Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

And then with the first challenge down I'll take on the second challenge which is as follows:

"1. The story should be written in Swedish or English
2. Report must contain at least 20 lines of dialogue.
3. The story must contain a quote from a movie with at least four Oscar nominations. Whether someone in the story actually quoting the movie or if the quote is used in another context is optional. Which film selected should also be told.
4. The story must contain the following three sentences, as dialogue or narrative.

"I love you, but the horse can not run."
"Without a drop to drink and not a donkey in sight."
"Boasting, arrogant and quite wonderful was he / she /it '

Some more rules, but also full flexibility in the story's scope, this will be fun!"

First of I'll admit that this is not my kind of gig, I know I have a very unique writing style and the given lines will always stick out in what I write. On the other hand twenty lines of dialogue is a laughing matter, which then again makes getting those lines in there harder.
So let's see we have a horse and a love story, or it could be love as in family of course. Then we have a lack of drink, which either means dry or that the person has a drinking problem. The donkey can either be a donkey or an euphemism. All fair up until there and then... is that from Disney's Cinderella?
Considering the horses and donkey's I was thinking a desert theme, so I'd probably have taken the quote from Ben-hur or lawrance of arabia or something.

But then I kind of liked the idea that horse and donkey are euphemisms (or innuendo). I'm kind of thinking the bartender that's played by John Glover in the Smallville episode Noire (s6e20), or rather more the kind of character he's based on. So let there be noire.

Writer's Challenge 1: The Emperor and the Archeologist

Ok here's my first entry to the writers challenge.

While the most important invention of man must surely be said to be speech, for without it community could not exist and thus neither could civilization, and while oral tradition passed down from a generation to the next allowed for something that had never existed before, one species accumulating knowledge, it was writing that truly set this accumulation into motion. It allowed us to learn from our mistakes and to build upon what the previous generations had done rather than to have to reinvent and rediscover everything they had. Perhaps the former is the reason I write, so that other may learn from our mistakes, but also from our triumphs. Perhaps it is that during the long and winding history of mankind there has ever been those willing to put the torch to that what had been written, to destroy the knowledge and scatter it to the winds. One such man was Aldenei Ildrin, one of the most important persons to shape the events I will divulge, but history let's men like these take up far to much space in it's pages, and tells far less of the other sort, those who seek to preserve and record, those who build and create. Vildred Higgs was such a man, and a far more interesting one if I may make such a judgment call. It is his story I will divulge, but it isn’t until the destinies, if there may be said to be such a thing, of these two men intersect that things become really interesting.

It all began on a rainy autumn morning, by my reckoning of time, and such things must be acknowledged to be entirely subjective, the year 2078, a strong wind had been forcing wet air from the warmer seas around the equator north and when coming in over the southern highlands of the Borras continent the wet air was forced unto a higher altitude and thus cooled to rain, and often, but not on this very day, hail. Austakil was a port town the mouth of the river Akil, it name literally meant mouth of akil one of the greater cities on the continent. Always bustling with activity as ships from all around the empire docked there, unloading the cargo from seagoing vessels and unto the riverboats that would take it inland to the capital Urbakil, city on the Akil for those interested in linguistics.

In one of those dreary grey brick houses that the people of Borras seems to favor lived Vildred Higgs, no relation to the physicist I'm afraid. Usually Vildred would not be awake this time of the morning, having sat up far to late the night before mulling over his theories, we would consider them archeology but to the people of the empire it was considered theology, over where and how man had first arrived on this world. Not this morning though, this morning he was hurrying through the apartment looking for things, every time he passed through the kitchen stopping and taking a sip from his coffee and thinking about actually sitting down and having that breakfast, but each time remembering something else he had forgotten. He was tall, about 1,85 had a mess of brown hair that he never seemed to be able to get cut on time and glasses that had seen better times. The apartment was relatively small, two rooms, one bedroom and one kitchen combined with living room, the apartment of an academic, but not a wealthy one. It was also like it's inhabitant let's say slightly unkempt but not badly furnished, loads of dark wood and warm colors would have made it quite homely if Vildred had ever bothered with keeping it in a nice condition.

