned issuing orders, the Dark Angels had been summoned to Terra, and two brothers would be reunited.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Brother Sergeant Luther

[Brother Sergeant Luther]

Brothers Reunited - Part 3 of the Great Hunt

 

Azrael bowed his head to the image before him “As ordered Lord Commander the Dark Angels have answered your summons, may I now enquire into the nature of it.” The image of Roboute Gulliman glowered down at him, “Do not play coy with me Azrael, you know full well the nature of this summons. For too long the descendants of the proud First Legion have waged their own private war at the expense of their wider duties! I have read the Inquisitions reports on your chapter and its dishonourable brethren, I have heard the testimony of these so called Fallen here on Terra.” Azrael felt the icy hand of fate grip him as the Primarch of the Ultramarines continued. “If I had no need of your numbers you and your accursed Chapter would be a cloud of slowly spreading dust within the system, I would scour the galaxy for your ill begotten brethren and wipe the stain the First have become from Imperial records!” Roboute takes a breath his features calming again “But Lord of the Dark Angels, I have need of every hand that can fire a Bolter, but know this the days of your independence are done. You will be independent chapters in name only, each of your chapters will war alongside one of those of my sons, you will answer to them in all things. You will welcome my new warriors into your ranks, I will brook no argument from your chapters. This is my command Azrael and you WILL obey it or I will break your chapters across my knee like I did to my brothers blade a lifetime ago. Now do you have anything to say Supreme Grandmaster Azrael?”

 

Before Azrael could respond the Lion stepped forward into view of his brother’s image “Should you not be directing these stipulations at me brother?” the look of surprise on his brothers face amused him greatly, it was nice to know the master of planning could still be caught by surprise. “Well as Lord of the First let me respond” he continued giving Roboute no chance to respond to this revelation “I will not comply with your requests brother, only two sets of hands may guide my sons in battle and yours are not one of them.” Roboute finally found his voice his features now masking the shock of his brother’s appearance. “You are meant to be dead brother, but I see such reports have been exaggerated. Your sons have been lax in their duties and I will see…”

 

“You will do nothing to my sons Roboute, they are not yours to judge that right is mine and I will deal with the First as I deem necessary, and to paraphrase one of our noble brothers if you threaten my sons again I will tear you out your throat with my blade!” The bridge of The Rock had fallen deathly quiet in the face of the Lord of Angels wrath, his knightly mask dropping away from his features as he spoke the threat to his brother, but soon the mask was in place once more as if it had never fell. “You have some of my sons with you Roboute, those you have created and those locked in our father’s cells, you will return them all to me”

 

“And what will you do Brother? Are you not going to fight alongside my crusade? The Imperium needs to stand united in this endeavour.” The Lions chuckle was without humour “You would think the Dulan campaign and our time together in your ill-fated Imperium Secondus would have taught you one fact, I do not play well with others brother, so I will take my sons to the ruins of Caliban. And amongst the ruins of my home the six wings of the First Legion will unfurl. Great monsters stalk our father’s kingdom, our loyal brothers are lost amongst the dark, so I will do what I do best, I will lead my sons on a great hunt, laying waste to those monsters and bringing our lost brothers back into the light of the Imperium that needs them so much. You conduct your crusade Roboute, that is where your skills lie, I will fight my own way.

 

The Lord Commander of the Imperium studied his brother, his great mind working on this unsuspected problem that his brother’s appearance presented. Slowly he nodded his agreement “so be it, I will transfer the warriors of your blood to your…ship. But know if you betray my trust again like you did so long ago I will not settle for breaking your blade across my knee brother.”

 

“In that case Roboute, be careful that you do not make the mistake of nurturing a den of Vipers at the heart of the Kingdom again, your naivety gave your enemies a place to hide and a weapon to hold against your throat. If you do not deal with it another may have to” with a gesture the Lion signalled to cut the communication to his brother. Turning to Azrael the Lord of the First Legion gave his order “I leave the logistics of the transfer to you little brother, as soon as it is done we shall head to the ruins of Caliban. It has been to long since I was home”

[Brother Sergeant Luther]

Hope and Despair - Part Four of The Great Hunt

 

They gathered, their father's command pulling them from their commitments throughout the troubled Imperium. Full chapters gathered leaving only the smallest Garrison forces to hold their fortresses, pulled to the ancient site of Caliban by the words of the Primarch. They formed ranks in the Grand Hanger, the space used to dry dock Strike Cruisers the only space to allow the Unforgiven to form up in ranks. Each Chapter and Company standing in silent ranks behind banners depicting their lineage, all except the latest addition to the Unforgiven, the Primaris companies stood separate, welcomed but set apart with no banners depicting their triumphs. The great doors to the hanger slid open allowing to stride forward before them, flanked by the newly formed Paladin order, their members drawn from the finest Swordsman of the Unforgiven under the leadership of the Lion’s new Seneschal, Azrael. Each had been enhanced by the technology and procedures shared by Roboute, and clad in gleaming Tacticus armour in the black of the First Legion, carrying Zwei-hander power swords each the length of one of their unenhanced brothers.

 

The Lion stood stopped before them, his voice carrying far within the great chamber, and being carried further still by Vox, over one hundred thousand of his sons stood waiting for his orders.

“Little Brothers, I shall keep this brief for the Imperium is beset by forces that would see it burn and led by bumbling fools who have lost their way from the path set to my brothers and I by the hand of the Emperor himself.” He pauses taking a breath to compose himself, to control the growing rage burning in his breast at the state of the Imperium.

