Re: Crusade Campaign: The Taran Heresy
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2020 2:35 pm
"May I beg leave to speak freely, my Lord?" Lytanus stared deeply into the giant block of ice over which the Scythes watched, not so much afraid that the armoured form frozen within would overhear, as it would move.
"Beg as you please, Sergeant, though it will not move me one way or t'other. Your deeds here have earned you the right to be frank." Mirhen, conversely, kept his back to the Fenrisian nightmare. Lytanus wondered if his Captain had ever known fear; perhaps passing through the gauntlet of battle with the Skorpekh Lord so often gave him such courage.
"We have fought hard on behalf of the Master Inquisitor, and our armour has caught many blows intended to cut short her life. I do not question the righteousness of her Crusade, and I relish the chance to strike down the alien and the heretic, but..." He hesitated a moment, looking at the impassive, barely mobile forms of his squad as they stood their vigil over the Wolves' Ancient. He wished to have no secrets from them, but could not help but wait for Mirhen's nodded assent to continue. "When we stand guard while the Inquisitor, the Wolves and the Sororitas hold a victory feast to which no man is welcome, even..."
"Even `Uncle Murderfang`!" laughed the Captain. "Is this what Grimnar had in mind when he entrusted so many of his problems to the Master Inquisitor?" His question rhetorical, he gestured to Lytanus to continue once more.
"At such a time one must wonder how the interests of the...Scythes are served. The Wolves write their sagas in Xenos blood, the Sisters seek only the incense of the burining heretic, but for us this battle is work and a wage should be paid."
The jovial tone in Mirhen's voice died, and his response sounded if it was carved in stone. "I swear, Lytanus, on the iron of my blood, I will answer in full, afore we leave this chamber. But I bid thee wait."
And so they stood in silence for half a rotation of the world below.
The silence was broken by armoured feet in the corridor, though not the deceptively undisciplined cadence of the ever-stalking Wolves. Squad Lytanus readied their weapons with due dilligence but did not in truth expect to fire, for the footfalls were those of their brothers. Two men entered the frigid chamber, and the readied weapons were lowered and salutes offered to the officers. They in turn offered salutes to Mirhen, to whom their fealty was pledged.
"Ser Gorhaged, Apothecary Gerlach. Lytanus and his squad will accompany you on your quest, having proved their valour and discretion a hundredfold."
"As you command, my Lord." Dysus Gorhaged looked if anything somewhat intimidated to being assigned such veteran troops, elevated with so little experience to the rank of Lieutenant for some 'great service' - one Lytanus would hazard was rendered in the library. Still, he was a Scythe, and blood would tell.
"If they are sturdy enough, My Lord. I will carry as many of the old sins as I can, but there will be too many for the burden to go unshared." Conversely Apothecary was a young man grown old very fast indeed, his head more scar than skin by now, and Lytanus had heard that more than once he had been obliged to be surgeon for himself on the battlefield.
"I will send you my sturdiest, Osrak and Aximov alongside Lytanus." Mirhen drew his sword and thrust the tip down into the floor, grasping its hilt as if in oath. "Lytanus, I draw back the first veil. Know that I am the Master of Rites, and that I am called to these hallowed fields of slaughter for my most sacred rite and duty. It is our burden and privilege to bear the legacy and expiate the sins of our genefathers, to make good the debts to those they wronged. The vortex of destruction unleashed here is but an echo of the apocalyptic fury of the Wars of Angels once fought beneath our very feet, and of the countless fallen, after endless years some few still bear the greatest gift a Space Marine has to give."
Mirhen looked down to meet the sergeant's eyes, and Lytanus felt awed to see the iron in the soul of a man he had loved and obeyed, but perhaps not sufficiently respected.
"That is the coin in which Tara pays, Lytanus. And you will see that Gerlach collects."