Vildred sat down with his coffee, sighing he was almost certain he had all he needed for his expedition to the southern continent. Of course to the universty it was not an expedition since they had not funded it but a vacation and none of them thought he had any chances of finding the proof he needed. Almost a soon as he had sat down a steamwhistle from the harbour announced that the 9 o'clock ferry up to the capital was leaving. Which meant he had less than an hour to get to his ship in time. Vildred grabbed his suitcase and his overcoat and ran out the apartment, only to have to return five minutes later to lock the door. He left the building again in a hurry almost knowing over two imperial soldiers outside on the sidewalk. He avoided them narrowly and then began running.

“Stop!” he heard a voice shout behind him. Vildred was in a hurry and paid it no mind. “Doctor Higgs, stop!” the voice called again. Vildred was about to stop when something hit him over the forehead and he collapsed on the wet cobblestones.

“You dare defy an imperial magistrate” a voice hissed down at him. Another soldier Vildred decided as he got on his feet again. Just to feel a kick to his ribbs and collapsing yet again.

“That will be all soldier” the first vice chided “I think the good doctor has learned his lesson, now let him get up” Vildred got on his feet and faced the man, he was short but meticulously well dressed, his style was that of an imperial official, a magistrate the soldier had said but from the way the soldiers were eying the man afraid even though they could have broken him like a twig, Vildred was willing to bet secret service. He had dark hair also flawlessly kept and was relatively tan for Borras.

“I am Tehnel Aqarra, I serve the emperor” the man introduced himself in an odd accent, then again the empire spanned the entire world, and all sorts ended up in the capital. “And you are Vildred Higgs, the theologian with the... unique... ideas”

“I am” Vildred acknowledged.

“His majesty has heard of your theories” Aqarra began, Vildred blinked, the majesty as in the emperor? The Emperor? “he finds them intriguing, but he cannot allow you to persist in spreading them around, but he will tell you more when you meet him”

“Meet him?” Vildred felt confused “I am honored but I cannot meet him I must be on a boat to Merdia in less than half an hour”

“I am incredibly sorry Doctor, I should have made myself more clear, you have no choice in the matter” He fished something out of his pocket and showed it to Vildred. It was a small broch showing the golden laurels of the secret service but inside it was a golden star rather then the usual open book. “This designates me as an inquisitor” Vildred almost chocked, the inquisition was just an evil rumor an organization above the law who answered only to the emperor himself. “And you have just been recruited, in the name of Emperor Aldenei Ildrin, any act but obedience is considered an act of treason. Now if you will please come with us” he motioned towards a carriage at the corner. Vildred followed him meekly, the emperor was a god amongst men and he were not going to challenge him, or at least so he thought at the time, funny how these things change.

Challenge Accepted

Lo folks this update was supposed to be up nearly a week ago, but I've had a lot of things to do (writing a massive review of  a kickstarter I participated in amongst other things). But on to what's today, a few days ago I signed up for a writing challenge issued by my friend Gunnar, since his post on the first challenge is in Swedish I'll translate  it here in English (or Google translate will because I'm lazy).

"Alright, here is the first author's challenge of this year:

1. The story should be written in Swedish or English
2. Report must be between 500 and 1000 words.
3. The story must include the following three components, drawn from WCG on Seventh Sanctum:

The story takes place on a rainy day.
During the story begins an organization's recruitment
A character is preparing for a vacation.

In addition to this, it is good to go. I plan to make this a flash challenge: write it quickly and do not spend much time on revising and correcting. Quite simply, a little more unrefined text. Other interested can obviously do as you want.

If someone else takes up the challenge, so you are welcome to drop a comment or an email with where to find it, so I make sure to add a link.

Have fun (I intend to)!"


