BLOOD OF

INNOCENTS
Charlie Brassley & Michael de Slincourt

Contents
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Introduction Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Appendix: The Warhammer 40,000 Galaxy Warhammer 40,000 terminology

3 4 12 21 26 40 58 66

Introduction
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This book is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and, as such, there is already a back-story of some forty-nine millennia. The history stretching between the building of the Great Pyramids in 9,000BC and the current state of affairs in 41,999AD is unsurprisingly (and frighteningly) vast and so for people who do not know Warhammer 40,000 (commonly reduced to 40K) we have provided a summary of all the 40K background you need in order to understand the contents of Blood of Innocents which of course means that youll know nothing of most of the truly vast background information in 40K which is, quite frankly, a shame, as its one of the few sci-fi settings I think is absolutely excellent. Whilst most science fiction is boringly derivative, 40K is both original and derivative but creatively derivative. It takes straight Tolkien fantasy, adds gothic and sci-fi horror, daemons, manga, almost anything you care to name, and then gives you the scope to do whatever you want with it, because the official background only has time to go into generalisations. Considering that the background is made up of upwards of twenty books, this may give you an impression of the trouble Michael and I have had in our attempts to downsize all this information into a digestible and readable format within ten pages To introduce Blood of Innocents itself, the book is set at the end of the 41st millennium on a world deep in the galactic east, with the vast majority of the story being related to the reader by either Dimitri, a human in the Turan Guard, or one of a group of Thaalax Eldar. If you didnt understand any of that sentence, or only the parts that were in normal English, I really do recommend that you read the appendixes at the end of the book! I must confess to having taken a few liberties with the 40K background, mostly with Eldar psychic powers, although I cant think of much else. Its mostly just stuff that will concern only the most puritanical 40K geek and, consequently, is not worth worrying about. Admittedly theres one more substantial liberty taken, that being a ninety-foot dragon Some of the background on which Blood of Innocents is based is also unofficial, and is explained in the appendixes. Charlie Brassley, sometime in 2003 Nobody says there isnt a planet with dragons Michael de Slincourt, some other time in 2003

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__________ I dont suppose Ive ever been a very good soldier. I fire when the sergeant tells me to, I run when instructed but Im never particularly brave. I rarely hit the thing I point my lasgun at, and even when I do it seems to make little difference. Were sent up against hordes of aliens with the sole purpose of spilling lots of our own blood so that we dont lose without a fight. Thats all were actually supposed to save the honour of the human race, not the race itself. Honour means very little when you watch your platoon get blown down by enemy fire like grass in the wind. I cant decide which is better dying screaming for your mother as your insides spill out into the light of day, or living with the guilt that comes with survival. Id fought on a few worlds mostly just against heretic cults and such like. Never anything as big as this planet, Evalarion. The LZ was amazing drop ships were scattered around the Peninsula airfield like huge black carcasses with men and vehicles buzzing around them like insects. Im with the XXI Motor Rifle regiment. For some reason were held up as an example of Turan military excellence presumably because we managed to be more pissed off with our general than anyone else so fighting became a way to vent the anger. I suppose General Von Paulus felt that, as a result of having about six feet of medals trailing along the ground behind him, he was naturally a superior being. As it happened, he was a normal human being with a superior ability to send men to very gallant deaths. When we got to Evalarion, the orks were holding all of the Northern territories, mostly on the Western continent, but some on the Eastern continent. The PDF had erected some defences all the way across the Eastern continent, and they were still holding at the time. Because the orks held the Northern industrial complexes and had destroyed most of the planets agricultural resources on the Western continent, food was scarce, especially in the east coast cities, where a few revolts had broken out. Sorry, perhaps I should explain a little more well, to cut a long story short, there was a big war going on in the neighbouring Shakren sector against both a Chaos fleet and several Imperial fleets. A lot of the Turan military had been shipped out to help, leaving most of our turf in the south of the Turan sector pretty poorly defended. It shouldnt come as a surprise to you that someone was going to seize an opportunity to invade to catch us whilst we were weak. As it happened that someone was a previously unimportant ork warlord, Gulkan I believe his name is. We were sent to the defences almost as soon as we made planet fall. I hadnt seen orks before pirates, sure, chaos cultists but not orks. They just covered the battlefield a huge, stinking horde. I stood on the fire step looking out across the shattered remnants of the city. I can remember the columns of smoke, drifting with the wind, and the roar of primitive vehicles. I also remember sergeant Gorn playing cards with Corporal Friedrich, and the way that the seven of spades in their pack had a little bloodstain on its upper left corner. Before the orks had even reached the defences their aircraft hurtled overhead, dropping their payloads in a haphazard manner. Most of the bombs flew wide, but I remember how 2nd Squad just fell apart when one hit home the most we could find of the sergeant to send home to the family was a burnt finger. The weeks after I was posted to the wall are little more than a blur now. I can remember screams, blood, noise but the day when the orks broke through that I do remember. After all, I was standing on the part of the wall that collapsed. I just managed to hold on to the edge until someone pulled me up I dont remember who and the orks swept through the gap howling madly, firing their guns indiscriminately into the air. The second firing line held at first, killing swathes of the creatures. We held the parts of the wall that remained upright, catching the orks in a crossfire as they charged past us into the second

line. In between assaults, we were given ammunition and an encouraging pat on the back, and then it would start all over again. Im still here, on the fire step Ive just had enough time to talk into a vox-corder for a little while. Its a deceptively pleasant day almost too hot in the sun with all these combat fatigues. We know that the ork force is only half an hour away. The Basilisks opened up a few minutes ago, sending shells screaming overhead. Theyll keep firing until the spotters get killed. I can see Von Paulus down there in his tank. Its the one thing to be said for him at least he comes to the front, to share the experience with us. Mind you, the experience is probably a little better when youve got inches-thick composite armour in between you and the enemy. Well, sergeant Gorn is yelling at me to get up and ready my lasgun. Perhaps he thinks Ill make a difference when they come again. * In the clear skies of Evalarion, a small rift in the material realm opened in mid-air. The human that emerged was in the wrong place. That is to say, not just the wrong planet, but also the wrong altitude. WhaaaaAAAAAAAAAASMACK. * A second rift opened, several thousand miles away. The rift was larger, bearing a much, much more substantial creature. The creature fell out of the rift only to find that, like the human that had fallen out seconds before it, it was at an unsafe altitude, only this creature was higher up. Almost a thousand feet higher up, in fact. Tumbling through the air, the creature seemed to unravel, its ninety-foot length revealing a bizarre lizard-like creature with four powerful limbs with taloned claws, a horned head with uneven, jagged rows of teeth protruding from its jaw, and a pair of vast, leathery wings. As the creature fell it quickly straightened out and spread its wings, and as the ground rushed up to meet it, it arched its long neck back and pulled up with a rush of wind that bent the branches of the pine trees it narrowly missed. Confused and disorientated, it climbed laboriously back into the air and, seeing the humans mind like an incandescent beacon in its minds eye, began flying towards it with powerful beats of its vast wings. * Magnifico clambered to his feet, spitting the dust from his mouth. Taking in his surroundings, he was standing amongst dry shrubs at the bottom of a dusty bank. The bank ran alongside a road that vanished into the distance across the low hills and plains in both directions. He couldnt feel the dragon. In fact, the dragon was gone. And where was he? He looked upwards. Sky. That wasnt right where was everyone? Where was everything? A nauseous feeling rose in his stomach as he began to realise that everything was lost. Blackness spread at the sides of his vision, and he staggered a few steps forwards before collapsing. * A red speed-freek trukk bore down the dusty Evalarion road at around 60 miles an hour. In the front, two speed freeks were arguing. Hey sur, whyve we gotta go elp Lugnut n iz boyz anyway? Coz da boss sez so, dats why! Ahh that dont seem like no good kinda reason to me. Ey- woss dat? Nazdak brought the trukk to a rattling halt, and stopped the engine. He and Lezda jumped from the machine and clumped over to the small figure lying curled up by the side of the road.

Looks like a snotling Lezda, its too small fer a Grot, Nazdak mused. Lezda picked it up by its ankle. Ere, boss, it looks like onevem umies. Nazdak clouted Lezdas head. Wot is you? Stoopid? Dis lickle fing? Umies is about fiversix ands igh! I bet yer eez just some escaped snotling wots et some funny mushrooms or sumfink. Shove im in da back. Magnifico was carried by his ankle to the back of the orks vehicle, and shoved in the back. The trukk roared off down the road. * Flabwheez, if yoo dont get this zoggin detekta workin soon Ill duff ya over so bad dat yer facell look even more like an arse dan it does already, Krumpjaw bellowed at the tiny grot assistant slaving desperately away in the more cramped parts of the rusting fightabomma as it hurtled through the busy space in low orbit over Evalarion. Without Krumpjaws primitive radar, he had no idea if he was about to hit something until he hit it, such was his speed. The radio started crackling loudly, and Krumpjaw smacked it hard with the back of his hand. In a series of half-audible and obviously concerned blurts of radio banter, Krumpjaw heard a series of alarming references to lotz of panzees and also to big killy gunz. Krumpjaw wasnt entirely sure what they were talking about as theyd made the panzees in the system run away after theyd landed their panzee troops. There was a muffled whine from somewhere behind Krumpjaws seat as Flabwheez managed to get the detekta working once more, and the display in front of him lit up with lots of small green dots. Sadly they werent ork green dots. A sleek Eldar fighter screamed past the fighta-bomma almost too fast for Krumpjaws eyes to follow. He then noticed that the entire lower half of the detekta screen, which represented da stuff wots beyind me had a solid green line moving across it. The line continued to grow across the screen until it nudged the location on the screen of the fighta-bomma. Krumpjaw squinted curiously as the twin hulls of a vast Eldar battleship appeared above and below him. A grin curled upon Krumpjaws cracked limps and he began to foam slightly at the mouth. As he turned round the entire launch bay of the vast battleship came into view, along with a lot of pulses of energy aimed at him. Not bothering with stupid and obviously poncey tactics like flying from side to side, Krumpjaw slammed his foot down on the throttle, smashed his fist down on a massive red button, and held on for dear life as the fighta-bomma reached a speed that gave Krumpjaw the impression that it was about to fall apart under the strain. This was the kind of speed that the speed freek had always dreamed of dying speed. He wouldnt go to Gork and Mork on foot. Hed go on a chariot of fire. Finally a shot hit the port engine and the craft began a wild cartwheel to the right before another shot hit the fuel tanks and Krumpjaw was incinerated with a vast grin plastered to his face. Not far from the fiery scene of Krumpjaws explosion, Farseer Kethrian sat on the bridge of the vast battleship, named the Anaris. The fleet of the Kaela Zhai had found the ork fleet unprepared and had managed to force it to withdraw whilst troops were landed. Somewhat depressingly, the ork fleet was vast and even with the ships at his disposal he would be unable to destroy them in a set-piece battle. Fortunately he was an undisputed master of that most useful of arts: hitting and running away like buggery. Kethrian looked out of the view screen at the blue-green globe, musing over the blood that had to be spilt for what, in the great galactic scheme of things, was not all that large. But then size was such a relative word, its meaning determined by its context; you could have a large sword, but of course large swords were always smaller than people and werent even noticeable when compared to a large asteroid. And, of course, large asteroids although vast from the perception of most mortals were truly inconsequential to your average gas giant. And then

there were super massive stars, nebula and of course the trunk of a fallen tree was a hill for your average ant. Being Eldar, Kethrian had the ability to grasp the concept of infinity. He knew that size drifted off in two different directions from him; on the one hand he was infinitesimally small, on the other he was inconceivably massive. His was a simple realisation; that size was totally unimportant, you simply did what you though was right on your own scale having accepted the fact that you were too small to affect the truly massive and too vast to concern yourself with the world of the miniscule. The edge of his lips twitched with a brief implication of a smile as he thought of how humans thought they were big in the great scheme of things. That was why they broke down when they realised how insignificant they were the realisation of total impotence could be crushing. And so that was why their creator, whatever he, she or it was, hadnt given humans an understanding of the infinite. Kethrian was famous for tangents, and he didnt even talk about half the tangents that infiltrated his mind. As usual, he wasnt in a very good mood, as his narrowed grey-blue eyes demonstrated quite clearly. Winning this war should have been easy; Farseer Athandrils warhost plus over three thousand mon-keigh tanks were quite capable of crushing the greenskins. But they hadnt done it quickly enough, and once orks gain momentum its impossible to eradicate them. Now over sixty regiments were being mobilised amongst the human forces, and the entire Kaela Zhai had come to this world to settle the conflict with a refreshing touch of lethal finality. He only had an hour before his transport would leave for the planets surface. He was still tired after the cataclysmic battle with the daemon hordes on the Exodite world of the Silver Moon, and still his enemies gave him no respite. He strode off the bridge looking purposeful and grim; without the need to induce confidence in the bridge crew, his air of purpose left him, and he ambled vacantly off down the white corridors that crisscrossed the battleship. The life of the ship and its crew flowed excitedly around him, without really affecting him, like water flowing around a pebble. He reached his own quarters and, as the door sensed his approach, it irised open. He stepped in and walked across the room to where his witchblade was hung on the wall. Holding it with reverence, he lifted it out of the braces on the wall and felt its weight. For a five-foot double-handed blade it was almost weightless as he picked it up, the weapon becoming an extension of his body. At his familiar touch it whined quietly as psychic power fused through it. He tried a few swings with the blade before fastening it behind his back, picking up his shuriken pistol, and walking out of the room in the direction of the Anaris launch bays. * We arent treading the path of the warrior, though, Elshi complained bitterly. Athanuir smiled. Youre right, but then it doesnt mean that were no good at it, Athanuir replied, gently touching Elshis shoulder encouragingly. I have no interest in being close enough to orks to smell them. Then cut them down with shuriken. Were pilots we should fly over them culling them from the safety that comes with speed, not sharing the ground with them and risking death. And they dont feel pain; theyre not like us. They dont notice. Ive seen the severed heads of orks laugh at their own death and shouting encouragement to their non-decapitated friends. Its sickening. We should not perform the task of Aspect Warriors. You know only too well that this isnt about what were best at, its about what were good at. And both of us can wield a shuriken catapult well enough. Elshi tried to look content but her dark brown eyes failed to conceal the fear she obviously felt at going down to the surface with nothing between her and hundreds of orks but a shuriken catapult. Athanuir ran slender fingers through her short black hair, trying to calm her nerves. His efforts were futile but she appreciated his attention anyway.

We make contact with the ground in one minute, The warlock, Ethilas, called from the entrance to the transports control room. The twenty guardians assembled in the airconditioned cabin nodded silently as they felt the call of Khaine grow stronger in their ears. Elshi knew that the second the ramp went down, the crude bullets of the orks would fly in. Farseer Kethrian had ordered a landing behind enemy lines to weaken part of the ork line and to relieve the defences, and Elshi somehow knew that she wouldnt see this days sunset. She could hear things hitting the bottom of the hull, probably small arms fire, and she felt her heartbeat quicken, like a jackhammer thumping loudly against her chest. She reluctantly pulled on the metallic helmet that made her armour sealed from the outside atmosphere, and connected her shuriken catapult to the forearm socket on her armoured suit. She felt the weapon become part of her body, and targeting runes flashed up in her vision as her tactical display activated, ready for any orks shed be confronted with when the ramp went down. Somehow she felt that she wouldnt find it difficult to see a suitable target. With a hiss the ramp on the transport lowered, and bullets began to ricochet around the pristine white interior. Elshi saw the three guardians nearest the front fall out of the entrance before the ramp was down, holes drilled into them by the crude bolts fired by the ork weapons. The rest of the Guardians ran out of the hatch and opened fire, mowing down the orks that were already close to the transport. Elshi ran down the ramp and almost immediately discovered that no one had formed a cohesive line; everything was a tangled mess of ork and Eldar units. As she and her squad grouped together in a circle they threw endless streams of shuriken into the onrushing orks. Despite around fifteen of their number being torn down in the hail of shuriken, the orks kept running through the storm, until they smashed into the squad of terrified guardians. The warlock, Ethilas, swung his witchblade in great glittering arcs, the blows of the orks bouncing harmlessly off the psychic shield provided by his rune armour. Even as he cut two orks down, Elshi could see a massive ork wearing heavy powered armour lumbering towards the warlock, the nobs armour sending choking black smoke coiling into the sky from the exhausts on his back. Six, seven orks were felled by Ethilas relentless attacks. Eight, nine. Then the massive ork reached him and, as Ethilas turned to face him, the nobs vast and gristle-flecked power claw closed around the warlock. Rune armour straining at the power of the claw, Ethilas repeatedly beat the nob with his witchblade. His efforts were in vain; the witchblade had little chance of getting through the orks armour. Despite the strength of his rune armour, Ethilas knew that he was lost. Summoning up his last strength, blue energy started to pulse from his eyes and the fingertips of his left hand. The coils of energy grew in size until they were like a blue, transparent serpent coiling around the warlocks arm. As the claw finally broke through the rune armour, Ethilas let the energy go, sending it roaring through the nob and a good thirty feet behind him, tearing through any orks in its path apart. As the dead nob fell to the ground, his armour's powered claw strained, before snapping closed for the last time, cutting the warlock in two with a horrifically audible crushing of bones. Had Elshi not heard the call of Khaine booming through her ears, she would have been sick. Despite the effectiveness of their weapons, the guardians were outnumbered badly. Only seven of them were left now, the others having been dragged down in the noise and confusion of the battle almost without being noticed. Elshi unloaded another clip of shuriken into the horde, and reached for another as the orks rushed forwards towards her. The five guardians left in her squad were now standing behind what was fast becoming a wall of ork corpses. The orks charged over their dead on their short, ungainly legs, roaring wildly and firing their weapons into the sky. Once again the four remaining guardians let fly, cutting down the front rank. The orks, undaunted, slammed into the Eldar. One brute knocked Elshi flying. She landed badly, the wind knocked out of her. Athanuir was grappling with one of the monstrosities desperately; he used his shuriken catapult as a club, beating the ork in the head, before unloading a clip into the creatures mouth, sending blood splattering out behind it. Another ork swung a cleaver clumsily at Athanuir, and he dived and rolled over a dead guardian, picking up the bodys shuriken catapult as he went. He got back to his feet, holding

a catapult in each hand, and blazed away wildly at the orks around him. Four of the creatures were bowled over before one of them hit him from behind, knocking him to his knees. Three orks raised their weapons, to deliver the final blows. Even as their rusting blades were held up to the cobalt blue sky, one of their heads exploded, and another found himself impaled on an ornate silver blade. As the third looked round in confusion, he was torn down in a hail of shuriken. Elshi recognised that figure immediately it was Farseer Kethrian, accompanied by his retinue of warlocks and the Dark Seer, Nael. She watched in amazement as the blades of the seers tore through the orks in a series of metallic flashes that became increasingly muted as the witchblades became soaked in ork blood. Having defeated the orks nearest to him, Kethrian drew an eldritch storm from the warp, sending busts of white-blue lighting rampaging through the orks, throwing many howling into the air. The Dark Seer and the other warlocks took the rune of destruction from their rune pouches, channelling great energy through their minds before unleashing a vast wall of energy that roared forwards, carving a broad passage out of the ork horde. Despite these incredible displays of psychic energy, more orks came onwards. Too late, Kethrian saw one of the orks holding a crude rocket launcher and pointing it at the Wave Serpent that had carried the seers to battle. Kethrian reached out for the mind of the Wave Serpents gunner and told him to shoot the ork, who was at too great a distance for Kethrian and those around him to kill. The twin-linked bright lances on the grav tanks turret swung swiftly round and aimed at the ork holding the rocket launcher. The ork saw this and let fly with his primitive projectile. The rocket shot forwards, leaving a trail of dark grey smoke behind it. There was a burst of energy as the missile punched straight through the transports energy field before tearing into the engine casing. The Wave Serpent lurched sideways from the impact, sending the shot fired by the Eldar gunner totally off course into the air. The transport, only a few feet above the ground, was punched into the rocky earth, cracking open its sleek black hull. It tore itself apart with a loud explosion that engulfed several orks and three unfortunate warlocks, a faint white shockwave spreading out from the tank for a brief second. Elshi had little time to watch the seers fight. Following Athanuirs example, she picked up one of the many shuriken catapults lying on the ground, and, with some difficulty, held the slender firearms tightly and unloaded a hail of shuriken into the orks, two spent ammunition clips falling from the catapults with cinematic coordination. She looked over to Athanuir, concerned by his lack of proximity to her. Athanuir, get back over here, she said into her helmet mike. She saw Athanuir nod before pumping shuriken into the nearest orks. He turned and ran towards her as she laid down covering fire, a mob of orks running after the lone guardian. We should get to the seers, well be cut off here, she said. You have a point. Come on, wed better move swiftly, he said, running in Kethrians direction. As they ran over the trail of green bodies left by the seers they noticed with horror that all of the warlocks had been killed, and that it was only Kethrian and Nael left alive. The silver blades of the seers swung in great glittering arcs, carving and cleaving with ruthless efficiency. Elshi and Athanuir ran up behind the seers, looked at each other briefly, back to the orks again, and let fly with their catapults. They cut a swathe through the remaining orks, culling them with ruthless determination and a rage created by the God of War himself. Blasts of psychic energy from the two Farseers cleared the remaining greenskins from cover, and finally the noise of battle died away. Elshi, feeling utterly drained of energy, fell backwards and looked up at the blue sky, criss-crossed by white and grey vapour trails as the air battle continued. The silhouette of a tall robed figure stood over her and held out a hand. She grasped it, and Kethrian pulled her up. Looking around, there was nothing but a trail of bodies, both Eldar and ork, and burnt out vehicles stretching down the desolate sand-covered valley. Evidently, Kethrians tactic had worked. The Eldar army, which had been for the most part mounted in Wave

Serpents, had led the orks away from the main line, into a network of valleys and gorges, where they would be slaughtered systematically from the air. Elshi looked angrily at the smoking shell of her transport. It should have taken her off this world, back to the safety of the ship. But she was stranded. Admittedly, she was stranded with Athanuir and two of the best warriors her race had to offer, but still she was stranded; denied her wings and forced to tread the parched earth at an inconceivably slow pace. * Sergeant Gorn was screaming at me, something about the perimeter and a breach, although of course there were only a few people left alive in our squad so instead I waited for him to get killed as well. Its a hell of a lot easier than following orders orders get you killed because theyre rarely made with the aim of keeping you alive. I pretended not to hear, continuing to fire into the greenskin horde below. My peripheral vision was telling me that Gorn was walking towards me, looking impatient. Hed almost got to me when the orks with the rockets strapped to their backs hurtled wildly over the wall. One of them barrelled straight into Gorn, knocking him off the wall into the swarm below. I turned and fired at the ork, emptying a full clip before he fell. Another was running straight for me brandishing some kind of rusted, gore-flecked cleaver. Hell, Im not as stupid as I look. I turned and ran for the tower that blue squad had deployed in. The door was closed and there was a lock on it to protect the occupants. I ran at it screaming and slammed my boot into it. Some protection the door was the rotten timber gave way easily and I dived thankfully into the safety of the tower and blue squad. Only there was no blue squad any more. As I picked myself up from the floor I saw that the walls and floors had nothing but burn marks and body parts smeared across them. My stomach heaved into my mouth as the smell hit me. I recognised what was left of some of the faces, but for the most part it was all a non-descript heap of mangled gore. A thump thump thump behind me reminded me that there was an ork close behind me. I turned, unclipping a frag grenade from my belt as I did so. I pulled the pin out and rolled it along the ground out of the doorway and closed the door. There was a sharp bang outside and a bestial scream as the ork bore the brunt of the detonation. I placed some broken timber over the doorway as a sort of barrier, more there for the reassuring look of the thing rather than any real protection from the creatures outside. Soon though, something began to thump against the beaten wooden door. I backed away from the door, my heart thumping wildly. I guess at that point I had no choice; I lay back against the wall and, trying not to vomit, picked up someones insides and placed them on my lap, and smeared blood across my stomach, noticing with a grimace the way in which the blood soaked slowly through my clothes and began to congeal on my skin. By the time the ork smashed through the door in a shower of splinters I was just another part of the mass of bodies and death in the tower. The creature grinned at seeing the dead humans before turning out of the door to find more to kill. I let myself breathe again, being careful not to do so through my nose so as to avoid the stench of the room. Six hours later, when the sound of fighting had died down, I plucked up the courage to peek around the shattered doorway of the tower. There was nothing but a plain of death before me, both ork and human. So, the orks had broken through, and my regiment had retreated back. I staggered out of the doorway into the sunlight, letting the warmth caress my face. I walked wearily along the fire step past bodies and blood until I reached the steps down to ground level. At the bottom of the steps it was almost impossible to walk anywhere from all the ork bodies, piled four or five deep in places. Once Id clambered, slipped, slid and jumped over the bodies onto the clear ground I just walked along the foot of the wall.

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Hey, Andryev, a voice croaked from a pile of bodies slumped against the wall. It certainly wasnt anyone in my old squad; they all called me by my first name. I was right; it was Collins from green squad. He didnt look hurt and it looked like hed pulled the same trick as me, looking at the bodies around him. He stumbled to his feet looking embarrassed at his condition, grinning sheepishly like a boy caught stealing something. So you didnt bother going with everyone else as well then? he asked. I didnt like Collins much; he had too many ideas above his station, like a young and cocky lieutenant who thought that officer fragging only happened in PDFs. Only Collins wasnt even an NCO. But he was probably okay somewhere underneath all the boasts. I smiled at him and shook his hand without too much effort, though never treat the only human for fifty miles like the shit that they are, just in case they come in handy. Its one of lifes little rules. So where were you in the attack? he asked. The wall. The wall? Emperors teeth! No-one survived being on the wall! So, I was the only survivor from my squad. There were a few people for whom I felt pity in my platoon, but so many of them were already nameless faces swiftly blurring with the hundreds Ive already seen die in my life. But then, Ive never related to anyone in the military much. Hey, could you two assholes cut the banter and get me out of this shit? an instantly recognisable voice yelled from behind some fuel drums. I swore under my breath; it was Korminov. Of all the people to survive, why him? Hang on, buddy, Collins shouted enthusiastically as he ran over to the fuel drums. Oh, please, who says buddy? I always think of it as being a pseudo-ironic word used to emulate comradeship, and apart from that level of falsity, its just cheesy. It had been only three minutes and already the assholes who Id tried to escape by placing the organs of a dead body on myself were clinging on to me like the drying blood on my clothes.

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2
__________ Nazdak and Lezdas trukk shot noisily through the gates of the ork encampment, and executed a messy hand-brake stop, sending up sprays of mud and coating a passing Grot in filth. The Orks clambered out and loped to the back of the trukk. They opened the back, and looked in. Magnifico was curled up in darkest corner, snivelling. Nazdak seized his arm in his massive hand, and hauled him out of the truck. Magnifico collapsed on the floor. When he made no attempt to get up, run, or resist, Nazdak bent over to examine him more closely. His breath was horrific. Oi. You. If yous an escaped Grot you iz in big trubble. Magnifico didnt respond, but remained curled up on the floor, mumbling. Nazdak drew himself up. I sed- YOU IS IN BIG TRUBBLE! Youll be lucky ta get away wiv a quick taste a boot levver! Still no reaction. Lezda peered at his boss. Boss? Why int ee scared? I dunno. Nazdak was baffled. Hed seen cowering, pleading, terrified silences, even attempts to flee, but hed never been utterly ignored. Are you SURE eez a Grot? Ee still looks like a umie to me. Nazdak scratched his thick, fleshy scalp and grunted, Look, well take im to Doc Slicer. Eel know. * Take what ammunition you can from the bodies of our fallen; I shall carry their waystones, Kethrian said with an undeniable edge of sadness running through his voice. Elshi nodded and walked uneasily over the swathe of dead bodies left after the battle in search of unused shuriken. She didnt quite feel as though she could talk, or even communicate with someone. She didnt feel as though she should be alive. Why her? There wasnt anything exceptional about her she was a mere pilot. But some of those who had died, they were important. Teachers, parents, doctors and of course each one of them was someones child. But she was alive, in a guilty way. She was also angry. These people had nothing to do with war, and yet they had to fight. What right did anyone, even a great seer like Kethrian have to force people to fight and kill and die? She felt Athanuir standing next to her. Athanuir said nothing; he was quite aware that his presence was all that was required. Elshi put an arm around his waist and leant against him. He handed her four clips of shuriken and reluctantly broke the silence, saying, Were going to get off these plains, out of the open, up in those hills and wait there to be picked up. Elshi nodded as she clipped the shuriken onto her waist cord, and the four Eldar began the walk towards the hills to the West.

*
Nargub Tellyscoppik limm tranzplant Slicer, or Dok Slicer for short, was having a very busy day, and didnt have the time to deal with confused and medically ignorant boyz. Do yoo av an appointment? Dok Slicer was an especially stocky ork, with the required lenses and lights strapped to his forehead, and a variety of vicious implements strapped to his upper arms. Nazdak and Lezda chucked Magnifico onto the floor, and stood behind him.

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Um, we found dis out by da road. Nazdak felt uneasy. Being an ork, any heated battle was his element, but hed never liked Painboy surgeries. Lezda finks its an umie. Ledza looked at his boots. The Dok came forwards, and peered down at the curled up human. Magnifico was mumbling quietly. The Painboy extended his gnarled finger, and poked him. Magnifico looked up suddenly, as if noticing the ork for the first time. His eyes met the Doks. His lips moved, saying a single, monosyllabic word in his human language. He flinched, and curled up again. Dok Slicer straightened up as far as was possible for his species. Well, its norra Grot. He cleared his throat. But if its a umie, its gorra be da runtiest little fink Ive eva seen. Wot do we do wiv it, Dok, I dont fink itll be much good as a rigger, n if its not escaped, well, den we cant punish it can we? Nazdak looked at Ledza. Can we? Erhm... I dunno wot it iz an I fink youd better take it to Gulkan, the hulking painboy rumbled. Nazdak and Lezda shifted from foot to foot. Yoo know how da boss likes umies dis ones obviously speshul, so ed be well miffed if e found out dat yoo two never showed im. Magnifico was picked up again, and hauled out of the tent. * Okay, so were free. So where the hell do we go? Korminov asked. How should I know? I aint been on Evalarion before, Collins said with typical eloquence. I pulled my mind back to the briefing we had in transit, trying to remember all the stuff wed been told about this planet. I remembered a map, a map showing where the wall was on the eastern continent, and all the big cities down in the south of the same continent. I use the word continent, and that might give you the impression that it was a long way, but the Eastern continent isnt all that big, and Evalarions mostly oceanic. I figured wed only have about two hundred miles to go before we hit an urban area. Why dont we head South? I asked. The two of them looked at me like I was insane. And how far can you walk in a day? Korminov asked incredulously. Well, look, I persisted, its very simple, we only have to get to the cities in the South, and theyll never find us. Who wont find us? Collins asked. You know, the military, I said, trying to be patient. Both of them looked at me blankly. Why should we be worried about the military? As far as theyre concerned, were dead, just three little identity phrases on a casualty report, Korminov pointed out. Perhaps the most irritating thing about him was that he was right most of the time. We should still head south, I persisted. Why? both of them chorused in tones which implied that heading south required too much effort, that staying here was somehow the easiest option. Because right now, we have no food, few supplies, were behind enemy lines (the enemy being a horde of voracious super-evolved fungus) without any support, and there is no longer anyone in this Galaxy who cares if we live or die because, according to the Empire, were already dead. Korminov and Collins looked at their feet and shuffled them slightly. They nodded reluctantly in agreement. Well, okay, look, we can at least get kitted up properly, Collins said, because these- he pointed at his lasgun -are fucking useless against orks. He had a point. We spent the next hour enjoying the somewhat unsavoury pastime of rifling through the piles of dead searching for weapons. I emerged at the end with an almost fully loaded grenade launcher, six spare frag grenades, and a load of power cells for my lasgun. Korminov

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managed to find a meltagun and Collins laid his hands on a flamethrower. They were all pretty heavy but it was a small price to pay for the feeling of greater safety. The sun caressed the horizon as the day began to die, and we began walking south looking for somewhere to sleep for the night that didnt smell of death and cordite. I remember that sunset so clearly the skyline was pure gold, fading slowly into a vibrant cobalt blue as the sky arced overhead. The vapour trails left by duelling aircraft left long golden knife wounds criss-crossing the sky, and behind us the sky was a beautiful bruised purple. Aside from the distant screaming of aircraft, it was serenely quiet and thankfully Collins and Korminov had exhausted their voice boxes for a while, letting me just appreciate the walk without having to swim in the cesspool of their mundanities. * Now dis is cunnin, Ali Bongo da Panzee Skwisha observed. Gulkan grinned a toothy grin in between sips of Hurl Grey Tee, being careful to raise his little finger as he brought the cup to his cracked green lips. Of course its cunnin, my good ork, its a hoomie taktik. An I is da great Primebark Gulkan, an I know all da best umie taktiks wot dere is under da sun. Even da poncey wunz, Ali said, perhaps a little bitterly. OI! Gulkan bellowed, making brown dust fall from the wooden ceiling of the kommand bunka, hoomans know dere stuff wiv taktiks. All dat us orks ever managed was a charge an a bit of shoutin. Nuffink wrong wiv dat, Ali Bongo said with a sniff and a hint of pride. Course dere is, Gulkan said, beginning to get impatient. Beecoz occasionally yoo get stuck up against a poncey enemy like da pointy heads, an dey jus manoover about like a little snot before givin yoo a right twattin were it urts an becoz orks dont have many bitz dat hurt, dey hit da grots wot look after da big killy guns, so dat da ladz end up runnin about gerrin shot at. Ali was suspicious of Gulkan sometimes. Undoubtedly a great leader, but his little catchphrases, like I say and old boy or my good ork were disconcerting. Why any selfrespecting ork would want to be human was a mystery to Ali Bongo, but then, as a lowly warboss, he had a lot of respect for Warlord Gulkan he had his own Waaaaaagh! and, as it happened, was very big something which any ork could respect. And he had to admit, Gulkans latest poncey tactic had worked the pointy heads always had air superiority and so, showing immense cunning, Gulkan had flattened most of their big airbases, leaving the speed freeks without any substantial opposition in the skies. * Crack! I wasnt sure where the sound had come from in this light, but it was too close. The other two hadnt heard it; they looked as foolishly relaxed as usual. It was probably just some stupid animal, orks dont exactly creep up on you, I thought. Of course intelligence dont deem it necessary to disclose information about ork clans to us, as it would contaminate our brains. Part of the problem, I think, is that even as a Turan Regiment, we still have to conform to some Imperial policy, mostly the parts about aliens. I was always amazed they tolerated us having such a close alliance with the Thaalax Eldar, but we still adhered to the usual stuff about all the other species. Apparently the knowledge would corrupt our souls or some shit like that. Whatever happened to the maxim know thy enemy is anyones guess. So there I was, lying there thinking that I was just being paranoid. Naturally, when the moonlight hit those two tiny red eyes, my heart leapt into my mouth. At that point I figured keeping quiet was fairly pointless. Korminov! Collins! Orks! I shouted. Collins was half asleep and just waved dismissively at me, but Korminov at least made the effort to sit up and say, Youre just having a nightmare, man, calm down.

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Emperors teeth! Pick up your fucking weapon! Korminov had enough time to stick up his middle finger before the orks burst through the perimeter of the clearing. He kicked Collins as he grabbed his meltagun and Collins flamethrower. He vaporised one ork lumbering towards him and then bathed the others in flames. I tilted the barrel of my grenade launcher skywards slightly and let a frag grenade shoot out in between two of the creatures. One of the creatures arms fell off and it just didnt notice. Loading a krak grenade I charged forwards, yelling at the top of my voice. I ducked as one of them sent a cleaver sweeping round for my chest, pushed the barrel of the grenade launcher into its gut, and squeezed the trigger. The ork doubled up, a look of surprise on its face. I rolled out of the way just before the things stomach exploded and the ork sagged to the ground, still shouting at me and flailing wildly with its dying limbs, a frenzied killer fighting to the last breath of air in its stinking lungs. I noticed that the creatures had daubed their skin in some kind of black substance that made them almost impossible to see, were it not for their tiny gleaming eyes. By now, Collins was wide-awake, swearing profusely as he fired off wild, uncontrolled volleys with his lasgun. Lasguns, of course, have little or no discernable effect on orks, but as Ive already pointed out our role in the infantry isnt based around killing the enemy but on stopping the enemy killing the people who matter. This was damn unfortunate for Collins who, despite emptying an entire power pack into an ork shambling towards him with his lasgun, couldnt stop the brute. I saw the rusted metal of the orks cleaver glint feebly in the moonlight as he raised it to the sky before I looked away. I didnt see it, but I heard, almost felt the cleaver smash through Collins skull. I paused, foolishly so, and as I looked up saw a great slab of rusted metal flying towards me. I pushed off into a roll, past the ork attacking me, stuffing a frag grenade into his thick leather belt before I started running. There was a howl behind me as the ork was torn apart at the waist. There was a brief spurt of gunfire and I heard Korminov scream, but in my terror I didnt care about him or anyone else, just the distance between me and the small band of orks that had surprised us. There was a louder, more animalistic scream, a scream that would come back to me in my more quiet or reflective moments, one that would grow to encapsulate all of the hatred I felt for my own cowardice. But then that night I didnt care. I just ran, faster than Id ever run, straight up the hill, into the trees, and away. I ran for almost three hours before collapsing in an exhausted heap underneath the enormous black shadow of a tree and fell asleep almost immediately on the moist, fermenting leaves. Id always thought that being alone would be the best sensation in the world, to be free of the infuriating trivialities of other people, but to my disappointment I wanted someone to share my loneliness with. There was no one, not for hundreds of miles, and suddenly fear is that much more potent when you cant share that either. Everything has its perks, however, and the perk of solitude is silence. * It was a serenely beautiful day, despite being colourless, and although humans tended to resent the tedium of greys, Elshi enjoyed their ethereal subtleties. She stared out at the heavy, cloud filled sky that seemed to defy gravity, and the shining crystals of rain falling loudly on the forest around her, composed largely of muted greens and browns. Walking was hard; it was soggy underfoot and the ground gave a hungry tug every time she tried to take another step forwards. She peered through the murk; Kethrian had muttered something about the stench of orks and although she had no idea what the creatures would be doing up here she had the distinct impression that he knew better. Occasionally she thought she could see an indistinct shape moving through the murk ahead, slowly and cautiously. She chided herself for such paranoia and kept walking, muttering to herself and trying to make herself certain

15

that it was merely the delirium of her hunger. But the imaginary shape was getting closer every time she looked up, just an outline much of the time, but sometimes she was sure she could see a tiny pair of eyes or the dull shimmer of a metallic surface glinting in the damp air. She looked down at her mud-covered boots and cursed. Shaking her head she looked up in time to see the tree only fifteen feet away unfold at the bottom to reveal an Eldar. The unfolded element of the tree changed colour again so that the Eldars outline seemed to disappear; quite where he became solid and where he became part of the forest around him was not clear. At first he didnt say anything and Elshi was so shocked that her imagination had spawned this outcast swathed in cameleoline that she too remained silent. Behind her, Kethrian strode up, his long purple robe muddy at the bottom and leaving a barely perceptible wake in the leaves behind him. I wondered when they would send someone, the Farseer said with little emotion in his voice. The sharp, emerald green eyes of the outcast stared back silently before he spoke. The Farseer, Athandril, sent me. We couldnt get any transports through due to ork supremacy in the skies. The orks control the skies? Kethrian asked, surprised. Through sheer numbers, aye, the outcast replied. He didnt frown, he didnt smile, he didnt look angry, and he didnt look tired. There was something deeply unnatural about him, Elshi decided, and she didnt need another aloof, introverted male to accompany her back to safety. Your name, outcast? Kethrian asked. Kaelesh, the outcast said in a low, flat monotone. Elshi wondered if she detected a hint of recognition on Kethrians face, but she wasnt sure. Uneasily, Kethrian turned to the others in the group. This is shes a pilot he said, waving his left arm impotently in Elshis direction. I am Elshi, she said impatiently. Yes, yes, Elshi, Kethrian said with almost convincing embarrassment. Hes also a pilot, Kethrian said, waving at Athanuir. Does he have a name? Kaelesh asked. Its Athanuir, Athanuir said with obvious irritation. You know who this is, Kethrian said, gesturing more enthusiastically at Nael. Kaelesh looked up and down the gaunt, black figure and said, Fourth among the Seer Council, the Dark Seer, am I correct? Of course, yes, of course, but hes more commonly known as Nael, Kethrian said quickly. Kaelesh nodded silently, as did Nael. Elshi wondered if Kethrian felt a little upstaged by Naels impressive title, especially as Kethrian had trained Nael in the first place. Apparently that was the closest theyd get to communication. They fell awkwardly silent. The continuous pat pat pat of raindrops on leaves was the only sound in the soaked forest for a few long seconds. Youre on your own, Kethrian observed. Kaelesh nodded. Kethrian despised conversations in which he had to do all the work. Why are you on your own? Kethrian asked with a hint of satisfaction at the fact that it would force a more expansive answer. Kaelesh shrugged. On seeing Kethrians exasperation he expanded on his irritatingly unhelpful response. Im faster alone, Im older than most outcasts, one Eldar makes less noise than two or three, and I prefer not to rely on others. This Eldar wasnt just an outcast from the Path, he was a social outcast, Elshi decided, and the rune of the Exodite hanging from an earring on his left ear and from a cord on his belt went some way towards explaining both his lack of words and his facial features, which seemed more weathered than the smooth, pale and delicate skin of Craftworld Eldar. Amazingly, Kaelesh continued without further prompting. The advance of the greenskins has been contained, and our forces now hold the south bank of the Ardula River. The orks numbers grow thin in places; Ive been told to take you all to the Talakaian Pass, where our forces hope to have pushed through the greenskins line by the time we get there. If we make good progress we should make it in around two weeks.

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Two weeks, thought Elshi with horror. She was already tired, wet and hungry, and the thought of living off grubs, foliage and small animals for half a month didnt make her mouth water. The others nodded at Kaeleshs words in that typically male way which said only two weeks? Is that all? I thought we were going to be in real trouble I see little point in staying put, Kaelesh said, and turned to walk back the way he had come, his outline turning into a jumble of greens and browns as he moved. Elshi trudged after him, resuming her struggle with the mud. Theyd walked along the ridge for some time; shed slipped up several times on the sodden, decomposing leaves, cursing to herself. The others didnt find it easy, and Kethrian seemed to get angrier with every fresh mud stain on his delicate blue and purple silken robes. Kaelesh, however, simply strode through it without noticing. Elshi was tired, her path becoming increasingly erratic, her head swinging more emphatically with every step. She looked down at the leaf-strewn slope to her right, falling away from her at a good 45-degree angle. Losing concentration, she slipped. Athanuir looked up to see Elshi simply slide, and then tumble, down the steep slope with a shriek. Kaelesh looked annoyed but said nothing. Kethrian muttered something under his breath. Nael simply stopped walking forwards and stood still, patiently. Athanuir, angered by their lack of sympathy, started clambering down the slope after his friend. Eventually she managed to slide consistently on her back rather than tumbling uncontrollably, until she reached a break in the slope and hit something soft, covered in soaked fabric. It began to move underneath her. * Whatever it was hit me with great force; I woke instantly and found that whatever had hit me was actually on top of me, meaning that I was rather effectively pinned. It scrambled off me so that I could jump upright and look at he, she or it. It was an Eldar woman, clad in a black undersuit with silver armoured plates over the usual locations legs, chest, shoulders, and forearms as well as a pointed helm hung from her waste. The armour looked airtight, with what I assume was an air filter and a small power supply fitted to the back. The Eldar womans dark eyes stared up at me from a mud-covered face with an endearingly pitiful look in them. Despite the close alliance between my people and the Thaalax Id never actually really come into contact with Eldar before, and I wasnt entirely sure how to react to this particularly bizarre introduction. Instinctively I reached out to help her up but, seeming repulsed by me, she got up of her own accord, shakily. I could see a long streak of smoothed mud on the slope above us, serving as a record of her descent. She was completely covered in mud and torn foliage, almost comically so. Halfway up the slope I could see what looked like an Eldar firearm, half buried in leaves, and another cleaner Eldar scrambling down the hill towards us, his black and silver armour glinting subtly every time the feeble light of the sky hit it. She seemed too shocked to say anything, and began wiping the mud from her face miserably. Elshi! the Eldar scrambling down the slope called out. I had no idea what Elshi meant and kept quiet. Elshi! Saracathir morra sum! she called back, almost laughing with what looked like embarrassment. Eyne grech tharann jain, the second Eldar said as he jumped the last few feet and landed next to her. He then looked at me suspiciously. You are of the Turan? he asked with perfect enunciation (but dubious grammar). I yes, Im- I began. Why are you here, on your own? he asked, interrupting me.

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I was left behind when the orks broke through at the wall and Ive been out here since, I said quickly as my wits returned to me from the depths of my slumber. Perhaps you would like to continue heading south. Thank you for breaking the fall of Elshi. Good fortune, he said, and turned to climb back up the slope. Harn! the woman, apparently named Elshi, said to him. Thorrei mon-keigh fentoc? she asked in a weightless, tolerant voice. It was infuriating not knowing what they were saying to each other. They had a conversation it was almost like an argument until eventually Elshi turned to me and asked, perhaps you would wish to walk with us? I smiled gratefully and nodded. I dont know if youve ever tried walking up a muddy slope in soaked combat fatigues after a pair of effortlessly agile Eldar, but the experience re-defined my perception of one step forwards, two steps back. I sensed that their patience was a little frayed by my clumsiness. I had some ridiculously heavy clothes that chafed and rubbed against my skin so that moving made it raw. Eventually we reached the top of the ridge, where there were three Eldar waiting for us. They were clothed quite differently from the other two. One of them looked like some kind of scout, with numerous items of equipment hanging from his belt, as well as various weapons that included a long, ornate sniper rifle slung behind his back. He wore long, flowing robes over the armour on his chest, and a long coat that eerily changed colours to match its surroundings. Whilst the way he dressed was elegant, it seemed to be concentrating more on comfort and practicality than ostentation. Another wore long blue and purple silken robes covered in mud at the bottom, a huge double-handed sword slung over his back. He had runes carved out of a metallic material hung over much of his clothing and almost immediately I somehow knew that he was a psyker, like the third Eldar. The third, though he was tall, even by the standards of his willowy kin. He was dark, so dark that it was an optical riddle his long robe flowed around him like liquid blackness, his hair hung down in fine, black silken strands over his pale skin, and his eyes were dominated by the two bottomless perditions in their centre, black irises on black pupils. The thing about him that scared me most was the enormous double-handed silver blade he had slung behind his back. I had no idea why two powerful Eldar psykers would be walking around this far behind the lines with only a scout and a couple of troops to protect them and so of course the only theory I was left with was that thered been some sort of mistake. * What are we to do with that? Kaelesh asked Elshi with disdain, looking at the weary mon-keigh. He was cut off from his comrades; we can escort him down south, Elshi said defensively. Kaelesh looked unconvinced. Were progressing slowly as it is, this degenerate will not only hold us back but will make more noise in the process. We cant possibly leave him here; what else can we do? Mon-keigh cant cope with traumatic experiences the kindest thing we can do is to give it peace. A look of outrage fell across Elshis face. * The Eldar in the long coat was quite obviously angered by my very existence. He was arguing with Elshi, and his voice betrayed his increasing anger as he spoke. Watching the gestures he made towards me, I tried to ignore what my fertile imagination was telling me. My imagination, however, was proved terrifyingly correct when the Eldar in the long coat drew a pistol from one of two holsters and pointed it at me. I was too scared to move and tired of

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running. You can imagine how shocked I was when Elshi stood front of me and shouted something at the Eldar. * Athanuir was quick to join Elshi; even though he wasnt sure if he agreed with her stupidly liberal outlook he still wasnt quite sure just how psychopathic this Kaelesh was and whether he was prone to arbitrary (or time saving) acts of violence. Kethrian didnt exactly jump on the proverbial bandwagon but said coldly, Kaelesh, are you aware that our people are in fact allied to these mon-keigh which you hold so low in your estimation? Your people, Seer, not our people. I am an outcast, and before that an Exodite. It doesnt matter which insignia is on the uniforms of these these humans. Theyre all the same anyway, ignorant and fickle these Turan humans would subjugate Exodites just as readily as the foolish servants of the Imperium. Elshi looked incredibly angry. How can you claim superiority over these humans when you yourself are prone to the same prejudices? she demanded. Its not prejudice; its the truth, Kaelesh observed. This human serves no purpose to us, Nael said in a crisply defined whisper that could have been audible a mile away, such was the effectiveness with which it slid purposefully through the air. The shock of actual words passing through his mouth was enough to make everyone else fall silent. Upon acknowledging everyones undivided attention, he continued. We are allied to the Turan because they are able to bolster our strength until such time as we can stand alone. They are our pawns, just like any other race we choose to utilise. This human, however this human is far away from those who would know of the nature of his death. This human has nothing to offer us. Most importantly, this human will hinder our progress. This human must die. Kaelesh smiled victoriously; the other three Eldar were simply dumbstruck by the coldness of Naels words. The rain continued to batter the soil relentlessly, as if it were trying to push the earth through the planets crust. Elshi and Athanuir didnt move. The human stood there, ignorant of the content of the argument. We are not killing this human, Kethrian said with what he intended to be an air of finality. Naels features darkened as if the clouds directly above him prevented any sunlight penetrating the air. This is a worthless, crippled mon-keigh that serves no purpose to us or anyone else. He is, in fact, so utterly without merit that his own people seem to have left him here to his own impotent devices. We are simply acting kindly towards him by ending his short, pitiful life, Nael said in his cutting whisper. It was the closest his voice could get to a shout. Kethrians face became a mask of anger, his eyes narrowing in outrage. I am first among the seer council and the master of our people, Kethrian shouted, and the reason for that is that I am able to understand the far-reaching implications of many, many things. You, Nael, are a short-sighted warrior, given the mantle of Farseer purely as an indication of your fixation with the path of the witch in its most violent, aggressive form. With that, Kethrian flung his fist out in the direction of Nael, standing only eight feet away, with such psychic force that Nael was thrown back fifteen feet until he hit a tree with a loud thump. Do I make myself clear? Kethrian asked Nael as the Dark Seer picked himself up from the ground, flicking sodden leaves off his sleeve with obvious anger. Once again, master, you back up your reasoning with the infallible argument made by gentle suggestion. We shall take the degenerate with us, Nael said. Kaelesh was obviously angered but, having observed Naels attempt at arguing with Kethrian, decided against taking the debate any further. Kethrian turned to the human and said in what he felt was a suitably approachable voice, Will you tell us your name, human?

