Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

Nareth flicked his wrist, counter-thrusting with the Ostberg-Vaya Form 2.

The Exarch swung his sword to block, then immediately unleashed a furious barrage of slashes.

In the time of a heartbeat, the two exchanged more than a dozen blows.

Nareth was shocked to find that his opponent, even after blocking his strike, could still counterattack with such ferocity.

From the ornate armor and the banner flowing behind the man's head, Nareth judged his identity.

'A Dire Avenger Exarch. "War Mask"?'

Nareth knew that every Exarch of an Aeldar Aspect Shrine had to master the ultimate secret of their order and permanently adopt the "War Mask" before earning the title.

The "War Mask" wasn't a literal mask, but a mental state.

Different Paths require different mind-states.

The Aeldari immersed themselves in such states as one might immerse oneself in an emotion, letting mind-state lead to technique.

Walking a Path was both an exercise in skill and a forging of one's inner self according to that mind-state's template.

For warriors, the required state was rage; they had to learn to "switch into war mode" during battle, unleashing their fury and applying the craft of killing.

They also had to learn to restrain that rage in peace, to hide it away.

The "War Mask" was essentially a warrior's combat mode, allowing an Aeldar to focus entirely on anger and slaughter.

It was not a second personality; they remained themselves and would not descend into brainless berserk frenzy.

Rather, they became the warrior-self, thinking and acting entirely as a warrior.

Having confirmed the Exarch's identity and means, Nareth had an idea.

'My Thelema mind-state is already in its early form, but it only applies to psychic duels.

I had planned to wait for Magnus's return to discuss mind-states with him before adapting it to combat. But this is a perfect opportunity, in close combat, the "War Mask" is at least as refined as Magnus's mind-state… perhaps more so.'

He decided to capture the Exarch alive and extract from him the secrets of the War Mask, the Warrior's Path, and the Avenger's Path, then refine them into a form suited for Astartes and humans.

The Primarch's eyes locked onto the Exarch.

The Exarch, consumed by "fury," suddenly felt a chill, but before he could react, Nareth lunged without warning.

The Exarch sidestepped, swinging his sword hilt-down to parry.

Nareth twisted his wrist, forcing the blade down, and drove the Otsberg-Vaya Form 2 derivative technique straight at the Aeldari's arm.

The blue-glowing power-blade stabbed into the Exarch's arm, sending searing agony through him like being set ablaze.

Wearing the War Mask, the Aeldari suppressed the pain with rage.

He unleashed another volley, his monomolecular darts, guided by a spectrum analyzer, perfectly distinguishing friend from foe even at point-blank range.

Using the distraction from his warriors' covering fire, the Exarch sprang back, drawing a power spear in his left hand and thrusting at Nareth.

Nareth raised his left arm to guard his face; the darts pinged harmlessly off his black armor.

He sensed his Honor Guard closing in.

The Shadows of Order raised their bolters and opened fire on the Dire Avengers.

The Biel-Tan warriors ignored the incoming bolts. Known as the Swordwind dotorine, they believed that dying for the Craftworld was an honor, and their will to fight surpassed that of all other Craftworlds.

Autarch Slau Dha had told them that to restore the Aeldar Empire's ancient glory, Nareth had to die, so that Mon-keigh and the great enemy, Chaos, would perish together.

Nareth realized the Dire Avengers treated him like a Slaaneshi daemon; their attacks were furious and merciless.

Thinking of the Aeldari prophecies, his mind raced.

'So their target isn't Arlenis, it's me?'

Light and shadow flickered in his eyes, and in his mind's eye, the black pupils of his psychic familiar also glimmered.

A surge of Warp energy spread from him toward the Aeldar.

His mind first slammed into the Exarh's mind's gate, a blazing, towering image of the god of war.

'His worship of Khaine, the War God, and the burning rage of the War Mask.'

Nareth's thoughts shifted; he skirted around this hard nut to crack, letting his consciousness flow into other Dire Avengers.

His awareness slid into the fiery psychic gates of their rage.

A name flashed in his mind: Slau Dha.

He remembered, Slau Dha had reanimated John Grammaticus, granting him immense life fore, thus transforming him into a perpetual, and made him an agent of the Cabal.

A new vision formed:

'What? I'm to obtain the Dionysian Spear? And I'm the one who will set in motion the plan to destroy humanity and Chaos together?'

The Horus Heresy wasn't just a civil war between traitors and loyalists, nor merely a struggle between humanity and Chaos; the entire galaxy's factions were involved.

The Cabal believed the Chaos Gods had invested heavily in humanity. The Four allowed the Emperor to steal their "spark," but if humanity perished, Chaos would perish too.

Grammaticus was one of their key pawns, persuading the Alpha Legion to join their cause.

He had even disguised himself as an archaeologist named Caeren Sebaton and discovered an artefact, a "spear" made of fulgurite

Carrying this weapon capable of killing immortals, Grammaticus was sent to slay Vulkan, the Primarch who could threaten the Cabal's plan.

Aeldar Seer Eldrad Ulthran convinced him that prophecy was not absolute, that humanity was the front line against Chaos.

In the end, Grammaticus sided with his own species.

And all of it had begun with Slau Dha.

Nareth's mind spun. He didn't want the Dionysian Spear, nor did he wish to face a Chaos-empowered Horus.

In his view, it was better for the Emperor to sit on the Golden Throne; it fit his long-term interests.

During the Heresy, he'd prefer to keep his strength in reserve and grab whatever benefits he could.

But if the Cabal's prophecy came true, then he'd be the one holding the Dionysian Spear, playing a decisive role in the war.

A chill ran through him; this was as good as a prophecy for a Primarch.

'What if the Emperor doesn't give me a choice and shoves the Spear into my hands?'

'During the Heresy, he could use a sympathetic psychic to slot me into some role that forces me to destroy the Four Gods' vessel.'

'If I then display the necessary power, whether by choice or coercion, he might very well make it happen. And it all depends on what rank I've reached by then, how high in the Sequence I need to be to match a Chaos-infused Horus.'

Nareth's black eyes gleamed coldly. Being manipulated, being treated as an obstacle to be removed, made him furious.

After being dragged into the Warp by the Four and feeling powerless, he now understood more deeply than ever: he had to control his own fate.

'I won't be a pawn. I'll be a player. I must become the Black Emperor. I must ascend to the Great Old Dominator level. I must become a pillar!'

Rage blazed in his eyes as he flashed in front of the Exarch.

Even the mortal incarnation of Khaine behind the War Mask couldn't match the Primarch's speed.

A flicker of blue light, his opponent's left arm, spear and all, was severed at the shoulder.

Wilshire and the other Honor Guard felt their gene-father's fury keenly.

They surged forward, striking the Biel-Tan Swordwind with brutal force.

Even filled with anger, the Shadows of Order didn't lose their composure; the Primarch's creed instilled in them turned rage into strength.

Calming himself, Nareth drew on his psychic power and activated his power gauntlet. Golden light wrapped around the Exarch's body.

When the light faded, the Exarch was encased in a mass of impossibly viscous, transparent fluid, like a colossal piece of amber.

The blood-red chain around Nareth's right pinky glimmered, his spent psychic energy replenishing rapidly.

He turned his gaze toward the governor's mansion. He knew Slau Dha was there.

Slau Dha had paid a heavy price just to lure him into this trap.

There was still the matter of preparing for the future, but the immediate priority was how to deal with Slau Dha.

'The serpent's trap… A Sword of Val'

...

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu