Chapter Text
The Emperors inner palace rang with the sound of metal crashing on metal. Outside the vast doors that prevented entrance to the forge stood two mighty giants of the Morlocks, the bodyguards of the Primarch himself. They came to a swift attention as the footsteps of the first captain approached, their halberds coming to arms.
“How long has our father been in the forge?” The First Captain looked passively at the doors but his question was directed to Brother-Sergeant Lennox who stood to the left side of the great forge.
“Three days my lord” The great Terminator replied respectfully.
Gabriel Santor nodded to himself and opened the doors; the heat of the forge hit him straight away. Temperatures that would cause a human to dehydrate in moments merely caused sheen of sweat to sit on the Captains brow. He heard the ringing of the hammer on the forge and knew that his father was creating another perfect weapon or armour to aid the Emperor in his endeavours. Gabriel however had his concerns about just what was being placed into his fathers’ masterpieces.
He moved to the forge area and fluently went to one knee and waited. He would wait for as long as it would take for his father to attend him. One did not disturb The Gorgon unless there was a reason and that would be a summons from the Emperor. After two hours the Primarch of the Iron Hands emerged, his silver hands flowing from their liquid mercury make up almost with a life of their own, almost as if something else lived in the hands of his father other than the life blood that was his.
“Speak my favoured son,” The deep voice of Ferrus Manus echoed around the Imperial Forge.
“The lord of the Word Bearers wishes to speak with you my lord” Gabriel explained “I would not allow his First Captain to come himself and disturb you”
Ferrus chuckled although it sounded more like the rumbling of one of the many volcanoes depths that covered the unstable world of their home, but then again, the fire of Medusa was not only in them but also in the Primarch that crashed into their world as a baby. Deep and sounding like it was ready to erupt at any time.
“Walk with me Gabriel,” Ferrus ordered “Let me see what my orator brother has to say to me before we resume our part of the Great Crusade”
Santor did not miss the irony that dripped on the last words his father spoke. Word had reached them of Vulkan joining the Emperors new crusade but when he had also heard that World Eater and Salamander had turned on those of their brothers that would not have followed the new law, he had made sure that all the Iron Hands were loyal to the Emperor and their father. He had no wish to kill a brother Iron Hand and was relieved that all the Iron Hands took the new oath but then, he was also aware that the Iron Hands were loyal to Ferrus first and the Emperor next. Not that anyone had told the Emperor that, what he had done to the Custode that had not agreed with the momentous change in direction and who had apparently tried to send word to the First Primarch had got around the Emperors circle.
Ferrus had suspected it was so his sons who were part of this new crusade would know what would happen to those who dared betray him or refuse him. Santor had not brought up what had happened with the Salamanders and the World Eaters. It probably was not the time or the place. And a First Captain did not dare voice his disquiet over fratricide. If it had to be done it had to be done, all that he had to say was thank the ancient Medusans that it was not going to happen to his Legion. He walked alongside his father and two of the Terminator Morlock bodyguards fell dutifully into place.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Loken and Abaddon moved swiftly through the Vengeful Spirit, Ahriman at their side. They ignored even their own brother Astartes as they made their way to the Warmaster’s stratagem. All three Astartes had heavy hearts and it reflected in their footfalls. Against all that the two Lunar Wolves wanted to believe and what even the Thousand Son First Captain believed. All three of the transhumans wanted to believe that against all the wisdom of the Crimson King, that for all his skills with the powers of the warp or the Great Ocean as the Thousand Sons preferred to call it, that he was wrong. That he had been wrong and shown an alternative future that he had mistaken for their time.
The fact that he was not, had not made them feel any better. They had expected Ahriman to crow a little about how correct the powers of the Crimson King had been, for they could be a proud bunch these Thousand Sons and in the eyes of their cousins they were aloof. But not this time, not now when it was plain that a world had been lain to ruin at the hands of not just a fellow Legion but at the hands of The Praetorian himself, one of Horus’s closest brothers. Silence lay heavy between the three Astartes and Loken steeled himself for the anger that was to come. As diplomatic as he was and as much as he liked to think he was one of the boys, Horus was not going to like the fact that when he was told one of his closest brothers was guilty of planet wide genocide. No, the Warmaster was not going to like this one little bit.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lorgar waited until he was left alone with Ferrus and the two brothers walked to the ramparts of the Imperial Palace. Both took some time to take in the views that this afforded them. Spanning half the world it seemed impossible to most humans to even walk the walls in one lifetime but to an Astartes who were used to crossing such vast distances in the time it took the Imperial Army to even move half a day it was nothing. Below the newly formed Black Templars were constructing the mighty cathedral alongside the Word Bearers in dedication to the Emperor and Chaos Undivided. The Cathedral had been designed by Lorgar and fortified by Rogal Dorn.