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* Finally, some words I could understand. Of course by now I was petrified; Id watched an argument in an incomprehensible language for several minutes being able to understand only the tone of the thing by the gesticulations of the Eldar. It was impossible to work out what on earth the Eldar wearing black had said to justify being thrown against the tree, and I wasnt entirely sure that I wanted to know. Uh I began with my usual articulate speech, its Dimitri Andryev or just Dimitri, if thats easier. I do you have names? I said, inwardly cursing at such a facile remark. Oh, yeah, heres a good way to convince them that you arent the degenerate they think you are ask retarded questions. I have this way of exuding pure bloody genius at all the right times, you see. The Eldar in the long coat and the Eldar in black laughed cruelly in a way that made me feel pathetically small. The others just looked embarrassed as if Id disproved their point which, all things considered, I probably had. I am Kethrian, first among the Thaalax Seer Council, the Eldar in blue and purple robes said with an air of self-imposed grandeur. This was Kethrian. The Kethrian. What was he doing here?! It didnt really make sense and yet I had no reason to disbelieve him. This is Kethrian said, frowning. Elshi? I offered. Indeed, Elshi, he said. Elshi looked angered. This is Athanuir; theyre both pilots. This is Kaelesh, he said, pointing at the one in the coat, and this is Nael, he finished. Then I heard his voice again, but this time it came from inside my ears. Dont attempt to speak with Nael or Kaelesh. They will tolerate your presence, no more. Dont hold us up. Stay close to myself, Elshi or Athanuir at all times and dont find yourself alone with them. I smiled weakly and nodded. They all turned to walk off along the ridge. As she turned, Elshi smiled at me and made a gesture which, I supposed, was intended to tell me to walk with her. Needing little encouragement I walked up to her and we walked off after the others into the mud and the trees and the rain.

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3
__________ Why were you on your own? she asked me. I smiled at her whilst trying to think of how much liberty to take with the truth to make my story a little more impressive. I looked vacantly around for inspiration. The moonlight on the trees slid off the wet leaves like muted quicksilver, and the wind breathed steadily through the black, skeletal branches. Involuntarily, my gaze drifted back towards Elshis face, half of it glazed with a rich orange light created by the flames writhing around the burning wood of the campfire. Even in the light of the fire, her irises were such a dark brown as to appear black. Despite their initially intimidating coloration, they had this inexplicably inviting quality to them, making me want to tell her everything about me. They were trusting eyes the sort of eyes that told you she was listening. And I would have been ready to tell her everything if it werent for the presence of Athanuir and Kethrian. I had no idea where the other two, Nael and Kaelesh, were. Kaelesh had muttered something to Nael and theyd made their excuses before leaving and being enveloped by the darkness. I thought it strange that these Eldar just wandered off as they felt like it, and the Emperor only knows where they went and for what. The night just swallowed them whole, leaving me with the other three. You know, I just the thing with the uhm I began, before stopping and trying to think of a more vague way to begin. Elshi tilted her head to one side questioningly. I was posted to the main defence line, and I was on the part of the wall the orks broke through. We held for as long as possible; only three of us survived. The other two died about a week ago and Ive been trying to avoid orks since then, with some success. How does it feel, to lose so many friends? she asked me. I smiled briefly. Ive no idea; I didnt really have many friends in the military. Most of them were volunteers. I guess we didnt see eye-to-eye. You did not volunteer? I shook my head. Kethrian and Athanuir were obviously disinterested by our conversation; Kethrian whispered something to Athanuir and the two of them began to talk on their own. I turned back to Elshi, who was staring into the erratic flames. Humans force people to walk the path of the warrior? she asked me, still staring into the fire. Not most people. I was in I said, and stopped. Did I want to tell her? It was embarrassing, really. I imagined that Eldar, in their apparent perfection, had no need for correctional facilities, or indeed correction of any sort. Certainly there was very little about Elshi that obviously needed correction. But then, I could never touch her perfection. I would always have that unique disadvantage of being me. So, what was the use of trying to conceal it? Deceit would simply be another imperfection on an already lengthy list. I was in a correctional facility for juveniles before I was drafted into the infantry. At this she turned to me, a small vertical line forming between her eyebrows as she assumed a puzzled look. Correctional facility? What is that, exactly? she asked. I didnt know whether the firelight playing on my face betrayed my unease. Its a place where where children who do not fit in are sent in order to integrate them into society. They uhm the ones they consider to be beyond help are placed in the military. Elshis confused look did not leave her. Why did you not fit in? she asked. I suppose I never have it seemed to me that the greater mass of humanity worked in one pack, reaching decisions purely on the basis of selfish ideals or prejudice. I was unpopular in school because I thought about things too much and asked unconstructive questions. Mum was wearily supportive of me; she told me that it was good to analyse things but that that I shouldnt always voice my conclusions. But Id get too angry; Id criticise things anyway because it had to be said. But people only listen to you if they see other people listening to you, and so for the most part people ignored me or chided me because we humans find refusal to jump through the prescribed hoops threatening to the pack structure.

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Uniqueness is attacked. In my case, it was attacked physically. That morning with what was his name? Drimmark I think. He was huge, physically, and not a desperately popular person himself. He was the sort of person that everyone got on with without being the sort of person that had any real friends. And I can tell you, he had an intrusive presence that made rooms feel uncomfortably small. I was unpopular; beating me up was a way of getting the approving attention of everyone else at school, especially as we were only 12 or so. He pushed me about a bit in the schoolyard, and once a big enough crowd had gathered he started throwing real punches. I tried ineffectually to fight back, but as he hit me harder and harder the cheers grew louder and louder, leading him on. Eventually I managed to trip him up and then I I picked up one of the large rocks laid around the edge of the flower beds and hurled it at him as hard as I could. He tried to roll to avoid it, so it hit him in the small of the back as he rolled over, and there was a loud crack. Id paralysed him. Everyone went silent and just stared. When one of the staff arrived, it was the masses that informed her that it had been I who caused the fight and, of course, no one was very enthusiastic about the truth. So, despite mothers protests, I was sent to a correctional facility. The kids there were pretty violent; theyd had difficult upbringings and had no particular desire to contribute to anything other than their whims. I spent the rest of my youth being moved between facilities until a recruiting officer came to the facility looking for potential cannon fodder. I was ideal; I was just another non-entity living off the government. Id be worth something if I got shot at, and if I died then Id just stop being an expense. I breathed in and tried to work out what Elshis response would be. * She found herself curiously impressed by the way in which he was so embarrassed by himself. All the humans shed met were arrogant, proud, and entirely unaware of it. He seemed conscious of his own limitations, a rare quality, more so in her own kin. She found this human intriguing. Certainly he was primitive; his words were unrefined although that may have been the limitations of his crude dialect betraying him. The only thing she found hard to decide was whether he was embarrassed by himself, his race, or both, or perhaps he was simply bitter that he hadnt managed to find a place in the pack. * The shadows began to shorten as the sun rose above the horizon, throwing a warm light over us as we made our way up a hill strewn with rocks and knee-length grass. Human! Kethrian called, striding up behind me. Youre right, Farseer, I am, but its nice to try and forget occasionally... Id rather you used my name. Kethrian looked genuinely surprised at such a response. A thousand apologies, Dimitri, Kethrian said with a hint of a bow. He was probably being ironic. What did you want, anyway? I asked, perhaps a little irritably. Id only woken up an hour ago and he expected a conversation Elshi said that you werent like the other humans shed heard of I am merely satisfying my curiosity. Im sure that my heart missed a beat. How so? I asked, feigning indifference. She said that you were the first human shed heard of who was not proud of his heritage. What is there to be proud of? A fair point, Dimitri. She might well be right about you. I smiled, and we walked on together for a while before I fell behind again. I realised that I was already beginning to feel tired and wed hardly started the days journey. With every passing step I became more and more aware of how clumsy I was. It was disturbing how the Eldar moved so swiftly across the ground with such effortless grace. Nael

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gave the impression that he was actually drifting across the earth; his black robe somehow concealed the movements of his legs so that he may well have been some detached spirit or spectre. He hadnt uttered so much as a good morning to me; neither had Kaelesh. I was lucky to get irritated glances from them when the Eldar had to stop and wait for me to catch up with them. I was sweating profusely, my breath rammed up and down my windpipe like a piston, and my combat fatigues seemed to do their best to pull me down to the ground with their weight. I never quite caught my breath and began to feel as though I simply drew in all of the hot, sticky air Id just breathed out. After a bit I tried singing songs in my head to the rhythm of my steps, and when I became too tired even to do that I simply fell into a mechanical repetition, my eyes glazed over, leaving my subconscious at the helm. We walked all day, eating what food we had as we walked, with only ten minutes rest. The Eldar seemed a little tired, Elshi and Athanuir more than the others, but theyd barely worked up a sweat. The reason I looked like Id just run a marathon was because I had, and Id done it heaving a grenade launcher and a lasgun around, along with all the ammunition. Finally, as the angry red sun fell below the jagged, black horizon, Kaelesh found a place to sleep for the night. I didnt even wait for them to lay the fire or even to take my equipment off I just fell over and was asleep instantaneously. * The inner light of the embers was erratic; I could see the dying warmth pulsing through them in twisting bands of orange as the smell of the burnt wood filtered into my nostrils. Id been staring at the fire for Emperor knows how long, thinking back over the last few weeks. I almost laughed at how ridiculously lucky Id been. Somewhere behind me there was a quiet whisper. Dimitri, it said. I rolled lazily over to see Athanuir crouching a few feet away, with a tense grip on his slender firearm. What is it? I burbled in a tired daze. Quiet! Come here. Pick up your weapons, he whispered urgently. I groaned, swore, put my head under the lasguns strap and grabbed my grenade launcher. I crawled over to where Athanuir was crouching. What is it? I whispered back, worried by the look of fear in his eyes. Orks, he said as silver slid over his fine black hair in the moonlight. I cursed again. Orks. Nighttime. They werent supposed to be quiet. They were loud and noisy. That was their one redeeming feature that they gave you ample warning of their approach. But after that night when they killed Korminov and Collins, Ive been paranoid. Kethrian had explained it all to me; apparently theres different ork clans, and one of those clans, the Bloodaxes or something similarly subtle try to emulate human tactics, meaning that when the mood takes them they daub themselves in camo paint and sneak about behind enemy lines looking for a fight. Where are the others? I asked Athanuir. I dont know, they told me to stay here with you. Oh, wonderful. There was the high-pitched, pulsing scream of Eldar weapons being fired and several bestial howls somewhere down the hill. I couldnt see a thing; the moon was a full one but it was partially obscured by cloud and anyway the trees were far too dense. There was a heavy chattering from a cruder firearm as the orks fired back. Athanuir lightly touched a rune on the back of his firearm and a dull pulse of blue energy ran down a spine on the top of the barrel as if he was turning it on. What is that thing? I asked him, looking at its curving silver barrel and ornately engraved golden casing. Useful, he said, with a smile. There was a bright blue flash from somewhere down the slope and, seconds later, a dull roar as the sound reached us. There were more howls and a few bursts of ork weapons

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fire, the sound bouncing off the hillside and echoing down the valley. My heart rate was going up, faster and faster. I had no idea where the orks were, or what had happened to the others there was a thud behind me and I span on my heels, bringing my grenade launcher to bear. Nothing. A phantom, Athanuir said with a smile. Calm down. I laughed quietly. Calm? Calm?! I can see that you arent calm. Youve been scratching your neck nervously for the last five minutes. Athanuir smiled self-consciously and took his hand away from his neck. Some of the bestial shouts sounded as though they were getting nearer. I wondered if the others were driving some orks towards us. It wouldve been a good plan if wed been Ultramarines. One shit scared guardsman and one Eldar, however, does not constitute a firebase. There was a burst of fire really close. I saw the flash from the barrel. Emperors teeth, it was only fifty feet away! I readied my grenade launcher. We had about twenty feets clear vision before the trees obscured everything. My eyes had long been adjusted to the purples, blues and silvers of the night and the clouds were beginning to retreat from the moon. The first ork ran straight out towards us, looking behind him and firing off shots wildly downhill. Athanuirs weapon sent a shimmering silver stream through the moonlight, turning ork flesh into a welter of blood on contact. Then three came at once; I landed a frag grenade in the middle of them. One fell from the blast and the flash temporarily blinded me to the subtleties of the night. Athanuir downed the remaining two with impressive accuracy. Another came; I shot it. Then five came at once. Athanuir shot the legs off one and slew another. I managed to drop a frag grenade right on the head of the biggest one but the other two stopped firing downhill and ran at us, waving their rusting cleavers in the air and howling with rage. Athanuir and I rolled in different directions as they ran into us. They turned and ran at us again. As the one running for me jumped downhill at me there was a brief hissing sound in the air before then the ork landed on me, knocking me to the floor. It was dead. * Athanuir ducked as the ork took another swing, embedding its cleaver in the tree he had been standing in front of. As Athanuir emptied a hail of shuriken into its gut, another six orks ran up the slope. Athanuir looked over at Dimitri. All he could see was an ork with what looked like a longrifle dart embedded in its back with Dimitris legs coming out from underneath the orks torso, struggling desperately, but more orks emerged before Athanuir could help him. He shot one ork but the others were already around him. He used his shuriken catapult to parry the blows of the rusting cleavers as they flashed in the silver light but with every blow his arms would be flung wide by the sheer strength of the orks. He brought his silver barrel up to parry another blow and, rather than blocking the attack it simply altered the orks grip on his blade so that Athanuir was hit square in the chest by the flat of the enormous slab of metal, knocking him to the ground. On hitting the ground he saw a shape run along the branch above the orks. It stopped directly above them and drew two pistols, sending shuriken tearing into the orks. The shape felled two of the orks before putting the pistols away. As it leapt off the branch, a good fifteen feet up, it drew two silver powerblades in mid-air and landed in the middle of the orks. Athanuir felt his heart miss a beat as hope shot through his nervous system when he realised it was Kaelesh. The pathfinder kicked one ork in the chest as he decapitated a second with one of the blades. Kaelesh parried a blow from one of the orks with a loud crack of white energy before swinging the silver length of the second blade towards its arm. The fine silver edge drew across the leathery green skin and effortlessly sliced through it. Tightening his grip on the golden hilt, Kaelesh followed through the blow as the elegant blade tore through wire-like

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tendons and arteries. Red blood drenched the moonlit ground as the orks arm slowly fell onto the earth. Kaelesh span round and, with the force of his momentum, used the blades to carve two huge gashes across the armless orks chest. With an enraged howl the beast fell to the ground, crimson blood pumping from its torso. The two silver swords moving with baffling speed, Kaelesh simultaneously parried blows from the two remaining orks before ducking down beneath their attacks. Spinning on his left foot he kicked out with his right, tripping up one of the orks and, as he completed the spin, sliced a powerblade across the others belly. Howling in pain, the ork tumbled down the hill, leaving a trail of organs behind it. The last ork tried desperately to get up as Kaelesh ran at him. Clumsily, it raised its cleaver and parried Kaeleshs left hand blade before the other blade smashed into the orks jaw, cutting its head clean in two. Laughing quietly to himself, Kaelesh flicked one of the blades around and put it in a clip on his back over his trench coat before holding out a hand to help Athanuir up. Athanuir rose in one fluid motion before moving over to the still struggling Dimitri and, with an almighty heave, pushed the hulking body of the dead ork off the unfortunate human who gulped up the night air in relief. There was only just enough time for Dimitri to stand up before another crowd of at least fifteen orks burst through into the clearing. Kaelesh drew one of his pistols, downed an ork after emptying the entire clip, holstered the pistol, and drew the second powerblade again. Athanuir and Dimitri simply fired wildly into the creatures, too exhausted to actually aim for anything specific. As the orks were about to slam into them, a kind of anti-light engulfed many of them from behind. It was hard for Dimitri to see but he was sure the anti-light was made of black fire, or perhaps a hundred blades made purely from impenetrably dark shadows. Whatever it was, it left nothing alive. The flayed skeletons of fifteen orks collapsed, crumbling, to the ground. Dimitri was reassured to see that the look of amazement on Athanuirs face rivalled the look of scared confusion on his own. As the shadows dissipated, Nael emerged from them, only noticeable because the silver moonlight glinted off his witchblade and psychic hood, forged out of ornately engraved silver and gold. A few brief heartbeats later, Kethrian and Elshi ran up behind him. Run, said Kethrian. It was a voice that didnt invite discussion. Oh, shit, Dimitri said, starting off what would probably be a long run up the hill. As the group ran uphill out of the clearing they could hear the guttural chants of the orks as they charged through the dense forest in pursuit.

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4
__________ Nazdak and Lezda waited outside Warlord Primebark Gulkans shack, staring uncaringly at the moonlit landscape. After a few minutes, a scurrying Grot came to the door, and let them in. Inside, Gulkan sat on an inelegant throne, flanked by his Skarboy Nobs. A few ink-stained Grots sat at low desks to the sides, and at the Warlords right hand stood the Waaaaaghs chief Mekboy. Nazdak stood awkwardly with one arm behind his back, and waited for the Boss to speak first. Rite- wot are yoo two opeless runts doin back ere? If yoov crashed inter the squig pens again, Ill av yer skinned. Took days to get em all back last time. Er, no Boss, Nazdak replied, Er, we found dis lickle fink by da northern road, and we dont no what it is. He took his arm from behind his back, to reveal Magnifico. We fink its a umie, but it dont seem very clever. An its runtier dan any umie Ive ever seen. Gulkan looked, then got up out of his chair, and towered over the tiny figure. Woteva we do, ee acts as if were not ere. Nazdak would have blushed. Nuffink we can do makes im pay any attention. Reaching for Magnificos ankle, Gulkan effortlessly lifted Magnifico into the air, and held him upside down. Blood rushed to Magnificos head. His head started to feel heavy. After a short whiles increasing discomfort, he feebly tried to free himself from the immense fist which was holding him upside-down by the ankle. The added blood pressure in his head meant he could feel his pulse in his temples and throat. Ere, you. the Warboss said, wot iz you? Magnifico spluttered and writhed. The muscles around his ribs were aching. The ork poked him, and repeated the question. Magnifico continued to struggle, his vision starting to dull. Mmh... put me down!! The ork released Magnificos ankle, and the extremely detailed ground suddenly accelerated towards him. He staggered to his feet, angry and redfaced. He looked up at the ork. Hark at iz posh accent! Gulkan bellowed, laughing loudly. Having decided that it was humour, the other orks present laughed as loudly as they could, each trying to out-do the other. It sounded a little forced to Magnifico. I sed, wot iz you? My Hurl Greys gerrin cold. Magnifico scowled upwards. Im a socialist, he muttered. The ork turned his head. Iz dat why yoov got such a posh accent? No its because this isnt my usual language. Right I say, Notgrob, yoo ever eard of a soshalist? Naa boss, the reply came, Can yer eat em? Er the largest ork turned back to Magnifico. Wots onev em, old boy? A socialist? Pretty bloody rare these days, bastards... Magnifico trailed off into his own mutterings again. Gulkan took a deep breath, and hauled Magnifico up into the air by his arm. Listen yoo, if I find yer an escaped Snotling, Ill mince yer, and if I find yer a nasty tricksy umie, Ill stomp yer. So you ad better start explainin. He let Magnifico go. Magnifico staggered back to his feet, and looked up at the Warboss, then around the room. Finally, he spoke I told you, Im a socialist. You know - equal rights? Welfare state? Humanitarian ideologies? Gulkan just stared at him. Magnifico sighed exaggeratedly. Well Im sorry, but Im not sure what the orkish for humanitarian or welfare is, okay? Magnifico admitted. Er orkitarian? Magnifico asked, imitating an orks posture. Wot? Okay, okay, Ill start simple. Er... you- you two, cmere. The secretary grots looked up at Gulkan, terrified, then scurried over to Magnifico.

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Youre the boss, right? he addressed Gulkan again, And you have lots of citiz... lots of boyz. Well, you look after the boyz, dont you? You lead them. The boys are... the boyz is useless on their own, but together, youre all a functioning society. Gulkan looked blank. Without you, the boyz is useless. Aah. This concept Gulkan could grasp. Well, what happens is this- everyone in your warband gives you some of their teef, Magnifico said, gesturing towards his mouth. These are called taxes. You use the teef to pay for trukks and the best Mekboys and er lots of dakka for your whole warband. Magnifico glanced around. You- the Mekboy- I bet youre a successful capitalist... youve got lots of teef, right? The Mekboy nodded uncertainly. Well, because youve got loads of teef, you can give more teef than the poorer boyz. The Mekboy frowned, trying to understand, but not liking the sound of what was being said. Anyway, so each of your boyz gives teef depending on how much they can afford. What you then do is this... er... you, He pointed to the nearer Grot, Suppose this Grot is useless. No, wait... not useless. But suppose theres nothing he can usefully do. Well, what you do then is - you the Warboss give a few teef to him every so often, so he can survive. You also make sure he can find useful occupation at some time in the near future, at which point, not only do you no longer have to provide welfare, his income is sufficient for you to start taxing him, so the economy maintains... he trailed off. The Orks were all staring at him. The chief Mekboy spoke up. So you is saying dat dat I gives all my teef to da boss, den he gives dem all back to dis useless little runt, the grot cowered, just.... just coz ees USELESS? Magnifico became self-conscious. Er, yes. You see, um, its, er, fair... Boss, the Mekboy said, woteva dis fing is, its obviously nuts. I say we burn im or sumfink. Wait. Gulkan replied, I dont see ow dis elps anyone- except da useless little snotlins wots too lazy to werk. Ah, well, you see erm... The idea is that rather than services being performed for profit by individuals, theyre controlled by the state, funded by the people, for the peoples benefit. The Orks stared again. Erm... look. The Mekboyz make loads of teef for themselves by cust kustomising trucks and stuff, but that doesnt REALLY help your boyz does it? But if the bosses own the Mekboys shop, then you can spend the teef on more kit for your warband, instead of having some greedy capitalist Mek... Magnifico trailed off. The Mekboy was fuming. Boss, dis iz crazy! Dis fing as been sent to spread ideas wot arent orky. Maybe its a test of faif by Gork an Mork, I dunno, but its not natural! Eez dangerous boss, reel dangerous, lemme stomp him, please lemme stomp him boss! Shut it, Mekarthy! the Warboss bellowed. You- so... if I wuz a soshalist Id get ter take all da teef off da ladz and spend it on more dakka an trukks an... fighter-bommerz? Umm, yeees, although, er, of course youd have to, er, instate, um, democracy... Right, Nazdak get rid of this little fing, ave im put in a cage or summink. I wanna hear more about dis stuff tomorrer. Nazdak managed a pseudo-salute. Magnifico was picked up, rather more carefully than before, and carried out of the shack. Gulkan called after him- an tomorrer yoo can explain about Demo-crazy. Magnifico began to panic. * I charged headlong uphill. As I sweated, it felt as though I was being cooked inside my clothes. Id never run so fast in my life. You know the kind of speed where youre almost falling over forwards? The sort of speed where you dont see obstacles coming, you just hope the trees see how pissed off you look and kindly uproot themselves before you get there. I had no idea how long wed been running, how far wed gone, or where we were going. Despite this, I was certain the Eldar knew. Keep going, Kaelesh shouted to us, Ill find a way out. He ran off uphill and into the forest.