 

“I have gathered you here my sons as it is time you all learn of a hard truth, a truth I myself had to learn many, many years ago. I have been told the tale you have been taught about Caliban and its destruction. I tell you now it is a lie, as you can see reports of my death were greatly exaggerated, what has been hidden from you is the truth of what truly happened that day. I returned…”

 

“ENOUGH!!!” the cry reverberated through the chamber as the voice's owner strode forward from the ranks of the Dark Angels Chapter. “My lord you should not, no you cannot do this” Asmodi clad in the black plate of the Chaplaincy strode forward to stand before his Primarch. “You cannot do this, this is the duty of the chaplaincy the tale is our burden, it is ours to share with those worthy of hearing…” His words were cut off as the Lions fist clashed into his helm. The sickening crunch was stark in the silence that followed. Asmodi’s battered helm skittered across the chamber floor, coming to rest near the chambers great doors as his headless body slumped first to its knees and then fell at the Lion’s feet, his enhanced blood already congealing at his neck.

“I warned you to keep that zealot away from me Little Brother” the Lion’s words carried softly over the private vox he shared with his Seneschal, ignoring the twitching corpse at his feet the Lion looked back to the assembled force before him.

 

“As I was saying, I returned to Caliban following the great wars that you now call the Horus Heresy, I had sent two forces to safeguard my home and to train those that would follow me into the stars. The first were Legion veterans from Terra, those most versed in the traditions of the First Legion of the Wings and of warfare amongst my father’s stars. The second were my trusted friends and sons, those that had followed me to the stars from Caliban, those that had been in the ranks of the Order, who would see that our traditions lived on in the future of the Legion, and they were commanded by one who was both a father and brother to me, and tasked to build the future of my Legion. But on my return, the guns of Caliban were turned against me, in an instant thousands of warriors were gone, men who had carved out my father’s Imperium and had fought so hard to hold it together in the chaos of my Brother's treachery. It was with a heavy heart that I ordered the attack on my home…on my lost sons, it was the attack that eventually destroyed the planet, no warp storm. And I was wounded, fighting a man I had once counted my closest comrade, who wounded me greatly when I stayed my blade in a moment of foolish compassion. A mistake I will never make again.”

 

“The weapons brought to bear on Caliban, and the defeat of the pawn of Chaos caused a great warp storm to tear apart the world that felt my first footfall. My sons outside the void shields of the Tower of Angels, those Loyal to the Imperium and those that had risen against my father’s realm, were cast into the warp, scattered through time or so I am told. This is the true reason for the name that you refer to yourselves and cousins, the Unforgiven. It is time for a new name”

 

At his words the great doors of the chamber slide open with the sounding of grinding metal, allowing the entry of four figures. The first wearing armour of blue, robed and hooded in the bone of the Deathwing came Ezekiel, by his side was a slouched man, taller than many humans but still shorter than an Astartes. His robes, torn and ragged and stained with dried blood laid over damaged plate of black. Behind them both came the heavy footfalls of two dreadnoughts, the heavy tread of one crushed the remains of Asmodi’s helm beneath it. Their armoured forms painted the purest white and festooned with oaths of moments that hid the triumphs carved into their sarcophagi. They halted before the Lion who approached the ragged form of a man, as he came closer the man’s voice carried to his ears.

“You have returned, forgiveness, you will surely grant me forgiveness brother. I did it for Caliban, our home, I did it for you. Who should not knee to no man…you will forgive me brother yes?”

 

Placing his hands on the man's shoulders and raises him up to his full height before embracing him.

“I forgive you Luther, for your crimes against my Father's Imperium and against myself” as he steps back the Lion swept up his blade, “But I cannot forget your betrayal” he shakes the blood from the blade as he looks down at the corpse. “Burn this Traitor and cast his ashes to the void Ezekiel” the chief librarian nodded “As you wish my lord”.

 

Turning back to the assembled throng the Lion speaks in a calm measured tone. "You are no longer the Unforgiven, the time for that name is gone, the time for Chapters is gone, the Hunt is ended. We are the First Legion, and we will avenge the betrayals to my father's vision! Many things have been forgotten, but they will be relearned. By my command the Wings shall be reformed, I will choose the first Voted Lieutenants, who will then choose their successor and train him in the ways of the Wing, and that man shall choose his successor and train him and so on until each Wing stands ready at ten thousand strong. The chapters will be disbanded their triumphs shall be displayed proudly as they are worthy accolades, but we are a Legion once more, and we shall all be clad in the black the Emperor chose for us. "

 

Turning his attention to the two dreadnoughts the lion paused “Who are you? Name yourselves little brothers.”

 

“You gave us our names lord, I am Hope. When the galaxy burned in the fires of your brothers folly, I stood by your side. I was there when you told your brother that you would not be swayed from your duty. I was there when you told a daemon that you could not be bought from your father's path. It was I you gave half your forces to and tasked to bring hope to the Imperium by waging war against its enemies."

 

"I am Despair. When your brother in his arrogance built an empire when the galaxy burned, I stood beside you. When the Night Haunter stalked your brothers Kingdom it was I who you set to task. When your brothers traitorous citizens shielded our prey, it was I you called upon to rain despair down on them"

 

The Lion froze looking between the two dreadnoughts "Corswain...Redloss... Finally I am no longer surrounded by strangers. Come little brothers there is much you must tell me"