It was indeed going to be a splendid place to worship the Emperor. Lorgar himself felt vindicated at his fathers’ words and that the sins of the Ultramarines against his Legion forgotten, well forgotten as much as Lorgar forgot any slight against his belief. For now, he was concentrating on becoming the spokesman of the gods and the channel between them and their father. He was concentrating on spreading the new religion throughout the crusade fleet and the Lectio Divinatius was even now as he stood looking at the world before him, finding its way into the fleets.
“The cleansing of the Salamanders and the World Eaters are complete” Lorgar told Ferrus “Did you need to take such measures?”
“I had no need to” Ferrus proudly stated, “The sons of Medusa are not afraid of change and would follow me wherever I lead them”
“There are those Ferrus who would say that your Legion will not follow the Emperor but more the ways of Mars” Lorgar carefully spoke.
It had long been suspected that the Iron Hands had more of an affinity towards Mars and their outlook that made them more like Astartes of Mars rather than the Emperors Astartes. Lorgar however saw this not as something to be suspicious about, but something to be embraced. He leant forward and surveyed the lands before him. It was hard to believe that once upon a time a mighty ocean and a vast mountain range that was called the roof of the world had surrounded the very land that this mighty palace was built on.
“We hold a similar belief to the Mechanicum that is all Aurelian” Ferrus smiled a little and Lorgar nodded in thanks as his brother concluded, “As long as I breathe brother we will follow the Emperor.”
“Then my brother I have need of you”
“Speak and it shall be done, but be warned I am not a diplomat, although I am astounded that Angron managed to bring Vulkan into the fold”
Lorgar chuckled a little “Yes that was a surprise but then Vulkan is a warrior of fire and Angron respects that, as far as Angron respects anything, but it is good that the Salamander joins us,” He stood straighter “no brother I ask that you travel to Mars and convince the Fabricator General that the new direction of the Omnissiah is the one for them all to take”
“That might take some time brother” Ferrus warned “We both know what he is like and that he will expect something in return.”
Lorgar rested a hand on his brothers’ shoulder and leaned in close “The affinity the Iron Hands have with the Mechanicum is what will sway them to the new crusade but if they do not then ……”
His voice trailed off and Ferrus knew what that meant. He would have to take whatever means were necessary to ensure that the Mechanicum followed in the new direction of the Crusade.
“Also, my brother of the Forge” Lorgars voice seemed to change in cadence, like honey over silk “If they will not bow down to the master of Medusa and the Master of Mankind then the Iron Hands will have a new world to claim as their own for only the Iron Hands can do what the Mechanicum does”
Ferrus gave a half smile and bowed his head “It will be done brother”
He spoke into his vox bead and waited. Gabriel appeared a few moments later carrying a large case and held it as Ferrus opened it and reached into it, withdrawing a mighty Crozius Arcanum. It writhed with energy, the same energy that had converted Vulkan to the new order now seemed to purr in the master forgers’ hands. The head was the symbol of Chaos Undivided; it was inevitable that at some point other legions would choose their own deities and it was already obvious that the World Eaters were heading in the direction of Khorne.
“For you brother, so that none can dispute the authority you wield as the voice of the Emperor.”
Lorgar was genuinely touched and hugged his brother. Lorgar had only ever believed the one brother he could count on in terms of confidence and closeness was Magnus and it had hurt him that the Crimson King had ignored their fathers’ summons. He had not expected this but as he held the gold handled Crozius he could feel the power of the warp course through the grip and into him. He who was named as the Voice of the Emperor was also the channel of the gods. He ran his hand over the metal and wanted to weep at the carvings in ancient Colchis that Ferrus had spent days intricately carving into the metal the name of the Crozius that he had called Faith Bringer.
“Faith Bringer” Lorgar repeated and tightened his grip on the handle “and she will be”