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There was something wrong with that. Hed run up the hill we were running up the hill. Hed been keeping his pace down so we could keep up. He just ran off can you imagine being that fast? You couldnt really follow his movements; they sort of bled into each other. It was seamless I, on the other hand, looked like I had more limbs than I knew what to do with, like some flailing rag doll. We never looked back to see if the orks were chasing for some time, maybe an hour. Eventually Kethrian stopped and looked behind us. We all stopped with him and listened. Shut up, Kethrian said to me. I nodded, and held my breath for as long as I could. There was nothing except the pounding drum of my heartbeat and some nocturnal birds. There wasnt even any wind. Are they gone? I asked Kethrian. He waved his hand dismissively and I took the opportunity to sit down, Elshi and Athanuir following my example. No one spoke. Even if Kethrian had allowed it we wouldnt have had the energy. I lay back against the tree behind me, the rough bark depositing dirt on my hair. The longer I sat, the more I began to notice the dull pain in my feet, like theyd had been crushed in a vice. After I noticed the pain, I realised how tired I was. Now every memoir Ive ever read about some kind of physical exertion says how your limbs feel like lead. I thought, cant anyone use an original simile? Well, theres actually a good reason for using that simile: its completely accurate. In my case, of course, my leaden limbs had been bolted to the ground and my eyelids were so heavy it felt like they were holding up three grox each, but seriously: its a good simile. Ill just close my eyes for a second, I thought. Itll feel nice. And it did. It was wonderful; it felt like sleeping was the answer to every taxing question in the galaxy. Theres one small problem: once youve closed your eyes, even for a second, you wont want to open them again, and I knew Id have to at some point. As the skin rolled back over the moist globes of my eyeballs, I heard a faint rustle of leaves, before a black shape dropped silently out of the tree I was leaning against and landed in front of me. I almost choked in shock and just managed to hold back a scream before I realised it was Kaelesh. We have to go, he said. I couldve killed him. * By ten oclock the next morning I was a walking corpse swaggering mechanically after the Eldar. Id always considered myself fit but Kaelesh was just tireless. After three solid hours of walking even Kethrian told him to stop for a short while. As it happened they couldnt actually move me after Id sat down and eventually we decided to spend the day on that spot on the end of the ridge, staring out at the vast panorama before us. Sickening, Kethrian said to anyone who was listening. He sat cross-legged, staring lazily at the sun as it caressed the horizon. The shadows had grown longer but the day was a clear one. What? I asked. The ork race, he said. It seemed a fairly self-evident point. They can look at that, he said, moving his hand to encompass the planet as it stretched out in front of us, and it means nothing to them except a place that might conceal something to kill. I leant back, my palms lying flat against the warm, grey rock surface. I thought about it for a second and I began to realise what a bizarre concept it was. I sometimes think of the human race as being an arrogant, warlike one, but were nothing in comparison. Although we dont often protect them we are at least capable of appreciating beautiful things. We dont exist purely to fight wars its just what we do most of the time. Silence fell upon us like a silken blanket as we just stared at the serenely beautiful landscape. I looked at Elshi for a second and got the distinct impression that she was

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appreciating the view on levels I didnt even know about. Then I noticed Athanuir. He wasnt looking at the landscape either. He was sat just behind Elshi, and he was looking at her. He looked so miserable it was unbelievable. I wasnt about to ask what the problem was; besides I think I had a pretty good idea what it was. I dont think it really surprised me. His bright blue eyes had lost their piercing effect; they looked greyed or muted by his emotion and the only movement anywhere near him was the wind playing through his short black hair. Wordlessly, Kaelesh got up and strode off down the slope, almost swimming over the craggy rocks with no hindrance whatsoever. What is it that makes him so different to the rest of you? I asked the Eldar. Two things, Kethrian answered. One, hes an outcast, and two, he was once an Exodite. I had no idea what either of those things meant but they sounded intimidating. Kethrian saw the look of confusion on my face. You dont even know what the Path is, do you? he asked. I shook my head. Many thousands of years ago, my people made the mistake of succumbing to their merest whims and it destroyed our civilisation. Now, to prevent falling to the same fate, we choose a specific path to focus our minds and reject wanton hedonism. However there are still those who refuse to walk that path, and they are known as outcasts. However our friend Kaelesh is doubly different, as hes also an Exodite. Exodites saw the flaws in our ancient culture even before we Craftworld Eldar and fled to the farthest reaches of the Galaxy before the Fall. Theyre generally more rustic than the Eldar of the Craftworlds. Kaelesh used to live as an Exodite on a world way out in the Eastern Fringe before a small group of Thaalax rangers visited his world. He was young, and bored of the harsh life of the Exodite, so he joined them and travelled with them for centuries. What happened to the others? I asked. Theyre all dead. Where do you think he got all his equipment? I almost leapt out of my skin as the dead body of some indigenous mammal landed next to me with a crack, blood dribbling out of its lifeless mouth. Dinner, Kaelesh said simply. Kill me now, I said sarcastically. Youd produce a similar quantity of meat, he said, staring dispassionately at me with his emerald green eyes. He said it with such seriousness that for a second I thought he wasnt joking. He noticed that second of thought and laughed coldly at my brief fear. The others laughed uneasily except Nael, who remained sitting and staring at the horizon in a sullen silence. * Magnifico skidded to a halt on the dirt floor, and heard the cage-like door slam and lock behind him. He had been thrown into the cell-like interior of a small but robust hut small for an ork, at least but spacious enough for him. The only features were a tiny, high window, and a wide but hard bed a few feet off the ground. After the noisy orks were out of earshot, Magnifico crept to the door, and peered out between the metal bars. The hut was somewhere on the outskirts of the huge, stinking Ork encampment, which sent an unpleasant glow into the night sky. He had long ago become used to the constant low roar of an active Ork camp. Turning back inside, he examined the bed, and judging it marginally less hygienic than the muddy floor, lay down on the floor by the head of the bed, as far from the door as he could get. He tried to sleep, and every part of his body was aching, but his mind was spinning, one thought following another faster than he could resolve them. He closed his eyes and tried to become comfortable, while thoughts and fears continued to stream though his mind. *

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You iz well full of shit Mekarthy. Shut it! Mekarthy backhanded the smallest ork about the head. Iz tellin you, dis fing is dangerus. Its fillin da boss ead ful of weird fings he trailed off. Well, wot sort of fings den? asked another. Er fings Mekarthy searched his memory. It wants da boss to take all da boyzes teef, an spend em all on trukks and stuff instead of lettin us keep em ourselves. The other orks looked at each other and tried to think. But wot if you dont got any teef? asked the smallest, again. Well den e takes more from dem boyz wotz got lotza teef. And buys trukks and stuff for da bobyz wivvem? Er yeah. Sounds like a good idea ter me. Mekarthy swung his fist at the runt again, who dodged the blow. He resorted to rhetoric instead. Look! Its not orky, rite? And whos da orkiest boys in orkdom? We is. Right? And, er. Yeah, and if we listens to dis little runty fing, den we wont be propa Orks any more an Gork an Mork wont be appy an er stuff. Words failed him, so he quickly punched the smallest Ork while he wasnt expecting it. Well I dont see ow dis one little fing can do much damage, I mean, snot like every Ork in da warbands suddenlys gunna go Oh, rite, I see, dats a great idea dat is. Ere, ave all my teef, go on, please take my teef, I dont want em, is it? Greenig didnt realise it, but hed just pulled off sarcasm, known to those orks with a vocabulary as da highest form or wit. Mekarthy gave up. He was pretty sure that Skarrednekk was the stupidest ork in the group, so he seized him by his jackets front, and hauled him forwards. Listen, he growled, If da boss listens to dis fings crazy ideers, we is all zogged. Pretend youve got lotza teef. Da boss is gunna take em all away from yer. Da more teef you gets, da more da boss takes away. But dats not all. His eyes lit up. Den pretend youve got a trukk. Da boss sez Yoo cant ave dat trukk, youz gotta share it wiv wiv... wiv Grotslashs boyz and let dem get to da battle same time as you. Sooner or later, da boss is gunna start saying Yoo cant av dat shoota, its too dangerus, wot if da grots got dere ands on it, or dat trukk iz way too big, you iz gunna use all da boyz fuel, isnt yoo? Soon you wont be able to do ANYFING wivout da bosses interfering, and da boyz wont be free anymore, and eventually we wont be orks anymore, well be well be... jus PONCEY POINTY-EAR GITS! He took a great breath, and refocused his eyes. Av you understood a word wot I as ed? Er Never mind. Cmon! Mekarthy hauled Skarednekk off towards Magnificos cell, and the others, after a moments consternation, followed. After all, they didnt want to miss a good scrap. * Magnifico woke. It was still nighttime. Despite his conviction that he would never get to sleep so agitated, hed fallen asleep within a quarter of an hour. Outside, he heard Ork voices in the distance. As they came closer, a flickering orange glow began to shimmer though the barred door and against the wall. For reasons they wouldnt understand, the group of Orks had easily been able to lay their hands on a few burning torches, and were advancing towards the prison-hut, Mekarthy in the lead. They lumbered over to the cage-like door, and with the combined strength of three full-grown Orks with scavenged metal bars, easily managed to destroy the hinges. Mekarthy stood in the doorway, blocking most of the fiery glow of the torches. His small eyes quickly took in the contents of the cell. He turned around and shouted, EES NOT ERE! The Orks muttered in surprise, disappointment, and discontent at having been dragged from their sleep and off on a crazy witch-hunt. Well where IS ee den?

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I dunno maybe ees escaped. He bent down to pointlessly examine the pockmarked, inch-thick mud on the ground for footprints before taking a few pensive steps out of the cell. Id give up, Mek. Ees probably iding by now. Mekarthy straightened up as far as was possible for his species. Iding IDING! EES IDING! DA RUNTS UNDER DA BED! Turning, he charged back into the cell, tore the bed up, and threw it to the other side of the cell. From under it, Magnifico stared up in utter terror. Mekarthy grasped him around the chest, and lifted him easily into the air. Wot do we do now Mek? someone asked, Do we kill im? We cant kill im, stoopid, if da Boss found out wed all be minced. He assumed an air of cunning. I fink we gotta make it look like e escaped. Well what do we do wiv it if we cant kill it? Wot is it anyway? And can yer EAT it? Orks have three behavioural patterns towards smaller living creatures kill it if its dangerous, enslave it if it could be, and eat it if it isnt. A small thought connected in the fungal mush of Mekarthys brain. Dont yoo worry. Ill deal wiv it. The others looked blankly at him. Ill get rid of im. Now go ome. Shows ova. * Magnifico was thrown into another cage, this time from the top. He landed on a seething mass of hard knobbles and softer patches. The mass squealed and writhed, and Magnifico became tangled in it. Eventually, and not before he received a number of blows to the head, he found the floor of the cage. Backing into a corner as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, he saw that he was surrounded by a ring of creatures, a little shorter than he, green and Orkoid, but small and scrawny, with huge noses. One of them edged slightly forwards. It held up something small, grotesquely ugly even by their standards, and wriggling. Ere mista, the bearer squeaked, wanna buy a squig? * I looked across the fire at Elshi as she lay in Athanuirs arms sleeping. He drew the slender fingers of his left hand through the black silk of her hair, staring vacantly at the fire as he did so. How long have you known her? I whispered across the flames to him. Over 260 years, he answered. Two hundred and sixty years. I worked out in my head that hed lived thirteen of my lifetimes in her company. The thought was too large to really stay inside my head. Its not easy to get to sleep on a cold rock surface but I was so tired that it only took half an hour or so. As I locked myself in my head for the night, I was certain that Athanuir was still wide-awake, staring idly into the dying fire. Why he stayed awake Ive no idea perhaps he was scared of waking her up. * The landscape was a collage of muted blue and greens it didnt matter how directly I looked at the hills in front of me, as they still looked as though they were in the periphery of my vision. There were orks all around us but they didnt quite seem to be solid, just a blur of rusted metal and green flesh daubed in weathered and torn cloth. They were just a sort of blur swirling around us. All the others were fighting them, hacking at the blurred shapes, except Elshi, who stood next to me. Shouldnt we fight the orks? I asked.

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Whats the point, Dimitri? More will come, and we wont be any nearer to safety, she said. I noticed that there were humans in amongst the orks, fighting the Eldar. Humans like Collins. Stars arced over the sky so fast that they looked like white lines. It didnt make much sense because it was still broad daylight. I could see the suns heat seeping into the long grass as it swayed in the wind. I looked up at a large bird flying overhead, only it wasnt a bird, it was yes, a ship. An Eldar ship, judging by its shape, although Id never seen a ship quite like it before. It was coming to take us, quite obviously. We left the others behind. I dont know what happened to them. It didnt really matter, as it was she whod keep me away from other humans. Their smell, their sound, their arrogance, their violence. Shed take me to the other Eldar and I could start again, and get it right. This is your second chance, she said softly as we walked over the hill as its surface billowed like a sail head to wind. I suggest you consider carefully the consequences of every decision, no matter how mundane. I had to be the luckiest man alive. * Dimitri! Kaelesh shouted, louder this time. Groaning, the human was dragged back to consciousness, scratching his stubble-covered chin wearily. Dimitri certainly wasnt at his most impressive in the morning, Elshi decided. Kaelesh grabbed Dimitris hand and pulled him roughly to his feet. We must walk, he said in Dimitris tongue. Dimitri staggered the first few steps and slowly regained what little grace humans were capable of as he trudged onwards. They walked as ceaselessly as usual, the savage contours of the land taking their toll on the human and the guardians and, after a few more hours, Kethrian. Hes different, isnt he, Elshi said to Athanuir as they strode up a hill kept in shade by the forests canopy. He thinks differently about his race differently to us. Differently to other humans. Perhaps. Is that a good thing? Athanuir asked. He thinks his race is inferior but he quite obviously thinks of himself as being somehow enlightened. That could be construed as arrogance. Im not sure. I still dont know if he places himself in the same racial bracket as other humans or whether he thinks hes separate. Its funny the way I feel towards him, Athanuir said, staring up at the skyline, its its the way I might feel about a cat, I dont know. Cats are arrogant and yet I always feel strangely protective of them You compare him to a cat? Thats high praise from you, Elshi pointed out. A smile twitched quickly across Athanuirs face before vanishing again, a smile that implied a brief, fleeting memory, and she knew instantly what he was thinking of. She remembered how devoted and loving Athanuir had been towards the cat, for the years it had lived long enough to cover half of Dimitris lifetime and yet its life had seemed to quick, so frustratingly short to Elshi. What do you compare him to, then? Athanuir asked. Nothing. Nothing? Well, hes human, but that doesnt necessarily mean hes like every other human. As a whole theyre an arrogant, destructive race but they have to be different as individuals, maybe just in a simple way. And anyway, Im not sure that we can ever think of ourselves as being the greatest race in the Galaxy after the Fall. We created a Chaos god and the Eye of Terror. We were one of the most destructive races in the galaxy before the Great Devourer swam out of the void, and it was our greed and carelessness that took us there so were in no position to judge. I just try to keep to the belief that, whilst the human race makes blundering mistakes as we did, they can be quite intelligent when separated from their peer group. Both Elshi and Athanuir fell silent for a moment as they struggled up the last steep part of the hill, breathing heavily. The other three Eldar were already at the top, and were staring down into the valley below. Elshi followed their gaze downhill. A single column of black smoke, rising

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from the roof of a burning farm, twisted skyward. It was too far away to pick out any details except the chewed up earth that betrayed the passing of ork speed freeks. The silence of the Eldar was broken by Dimitri as, panting and sweating like an animal, he reached the top of the hill. Shit a bungalow, that was a bastard of a hill! he said loudly, grinning at the Eldar. They all turned and looked at him dismissively before turning to look back down at the valley. Dimitri looked downhill. Ah, he said. * Bollocks. Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks, I said to myself. Standard issue army boot in mouth. I always pick my moments, dont I? There they all were, staring down at a burned out farm that probably contained dead people, and there I was making unutterably crude comments about architectural defecation. I told myself to retain one krak grenade to use on myself the next time I said anything like that. It only took us around twenty minutes to walk down to the farm from the hill. As we got closer my eyes could pick out more and more details. It was a pretty primitive place; the inhabitants obviously had nothing to do with a commune, there wasnt anything more than a dirt track winding off down the valley. The farmhouse looked like it had once all been made out of concrete but there were bits that had been patched up with either wood or mud. We walked past the bloated remains of some dead grox that the orks had shot as theyd driven in. The smell was unbearable, and the way their eyes bulged I felt sick. I knew worse was to come, though. There always is. Here, Athanuir said. I couldnt see what he was standing over; it was small, whatever it was. Elshi ran over, looked down, and immediately turned away in disgust. I walked over hesitantly as the other three Eldar approached. As I got within twenty feet or so the small dark bump took form and it became obvious that it was the body of a child. The jagged grooves in the dirt torn up by the ork vehicles tracks were interrupted only by her little body. It was a horrible, mutilated form and I only looked at it for a brief second. It was long enough to weld the sight to the inside of my eyelids. Maybe fifty yards further on we found the mother. The bodies had obviously been there for a few days; I hadnt really looked at the child but the mothers flesh was bloated and yellowing, with flies buzzing hungrily around the torn areas. Shed obviously seen the orks coming as it looked like shed been running to grab the girl but had been stopped dead in her tracks; there was little left of her hideously shot up legs except some shards of bone poking out of the browny-red stained fabric of her trousers at odd intervals. Sometimes with dead people they can look peaceful, or surprised, especially old people; its like their face has relaxed for the first time in seventy years. Her face, though her face was just a vision of pain incarnate, the dry, bloody mouth locked open in an undying silent scream it was made all the more spectral by her empty eye sockets; the eyes themselves had already been plucked out by birds or some other scavenger. Even her hair was still, plastered to her flesh and the ground by the now dried blood. It sounds facile, I know, but Ive seen some pretty fucked up stuff, especially after leaving the wall, with those butchered piles of bodies strewn around like the off-cuts in an abattoir. But they were just that meat. Dead meat, at that. But the mother I dont know why she was different. Maybe because she was on her own. Its easy to understand how terrible a death is when theres only one of them, you can see what happened in that persons last moments death becomes exponentially less moving the more of it there is. Four thousand deaths are about as depressing as five people, really. Its just a number. As humans we dont have the scope or the power to see how awesomely terrible that much death is. But one person trying to save their child

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Im not going to talk about that any more. Itd be easy to talk about it for hours, it had that much impact on me, but you probably dont want to hear. Few people do, really, as its easier to deal with shit like that if you dont think about it. Were all escapists, deep down. I think thats why Eldar can be so sombre they arent escapists. They seem acutely aware of everything and as far as I can tell are quite capable of understanding the horror of a thousand lost souls. I never saw the father. Athanuir told me he was in the house with an autogun and a boy. Athanuir said the boy had been shot square in the forehead, and not by an ork gun either. The father, of course, was riddled with bullets. Were wasting time, Kaelesh said in his subtly accented Low Gothic so that we could all understand. Agreed, Kethrian said. Gather your things, were going. Not yet, Athanuir said. Im sorry? Kethrian said incredulously. We arent leaving yet. We cant. We should bury them. Theyre dead. Theyd still be dead if there was earth on top of them, Kethrian said impatiently. Anyway, he continued, humans have no wraithlife. Whatever we do to these drying carcasses is irrelevant and we have no time. Have you no respect? Athanuir asked. I was confused Athanuir doesnt care about humans. He was probably trying to impress Elshi or something. There is nothing to respect or disrespect, theyre just dead, and we are wasting time, Kethrian said with finality. He turned and began to walk off with Nael and Kaelesh. Athanuir looked at Elshi, who looked briefly at him before walking off after the others. Come on, human- he began. -Dimitri, I corrected him. Why did you want to bury them? Why were you too scared to stand by me? Whats the point in standing by you if my opinion makes no difference? Because theyre psykers they knew what you thought, but saying something would at least have earned you some respect. How will they ever tolerate you if you behave as pathetically as they think you ought to? He was right. I was a little guilty I guess, because I realised that of all of us it was I who should have pushed for the burial of that family. Now trust me, I dont like being in the wrong, most of all when someone else is in the right. Its really irritating because you have to back down and admit that youre an arse. Youre right, I said to him, Ill be a little more forthcoming in the future. Dont allow yourself to become foolhardy, he said with an implication of a smile on his otherwise dour face. We hurried after the others. Well, I hurried. He just strode. Bastard. I cant quite imagine being almost seven foot. * How are you? she asked me as we struggled up the hill. I wanted to believe that she was interested in the answer. Tired, I said, emphasising my point with an exaggerated yawn. The dead family seemed like weeks ago, but it was only the evening of the same day. For some reason, physical distance felt like chronological distance. How are you? I asked. I hate small talk and whats even more irritating is that you have to return it. Im fed up, she said with a sigh. Im fed up of the seers and that damned outcast. They have no respect. Their opinion appears to be that, if we arent potent warriors, were pathetic. But- she paused, thinking for a few brief seconds. Im not sure about Kethrian. The other two are more straightforward. Nael demonstrates his male dominance by wielding an immense blade. Kaelesh demonstrates his male dominance with two blades. Its all incredibly phallic.

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Although it amused me I thought the analysis was a little unfair, even if Nael and Kaelesh were incredibly patronising. But Kethrian, she continued, seems to be very good at hiding what hes actually thinking its probably why hes first among the Seer Council. Its never really obvious that hes leading you he does it very subtly. You dont really notice it. What? I asked. Well, the councils a very political thing, and Maybe, but what is the council? Oh, sorry, she said with a quick wave of the hand. She opened her mouth to speak, and I waited for an explanation, but her mouth just closed again, as though she didnt quite have the energy to explain profoundly simple aspects of her culture to me. I wasnt really sure she wanted a conversation with me anyway; I never really knew completely what she was talking about and so I think I was just the receptacle for her internal monologue. We were all walking up the hill in a broad line, with the others to my left. The horizon was getting close; it looked as though the ground just stopped five metres away before the clear gold-blue sky began. As it happened, the ground did stop. I found myself looking down over a substantial cliff face. However it wasnt the cliff face that was the most alarming element of the view. I tried to put my finger on exactly what it was that I found quite so worrying, why it was that I had apparently lost the ability to speak. Farseer! Elshi called, looking down over the cliff. You do realise that were walking alongside an Ork city, yes? Ah, that was probably it the vast, stinking Ork shantytown that shambled its way down the valley. Athanuir ran up next to us. Ishas tears! he exclaimed. I didnt know who Isha was or what her tears had to do with anything but I imagined it meant the same as the words going through my own head at the time. Kethrian walked up behind us and looked over the valley before us. Ah, he said. Surely a great Eldar seer could be more analytical than that? Quite, Elshi said. We stared at it for a few moments before Nael moved up behind us. Do you see it, Nael? Kethrian asked. It was pretty fucking hard to miss. Nael nodded silently. Why is nodding silently more intimidating than saying yes? Would it be so much to ask for him to actually use a few words? Of course that could undermine the image the pompously named Dark Seer had worked so hard to create. Well have to destroy it, Kethrian continued. Nael nodded. Forgive my ignorance, Athanuir said slightly sarcastically, but how do you plan on destroying a town with only six people? Not the town, that, Kethrian said, pointing at the town. What? That, Kethrian said, pointing again. I think he was pointing at the big building in the middle. What is it, Athanuir? A ninety foot building, Farseer. No, Kethrian said, it is an incomplete Gargant. There was silence for a few seconds whilst three previously ignorant hearts sank to the level of depression already reached by the hearts of Kethrian, Nael and Kaelesh. Its hardly our problem to deal with, Athanuir pointed out. I couldnt have agreed more. Kethrian, I said, are there not whole armies on this planet that can destroy that thing? Yes, he answered. Then why not allow them to destroy it? Because they will never have to if we destroy it now. What chance could we have of getting within three hundred feet of the thing? Elshi asked incredulously. Im aware that you all seek new and interesting ways to prove your heroism but this way involves several people who want nothing to do with it. Well, it was a