By now he's put up the second challenge so I have some catchign up to do so pardon me folks but I'll be writing

til next time.

Summary Stargate Fanfic

Ok if you at any point think you'll read my SGA fanfic series then this outline is pretty much as much spoiler as spoiler gets. Just saying

The point of this story isn't really Hoglund, never was, he's a macguffin of sorts, a vessel for bringing the story forward, the real main characters are Sora, Tyrus and the genii (espeically Athor, and the Radim siblings). Hoglund is mostly there as a pair of eyes for the reader to look through (since it's much harder to tell a story from the perspective of a an alien)

Book 1
Rising - the storm

9 episodes

Hoglund arrives in Pegasus and explores atlantis along the science team and some combat tecnicians under the command on Captain Nathan Jones.

Several deaths and unexplained cases of sabotage, later Hoglund realises Jones is behind it and during the events of storm (but before the evacuation) they fight and Hoglund kills Jones.

Hoglund is then evacuated from Atlantis along most of the crew. once on Manara he gets himself drunk (he's just murdered a former friend it seems like the way most people would deal with that)  and while being drunk he meets and tries to hit on sora who rifle buts him in the face and dumps him in a cellar.

The book is about how Hoglund about Atlantis and it's inhabitants (rather than just relying and caring about himself, "I'm not a psychopath I just had a hard life")

Book 2

the eye - the siege part 2 (ish)
10 episodes (+/- 0-1 episode)

We follow Sora through the events of the genii occupation of Atlantis. then after she's taken prisoner (/surrenders) we follow Hoglund as he interviews her and they find themselves affected by the stockholm syndrome.

Hoglund goes offworld a few times and encounters what appears to be ori woshippers (and learn of the events that really led up to the latintian-wraith war)

This book is about how Sora's influence on Hoglund force him to view pegasus from the point of view of it's inhabitants. It's also a book about how Sora comes to terms with lanteans and the actions of her people in relation to them.

Book 3

The siege part 3 (ish) - coup d'etat

17 episodes (+/- 0-1 episodes)

After the events of the siege captain William 'Bill' ______ of the SBS (who firsts whows up during the siege) is assigned to atlantis and is given an offworld team. He recruits Hoglund as his science officer and Sora as his alien liaison.

A cold war situation develops in Pegasus, with Atlantis and the geniistruggling for influence over other culture and worlds. Sometimes they tear down corrupt regimes but just as often they find themseves helping local warlords stay in power to prevent the genii from taking over.

Then come coup d'etat Sora tries to warn the lanteans about trusting Laden, and says he'll be worse than Cowen they let him.

Even after the situation is resolved Sora is disillusioned with Atlantis and starts speaking about leaving the city. That she may be of more use to pegasus if she returned to the genii.

Book 4Michael - The return part 1 (ish)

13 episodes (+/- 0-1 episodes)

With peace with the genii established Atlantis turns it's attention back to the wraith threat. With the first Michael situation arising Hoglund and sora is pro whiping the wraith out they are after all wraith. After first contact with the Asurans the team does several raids on Asuran outposts to capture technology and preferable ZPM's. Hoglund holds that the Asurans may be the ones chance they have of truly unlocking the secrets of the ancients.

When shepard is captured by Kolya the team uses Sora's genii contacts to try to track him down. Instead they find indicators of how Ladon has been wielding/abusing the power of his office, and considering that Atlantis is allied with him Sora grows ever more inclined towards leaving Atlantis.
When the ancients return and the expedition leave Sora goes to find the only genii commander who could oppose Ladon the legendary commander Athor. Hoglund tries to defect to follow her but is found out and brought back to earth. There he is disbared from the stargate program because he tried to go AWOL.

Book 5

The Return part 2 (ish) - missing
17 episodes (+/- 0-1 episodes)

Hoglund stuggles on earth to find a way to return to Pegasus. Meanwhile Sora seeks out commander Athor and convince him to come out of retirement and start a resistance movement again Ladon.