* * *
OOC: There's a new agenda for Marines that gives +1 RP if an Apothecary collects geneseed from a marker by taking an action, and I *really, really* want to make it a thing. Luckily Dave already painted an Apothecary for the Scythes, I just need to do a quick rebase!
"Beg as you please, Sergeant, though it will not move me one way or t'other. Your deeds here have earned you the right to be frank." Mirhen, conversely, kept his back to the Fenrisian nightmare. Lytanus wondered if his Captain had ever known fear; perhaps passing through the gauntlet of battle with the Skorpekh Lord so often gave him such courage.
"We have fought hard on behalf of the Master Inquisitor, and our armour has caught many blows intended to cut short her life. I do not question the righteousness of her Crusade, and I relish the chance to strike down the alien and the heretic, but..." He hesitated a moment, looking at the impassive, barely mobile forms of his squad as they stood their vigil over the Wolves' Ancient. He wished to have no secrets from them, but could not help but wait for Mirhen's nodded assent to continue. "When we stand guard while the Inquisitor, the Wolves and the Sororitas hold a victory feast to which no man is welcome, even..."
"Even `Uncle Murderfang`!" laughed the Captain. "Is this what Grimnar had in mind when he entrusted so many of his problems to the Master Inquisitor?" His question rhetorical, he gestured to Lytanus to continue once more.
"At such a time one must wonder how the interests of the...Scythes are served. The Wolves write their sagas in Xenos blood, the Sisters seek only the incense of the burining heretic, but for us this battle is work and a wage should be paid."
The jovial tone in Mirhen's voice died, and his response sounded if it was carved in stone. "I swear, Lytanus, on the iron of my blood, I will answer in full, afore we leave this chamber. But I bid thee wait."
And so they stood in silence for half a rotation of the world below.
The silence was broken by armoured feet in the corridor, though not the deceptively undisciplined cadence of the ever-stalking Wolves. Squad Lytanus readied their weapons with due dilligence but did not in truth expect to fire, for the footfalls were those of their brothers. Two men entered the frigid chamber, and the readied weapons were lowered and salutes offered to the officers. They in turn offered salutes to Mirhen, to whom their fealty was pledged.
"Ser Gorhaged, Apothecary Gerlach. Lytanus and his squad will accompany you on your quest, having proved their valour and discretion a hundredfold."
"As you command, my Lord." Dysus Gorhaged looked if anything somewhat intimidated to being assigned such veteran troops, elevated with so little experience to the rank of Lieutenant for some 'great service' - one Lytanus would hazard was rendered in the library. Still, he was a Scythe, and blood would tell.
"If they are sturdy enough, My Lord. I will carry as many of the old sins as I can, but there will be too many for the burden to go unshared." Conversely Apothecary was a young man grown old very fast indeed, his head more scar than skin by now, and Lytanus had heard that more than once he had been obliged to be surgeon for himself on the battlefield.
"I will send you my sturdiest, Osrak and Aximov alongside Lytanus." Mirhen drew his sword and thrust the tip down into the floor, grasping its hilt as if in oath. "Lytanus, I draw back the first veil. Know that I am the Master of Rites, and that I am called to these hallowed fields of slaughter for my most sacred rite and duty. It is our burden and privilege to bear the legacy and expiate the sins of our genefathers, to make good the debts to those they wronged. The vortex of destruction unleashed here is but an echo of the apocalyptic fury of the Wars of Angels once fought beneath our very feet, and of the countless fallen, after endless years some few still bear the greatest gift a Space Marine has to give."
Mirhen looked down to meet the sergeant's eyes, and Lytanus felt awed to see the iron in the soul of a man he had loved and obeyed, but perhaps not sufficiently respected.
"That is the coin in which Tara pays, Lytanus. And you will see that Gerlach collects."
* * *
OOC: There's a new agenda for Marines that gives +1 RP if an Apothecary collects geneseed from a marker by taking an action, and I *really, really* want to make it a thing. Luckily Dave already painted an Apothecary for the Scythes, I just need to do a quick rebase!