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bold statement, Ill give her that much credit. Im not sure it was very clever, though, judging by the expression on Kethrians face, which visibly hardened. He started speaking, in Eldar this time. Of course I had no idea what he was saying. He wasnt shouting, and he wasnt whispering. He talked in a relentless tirade of restrained anger at Elshi. The look in his eyes was well, it was frightening. I decided that I wouldnt question him in the future. If that speech had been directed at me I probably would have cried. Elshi, however, just looked more and more angry the longer he spoke, until eventually he finished, at which point Elshi hurled a deluge of angry words in his direction. Vorthakk, Kethrian said dismissively. Elshi stopped shouting immediately and fell to her knees, clutching her head. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and she writhed on the ground before eventually Kethrian stopped whatever it was he was doing to her. He said something else before turning to Nael and Kaelesh to begin a discussion. We sat on the cliff top for about half an hour whilst the three competent warriors had an involved (and incomprehensible) discussion about how best to approach the gargant. Elshi, Athanuir and I simply waited to be told what to do. We didnt talk but we were all thinking the same thing. We were all angry; going into the valley was suicide but then, questioning Kethrian was suicide and he seemed to be convinced that he was utterly unkillable. By nightfall theyd worked out the quickest, safest route to the gargant and we set off, walking above the town for some time before the cliff became a steep hill. We made our way down the muddy, unstable slope carefully until eventually the skyline became dominated by the black silhouettes of nearby ork buildings. The orks seemed to be having some kind of celebration that night and wed come through the deserted quarter most of the orks seemed to have gone to the southern quarter of the town and even from this end of the settlement I could see a faint orange glow coming from the numerous fires theyd lit. The smell of the place was quite incredible, and utterly unlike almost anything Id smelt before. I say almost because there was one smell it reminded me of a Terran variety of fungi called Phallus Impudicus the galaxys most noxious fungi, from our own home planet. Kinda makes you proud The town was incredibly filthy. The buildings themselves looked as though someone had dropped some scraps of metal in a circle before putting an electromagnet in the middle and called it a shack. Some of the more elaborate architectural details revealed dried mud, and even wood. There was no discernable pattern to the layout of the buildings; they simply got bigger the further into the town we got. The streets (or more accurately the space between the buildings that were occasionally wide enough to fit a vehicle) were usually blessed with a good six inches of fetid mud. The further in we got, the louder the sound of the orks became, to the point where we had no way of hearing any that may have been nearby. Fear not, Dimitri, Kethrian said in my mind. It was still an unnerving sensation. Nael and I can see the orks minds regardless of how many walls there are in the way of our eyes. Lucky bastard. We were walking in a thin line down a narrow alley, the rusting metal plates of the ramshackle buildings so close together that they were almost touching my shoulders. I felt claustrophobic to say the least; if I were to meet an ork Id have no room to fight it. Nael was in front and as we reached a break in the walls he looked briefly to his right. There was a low gasping sound before an ork fell, dead, into the mud, its hideous face half concealed by the filth of the alley. As I walked up to it, knowing that Id have to step over it, my heartbeat began to speed up. I knew that the ork was dead but it didnt look like it was permanently

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dead, as though it might lash out and break me as I stepped carefully over its huge, musclebound carcass. I have to admit, Kethrian Nael and Kaelesh had picked the route well. We didnt meet another ork on the way in to the centre, much to my relief. Of course that had been the relatively easy part; when we got nearer the Gargant things started to go wrong. * Kurzag swilled down some more grog before slamming the rusting mug down on the table and licking his cracked lips. He had all but won this nights drinking marathon with Slurgob and oh, how he enjoyed going out on da waz. Slurgob was looking a little bleary-eyed and generally not one hundred percent and so what if Kurzag had spiked Slurgobs grog? It was a free waaaagh, and one that rewarded good orky cunnin at that. Ahh, come on Slurgob, yous tuffern dat, Kurzag said. Norraz pissed as yoo, grotshite, Slurgob burbled back in a drunken haze. Kurzag breathed in suddenly and collapsed on the table, spilling his grog on the floor. Same every night, Slurgob remarked, reflecting on the way in which Kurzag had fallen unconscious in every drinking contest theyd ever had together. What Slurgob didnt know was that Kurzag was in fact dead, although if he had been aware of that he probably would have laughed. Slurgob patted Kurzag roughly on the back. You owe me ten teef, ya useless liteweight, he grinned. He looked up at the ork behind the bar, who was also slumped dead over the rough metal surface. OI! he bellowed at the inert body, MORE GROG! No response. Slurgob squinted at him. You eyeballin me? he said. What does an ork ave to do to gerra drink round ere? Slurgob looked around the grimy room for someone who might be prepared to provide him with a drink. There was a tall thin figure in the middle of the room that didnt look all that orky, but Slurgob couldnt quite focus on it. Got any grog? Slurgob burbled semi-coherently. Silrennieth urnkeigh, the figure whispered. Dat wunve em poncey drinks? The figure was moving towards him quite quickly, and Slurgob was beginning to get the impression that it was holding two thin, spindly choppas. Ill ave yoo, Slurgob said, raising his disproportionately large fists and waving them in the general direction of the figure. There was a metallic flash, and one of his hands fell off. No matter, his arm still packed a mighty punch. There was another flash, and Slurgob temporarily lost control of his body, and fell over, the room spinning wildly around him. The confusing thing was that according to the position of Slurgobs head, his body was buried in the floor, which would explain the dull pain in his neck, which was obviously the floorboards around his throat. It seemed a little strange. The figure was walking out of the door. Arent yoo gonna finish me, den? Jus leave me lying here why dont yoo? Slurgob tried to get up to chase after his attacker but, sadly, he couldnt quite get his body to respond. Somewhere in his tiny brain, Slurgob knew that it wasnt because of the grog. It was probably because he wasnt actually buried in the floor. His body lay eight feet away, blood pumping in spurts out of his neck. Slurgob hoped the dok would find him before it was too late to give him a bionik body, or maybe a head transplant. * I ran as fast as I could behind Athanuir as we dashed up the street. Wed wasted enough time butchering the orks in the tavern and we were getting close to the gargant now. The vast black silhouette of the war machine blocked out the sky in front of us. I jumped between and over oil drums, boxes, and the other discarded items left in the narrow street, my windpipe feeling raw from all my heavy breathing.

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We came charging out of the street a little too carelessly, running straight out into a stretch of open ground in front of the left foot of the gargant. We crossed the thirty feet of open ground so quickly that the orks hardly saw us before it was too late. There were a few armed guards standing around the crude door on the foot, and the look of surprise on their faces was a brilliant sight. Kaelesh waded into them. It happened a little too quickly for me to work out what happened it was always hard, as the fabric on Kaeleshs trench coat just seemed to bleed into the surroundings. Within a second, though, there were three dead bodies outside the door, and Kaelesh was standing by the door drawing his shuriken pistols. Nael ran in through the door and there was an almighty howling from inside as the rest of us ran towards the entrance. Dimitri, go with Nael and Athanuir and find either the fuel or the ammunition in there, leave some of your grenades and get out again. We will keep this entrance clear for you. I nodded frantically, not thinking about the fact that I had no timers and no time in which to set up my non-existent timers. I charged through the door, desperately hoping that Nael had already killed everything in there. Nael was never one to disappoint, as far as killing went. There were some smoking skeletons, some dismembered bodies, and an awful lot of blood. Nael stood in the middle of it all, looking impatiently at me for a second before moving quickly towards some stairs at the back of the featureless metal room. I say moved quickly because I suppose Nael didnt really run. He probably considered it ungainly. You never really saw any obvious leg movements with him. The black fabric south of his waist just moved around and he went in the desired direction. It was a truly unnerving sight. I ran after Nael, Athanuir ran after me, and together we ran up an awful lot of stairs and scrambled up an awful lot of ladders in an unfeasibly short space of time. Eventually we managed to get into the corridor that led to the main gun chamber in the gargants belly. We could see the gun at the end of the corridor, and the shells waiting to have a grenade thrown into them. There was a side door halfway down the corridor and, with a metallic groan, it opened, and a bunch of orks spilled out into the corridor ahead of us. Nael hacked brutally away at them with his witchblade, cleaving his way into the doorway the orks had come from. Place the grenade, he said, his voice resonating clearly in my mind as though he was talking right in my ear. I ran forwards, my eyes locked on the huge shells, not thinking about how Id escape if and when I actually blew up the shells. Even as I ran, the shape of the doorway ahead of me changed as a new swarm of orks ran towards us from the gun chamber itself. Shooting a frag grenade at them would only have killed the one in front, and I had the cunning idea of rolling the grenade across the bare metal floor so that itd blow up in their midst. I grabbed a grenade from my belt, pulled out the pin, and rolled it, as though I were playing tenork bowling. I figured the orksd be too busy charging towards me to see the grenade. The ork in front saw it, though, and just kicked it into an open vent in the side of the corridor. There were a few metallic clangs as the grenade bounced uselessly down the vent, and the ork just laughed loudly at me, instilling me with a sensation of being consummately useless. There were a few more distant clangs, and then a dull thump as the grenade went off somewhere in the lower workings of the gargant. Then there was a dull roar, and a highpitched bang. All of us, human, orks and eldar, were thrown against the side of the corridor as the gargant lurched over to one side. I looked the ork who had kicked the grenade straight in the eyes, and laughed at him. Time to go, Nael said. He was the only one in the corridor who hadnt fallen over. We ran back down the way we came, firing off grenades and shuriken into the pursuing orks. There were more explosions beneath us, and some ear splitting metallic screeches. As we ran down the corridor, the wall on my left simply fell away. It was attached to a massive hull section, which went sailing down through the air before flattening a number of ork buildings

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in the settlement sixty foot below. I could see orks running through the town towards the base of the gargant from numerous different directions, and there were occasional flashes of light from the left foot. Well, at least Kethrian was still down there. We reached the end of the corridor and I just jumped the twelve feet from the top of the ladder to the floor below. It hurt like hell but I wasnt going to spend too long thinking about it. I looked up as Athanuir reached the top of the ladder and let off a hail of shuriken before he jumped down next to me. Nael was ahead of us and we ran after him. I can inform you that its deeply worrying when youre running for your life and your companions are running twice as fast as you. I began lagging behind and, as the orks ran after us, the air around me was torn up by shots from their inaccurate firearms, gouging holes in the metal walls of the corridor. I heard another loud explosion below us, and I was sent sprawling across the floor. I could tell that we were moving forward slowly, and down, but not very fast. As I tried to scramble back to my feet, the corridor began rotating in a somewhat unnerving fashion. I twisted around to see how close the orks were. They hadnt yet rounded the corner ten feet back, and I couldnt see anything. There was yet another loud explosion, this time behind me. I looked back again as a tsunami of greenskin body parts squelched their way around the corridor. * Finally! Kethrian said as Nael moved out of the doorway. The other two? Nael looked behind him as Dimitri and Athanuir charged out of the doorway. This way, Kethrian said, running off towards a gap between two nearby buildings. Elshi looked at the piles of dead bodies with some satisfaction, knowing that out of the twenty or thirty that lay there, shed killed at least three. She ran after the Farseer, watching in admiration as incoming ork fire stopped six inches from him and simply dissipated into light blue ripples, like gravel thrown onto flat water. She saw Kethrian reach the alleyway and disappear between the buildings. As she reached the entrance to the alleyway she turned to check everyone else. Nael passed her and moved into the alley. With a thundering of heavy boots Dimitri followed him, and Kaelesh came last, snapping off shots with his longrifle at the orks who were now charging over the open ground around the burning gargant towards them. Kethrian, Nael, Kaelesh, Dimitri. Everyone had got out of the square. Elshi breathed a premature sigh of relief. Athanuir! she screamed as she saw the headless body lying in the dirt only fifteen feet from the entrance to the alleyway. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her off down the alley. Do you think you could operate this? Kethrian said to Dimitri urgently. I I dont well I think I can see how it works but that doesnt mean- Excellent, Kethrian said, cutting his sentence short. Everyone, in! Now! Outside the meks garage, Zugnuts boyz lay in wait, their sluggas at the ready. The second the panzees made a move for it, they were dead. The building was surrounded and the panzees were trapped after half an hour of running around the town. It had been one hell of a scrap. There was a loud roar from inside the garage. Zugnut, a towering nob with a healthy love of killing things, grinned. The panzees were up to something and it could only mean a great end to a great scrap. The corrugated iron wall nearest Zugnut exploded as the meks best trukk slammed through it, a human wrestling with the controls in the drivers seat. Zugnut just managed to jump clear of the vicious spikes welded to the front of the trukk, unlike four of his boyz. His skilful dodge, however, ultimately made no difference. As the trukk went roaring past him,

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the silver edge of a witchblade carved through his torso in a heartbeat. The trukk roared away down the road, lurching wildly from side to side as the human wrestled with the controls. * The serene midnight landscape was as still and as silent as a painting. A bird of prey sitting in a nearby tree called out, its harsh cry echoing around the otherwise bare hillside. Small nocturnal animals scurried desperately around in their continuous search for food, and somewhere in a bush close by the gently rhythmic sound of an insect cleaning its wings could be heard. There was a loud bang, a hiss, and a whine as the smashed up trukk rattled to a halt on the dirt track leading away from the burning ork town. Thats it, Dimitri said, I dont think shes going any further. She? Kethrian asked. It, then, Dimitri said, patting the controls affectionately. Did anyone see it happen? Elshi asked. What? Dimitri asked. Athanuir. When he was shot, she answered. I no, I didnt, Dimitri replied. * What was I supposed to say? It was awful. There was absolutely nothing I could do for her. Id forgotten just how unremarkable and unglamorous death is. You dont get your last words or a heroic last stand. You just go, like Athanuir went. He had it pretty easy by comparison; at least they blew his head off. At least it was quick. But he was still gone. I wanted to comfort Elshi somehow, but I was unsure of exactly how to do it. I sat next to her in the trukk and put an arm around her. She leapt backwards and snapped, Get off me, primate. Kaelesh chuckled to himself as I got out of the trukk and walked away a short distance. Fuck him. Fuck her. No no, I understood she was angry at everyone. She wouldve been happier for anyone to have gone but him, it was so cruel. But Kaelesh fuck him, the insensitive prick. I was angry too not just with Kaelesh. I was angry because Athanuir had been shot. I didnt feel sad, or quiet. I just felt angry, incredibly angry. I wanted to punch something, or break something, or kill something. But in the end it wouldnt make any difference. I felt like an imbecile for approaching Elshi like that, anyway. I was angry with myself why would she want to be anywhere near me when something like that had happened? A stinking, sweating, hairy primate something that would make anyone feel happier after the death of their best friend. How ironic that I thought of Kaelesh as insensitive.

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5
__________ It was so typical of Athanuir, Elshi had decided. Hed probably allowed himself to be shot just to prove that Kethrian had been wrong to try and destroy the gargant. Despite herself, she smiled briefly. Shed felt terrible whilst theyd been running around in the town but the grief was muffled, like a dull sensation in the periphery of her conscious mind, pushed away from the front of her thoughts as the call of Khaine resonated at a deafening volume in her ears. But after theyd driven out on that ramshackle contraption shed taken her helm away from her head, and the psychic dam that had been holding her emotions back had finally shattered, leaving her almost incapable of walking, speaking and, at times, breathing. Of course, she wasnt just sad. Her mind was seething with a black rage that shed never experienced before. The whole episode had encapsulated everything that she hated about males at times. They were so convinced of their ability; other people didnt matter in the face of proving their own greatness. Kethrian had only wanted to prove his military cunning and martial prowess and the thought that it would be someone else that suffered as a result had evidently not passed through his allegedly wise and perceptive cranium. Not only had all of them been placed in great danger by going into the middle of an ork settlement, they would have to do it again immediately in order to retrieve Athanuirs waystone. * You do understand that we must go after the waystone, Dimitri? Yes, of course. I know how important those things are, I said, lying my arse off. No one would explain to me exactly what it was, but one thing had convinced me that retrieving the waystone mustve been important though recovering it served no practical purpose, even Nael and Kaelesh still wished to retrieve it. Kethrian said he could see its flame in his mind. Its been picked up, he said with concern. Its moving quickly Morai frande! he shouted, his voice sending two birds in a nearby tree flying off in an inelegant flurry. The greenskins must have it on one of their vehicles why would they have any interest in it? Trophy, Kaelesh said. We cant hope to keep up with them on foot, Kethrian said angrily. He looked over to the ork vehicle Id driven out of the town. Could you he began. I sincerely doubt it, I said quickly, but Ill try. How I was going to get the damn thing working again was a mystery. * The ork warboss leant from side to side to compensate for the way in which two of the trukks wheels would lift off the ground every time they sped around a corner. Unsurprisingly it worked; his mega-armour brought the weight of the trukk crashing back down to the ground every time. The ork looked down at the object hung on a chain around his neck. It sparkled in the moonlight, which was more than a little irritating. Panzee stuff was pretty even after the panzees were dead. The ork would have to kustomize the trophy. The ork grinned a typically toothy grin as the trukk screamed into, and then over the gates of Gulkans Kommand Bunka, spreading another gretchin toll collecta over the yard in front of the inelegant building. The ork liked to call it his four wheel discount. The trukk lurched and juddered to a halt before the ork shambled out of the back with a hissing of

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pistons. As he walked towards the main door of the Kommand Bunka, it pulled itself open in a shower of sparks. Ali Bongo, my good ork, Gulkan bellowed as the ork lumbered through the doorway. Wot brings yoo to dis neck of da woods? Aint dat an oomie sayin? Ali asked uncertainly. Aint dat insolence? Gulkan bellowed back. Sorry boss. Anyway, what do yoo want? Jus fort I should tell yoo, boss. Dere were panzees near da gargant, an dey woz killy. Jus ow many panzees, exactly? Gulkan said, sounding concerned. Um, undreds, wunnit, replied Ali vaguely. An how exactly did yoo let dem get dat close? Um Ali said, staring at the crudely welded slabs of metal that acted as his armoured boots, Dey woz sneaky. GRAMMA! Gulkan bellowed, making some of the gretchin secretaries squeal in fright. Sorry boss. Dey were sneaky. Well of course dey were sneaky deyre PANZEES. Yoov still gorra lot to learn. Yes boss. Now, please tell me da Gargants okay. Erm da Gargants okay, boss. Is it? Er Is it? Na, boss. Dey dropped a grenade in where da Evil Sunz dont shine. Now youre using oomie sayins, Gulkan said with a laugh. A few seconds later his brain worked out the significance of what Ali had just said. Yoo ave got five seconds to get out of my site, Gulkan said in a low rumble, an den yooll know pain. Lots of pain. Ali nodded and started lumbering out of the room as fast as his stunted, ungainly legs could carry him. His mega armour now seemed more on a hindrance than a lifesaver. His one hope was that Gulkan would have his usual difficulty counting to five. Gulkan, however, had no time for counting. He was angry. FIVE! he shouted. Now dat aint fair, boss, Ali said as Gulkan rose from his kommand throne, his power claw whining as the generator woke up. Look, we killed wunve em, an I got dis, Ali said, waving the Eldar gem frantically in the air. Pretty prezzies aint gonna help you where youre goin, Gulkan bellowed. I could paint it, Ali said quickly. Wiv your personal gliff. Yous got loadsa oomie eads, but you aint got a panzee stone! Gulkans crazed advance slowed to a more thoughtful trundle. Ali didnt know what he was holding, but Gulkan did. The spindly human with the long robes had told him about those gems, and how they were important. Gulkan slowed down and then stopped a few feet in front of Ali. Yoo look after dat, an dont let any panzees get at it, understood? Ali nodded uncertainly. Thirty minutes later, Ali Bongo was once again standing confidently on his trukk as it belted down the dirt track at speed. He looked at the panzee gem around his neck and sniffed defensively. He wasnt sure, but sometimes he thought he could hear the boyz in the back of the trukk snickering. It wasnt pretty, it was yooneek. There werent many orks with a shiny panzee gem for trophy. They were just jealous. Orks dont have a word for motivation, but Ali still felt he needed to do something to repair his image in the eyes of the boyz. Oo fancies a snotling burger? he yelled behind him. There was a loud cheer. Ali leaned forwards so that the driver could hear him and shouted, stop at da next Burger Fing drive thru over the roar of the wind.

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* So, the grot wheezed out of the ordering counter, dats nine regular snotling burgers an one wiv extra oil squigs? Gorks middle finger, dis aint hard. Now look, I want ELEVEN regular burgers an TWO wiv extra squigs, Ali Bongo yelled, getting impatient. Three? Two! And how many wiv squigs, boss? Ah scrap dis, if you wanna job done Ali muttered under his putrid breath. He clambered over the side of the trukk and, raising his power claw, made for the ordering counter. You isnt supposed to leave yer vehicle, the grot whined, before Ali smashed the counter to one side, sending the grot and a lot of metal scrap flying. Walking through the wall behind the counter, Ali went in search of burgers. Typical five minnit job, Ali said as he stomped off into the darkness of the snotling burger factory. * Magnifico cowered in a corner of his cage and hugged himself as the cage was lifted by an enormous crane across the dark cavernous interior of the snotling burger factory. The creatures around him howled and gibbered, and tried to shake the bars of the rusting cage. All the lights in the factory, other than the great oven furnaces, suddenly sputtered out. The crane stopped moving. The ork on the controls looked up, surprised. Wot da he began. The snotlings around Magnifico screamed as the powered crane released the cage. It fell twenty feet or so, and crashed to the ground. Cheap and rusty metalwork twisted and shattered, and the cage broke open. Seeing an opening, the captured creatures surged out of a hole in the cages side, bearing Magnifico with them. They scurried away into the darkness so fast that Magnifico was soon left stumbling around in the shadows. He tripped, fell, and landed painfully somewhere in the depths of the burger factory. After a short while, Magnifico realized that he couldnt stay where he was indefinitely, and got up onto his knees. Lost somewhere deep in the bowels of the factory, he could barely see his hand in front of him. Gradually, the memory of his miraculous escape from the cage defeated the desire simply to hide in the darkness, all hope forgotten, and he crawled wretchedly forwards on his hands and knees. A little way further into the darkness, his hand fell on something cold, smoothish, and rounded, like a large egg. The object was hung on a thick chain. No time to look at it now. Magnifico hung the object around his neck. He blinked, and shook his head. Something was niggling at him, but he couldnt put his finger on it. He touched the grazes on his temple, and continued crawling into the dark. * You think they heard us knock? Dimitri asked with a smile, looking behind our appropriated transport at the wagon-shaped hole in the wall of the ork building and then down at the smashed power generator underneath the now defunct vehicle. The state of the power generator certainly explained the lack of lights in the building. I had little patience for Dimitris unimaginative humour, but felt too embarrassed to reprimand him for his tiresome remarks. He may have been guilty of poor jokes, but I was guilty of much more; I had effectively killed Athanuir with my own arrogance. It was a mistake I would have expected of Nael; he was famous for his surprising lack of foresight, but someone in my position it was still hard to believe. Certainly, wed achieved our objective of destroying the gargant, but itd cost me the trust of Elshi and Dimitri. I hadnt yet apologised to her I knew Id have to do it at some point, somehow. It seemed easier to remain silent, much easier.