Hoglund finds some pieces about the great library (turns out the one in alexandria was a pale copy of an ancient one) that he brings to daniel jacksson and thus gets acess to the stargate. Now hoglund expected the library to be  a hoax but it turns out to be the real thing and ancient outpost, inside it Hoglund finds a reference to a atlantis class city ship in pegasus and manages to go awol on SG-1 when the library comes under attack from ori.
He joins up with sora and Athor (who doesnt like Hoglund becuase his son was killed by shepard and lanteans like lanteans) he brings their breakaway faction to the city that becomes known as the lighthouse.
Ladons genii name them terrorists and the department of homeworld security puts out a warrent for hoglunds arrest as a deserter. Once Atlantis comes back under earth controll they also have to avoid Atlantis teams sent out to capture hoglund. At the same time Hoglund raids asuran strongholds (as well as caches of ancient tech left by atlantis) to repair the lighthouse.

Captain ____ is tasked with leading a new SG team specifically founded to bring Hoglund in, on special request from ladon that "Atlantis deals with this menace it has created". Captain ___ however avoids capturing Hoglund and even manages to aid him a  few times, since only ladon and the DHS seems to be the least bit intrested in Hoglund it's allowed to slip by.
When given the chance he tells Hogund about becketts death. But soon after than Hoglund meets beckett who has ascended (with help), Beckett tells Hoglund that michael is still alive and and using has a lab on Hoff where he tries to unlock the secrets of the Hoffan drug. Hoglund and sora and their team plans to attack and destroy the lab.
Meanwhile a IOA special agent has taken over the hunt for Hoglund and somehow finds out he'll be on Hoff (maybee someone betrays hoglud to ladon who then tells the IOA?)

They all clash on Hoff and are trapped by michael's forces, they find that michael has tried unsucessfully to clone beckett, ascended beckett tells them it wont work since a clone lack the energy component of the original person.
Beckett is forced to use his ascended powers to get them out of there safely but is then quickly stopped by the others. Michaels lab is destroyed but but michael gets away with the drug and a clone that seems to have awoken after the ascended beckett dissapeared.

Book 6
the seer - search and rescue

14 episodes

Under the ever more pressing the ever more pressing threatof michael's hybrids Hoglund Sora and Athor decide to join forces with Ladon's genii. Because of this Hoglund is given a teporary pardon by the IOA (or actually by Carter).

However when the assassin attempt on Harmony is foudn out Ladon blames Hoglund's faction again. Upon running into beckett again Hoglund theorizes that the ascended may have dumped Beckett's nergy component into the clone body when they deascended him.

sora and hoglund meets sora's father who has been made a runner, in order to protect them he has to leave though.

As hoglund sets up to help rescue teyla ladon attacks them, Hoglund submerges the lighthouse rather than let it fall into genii hands. Ladon launches a nuclear bomb agaisnt the city and while the shield and the water soak up most of the blast Sora is in a  weakened section and gets hit by the radiation.

Book 7

the seed - inquisition

11 episodes

Hoglunds faction seeks out cultures in the galawy to find the pegasus federation in order to marinalise Ladon's power. But it is inflitrated by genii loyalists. When shepards team is taken by the genii captain ___ comes to Hoglund for help the trail leads them to ladon. Sora is begining to sugger from heavy symptoms of radiation poisoning.
Hoglund's faction commits to a coup agaisnt ladon and Hoglund kills ladon. Athor, blames Hoglund as a lantean for the civil war and assumes command of the genii. Hoglund returns with Sora who is slipping into dilerium to the sunken lighthouse. He tries to get help from atlantis but atlanstis has problems with the genii because of his actions and Woolsey wont even speak to him.