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Looking around in the half-light of the cavernous warehouse, I stared for a few brief seconds at the haphazardly piled crates stacked like row upon row of unstable columns, almost like a mockery of a mon-keigh temple. And there it was, closer than before, much to my relief. There were the dull pinpricks of light of the orks minds, moving around behind the crates, and there was Athanuir, several hundred metres away, his essence burning brightly in the cold prison of the waystone. It was surrounded by a dimmer and yet noticeable flame; not dim enough for a human, and not bright enough for an Eldar. Can you see him, Nael? I asked. Of course, master, he replied in his usual emotionless monotone. Let us try and finish this with speed, I said. At the time I felt that my shame would subside a little once we had acquired the waystone. Reaching behind myself I drew my witchblade and began to run down the nearest row of crates. I didnt know if Nael felt it too, but I sensed a larger entity coming closer to our location, although I didnt recognise it, and at the moment it was still some distance away. I think it was the speed of its approach that concerned me. * Elshi was surprised at the speed with which Kethrian ran. As he reached the nearest column of crates an unsuspecting ork stepped out from behind the crates, presumably to investigate the sound itd heard as theyd come through the wall. Kethrian didnt even stop, but ran past it, his witchblade slaying it before it could raise its ar. Kethrian disappeared behind the column, keenly pursued by the other members of the group. When they rounded the corner there was no sign of Kethrian but for a trail of mutilated ork bodies. Elshi weaved between them before running around the next corner. Kethrian stood before a heavy iron door, looking at the others as they ran up to him. He glanced for a second at Nael, who nodded and stepped up to the door. With perfect coordination, their witchblades carved into the thick metal, tearing an entrance out of the barrier with a terrific crackling of psychic power. The two seers ran through the entrance and Elshi followed, being careful not to touch the red-hot edges of the hole. It was hard to see; the only light came from the fluctuating orange glow of the furnaces, but from what Elshi could tell they appeared to be in some kind of manufacturing hall. There were conveyor belts, more crates, furnaces There was a dull rhythmic thumping sound from somewhere beyond the farthest wall of the factory, getting steadily louder. Kethrian looked around as though he was confused, something which made Elshi immediately uneasy. Kethrian started advancing slowly and purposefully across the bare floor, peering into the dark room. Elshi began to panic. The rhythmic thumping grew into a frighteningly loud percussive force, shaking the ground underneath her feet. Kethrian turned back to look at the rest of the group for a second, and behind him, the distant wall of the factory complex caved in, sending daylight searing into the room, blinding Elshi for a second before her helms optics adjusted. Standing in the light of the hole in the wall was the silhouette of a vast beast. It looked daemonic, with great leathery wings and four muscular limbs on a serpentine body. The horned head at the end of the long neck peered around the factory for a brief second before thundering in through the gap in the wall and making for a tiny bundle of fabric slowly inching across the metal floor towards it. Kethrian suddenly screamed, No! and began sprinting towards the towering beast. With surprising care and dexterity, the beast lifted the bundle of fabric up in its talons as it unfurled into human form and clambered onto the beasts neck. The beasts eyes flared bright white for a second, and it

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belched fire at Kethrian as he ran towards it. The fire arced out around Kethrians runic protection like a jet of water hitting a stone, stopping the Farseer in his tracks but apparently leaving him unharmed. "Stop!" he cried. The beast, gathering itself for another breath of fire, seemed to hesitate. It looked at Kethrian with shimmering eyes for a few still seconds, and then turned its head, to reveal a tiny figure sitting astride its neck. Kethrian addressed the small entity. You have something that is very important to us, he called, in a clear voice. The tiny figure on the beasts neck looked briefly puzzled, and then reached into its tattered coat, pulling a small, rounded object from its folds. It peered at it momentarily, then looked up again. This? the figure asked. Kethrian took a breath. Yes, the Farseer replied, it is of no value or use to you. Return it. The tiny man looked at the waystone for a moment, paused, and then looked up again. Why? Return it, or we shall take it from you, Nael said, walking up next to Kethrian. The winged creatures pose shifted. You could try and take it from me by force... but you wouldnt all survive the attempt. A curl of smoke rose from the giants nostrils. We shall see Nael said in an incredibly sinister voice. He began moving slowly towards the dragon, holding his witchblade tightly in his hands. Wait! the figure shouted, theres no need for this... there must be a third way! Nael paused, and the figure on the dragon took the opportunity to gather his thoughts. I suspect we have the same enemies, he continued, perhaps we can trade. I need to get off this planet. I will exchange the stone for transport. Acceptable, Kethrian said quickly before Nael uttered the sentence forming in his head. * Vanished, Kethrian explained, the entire planet. Not even a trace of rock remaining. Ah. Er, I dont suppose... No. Magnifico avoided anyones eyes. Kethrians eyes narrowed. What is it? he asked. Well, er, I think... its a bit embarrassing, actually... er, I think that was my fault. You? Elshi couldnt remember the Farseer ever sounding so confused. Weeell... yes, I thought the gateway was going a bit weird when we entered it, I suppose the containment set-up must have failed... and unless anyone has a paperclip to hand those things are bastards to reboot... Elshi could tell that Kethrian was utterly lost. The thing that got me off the planet was the thing that destroyed the planet. What thing? The gate. Genius, that thing. A few glitches, but nothing a straightened-out paper clip couldnt fix, Magnifico said, grinning. Elshi could tell that Kethrian was utterly lost. Magnifico looked at Kethrians face for the first time in the conversation. He had been looking around at the forest with unending interest. Seeing the look of confusion upon Kethrians face, he sighed exaggeratedly. Right, okay so I opened a portal into a web..." he fumbled for a word, "... webwossname-" -Webway? Elshi suggested. Webway, Magnifico continued, now illustrating his speech with gestures, yeah, I opened a portal into the Webway co-incident with the surface of Exmeith, then I linked it to a second portal remotely generated at a location I wasnt quite able to, er, locate, and sent all the colonists through Colonists? Kethrian asked, a little concerned. Yeah, and it was all working fine till that bastard Sorcerer turned up. As I said, it did start to go a bit weird, but I thought we were within the jitter tolerance... Bastards. What? Kethrian asked. Wh doesnt matter, Magnifico mumbled. Im worried that half the colonists may not even have reached the colony. Still, at least Fl um, my dragon landed on the same planet as me. Taking the opportunity to enter the conversation, Dimitri quickly interjected.

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What is that thing? he asked. Elshi could see a frightened look in his eyes every time the dragons foot hit the floor. Flopsy. Magnifico cringed. Aw, nads, I said it. He sighed. The dragons called Flopsy. Flopsy? Elshi asked in disbelief. It was so endearing a little strange, considering that it was a ninety-foot fire-breathing winged serpent. Flopsy? Dimitri asked in amazement. Flopsy? he said again, looking back at the dragon as it lumbered through the forest behind them, squeezing between most trees and knocking over the rest of them. Not just for Capitalistmas, either, Magnifico said matter-of-factly. Does anyone else understand this man? Dimitri asked the Eldar. No, Kethrian and Elshi said in unison. * I was terrified of the thing at first, but over time I realised that it had a surprisingly mild temperament. It seemed to have an almost psychic bond with Magnifico, and I must admit that it was awe-inspiring. I was never quite sure what initial impressions Elshi and Kethrian had of the thing... Flopsy wasnt as confusing as Magnifico, though. He seemed to be a relentlessly enthusiastic individual, although I took this to be more the result of his liberation from the orks than a general character trait. It was extremely hard to follow his train of thought he seemed to speak with an almost uninterrupted stream of consciousness, with one idea being superseded by the next before he had actually explained it. Why were you in the ork factory? I asked him. Pff, long story. Got picked up by some orks when I arrived, and they drove around a bit, and then I had to explain socialism to Gulkan, and- You spoke to Gulkan? Erm yeah. Er well, I wasnt THAT good at it I mean, there arent any words in orkish for stuff like democracy or welfare or stuff No, but wait how could you even talk to them? I mean, how do you know orkish? Ha funny story, now you mention it well, I had this book, right, with loads of languages in it, but most of em were pretty boring, but orksve got glyphs, and glyphs are gnarly so um well, I dunno I just picked it up as I went along I suppose. You worked out how to speak to orks just by listening to them? Well not quite. There was some cool stuff in that book youve no idea how much useless information there is in my head for example, right, theres this planet, yeah, with two moons, which We had walked for at least four days, and Kaelesh had told us that two more days walking would bring us to the Talakaian Pass, beyond which we would be within friendly territory. This was, of course, something of a double-edged sword. Whilst the Pass, to me, represented safety and comfort, it also scared me, as I knew that we would most likely have to get through the main front, and sneaking through was no longer an option now we were accompanied by a ninety-foot dragon. The walk itself was an enjoyable one. The terrain, although hilly in places, was stunningly beautiful. To the east, right on the horizon, we could see the ocean, and to the west the hills gathered themselves into a spiked mountain range. The process of walking had changed, from one of endurance to one of continual stimulation, either from observing the almost comically bizarre interaction between Kethrian and Magnifico, or from my sporadic and strained conversations with Elshi, or from simple appreciation of my surroundings.

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Elshis pretty, isnt she? Magnifico said suddenly. I hadnt heard him walk up alongside me; its hard to pick out the subtleties of footfalls when theres the rhythmic thunder of dragon steps behind you. I looked at Magnifico, who hadn't turned to face me. There didn't seem to be any subtext or hidden emotion behind his words. Um... yeah, I replied, trying not to sound surprised. Magnifico seemed satisfied, and didn't speak of it again. I was unable to enjoy complete happiness, though, whilst I had to observe Elshi going through such emotional trauma. She hid her emotions around the others, but confided in me more not as a result of some bond she had with me but because, with me, she felt she had nothing to prove. Again, it wasnt a two-way relationship. I was something like a vessel into which she poured her unhappiness, rather than some sentient entity that she wished to truly interact with. In some ways it was a vicious circle; the more I remained silent, listening to her unhappy monologues, the more she became convinced that I had nothing to say. However the end result the easing of her pain made the process endurable. What was his best quality? I asked her. Which is the best tree in this forest? she responded. Magnifico pointed, and said, That one. Its cool. The other two looked at him. He blushed. Um... sorry, he mumbled, and snuck away. Well then which quality had the most impact on you? His selflessness. He would listen to me for endless hours, without asking for anything in return. Can you imagine that? Being prepared to engage in a friendship in which your motive is based on the single desire of making the other person happy? How strangely familiar that sounds, I thought to myself. I found it hard to know whether to tell her about Athanuirs real feelings for her. Would he have wanted her to know? Or would the growth of the situations tragedy crush her further? I decided not to tell her in the end; it was such an explosive piece of information, too fragile to be laid upon the jagged ridges of her thoughts. I simply couldnt predict the result. The following night, my body wanted to sleep but my mind was uninterested in rest. Potentially, this was the last night that I would spend on the planet, and I stayed awake for as long as possible staring at the canvas of stars framed by the irregular shape of the trees around me. Try as I might, however, my exhaustion finally dragged my eyelids over my eyes and the world around me shrank to the confusing confines of my subconscious. * It rained heavily that night, and waking up was one of the singularly most unpleasant morning experiences I can remember. First came the tired opening of the eyes, then came the stagnant sensation of soaked clothes on warm skin, then came the squelching from my mud soaked boots, the viscous muck oozing between my saturated, blistered toes, giving me the gentle stinging of raw, salty flesh rubbing against unyielding leather and filth. As I shakily rose to my feet I realised just how heavy my sodden clothes were as they slid over my skin, trying their utmost to crawl back onto the ground, my shoulders and hips bearing their weight. Shaking as many leaves as I could off my groundsheet I rolled it up, noting the water patting down onto the leaves as I rolled the sodden material up in my hands. I looked over at a nearby tree, where the water running down the trunk ran over a strangely smooth surface at the stump. The shape looked up, Kaeleshs face emerging from underneath his hood. He didnt stand up so much as unfold in a most unnerving fashion, shaking the excess water off his apparently watertight coat. Underneath it, he was bone dry. Looking around briefly, he strode out into the woods to kill breakfast.

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I turned to look at Elshi as she woke, wiping mud and rainwater from her face. She was still beautiful, even in this light, the morning sun creating thin amber crescents in her irises and making the soaked strands of her short black hair shine. Sleep well? I said with a smile. As well as can be expected when sleeping in what was obviously a riverbed in a previous life, she said, picking wet leaves off her silver and black armour. Actually, I had a dream about you, although it was surreal beyond comprehension. Really? I asked, intrigued. Yes, but thats all Im saying, she said with a smile. I glanced over to where Nael was sleeping. You couldnt quite believe that he was actually sleeping; when Id first seen him sleeping I thought he was meditating. It was an easy mistake to make; most people dont sleep standing up. The point of his witchblade was embedded in the soft earth, his hands resting on its hilt, although whether he used the sword to prop himself up or if he used his hands to prop the sword up and stop it getting dirty was anyones guess. His facial features were utterly immobile; his pale skin never even twitched. He was, of course, bone dry, the rain running silently around the edge of the protective field of his rune armour. Kethrian, too, looked dry. The rain ran around him too, missing him by a few inches. I smirked to myself when he stood up, though. The rain may not have soaked him through but it had seeped into the earth beneath him and soaked his back, creasing the delicate material that made up his robes. Cursing, he began brushing himself off. Kaelesh strode back into the clearing clutching three large dead birds by their necks. Breakfast! he shouted, walking towards the small scaly hill that was Flopsy. The dragon was so long, in fact, that its tail went most of the way around the edge of the clearing, although his neck was folded back so that his head was by his chest, with Magnifico snuggling in the warm space between Flopsys neck and torso. What? Magnifico said, his head appearing from behind Flopsys neck looking as though he had a hangover. Who? Oh, bloody hell, he confirmed. You could save me some time by getting it to light this for me, Kaelesh said, proffering a stick. Magnifico looked at Flopsy for a second, who produced an unexpectedly large jet of flame from his nostrils, setting light to the stick, several trees, and enveloping Nael for a brief second. Nael opened one eye, looked impatiently at Kaelesh, and closed it again. Sorry! He didnt quite Magnifico apologised. Kaelesh walked over to the small fire hed made out of the few dry and combustible materials hed found and set light to it, before skewering the birds on spits and starting to cook them. I found these, Kaelesh said, holding up what looked like some kind of vegetable or fruit. I think theyre edible. He gave two to each of us until he got to Nael, when he simply placed the fruit on the ground in front of him. Er yeah. Well if youre cooking that, Flopsy n Ill just go for an early morning flight, Magnifico said. Might wake me up a bit. With a cracking of small branches and the sound of wet leaves being swept over the ground, Flopsy rose up onto his limbs, vast ten-foot muscles moving beneath his scaly skin like boulders. Magnifico clambered up onto the dragons neck with a slightly glazed look in his eyes before Flopsy started lumbering down the hillside towards the more open terrain downhill, the ground shaking with each thunderous footfall. Eventually we heard the beating of vast leathery wings and, a few moments later, a vast serpentine shape rose into the clear morning air. I must confess I found the dragon mystifying. I wouldve thought that, with such a vast body, the things flight pattern would have been inelegant, but it rose up on the thermals with awe inspiring grace, although I could only catch glimpses of the thing as it passed through patches of sky I could see between the trees. We walked for around four hours. Wed walked up onto the open ground at the top of the hill where the dragon had landed for a rest before we sank back down to the valley floor. It was quite a small, narrow valley and wed followed it for about ten miles

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downstream. The stream running down the valley was more of a brook, really, doing little but irrigating the lush valley floor. With most of the clouds having been burnt away by the sun, the leaves on the trees were illuminated to create a collage of vibrant greens of all imaginable shades and I must confess Id found the walk quite pleasant. * Im glad you finally made it, a voice said from about six feet above Kaelesh, who was in the lead at the time. The group looked up with a start to see an Eldar outcast standing on a branch thirteen feet above the ground. The outcast smiled before stepping off the branch and landing softly in front of Kaelesh. Should I be impressed, Naethwir? Kaelesh said mockingly. I could see you and your associates from fifty feet away. How many of us are there? Naethwir said, raising a humoured eyebrow. Seven. One up on that branch, Kaelesh said, pointing, two hiding behind that tree stump, one behind that boulder downstream, unless thats a large animal creating the disturbance in the water, one up there on the hillside, one squatting on a branch over there, and one next to the foot of that tree, although I owe him congratulations as I almost mistook him for one of the roots. Kaelesh looked smug, but Naethwir seemed unfazed. Feeling a soft touch in the small of his back, Kaelesh turned to find a thin, elegant sword held against him by a female outcast whod walked silently up behind him. Kaelesh looked around at the riverbanks and hillside as around forty outcasts emerged from the terrain. Elshi smiled, enjoying the sensation of watching Kaelesh get upstaged. Kaelesh said nothing but simply stood there, exuding contempt and resentment. Why are there so many of you? Kethrian asked. Apparently noticing Kethrian for the first time, having been concentrating on Kaelesh, Naethwir gave a quick but respectful bow of the head in Kethrians direction before saying, The Talakaian Pass is, ironically, impassable. Theres an old outpost not three miles from here, an eminently defensible position. Weve been instructed to take you there by Farseer Athandril and to hold out against the greenskins until an assault by our own forces moves through this area. At the worst, well have to stay there tonight and get lifted out early tomorrow morning but we should be pulled out by this eve, sir. Again, why so many of you? Kethrian repeated. Although the ork warbands in and around the pass are all but defeated, the greenskins are sending in a second army made up of at least fourteen warbands. Some of those warbands are expected to pass through this area, and we were the best way of getting a force behind the main lines unseen, Naethwir said, gesturing at the assembled outcasts. Elshi, despite having been an outcast herself for the better part of a century before returning to the Path, had never seen so many assembled in one place. As the small army walked clear of the trees and struggled uphill, several of the rangers in front threw themselves on the ground as the massive shadow of a dragon raced over them. Flopsy slowed and then slammed into the ground with an earth shaking thump. What? Naethwir breathed. Elshi smiled to herself. We spent most of a week with the thing, Kethrian muttered. What is it? Naethwir asked, staring blankly at the vast creature as it turned around to face them, a small human perched happily on his neck. Well, for now were calling it a dragon, which seems to be the most logical classification Wheres it from? Ask Magnifico, Kethrian said. Magnifico? Naethwir asked, slightly confused. Magnifico as in Giganticus? The human who supposedly fought the Sorcerer on Exmeith? Indeed. So the Exmeith Dragons real? I never even thought Naethwir trailed off. It wont be quite as easy for the orks to ignore us as Id hoped. By now, most of the rangers

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had walked up to and around Flopsy, staring in awe and talking excitedly to each other, some of them conversing with Magnifico. Elshi couldnt hear what he was saying, but could tell from his enthusiastic gestures and movements that he was talking about the dragon. Flopsy looked at the small figures wandering around him, observing them with fairly passive interest. Wed better move into the outpost before the orks arrive, Naethwir said before striding off in the direction of the outpost on the top of the hill. Elshi noted with some amusement the way Naethwirs path curved slightly in the direction of the dragon before he managed to actually walk all the way up to the outpost. The outpost consisted of five buildings, one central and fairly large structure in the middle, with four smaller towers, one at every corner of the crumbling perimeter wall. The buildings, like most military installations on Evalarion, were made out of prefabricated concrete and steel with little finesse or elegance. They were purely functional and, as a result, were utterly repellent. Naethwir led Kethrian, Nael, Kaelesh, Elshi, Dimitri and Magnifico into the main room of the central building. The old rusty door groaned as Naethwir opened it, making those assembled wince at the sound. When theyd walked into the bare, concrete room, its contents made everyone except Nael smile wickedly. The room, a good square twenty-foot, was crammed with Eldar weapons and ammunition of almost every description. We didnt know how long wed have to hold out for, so Farseer Athandril let us take pretty much whatever we wanted from the armoury. Elnwaen! Naethwir shouted. A young ranger ran in through the door. You called? Elnwaen said with a smile. Yes, I think youd better get some people split up into weapons teams for the antigrav platforms. Tell them to come in once were done in here. Without pause, Elnwaen said, and ran out again. Okay, well, take what you want, Naethwir said in a slightly accented Turranic Low Gothic, except you two, he continued, looking at Dimitri and Magnifico, Im afraid the gene sensors on the grips will prevent you from using any of these weapons. Aw, pff, Magnifico snorted, Ill be too busy looking after Flopsy anyway. Bugger, Dimitri said with disappointment. Needing no more encouragement, Elshi picked up a second shuriken catapult and an armful of ammunition clips. She didnt count them out precisely but there were probably more than ten held in her arm. Kaelesh grabbed two shuriken catapults and ammunition for both the catapults and his longrifle, whilst the two seers picked up nothing whatsoever. After an hours frenzied activity, the entirety of the outcast army was armed to the teeth and had taken up positions either on the perimeter walls, the tops of the towers, the roof of the central building, or looking out of one of the outposts narrow windows. Almost everyone had longrifles as well as shuriken catapults, along with a small heap of ammunition. On all the towers, the roof of the main building, and at various points on the perimeter wall, were anti-grav platforms sporting either scatter lasers or bright lances. Kethrian, Nael, Dimitri, Elshi and Naethwir stood on the roof looking over the surrounding countryside. They couldnt see very far south, as taller, tree-covered hills were blocking their view. Looking north, they could see a little further up the little valley winding up and away to the northwest. Way over in the east, Elshi could just make out the deep blue of the Eastern Ocean. Magnificos coming, Dimitri said. Looking north, Elshi saw the unmistakable outline of the dragon flying straight towards them. Within a few short minutes the dragons size grew in her vision until eventually Flopsy swooped incredibly low over the central building, making everyone instinctively duck. As Flopsy tore through the air immediately above her, Elshi was sure she could hear Magnifico laughing loudly. Flopsy landed behind the building with the usual thundering of massive feet on earth, making a few loose bits of concrete tumble out of the cracks in the walls of the outpost. Flopsy lowered his neck to ground level and Magnifico leapt off and ran back to the outpost, through the south entrance, over the courtyard, up the stairs of the main building, and onto the roof. Er he began, puffing, lots of orks. He puffed some more.

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How many is lots? Kethrian asked. Um... more puffing. Well hundreds of the bastards, mostly on foot but I saw bloody hell I saw some really big vehicles and some kind of gnarly er it was big. Um some kind of beast. Really you know with big he wheezed and gestured, er huge tusks and a kind of platform strapped to its back with orks on the top. There were two, but the other one was a bit smaller. Still bloody big though. Squiggoths, I should imagine, Naethwir said, sounding concerned. Oh, cool Magnifico said. He stopped for a few minutes to catch his breath, putting his hands on his knees as he bent over. How long? Kethrian asked. Uff fifteen minutes? Magnifico said. Kethrian nodded silently. * Fortunately it took the orks a little longer than fifteen minutes, which gave me time to prepare myself, not that I had much to prepare. I had only a few grenades left and two clips for my lasgun I somehow suspected that Id spend most of the battle hiding behind Kethrian. After meeting Kaelesh Id come to the conclusion that outcasts were all cold introverts with little sympathy for everyone else, but Naethwir was quite different. He seemed to go out of his way to talk to both Magnifico and myself. Id also spoken to the female warrior whod crept up behind Kaelesh called Nia but the second name I cant remember. She was travelling with Naethwir but she didnt know the others. They were from all over the place, and happened to be on Evalarion when Naethwir assembled the small force to meet us. Id spoken to others whilst we were getting everything ready in the outpost, some happy to talk to me, others far less willing. There was such a great variety and I came to the conclusion that there were as many reasons for being an outcast as there were outcasts. Some had wanted to be alone, some to be with others but to live outside the restrictions of their normal society, some because their friends were leaving and they didnt wish to lose them, some (like both Naethwir and Nia) because, somewhat unusually, they had grown tired of the attitude of the Eldar to other races, most notably humans, Tau and Kroot. The list of reasons grew with every person I talked to they were all so individualistic. Some of them of course were total assholes but, by and large, they struck me as an incredibly interesting group of people. One of the outcasts on the perimeter wall suddenly called something out in Eldar, and looking down the northern slope of the hill at the distant tree line, I could see some kind of movement. Wed heard the sound of the ork engines for about half an hour and in some ways I think Id started to believe that they werent going to come right past us. Initially the plan had been to cover everything up in the hope that the orks wouldnt notice us but we realised that if they noticed us when they were already all around us, wed be as good as dead, so the decision was made to kill as many of them as we could once they were in range of our various weapons. As the first few orks cleared the northern tree line several hundred feet downhill, the heavy weapons on the towers started firing long bursts of laser bolts. They were damned effective, knocking most of the greenskins off their feet and, even more incredibly, most of them didnt get back up again. I didnt realise it at first because of the fact that they were silent, but all of the outcasts were firing their longrifles at the orks as well, volley upon volley of darts culling the orks with reassuringly lethal toxins. At first, the orks seemed unable to get much farther than the tree line, but eventually they started coming in greater numbers, and my confidence in our assured survival began to falter. After ten minutes of endless firing, a few vehicles charged through the tree line and began erratically swerving over the open ground towards us. They didnt get very far; the Eldar weapons platforms made rather short and explosive work of them, sending orks flying through the air howling loudly. We couldnt kill everything, though, and gunfire started raking the walls, occasionally slamming into an outcast, sending them tumbling off the wall back into the courtyard amidst explosions of blood. For the most part, the orks couldnt see what they were shooting at because of the Eldars Cameleoline coats, and simply plastered the outpost with

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as much fire as they could bring to bear. Occasionally popping up from behind the low wall that ran around the roof of the central building, I fired off quick bursts from my lasgun with little positive effect other than being therapeutic I cheered loudly when I saw the dragon flying in from the north again, swooping up behind an ork truck, and tossing it over with a powerful movement of one of its forelimbs, sending the orks in the back tumbling out only to be crushed by the weight of the truck crashing down on them. With a splintering crash, two of the trees on the tree line were suddenly pushed over and a vast leviathan came lumbering out of the forest, a platform covered in orks tied crudely to its back. It was a quadruped, its vast, rounded belly held only a few feet from the ground by its short, inelegant legs. Its ten-foot head, quite low to the ground as a result of its hunched posture, had two tiny eyes set in deep eye sockets and a highly exaggerated jaw from which there emerged two curved ten-foot tusks. Its short, stubby tail had a huge spiked mace-like thing attached to it, and I noticed that the orks steered it in the desired direction by tugging on huge chains bolted to either side of its mouth. For a second the size of the thing took my breath away it had to be a good thirty feet tall and looked nigh on un-killable. The Eldar concentrated all their fire on it, lacerating its thick green skin and gouging great chunks of meat out of its flanks, but it kept on trudging inexorably towards us like a juggernaut. The thing quite obviously had the strength to simply flatten the crumbling concrete walls of the outpost and we couldnt ignore it, but then we couldnt afford to ignore the rest of the orks as well. The Squiggoth gave the other orks all the time they needed to reach the northern entrance to the outpost and burst through the gates, butchering the helpless rangers who were stood behind the rusting gates as they were smashed aside. Cursing, every Eldar on the roof except Elshi left and rushed downstairs to assist with the fight in the courtyard. I suddenly felt extremely vulnerable, despite Elshis presence. * Most of the ork attention was now focused on the entrance and Elshi rose to a crouching position, shuffled up to the edge of the roof, and, raising her twin shuriken catapults, sent a swarm of shuriken screaming into the crowd of orks surging through the entrance, knocking several of them to the floor in a welter of blood. Suddenly the few rangers still fighting in close combat with the orks ran back some distance as Kethrian, Nael, Kaelesh, Naethwir and Nia emerged at the bottom of the stairs. Naels black-gloved hand reached out and began to change shape. At first it was just like it was increasing in size but then it lost all form. One second it looked like a writhing mass of black serpents, then a forest of black knife blades, and then it was just an absence of light. The black shapes ripped into the orks directly in front of the Dark Seer and expanded outwards for around fifteen to twenty feet before fading, leaving a small plain of charred ork skeletons lying in front of the central building. The orks, shocked, hesitated for a few seconds and the Eldar charged in, culling the beasts with such speed that they had little time to react. Elshi watched in awe as Kethrian slammed his witchblade into two of the brutes, sending them flying back into the orks behind them, knocking them over. Elshi also noticed the speed with which Nia moved, her thin blade darting in and out, moving in circles so quickly that it almost appeared to be a disk at some points. Kaelesh ducked and weaved, his twin swords spinning, slicing and carving through the creatures around him. Naethwirs power sword cut into an orks neck as it punched him in the stomach, sending him falling to the floor. Elshi was worried, until Nael walked up to the doubled up form of Naethwir, tightening his grip on his blade. Black fire twisted up the silver edge of Naels blade before he spun around, cutting into the five orks around him at the waist. Elshi watched black fire spread from their wounds over their whole bodies, consuming them and sending them falling silently to the ground. The Eldar fought so quickly and so furiously that they had, in as little as two minutes, slaughtered all thirty or so of the orks whod rushed into the courtyard for the loss of only four rangers. Flopsy suddenly swept into Elshis field of vision from the left and raced over the ork horde, a jet of flames