book 8

The prodigal - past the end of the series.
Hoglund seeks a cure for sora but but even after he gets help from beckett he's told that at this point there's nothing he can do. The last wave of radiation was the final straw to her otherwise high lifetime exposure to radiation. If Hoglund had gotten her to backett right after it happened then maybee. After Atlantis returns to earht hoglund relaises that the ascension machine (from tao of rodeney) could let her live beyong her mortal lifespan. He hijacks a traveller ship upgrades the warpdrive to intergalactic (yeah he can do that I'll come up wth some plebotheum) he goes to earth and infiltrates atlantis gets sora to use and survive the ascendometer. Hoglund beams her back to his ship, she awakens jsut to see earth assuming the ship to be threat open fire upon it from atlantis. She says goodbye to Hoglund before the ship blows up.
A broken Hoglund is brought to trail for his actions in Pegasus, but then he starts blaming athor for sora's death and escapes and somehow get's back to pegasus where he is to unleash a superweapon upon the genii capital, but relaises he has lost it when Sora appears before him and tells him he shouldnt. The SG people arrive to stop him to see he already has started to stop it. With Mckay's help hoglund stops the machine but the transports mckay out of there was the machine blows up killing him. Shepards team and captain ___ goes down to the surface to meet athor, who promptly betrays them and reveals he had planned most of the events to be able to avenge his sons death on shepard. But then Dahlia Radim leads an unbloody coup agaist him, saying that unlike Ladon and Athor she won't kill he predessecor becuase as a reign begins it continues. She asks the lanteans to take Athor into custody then Athor draws a gun to shoot shepard but is himself shot in the arm by an unknown gunman. Who turns out to be Tyrus. Tyrus kneels over the bleeding athor and athor says soemthing and athor replies "You did one mistake Athor, you shouldn't have let my daughter die" before killing him.

then we pan to a scene where Bill standing on a pier of atlantis, Sora and Hoglund comes up to him, and he asks them if they are really there.
"I'm sorry bill you know we can't answer that" hoglund said
"This is where our path diverge William" Sora smiled. and then they faded away.

The Trail Of Koronus

Karhellion limped down the mountainside towards the simple structure that was the shrine of Koronus. Of course it was not one of the great shrines, Koronus had few great shrines, the temple in tor achare was unique in that respect. No this shrine was little more than a cave that had been extended with an atrium. The southern kingdoms deemed the simple shrines of Koronus as barabaric, as they did many of the customs of Chrace. Of course they never said anything about the equally simple shrines of Isha that could be found everywhere on Ulthuan. The cult of Isha had held little power since the time of aenarion but the elves had long memories. Karhellion staggered under the weight of the white lion on his shoulders. The southerners belived thta only those seeking a place in the pheonix king's white lions did the rite known as the trail of Koronus. They understood so little, a fair few chracians attempted the trail and while only those who who had conquered the trail could join the phoenix king's legendary bodyguard there were other functions that also required it. Such as becomming a priest of Koronus, like the old elf that rose to meet him from one of the benches before the temple.
Haraldar was not specifically the priest of the shrine, the shrines of Koronus had no permanent priests, anyone may make use of them, all those who had undergone the trail might count themselves as priests of Koronus in some respect, except those sworn to other duties that was, and thus kept an eye on the shrines they happened to live nereby or travel past. Only the great temple in tor achare had a permanent detatchment of priests. Haraldar had gone further on the path of Koronus than most however, Karhellion's father even said he might one day become the high priest of the cult. Karhellion felt fortunate that such an esteemed man may be in charge of his trail.

The old elf stood, the elves lived long lives, and when one was old enough to truly show age then one knew they were truly ancient.