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rushing from his mouth, incinerating a number of the orks charging towards the perimeter wall. Although it had developed a rather severe limp, throwing the orks on its back around a fair bit, the Squiggoth was still lumbering towards the perimeter wall, shuriken from the rangers catapults carving long bloody lines in its thick skin. A shot from one of the bright lances on the tower pierced the kneecap on its left forelimb and it lurched forward onto the wounded knee, throwing some orks off the platform on its back. Refusing to give up, the creature continued to edge forwards, roaring angrily. There was a bang from somewhere nearer the tree line as an ork gun truck sped into view. A few seconds later there was a highpitched whistling before the northeast tower blew apart in a deafening explosion, sending several limp bodies flying from the structure, leaving trails of fire behind them. There was a roar of primitive rocket engines and, as Elshi looked up, she saw four short, fat missiles of disconcerting proportions rise into the sky. Their flight pattern twisted and snaked a little as Elshi realised that they were piloted by gretchin slaves. The rockets angled down and began hurtling towards the outpost. For one brief, optimistic second, Elshi thought the lot of them would miss, and indeed two did, screaming over the south slope of the hill. One of the rockets, however, narrowly missed the central building and slammed into the south entrance, flattening it and sending small chunks of concrete everywhere, knocking several rangers to the ground with a cracking of bones. The fourth rocket tore into the central building itself, halfway up the face of the wall at the northeast corner. The building shook violently, almost making Elshi lose her balance. A few seconds later the building lurched to one side, towards the east wall. Elshi looked down at Dimitri for a second. Weve got to get out of the building, she said. He nodded quickly and scrambled onto his feet, both of them running for the stairway. As they ran, the building continued to slide to the east, the roof dipping down on one side like the bow of a ship going under a wave crest. Worse, the building was not stopping. Elshis heartbeat soared as the building fell and she realised that getting to the stairs would make no difference. As the roof dipped further the east perimeter wall came into view and she saw the outcasts on the wall turn to see the building, and start to scramble desperately out of the way. The wall rushed closer and closer as the buildings fall accelerated. Just before the building slammed into the wall Elshi was winded by a powerful blow from behind. She found herself rising into the air but, strangely, she wasnt falling back down to earth. Her chest felt as though it had a vice clamped around it and she saw the underside of the head and neck of the dragon just above her. Suddenly she realised that the dragon was holding her in his left forehand. She laughed with wild delight and looked over to her right to see Dimitri, held safely in Flopsys taloned hand, doing exactly the same. Flopsy turned in mid air to the left, making Elshi feel heavier for a second before the dragon began flying back to the outpost. The orks were now up against the walls of the outpost, and Elshi estimated that more than half of the outcasts defending it had been killed. Those who remained we firing wildly into the orks with shuriken catapults in the close quarters firefight. Elshi could see the Squiggoth nearing the perimeter wall. As it raised its massive head to smash into the wall with its tusks, three immense bolts of brilliant blue energy thumped into its wounded right flank, passing straight through its great bulk before creating an explosion of tangled organs and blood out of the other side. Its carcass was knocked over to its left by the force of the blow and Elshi looked further downhill to see the source of the shots. Emerging from the forest from the west with reverberating footfalls, a Revenant titan of Fir Altharion strode onto the battlefield. Its torso turned to face the orks still running towards the outpost and let off a second volley, tearing great gouges out of the earth and sending inert bodies flying. A second titan strode onto the hill from the other direction, and as it cleared the tree line, a few badly damaged ork trucks hurtled out of the forest from the south. For a second Elshi thought they had been surrounded until she realised that these trucks were the remains of the ork army which the Eldar had obviously routed from the main lines further south. In the distance, but moving quickly, she could see swarms of Eldar skimmers approaching their position. A few

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seconds later, squads of aspect warriors began emerging from the forest, running quickly up the hill towards the outpost. The dragon reached what remained of the outpost and, and gliding low over the perimeter wall, dropped Dimitri and Elshi into the courtyard as gently as he could manage. Dimitri landed in a slightly painful heap on the ground but Elshi went into a roll and emerged standing and smiling six feet later. She looked around the courtyard at the devastation. Corpses, mostly orks, littered the ground. Raising her shuriken catapult she Realised that shed dropped both her guns when the dragon had lifted her off the roof. There were still orks inside the perimeter walls, fighting the outcast army and she felt a distinct wave of panic upon seeing three orks running madly towards her. Dimitri ran up behind her and said, Shall we go? Good idea, she agreed, and they ran towards the remains of the central building, leaping onto the concrete rubble and scrambling up it in an attempt to get away from the orks following them, shots whizzing close over their heads as the orks fired at them. Looking behind her, she saw Kethrian run up behind the three orks, his hand outstretched. One of them suddenly stopped in his tracks and flew backwards again towards Kethrian, his head exploding in the process. Kethrian dodged the body and caught up with the other two, driving his sword into the back of one of them before pulling it out and smashing his blade into the other orks chest as it turned to face him. Without looking, Kethrian swung the blade behind him, disembowelling an ork that had been approaching him. Kethrian looked up at Dimitri and Elshi, nodded at them briefly and ran off again to join what remained of the battle around the northern entrance of the outpost. Within ten minutes the orks had been effectively wiped out as the Kaela Zhai shadow host swept over the battlefield. As the thunderous footfalls of the two titans faded into the distance, Elshi and Dimitri sat down on the rubble and breathed several sighs of relief. * Finally, I was safe. I felt a great surge of relief before a realisation dawned on me: I had no idea what I was going to do next. As far as the Turan authorities were concerned I was dead, and as far as the Eldar were concerned I was a non-entity. That evening we were taken in Eldar skimmers back to one of their main bases in the south. Magnifico was doubly ecstatic; hed reached safety, and for the whole of the flight home (in which hed flown on Flopsy) hed had a guiding escort of Eldar jetbikes which apparently interested him greatly. Magnifico and I were given a truly luxuriant room to share for the night on beds that seemed to know how soft or hard you wanted them to be given your mood. It wasnt just the bed that I remembered, though we were allowed to bathe and I can tell you in all honesty that Ill never feel completely clean using normal soap again. I dont know what that Eldar stuff was, but well Im not even going to try and give you an impression of how relaxing it was because the sensation probably lands somewhere beyond the point at which it can be retold in words. The next morning I woke up feeling the best Id felt for as long as I can remember. The claims impressiveness might be undermined by my remarkably poor memory of a lot of my life, but I felt somehow real or individual, or something. Yes I was more of an individual, like I was as a kid. In the army Id been the usual machine component, and a useless and faulty one at that, and whilst Id been near Nael and Kaelesh I felt like more of a problem than a human. Perhaps I was a problem because Im a human to that extent I can certainly sympathise with their hatred of me their view of the human race is, I think, somewhat similar to my own. I never saw Kaelesh after the battle at the outpost; he didnt come back with us in the transports, although Kethrian told me that he survived and,

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thankfully, so did Naethwir and Nia, who Id grown swiftly fond of. The second we landed in the Eldar base, Nael left without so much as a word, although I cant say I particularly care about his dismissal of me, as I wasnt eager to exchange words with him again. That morning, Magnifico and I were woken by a light knocking on the clean white door of our room. Come in, I muttered, still shaking off the best nights sleep Id ever had. The door irised open to reveal an Eldar wearing long blue robes. He walked into the room, his silken clothes rustling quietly on the carpet. Farseer Kethrian has sent me to ask you if you would join him for breakfast, the Eldar said in an almost irritatingly gentle voice. Yeah, sure, I replied, slowly beginning to wake up. The Eldar smiled and walked out of the room. Magnifico? Huh? breathed Magnifico, opening his eyes and looking around in a daze. Breakfast. With Kethrian, I replied. Free? Think so. Woohoo! Magnifico yelled happily. I smiled, taking in the numerous drawings of Eldar titans scattered around Magnificos bed. Hed evidently fallen asleep mid-sketch; a sheet of paper with a half-finished titan performing some kind of dance was still held firmly in one hand, a graphite stick in the other. The Eldar came back half an hour later and we were led through a series of white corridors, Eldar runes and strange organic shapes carved into the walls. I had the feeling that we were at a fair height, although I was uncertain why. Eventually we reached a large door and the Eldar said with a smile, I hope you dont suffer from vertigo. With that, he gently touched a light blue rune on the wall next to the door and it opened silently, letting a gentle wind float into the corridor. The room in which Kethrian wishes to eat is situated in the first room you come to when you cross the bridge. Enjoy. With that, the Eldar began walking back the way wed come and I looked uncertainly out of the door, immediately understanding what had given me the impression of altitude. The sight before my eyes took my breath away. In the confines of the transport and the darkness of the night I hadnt realised how big the base was it was, in fact, a settlement, despite the fact that I remembered nothing of any Eldar colonies in the briefing I was given when I arrived on Evalarion. I stepped out onto the walkway that, by the looks of it, ran all the way around the tower. Ahead of us was an incredibly long footbridge like half a mile or something that was only about three feet wide, with delicate bone-carved railings running down its length. Hundreds of feet below I could see the streets weaving in between the sparsely placed Eldar buildings, small craft flying in between the elegant white towers like tiny insects. What I couldnt get over was the contrast with Turan settlements theyre dark, clunky, inelegant and crowded affairs, almost as lifeless as their inhabitants. This settlement, though the buildings were sparsely placed, with grass and trees lining all the streets as though I were experiencing a bizarre utopian dream. The tower that I was in, I assumed, was much like the one at the other end of the bridge. Tall, very tall wide at the base, it curved inwards in a series of convex angles before curving out again, at which point there was a break in the structure, pure glass running all the way around the tower before a second segment of the tower sat on top of it I think there were three or four of these segments, each vertebrae-like section being smaller than the one beneath it, before the sharp, pointed tip of the building came to an end at some inconceivable altitude. I looked at Magnifico who, for once, was at a loss for words. He looked at me and made a gesture that said that we should begin walking across the bridge. Now I dont consider myself too bad with heights but this bridge wasnt generously built, being less than thirty centimetres thick with nothing but railings to help you keep your

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balance in the wind. The closer you got the centre the worse it got but the views, being breathtaking, justified it. Over to the east, right next to the edge of the settlement (which, despite having these two massive towers was actually reasonably small) was the Eastern Ocean, shining in the sunlight. To the west, mountains rose up and hid the rest of the continent from view after a few miles. Eventually we reached the other tower and entered the room to find Kethrian and Elshi drinking from tall, thin glasses and sitting on large, luxuriant cushions. They rose as we entered. Now Ive told you how beautiful Elshi was before, but that was when she was covered in the dirt and mud of Evalarion, when she was tired and angry. Well, this being the case, you can imagine her radiance once shes had the chance to bathe and so on I could see that she was still by no means happy (for obvious reasons) but she certainly seemed happier, which in turn pleased me. Following breakfast we lazed around in the room, talking about the journey wed all experienced, listening to Magnificos own tale, and staring out of the wide windows at the sea in front of us. Eventually we fell silent and simply stared out at the ocean. Suddenly Kethrian sighed and turned to us. I have some bad news. Yes? I asked. Yesterday a man named General Vrige sent out a communication on all channels, public and military, from the Hellhessiar system. In it, he condemned what he saw as the alien corruption of the Turan Empire and announced that the Imperium is to begin a crusade of the Turan Empire to extinguish the influence of my people. Most of the worlds in the south of the sector the more conservative element of the Empire, sided with him and have seceded to the Imperium before the war has even begun, taking around a third of the entire Turan military with them. There is widespread shock at the scale of the crusade; we were unaware that the Imperium was prepared to deploy such a large number of troops but even at this early stage we know that several companies of space marines along with at least twenty regiments of Imperial Guard are being transported in a large fleet headed by the Ultramarines battle barge, the Severian, not to mention the hundreds of regiments of Turan Guard under the command of General Vrige in the systems that seceded to the Imperium. We already have reports of attacks on Eldar colonists on some of these systems but the upshot is this: Evalarion is too far south for our own forces to really hold onto it without being cut off and eventually annihilated by the Imperial fleet. It seems ironic that now that we have begun to defeat the orks on this planet, we are being forced to withdraw all of our forces to re-deploy them in systems being threatened by the Imperium, like Delen. Within two days, all Turan and Thaalax forces will have been evacuated and en route to the Delen system. We estimate that the orks will have total control of this planet within the next two months. None of us had anything to say, we were just numb. The whole war, all those deaths they had accomplished nothing. It stung me even more when I considered that we had just started to win convincingly, and now we were just going to leave the people of the planet to their inevitable deaths or enslavement. I felt angry with Kethrian, I suppose, but he was right to evacuate. It would only waste more lives, but I simply wouldnt have the strength of will to leave so many millions of people to their doom. Suddenly I felt incredibly sorry for him. He must have hated the decision more than everyone else because it was effectively him that was killing those people. The weight on his shoulders I couldnt quite conceive it. Well, Kethrian continued, I saddens me to leave on that note, but Im afraid I must be elsewhere. I wish you all luck. Goodbye. Goodbye, I said, and thank you.

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Um ta, Magnifico said. Managing a smile despite the tragedy of what hed just told us, Kethrian rose from his cushion and strode out of the room. Elshi, Magnifico and I looked at each other. What do we do now? I asked. Mmm dunno, Magnifico said vaguely. He looked down, and drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. Then he looked up again and said, Wanna come back to my place? Not doing anything else, I replied. Cool. Got a ship? No Oh. Um oh, Magnifico said. Suddenly he scrambled to his feet. Kethrian! he called as he ran out of the room. I noticed that Elshi was looking at me. Yes? I asked with a smile. Thank you for listening, she said. Finally, some recognition! You helped me get through the worst of it, I think. My smile grew. What will you do now? I asked her. Go back to what I did before. Im a pilot when theres a war on, which is most of the time. Athanuir was as well, he she stopped suddenly and closed her eyes for a moment. Wed just sit around in the hangar waiting for the call to go out wed pass the time drawing each other, or whatever we felt like I dont know who Ill draw now, who Ill pass the time with. Ive done so much reading maybe I could write something, thats something you do on your own. Her eyes closed again. Maybe now that Im going back to normal life Ill miss him even more. Im quite tempted to go back to being an outcast, it was so much freer and so much less comfortable. A double-edged sword, I said, absently. What? Positives and negatives. Ah yes. A good metaphor. Well, thank you again. Thank you, Elshi. You may have forgotten, but you stopped a certain outcast from killing me she smiled at me, remembering. Im grateful. If only more people would think like that pathfinder Naethwir. Hate the individual, not the race, she said, a little sadly. I couldnt have agreed more, and even though I think Kaeleshs hatred of the human race was justified his mistake was to believe that none of us ever wanted to or indeed succeeded in doing the right thing. * Once wed worked out where Magnificos colony probably was with the help of the Eldars unsurprisingly greater knowledge of the Webway, he and I were allowed on board a Thaalax transport that was headed for the Eldar-run world of Shakren. When we got there we received a message from Kethrian, instructions to go to a specific hangar. It took us bloody hours to find the place, but eventually we got there to find two Eldar standing in front of a fairly small (by small I mean around three hundred metres) metallic ship. They informed us that it was a gift from Kethrian himself, a ship built with Eldar technology designed for human use, a beautiful little ship so cleverly and efficiently designed that it only took the two of us to pilot the thing there was even a space designed specifically for Flopsy. Strangely, Magnifico got the most excited when he saw the bridge, and the rows of ceiling switches. Waiting for us on the vessel was a message from Kethrian. I can only imagine Naels disapproval at this show of needless generosity, a holographic Kethrian smirked from the ships control panel. However, one can only imagine what would happen if he was ever in charge. This ship is in essence a slightly extravagant way of thanking you, Magnifico, for saving Athanuirs soul. You might point out that you did not exactly set out to save him, that it was chance, but I know that the path you walked led you to it, as it leads you to wherever you go now. Any one of the actions of your life, had they been any different, could have stopped you ever arriving on Evalarion. Through a horde of

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alternatives you chose the correct path and it is that which I thank you for. May both you and Dimitri find success upon arriving at your destination. The image faded. Cool hologram, Magnifico remarked. Bloody existentialists, he added. Im not sure that was really existentialist, as such, I observed. Pff, he snorted, with a dismissive hand gesture. The two Eldar showed us how everything worked, showed us the route through the Webway wed have to take, and how to pass through the various gates. After a few days training to get to grips with the running of the ship, we left Shakren, entered the Webway, and began our search for the colony that Magnifico had conceived, designed, built, colonised, and then lost. It was out there, somewhere in the sector, and it would, hopefully, be the home Id been waiting for since my early childhood. I dont suppose I ever was a good soldier, but Im not sure that I care. I was never going to really experience anything worth experiencing whilst in the military, and I was tired of being surrounded by intellectually stunted, uninteresting people who never gave anything more than a seconds thought. Worse, my entire existence so far had been wasted. Even when I was involved in a war that appeared to be going in the right direction despite an appalling loss of life, it transpired that our efforts were wasted anyway. The war between the Imperium and the Turan Empire should not have been a surprise. Whilst the Turan regime is by no means liberal it did tolerate the Eldar, a move so open-minded and logical that the Imperium would naturally intervene. It was so human, the assumption that the things we know little about must be evil, just because we know that elements of them are evil. I imagined that many more pointless wars would be fought as a result, that more lives would be wasted and that wed make as little progress as our people have been making for millennia now. Suddenly, though, I was presented with reasons to be optimistic about my own life and for the first time I could remember, I was filled with anticipation.

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Appendix: The Warhammer 40,000 Galaxy

____________________ Blood of Innocents is set at the end of the 41st Millennium (i.e., approximately 40,999 AD.) The background story of Warhammer 40,000 fiction is extremely complex and in-depth, and these appendixes attempt to reduce it to that information needed to understand the story. To give you a flavour of the kind of uplifting, light-hearted nature of Warhammer 40,000, here is a typical introduction to the setting: In the nightmare future of the forty-first millennium, the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens, and threatened from within by malevolent creatures and heretic rebels. Only the strength of the Immortal Emperor of Terra stands between humanity and its annihilation. Dedicated to His service are the countless warriors, agents and myriad servants of the Imperium, for whom there can be no respite, only eternal servitude in His name. Wars rage over airless moons, in the dark, twisted depths of hive worlds and in the cold wastes between stars. From the immaterial realm of warp space, malicious entities send their unspeakable minions to slaughter the Emperor's chosen. Everywhere, soulless spectres and slavering monsters are poised to extinguish the life of humanity. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to under the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. This is a dark and terrible era where you will find little comfort or hope. Forget the power of technology, science and common humanity. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace among the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods.
-Adapted from Warhammer 40,000 by Rick Priestly, Andy Chambers, Gavin Thorpe, Ian Pickstock & Jervis Johnson

Contents General background Historical overview The Imperium today The Imperial Guard The Turan Sector The Turan Guard The Eldar Physical traits of the Eldar The Fall of the Eldar and the different Eldar civilisations Eldar technology The Eldar military The Thaalax Eldar The Orks Warhammer 40,000 terminology Historical Overview In the 41st Millennium, the human race stretches across the entire galaxy. Virtually the entire race is a part of the Imperium of Man, an empire which survives only through its strength born of paranoia, strictly enforced religious dogma and merciless cruelty. To understand the Imperium, it is necessary to go into its history.

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The Warp Around the year 4,000 AD, humanity discovered the existence of the Warp. Thought of as another dimension, running alongside our own, rather than being composed of solid matter and empty space, the Warp is filled with an endless sea of psychic energy, which mirrors the thoughts, dreams, emotion and hatred of real space. Almost all living creatures have a mirror entity in the warp, a flame, essentially their spirit. Some races in the galaxy, including certain mutated humans, have the ability to see into, and even draw power from the Warp, and so exercise a range of psychic powers. Individuals with this ability are known as psykers. The Warp is not uninhabited. Creatures created of psychic energy, daemons, exist within it, and these malevolent creatures will attempt to attack or even possess any unprotected psykers who are connecting their minds to the Warp. There are worse things than Daemons in the Warp. Not long after the birth of the human race, the psychic reflections of all their negative emotions gave birth to three of the Gods of Chaos. These unimaginably powerful beings, Khorne, Tzeench and Nurgle, reside within the warp, and are the gods of bloodlust, deception and pestilence respectively. Their sole desire is to reach into the material universe, to seduce and enslave the creatures within, and to satisfy their particular cravings. It is the Warp that makes faster-than-light travel possible. With the use of Warp drives, starships can transfer themselves into the adjacent location in the Warp, and ride its various currents and tides to the position adjacent to their desired location, whereupon they will drop back into real space. Both space and time are unreal concepts in the Warp, and so this activity would be almost uncontrollable, were it not for a certain severe mutation which results in those humans known as Navigators. These psykers have the ability to steer starships through the warp, though the ship is still vulnerable to currents, storms and daemons. The age of apostasy and the dawn of the Imperium Over more than 20,000 years, Humanity spread throughout the galaxy, encountering alien races, and more often than not, fighting with them. Then, due to a wide range of factors, including the appearance of mutated subspecies of man known as Abhumans, and widespread insanity and insurrection, human society starts to collapse. The psychic turmoil caused great storms in the Warp, which made interstellar travel in many parts of the galaxy impossible. This included cutting Earth, now known as Terra, off from the rest of the galaxy. It is at this point that the Immortal Emperor of Man becomes significant. Born during Egyptian times, no one is certain where he was or what he did before 28,000, or why he never grew old, but there is a good chance that many of the great and legendary rulers of men in history were in fact this man. At this time, he appeared simply to be one of many Warlords trying to seize power on Terra. However, with the help of the human races first genetically modified warriors, he eventually unified Earth. Using ultra advanced genetic engineering techniques, the Emperor of Man engineered twenty babies, named the Primarchs. These twenty males were intended to help create a super race of humans who will be the salvation of humanity. However, the powers of Chaos recognised their potential, and used their power to scatter them across the galaxy. The Fall

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In the 31st Millennium, the entire galaxy changes. Since the birth of mankind, the Eldar, who are described in greater detail later in this book, have had the greatest and most advanced civilisation in the galaxy. However, their society has leant more and more to hedonism and depraved pleasure seeking. The Eldar are a powerfully psychic race, and they were warned of the potential consequences of their decadence by the Old Ones who created them. For the most part, these warnings were ignored, but certain groups of Eldar build the Craftworlds the galaxys largest starships, the size of small worlds, and proceeded to dwell on these. Eventually, inevitably, Eldar society collapses in what is known as the Fall. The psychic forces form a new Chaos god, Slaanesh, god of hedonism and pleasure seeking. The birth of this god creates a psychic scream, which slays the vast majority of the Eldar race. A vast rift in real space opens in Eldar space, and the Eldar worlds are destroyed. This huge tormented area of space is now known as the Eye of Terror. The Eldar race would have been wiped out entirely, were it not for the few, most distant Craftworlds, which were not destroyed like the others, and fled out across the galaxy. The society of what remained of the Eldar changed utterly, and their new culture is explained further on. When the Eye of Terror was created, the warp storms that had previously been making human interstellar travel and communication impossible abated. The Great Crusade The Emperor of Man, still upon Terra, had lost the 20 Primarchs after the forces of Chaos scattered them across the galaxy. However, he and his followers retained their genetic patterns. Using these, the Space Marines were created. The Space Marines remain, to today, mankinds most deadly warriors. A recruit is subjected to an inconceivably strict and brutal training program whilst at the same time undergoing intensive mutation created by various implants (for example, second hearts, fused ribcages, the ability to spit acid, or to breath underwater). Standing eight feet tall when wearing their armour, they are immensely strong, intelligent in martial matters, and perhaps most importantly, almost invariably unswervingly loyal to the Emperor. Space Marines, as well as possessing myriad biological modifications, are surgically grafted into powered airtight armour, which augments their already impressive strength and endurance to that great enough to rival their many alien opponents. It would be inaccurate to see Space Marines as being human so much as superhuman; indeed it is often observed that they have forsaken their humanity to preserve the humanity of others. Legions of Space Marines, named the Chapters, were created in the image of each of the twenty Primarchs. With these, the Emperor embarked upon the Great Crusade, in which he gradually reunited the human race under the newly founded Imperium of Man. On this crusade, he searched for, and found, the twenty Primarchs, each of which had grown to perform great deeds on the worlds on which they were placed. Each joined the Emperor, and was given command of his Space Marine chapter, which then based itself upon his homeworld. The Human race is, at this point, at the peak of its technological advancement. After this time, though they retain much of the same technology, actual scientific understanding is replaced more and more by tradition, superstition, pseudo-religious dogma, and the maintenance of ancient machines without a true understanding of their workings. The Horus Heresy and the Age of Strife With the help of the Space Marine legions, the galaxy was united under the Imperium. However, not even the Primarchs were perfect. The most powerful Primarch,

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Horus, becomes tempted by the lure of Chaos, and eventually rebells against the Emperor. Many, including many Marine Legions, join Horus and besiege Earth. In the apocalyptic war that follows, Horus is eventually slain, and the chaos allied Traitor Marines are eventually beaten back. The Emperor is so badly crippled by his fight with Horus that he can only survive unconscious in a vast life support machine named the Golden Throne. The Traitor Marines retreat to the Eye of Terror, where only they can safely reside. The Imperium has survived from the end of the so called Horus Heresy until the present day, only through paranoia, religious dogma, continual warfare, and the merciless cleansing of those suspected of heresy. Those Space Marines who remained loyal to the Emperor are still strong, but rely on a poor understanding of the technology they use. The Imperium Today The Imperium at the end of the 41st Millenium is as has been described above, a wartorn and grim place in which to live. The human races survival is only maintained by the countless soldiers of the Imperium. The Imperial Guard Although the Space Marines are the Imperiums most powerful warriors, there is fewer than a single Marine for each human colonised world. Therefore, most of the fighting done in the defence of mankind is done by the Imperial Guard. The countless foot soldiers of the Imperium, the Guard, are depended upon to defend humanitys existence, given, usually, only aged tanks and artillery, the standard issue Lasgun laser rifle, and some encouraging Imperial propaganda. While the Space Marines are ultra fanatical and unswervingly loyal, the Imperial Guard are just humans like you and I, with the attendant variety in personalities and priorities.

The Turan Sector

In the mid-21st millennium, a colony ship entered what would become known as the Turan system, deep in the Galactic East. Turan was colonised and the colony ship, Zacharias, landed the colonists on the Northern continent, and they quickly set up a democratic culture infused with an almost nave idealism that, ultimately, made the fledgling regime open to corrupt individuals. Initially the Turan constitution was adhered to but, gradually, legislation was passed which enabled a group of twelve individuals, collectively the High Council, to establish themselves as permanent 'representatives' of the people, with no need for elections. Within a few short centuries the colonists spread to neighbouring systems and, as more planets came under their control their power increased exponentially, the Turan Guard becoming a highly organised, tank-heavy force. When the forces of the Emperor's Great Crusade came across the Turan sector, they found a prosperous, wealthy gathering of planets with little or no political and economical problems. The Emperor's most holy forces were (understandably) not going to stand for such blasphemy, and immediately attacked. The initial attacks were unsuccessful, the Imperial forces finding that the Turan lines could be quickly re-arranged to face new threats, and Imperial attacks were frequently out-flanked by tank companies. Eventually the High Council agreed to become a part of the Imperium as long as the social structure of the Turan Empire was not altered and, seeing no reason why it should be to the contrary (as long as the Cult Imperialis was maintained), His most holy forces moved on to battlefields new. Increasingly, alien races and renegades assaulted the Turan sector. Orks descended on worlds mercilessly, Chaos marines made lightning attacks on isolated outposts, and more mysterious races attacked and left before the full power of the Turan military could be brought to bear.

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Faced with threats within and without, the Turan Empire was in danger of splintering into smaller, more vulnerable factions. Ironically, the thing that saved the Turan Empire was not of human origin at all (the addition of pointy ears can remove even the strongest trait of humanity). In the late 32nd millennium, the Thaalax Mothership entered the borders of the Turan Empire. Initially a fleet was sent to confront the enormous Eldar fleet but, to the amazement of the High Council, the Thaalax proposed an alliance until the other threats in the sector had been disposed of. A treaty was signed, and the combined might of the Turan and Thaalax forces was turned on the common enemies. The alliance still exists today, having lasted a full 9,000 years. Whilst some say it is proof that some Eldar may be trusted, wiser individuals cite it as the classic example of the way in which the open-minded may be fooled by devious aliens. With every passing year, the Turan leadership binds the alliance together with promises of more territory for the Thaalax, whilst the Thaalax military continues to grow in strength. At the moment, the Thaalax control over twenty-nine different worlds, a significant number when one sees that the Turan Empire now consists of around seventy worlds. The High Council's policy of appeasement is becoming increasingly unpopular with certain high-profile individuals in the military. The problem is that the defeat of mutual enemies in the area must take precedence over conflict within the alliance, even more of late when one observes the growing presence of Tyranid splinter fleets in the area. Several members of the High Council have survived attempts on their lives, and General Vrige, commander in chief of Turan forces in the Galactic South, has threatened that any further concessions to the Thaalax will give him no alternative but to attempt a military coup. The decommissioning of his forces would allow the south of the sector to be overrun, and the general himself has gone into hiding to avoid assassination. At a time when the Turan Empire is facing its greatest external threats, it is threatening to tear itself apart from within. The Turan Guard The lead character of Blood of Innocents, Dimitri, is a member of the Turan Guard. It is very much like the Imperial Guard, utilising similar (if not identical) weapons and armoured vehicles, the only significant difference being the greater numbers of tanks and various differences in organisation.

The Eldar race

The Eldar are an incredibly ancient race, who once ruled a vast empire across the stars. Then came the hideous times of the Fall, when the Eldar were consumed by their own decadence and fell from power. The few who survived were scattered across the stars. Though the Eldar are few in number, they are one of the most technologically advanced races in the galaxy. This advantage is combined with the prodigious abilities of their Farseers, who scry the future and guide their kin along the most favourable paths of fate. -Gavin Thorpe, Codex: Eldar Physical traits of the Eldar Eldar are humanoid (and, indeed, almost human) in their appearance, the only real difference being greater height (Eldar are often seven feet tall, sometimes taller), a more elegant, willowy build, and pointed ears. They move with almost incomprehensible grace in quick, fluidic movements that are strangely enchanting to human eyes.

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The Eldar live life at an intensity almost incomprehensible to humans; their hearts beat twice as fast and most Eldar live to be older than 1,000 years old. They are also an extremely psychic race, so much so that after death they preserve their souls in spirit stones, or waystones rather than allowing them to escape into the warp like most other creatures. The warp is not such an appalling idea to other creatures; their minds are not capable of retaining any kind of sentience after death but Eldar minds are like great flaming beacons that attract the daemons of the warp. Every Eldar soul that is released into the warp is consumed and tormented by the Chaos god Slaanesh for eternity, something which explains the Eldars fear of death. The Fall of the Eldar and the different Eldar civilisations The Eldar race is an ancient one; they had mastered interstellar travel before the ancestors of the human race had crawled on their bellies from the sea. As their power increased to the point at which their slightest whims could lead to the destruction or birth of stars, they became increasingly careless, depraved, and hedonistic. The more conservative Eldar, disgusted by what their civilisation was becoming, left the Eldar home worlds and set up colonies on the periphery of the galaxy, far away from the rest of their race. These Eldar still exist today and are known as the Exodites, more rustic and simple than other Eldar. The majority of the population, however, was still living on the Eldar home worlds. Those with more foresight saw the ripples these activities had in the warp and were warned of the consequences by the race that created the Eldar, the Slann. Constructing vast Craftworlds, this small minority of the population prepared to evacuate their home worlds. Eventually the depravity of the Eldar drew itself together in the warp and formed the Chaos god Slaanesh. With his first breath, Slaanesh consumed the souls of most of the Eldar race and created a massive rift in real space, turning the space around the Eldar home worlds into a swirling maelstrom of warp energy now known as the Eye of Terror. The Craftworlds that were far enough away from the home worlds, probably numbering less than a thousand, were the only ones to survive, and many have since been lost in the depths of uncharted space. Warp space was now dangerous for the Eldar, and in order to preserve their ability to move at speed through the warp the Webway (a system of stable and isolated warp tunnels through but separate to warp space itself) was created, with the main gateways situated on the major Craftworlds. There was a third group of Eldar to survive the Fall in the 30th millennium, however. These Eldar, the Dark Eldar, escaped into the Webway at the time of the Fall and are more like the Eldar of old, living depraved and violent lives in the hidden city of Comorragh. Eldar technology Eldar technology is based on a substance called wraithbone, a complex psycho-plastic which responds to psychic pressure. It is used by the Eldar to create a great many of their devices, from spacecraft to weapons. When an Eldar dies, his or her spirit bleeds into their spirit stones, usually attached to their chests, and will then be taken back to their Craftworld of origin, when their spirit will be placed in the Infinity Circuit, the collective pool of Eldar dead floating in the security of the wraithbone cores of the various Craftworlds, all of the spirits coalescing into the collective consciousness of that particular Craftworld. Eldar culture Being one of the most (indeed only) cultured races in the galaxy, the Eldar are extremely artistic. They have a deep-rooted belief in their own superiority over other lesser races and consider themselves to be the most advanced race in the galaxy, which in their view is rightfully theirs.

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Craftworld Eldar society is based on a life of strict self-denial, structured around the Path. Within the confines of the Path, an Eldar will pursue one occupation (such as an artist, warrior, or seer) to perfection before moving on to another occupation, slowly expanding their knowledge and abilities over their long lives. The strict nature of their lives is extremely important; when Eldar indulge in their whims they make themselves vulnerable to the predations of the Chaos powers and so for the continued existence of their civilisation, selfdenial is a necessity. For some Eldar, however, the Path is too rigid. Some, often the more youthful Eldar, leave the Craftworlds and indulge their wanderlust, going where they please, often in small, lightly armed groups. These Eldar are referred to as outcasts and vary immensely in their activities. Many outcasts will aid their Craftworld or indeed any Craftworld if it is attacked. They may become mercenaries or may even become piratical raiders. The Eldar military Eldar armies tend to be small, made up of highly specialised and lethal warriors supported by fast moving skimmers. Following the Fall, legendary warriors known as the Phoenix Lords began studying various different methods of war, created what were known as the Warrior Aspects. Aspect warriors form the bulk of the Eldar armed forces, although their numbers are too limited to fight massive engagements on their own. All Eldar are trained to fight as part of the Guardian militia, or to pilot the Eldar war machines like anti-grav tanks. Eldar armies tend to be led by powerful psykers known as Farseers, powerful warriormystics with abilities to foretell and then shape the future. The Thaalax Eldar All of the Eldar in Blood of Innocents are Thaalax Eldar. The Thaalax once had a craftworld, which was all but destroyed by the forces of Chaos, forcing them to create a Mothership built around the core of their original Craftworld. Upon arriving in the Turan sector and forging the alliance with the Turan Empire, the Thaalax began colonising worlds and have split into two main social groups: colonists and Shadow Hosts. The colonists, unsurprisingly, live on the various planets under the control of the Thaalax whilst Shadow Hosts are basically nomadic groups of Eldar wandering nomadically throughout the Turan and the Shakren sectors as they please. The Shadow Hosts are the principal fighting forces of the Thaalax; should a colony be attacked the Shadow Hosts nearby will take it upon themselves to defend the colony, asking for help if and when it becomes necessary. The largest single Shadow Host of the Thaalax is the Kaela Zhai (meaning literally Bloodied Blade), usually led by the Farseer who is first among the Thaalax Seer Council Farseer Kethrian and it is the Kaela Zhai who were involved in the war on Evalarion (the planet on which this book is set).

The Ork Race

The Ork race was created long ago by the same species that created the Eldar. Engineered to be almost unstoppable fighters with only limited intellect, Orks are a relentlessly warlike race. Their power structure is particularly simplistic: if youre big, youre powerful, thus, nobles, or nobs, are the officer corps of ork warbands (so long as officer is not a term indicative of anything other than large muscles and greater fighting prowess) whilst warbosses or warlords are the leaders. Ork technology is extremely primitive, and yet strangely effective given the crudeness of its manufacture. This is a result largely of the fact that the Slann who engineered them designed certain rogue genes resulting in a certain percentage of orks being born with a knowledge of various abilities in either mechanics or medicine (for one can only ever refer to Orks medical practices in inverted commas the Ork concept of an anaesthetic is a large, brutal mallet).

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Orks are, bizarrely, a highly evolved variety of fungus. An Ork will, without his knowing it, deposit spores which will eventually grow into a mushroom on the surface, with an infant ork growing in the earth underneath it. When orks are born they will usually gravitate towards other orks, already possessed of some instinctive knowledge, and take their place in ork society. Were they to stand up straight, Orks would stand taller than most humans but due to their hunched, inelegant physique they remain at about the height of a fully grown male human. They have thick green skin (given its unusual coloration by the pigmentation of the algae in it) although their blood is a particularly bright red due to the fact that it has a higher oxygen content than humans. Their faces are particularly vicious, with a heavy bone structure, pointed ears, tiny, red eyes, and huge gaping mouths with large teeth. When a large number of orks gather under the banner or a particularly powerful warlord they will go on what is known as a waaagh!, essentially a war of conquest it is one such war of conquest that has resulted in the ork presence on Evalarion, the planet on which this book is set. Orks are divided into a number of clans determined not necessarily by strong political allegiance but by genetic differences; the Yellow Moon clan grow teeth faster than other orks and consequently can afford much more expensive wargear (teeth, or teef, being ork currency), Goffs being fans of good, traditional Orky values (like charging the enemy), and Speed Freeks being physically addicted to speed, driving their vehicles at dangerous (and frequently fatal) speeds. By contrast the Blood Axes, the first to come into contact with humans, have always been keen to emulate human traditions on the basis that humans are currently the dominant race in the galaxy, whilst the Snakebite tribe remains resolutely traditional.

Additional information about the Turan Sector

Additional information about the Turan Empire and the Thaalax Eldar, as well as being found in the section on Warhammer 40,000 terminology, can be found at www.40k.ca/turansector.

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Warhammer 40,000 terminology

____________________ This is by no means an exhaustive list of Warhammer 40,000 terminology but is an attempt to explain most of the terminology used in the book. Certain sections in this glossary may be technically inaccurate or omit specific exceptions for the sake of conciseness. Anti-grav platform Anti gravitic platform on which Eldar mount heavier weapons too large to be hand-held. See also: Bright Lance, Scatter Later. Aspect warriors Professional Eldar troops. Extremely well trained & equipped. Highly specialised. Led by Exarchs. Battle Barge Capital class Space Marine starship of battleship size, with the ability to deploy at least three companies of space marines. See also, Space Marines, Ultramarines Boyz Ork slang for normal Orks. Bright Lance Laser-based anti-tank weapon of considerable power. Cameleoline A type of fabric worn by Eldar outcasts which changes colour according to its surroundings, thus concealing the wearer extremely well. Council, (The Seer Council) The ruling body of a Craftworld, composed of Farseers. Craftworld Craftworld Eldar are those Eldar who dwell (or, in the case of the Thalaax, once dwelt,) upon a Craftworld- an enormous starship-world large enough to hold entire Eldar populations. See the Eldar Appendix. Crusade The name given to an Imperial war of conquest or re-conquest. The title crusade is indicative of the movement of sufficient military might to capture entire sectors of space. Dakka Ork slang for ammunition Doc Also known as a Painboy, this is the closest thing Orks have to a doctor. Less of a healer, more of an inquisitive meddler with a predisposition for performing painful and often unnecessary operations. Evil Sunz A tribe of orks obsessed with speed above all other considerations. Exmeith A planet in the Shakren sector previously held by a Chaos Sorcerer. Magnifico Giganticus was stranded on the planet and led a revolution against the Chaos forces. He was eventually defeated and used the iGate, a device which tapped into the Eldar Webway, to evacuate his followers to a colony of his own devising. The iGate malfunctioned, however, and destroyed Exmeith. See the Sorcerer Exodite Sub-set of the Eldar species. (Thalaax eldar are Craftworld eldar, and therefore cannot also be Exodites) Farseer Typically the leaders of Eldar armies. Extremely powerful psykers and warriors who were once warlocks and have become addicted to the patch of the witch. See also, warlock, witchblade. Fir Altharion (Eldar trans: Warriors of Ancient Times). Eldar titan clan that travels with the Kaela Zhai. See also, titans. Gargant Ork titan made in the image of Gork or Mork. See also, titans, Gork Ork god. See also, Mork. Great Enemy, the Eldar name for Slaanesh, Chaos god of hedonism, pleasure and depravity. Also known to the Eldar as She Who Thirsts. Created by the Eldar race in the Fall. Gretchin Sub-set of the ork race. Similar procreation, but smaller in size, power and possibly intellect. Generally used as slave labour, skirmish screens, and so on. See also, grot. Grog Ork beverage. Intoxicant. Do not drink. Grot Derogatory ork slang for gretchin (see above). Grox Large farm animal grown for meat Guardians Eldar civilian militia. Equipped with light (but air-tight) armour and either a shuriken catapult or a shuriken pistol and a close combat weapon. Formed into units of

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between 5 and 20 warriors and sometimes led by a warlock, transported in a Wave Serpent, or supported by anti-grav platforms. See also, shuriken weapons, warlocks. Isha Eldar goddess of the harvest. Eldar often refer to Ishas tears, which were shed for the Eldar folk hero Eldanesh, who was killed by Kaela Mensha Khaine. See below. Khaine, (Kaela Mensha Khaine) Eldar god of war. Originally a god but fought and lost to Slaanesh during the Fall of the Eldar. Rather than being destroyed, Khaine was scattered in the material universe, a small part of him residing in the core of every craftworld, manifesting itself as an Avatar of Khaine, an extremely potent daemon. When the Eldar go to war, prayers and offerings are made to Khaine whose call can be heard in the ears of the warriors as they take part in battles. Kaela Zhai Thaalax Shadow Host- more detail in Eldar Appendix. See Shadow Host Lasgun Standard issue weapon for most human infantry forces. Laser-based. Easy to maintain although limited it potency. Longrifle Weapon commonly employed by Eldar outcasts. Medium range sniper rifle; extremely accurate, firing poisoned darts capable of killing most creatures although the weapon is of almost no use against vehicles. Mega-armour Essentially a primitive ork version of powered armour, with large slabs of metal welded together (and often surgically grafted onto the proud owner). Clumsy and heavy, but very resilient. Mekboy Ork mechanic. See also, Orks. Meltagun A fusion-powered firearm which fires an intense, focused beam of heat over short distances, capable of melting through even the thickest armoured plating of a tank. Mob Ork name for a squad, unit or group of Ork boyz. Mon-keigh Derogatory Eldar term for Humans. Sounds like 'Monkey' by complete coincidence. Mork Ork god. See also, Gork, Orks. Nob Ork champion or noble, generally larger than a normal Ork. See also, Orks. Orks One of the major races of the galaxy. No unified leadership; orks will readily fight with each other as soon as fight other races. Genetically engineered by the Old Ones (the Slann, who also created the Eldar race) purely as a fighting race with little intelligence. A-sexual fungi-based life form, extremely resilient, slow reactions. See also, Gork, Mork, Nob, Gretchin, Grot, Panzee, Mekboy, Gargant, Evil Sunz. Outcast Social sub-set of the Eldar race existing outside of the Path. See also, pathfiner, ranger. Panzee Derogatory ork slang for Eldar. Pathfinder An extremely experienced outcast, often having been in a small group or alone, outside of the Path, for centuries. See also, outcast, ranger. PDF Abbreviation for Planetary Defence Force. Most inhabited human systems maintain their own PDF as a first defence against invasion before better-equipped and better-trained forces can arrive to aid the defence. Phallus Impudicus No, its real. Look it up. Pointy Heads Ork slang for Eldar, referring to their high crested helmets. Power Armour Heavy, full-body armour, usually air-tight, which contains internal power sources and motors, enabling the wearer to lift its immense weight and more. Power sword/blade A weapon with a solid physical blade wreathed in energy, enabling it to cut through almost any armour with ease. Primebark Gulkans corruption of the word Primarch. Psykers Those individuals of any race capable of utilising psychic powers. Ranger Word for most Eldar outcasts. See also, outcast, Pathfinders. Revenant titan Eldar scout titan armed with two massive laser-based weapons called pulsars. Two legged, highly mobile, around 30ft high. Rigger Grot rigger. A (Gretchin) slave responsible for helping to arm and maintain Ork vehicles. Rune armour Extremely powerful psychic energy-shield that protects Eldar psykers from harm.

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Scatter Laser Eldar laser-based heavy weapon. Extremely high (but occasionally temperamental) rate of fire; excellent against lightly armoured infantry. Always mounted on vehicles or anti-grav platforms. Shuriken weaponry The most common form of Eldar firearm. Short-ranged weapon, extremely high rate of fire. Solid metal clips are fed into the firing chamber where extremely thin discs are sliced off the top and then slung down the barrel at terrific speeds. Shuriken weaponry, which can vary in size from a pistol-sized sidearm to a heavy cannon, achieve firing rates of a good 50 rounds per second. Skimmer Any vehicle whose main means of movement is to hover a set distance above the ground by means of anti-gravity engines. Almost always also capable of conventional free flight in atmospheres or in space. Slugga Ork firearm. Snotling Orkoid sub-species, even smaller than a gretchin and with the equivalent intelligence of a Terran dog. Used mainly for highly simplistic slave labour, or meat, depending on how desperate their ork masters have become. See also, orks. Sorcerer, The Old adversary of Magnifico Giganticus whom he defeated before Blood of Innocents begins. Space Marines Genetically engineered super-human warriors of the Imperium. When clad in a full suit of power armour, a Space Marine stands around 8 high. Extremely fanatical and well trained. Extremely precise and lethal tactical abilities. Typically a company of marines (consisting of 100 brother-marines plus support vehicles) will be sufficient to subdue a planet, although larger wars will involve multiple companies or, even, multiple chapters (1,000 marines). See also, Ultramarines. Speed freek Sub-set of the ork species obsessed and indeed addicted to speed. Typically drive or pilot vehicles or aircraft. See also, orks. Spirit Stone When an Eldar dies, their spirit is contained within a Spirit Stone until it can be placed in the Infinity Circuit. Teef Orks use teeth for currency. They are capable of regrowing them indefinitely. Thaalax Particularly expansionist group of Craftworld Eldar. The Craftworld itself was halfdestroyed by repeated assaults by Chaos armies until eventually the remainder of the wraithbone core was integrated into the hull of the Thaalax Mothership. The Thaalax have an extremely strong alliance with the Turan Empire and are split up into a number of social groups, the more militaristic of which are called Shadow Hosts. See also, the Eldar appendix, www.40k.ca/turansector, Kaela Zhai. Titan Massive war machine, generally a two-legged walker. Sizes vary from 30-90ft high. Titans (or equivalents) of varying designs are possessed by most significant races in the galaxy. See also, revenant titans. Ultramarines A famous Chapter or group of Space Marines. Chapters are typically around 1,000 marines strong. See also, Space Marines. Warlock Eldar psyker who, before becoming a seer, has studied the path of the Warrior, resulting in a lethal combination of witch and warrior. Warlocks usually carry witchblades and will operate either as the bodyguard for Farseers or as leaders for other Eldar units like Guardians. See also, Farseers. Warp Alternate dimension running alongside our own, enabling warp travel. Home to daemons and the Chaos gods. Wave Serpent Eldar transport vehicle capable of transporting up to 10 warriors. Extremely fast and agile, skimmer, with a turret-mounted heavy weapon. Waystone See Spirit Stone. Webway Network of stable warp tunnels usable only to the Eldar. Witchblade Wraithbone sword used by Eldar psykers. Extremely powerful in the hands of psykers; capable of massive discharges of psychic force when used on opponents, especially daemons. See also, Farseer, Warlock. Wraithbone Psychically conductive material used by the Eldar as the basis for their technology. Very light, yet strong.

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