”The young hunter returns” He said with a smile, Karhellion was a bit disturbed by the fact that he seemed to have fangs like a canine. His voice was unlike the soft voices of most of their people it was a deep rumble almost as if there was the roar of a lion somewhere deep inside it. The old elf was quite unlike the priest of other realms to haraldar had served as a white lion for twohundred years before dedicating himself to the god, he was the largest most muscular elf Karhellion had ever seen, even in chrace and his eyes reminded the younger elf of a bird of prey. Two others emerged from the shrine, other who had undergone the trail and begun down the path of Koronus, but no one related to Karhellion. That was by tradition, though no living relative of his had gone through the trail anyway.
”I have slain the beast” Karhellion gasped and let his burden fall on the ground. It had not been an easy fight, the ancients claimed that once the trail had been undertaken with ones bare hands, and they say that the current captain of the White lions had done it that way, but today most wielded the woodsman's axe. Even then a white lion was a fierce and merciless opponent. ”I have beaten the trail of the god” he roared in satisfaction lifting his axe to the skies.

”Not yet you havent, boy” one of the others said he was a fairly young elf perhaps ony a century or so older than Karhellion himself but with a massive scar right across his face, Karhellion didn't know his name, it was not required of him to know their names, he had been told that the lion cloaks around their shoulders was all he needed to know. But from the scar clearly made by a weapon and not by a beast and his bearing that he was a warrior, perhaps even one of the white lions. The old priest nodded.

”You have killed the beast, but Koronus is the good of the hunt not the good of killing, if it is that elation you seek only the cyrathii can slake your thirst. The goods of the Asur will never ask you to kill for the sake of killing”

”I don't understand” Karhellion respended confused, he was standing there bleeding from a dozen places and the priest wanted to discuss schemantics.

”The hard part of the trail is still before you” the last of the older elves, he was older than the scarred one but yet his hair was still brown rather than white as the priest, the priest was large but this elf was even larger. Karhellion entered the shrine with the two older elves followign him. There were no chairs in the shrine intead there were animal hies left there was offerings by hunters in ages past, the two older elves sat down on them, and so did the young hunter. Then the priest entered with a bowl in front of him. He sat down on the hides so they formed a circle with him right across from Karhellion and set the bowl seemingly containing blood in the middle. He removed a few obejects from his robes and handed to the other two elves.

”You must never speak of this part of the ritual” the scarred one said.

”Just like you came here unknowing of what this trail was truly about, so much all others come here unknowing” the other elf said.

”You may turn back after we have explained, there is no shame in it but you will not have passed the trail unless you go forward” the priest said.

”I mean to go forward”

”Never promise to make a decision until you have heard the terms of it boy” the scarred one growled. In this light with the light from the candles on the wall playing in his eyes he looked almost as a lion himself.

”You will go into the realm of spirits daemons and gods, and face the spirit of the lion you slew...” the large elf began.

”The realm of chaos?” Karhellion asked terrified.

”Not the realm proper, into the border that separates this world from that one, the spirit of the lion has not yet passed through to the realm of death”

”It is dangerous, you may end up dead, or a drooling maniac with all sense blasted from your head, or possessed by the very animal you killed hunting the wilds as if you were a lion” the scarred elf said, but for some reason the large elf shot him an irritated glance. But the priest acted as if nothing had happened.

”Do you mean to go forward” the priest asked ”You may leave if you wish, you may come again as many times as you need but you'll need to redo to the first part of the trail again. No one has suceeded after having turned away twice”

The large elf muttered something under his breath, did he say something of Khaine? Karhellion wondered.
”I mean to go forward” he said again.

”Good, then this is what you must remember” the priest began.

”We serve Koronus the lord of the hunt” the large one said and put the obeject he had been given, and small bone brick into the bowl.

”But all elves are of Isha” the scrred one growled and put what he had been given into the bowl, a small tuft of hair it seems.

”And what is given can never be taken” the priest finished.

The last part was a part of the prayer of Isha, 'Isha who are one with the elves and ulthuan gives us freely what we need, what's given cannot be taken. And what has been given must eventually be returned' A reminder of that however long lived the elves were still mortal, and when they died returned all they were to Isha and Ulthuan.

The priest put his hand over the bowl and it seemed to ignited into flames.

”Breethe deeply and face the what you have taken” all three of them said. Karhellion bent forwards and ihaled the smoke, and the the world seemed to disolve.

He awoke many hours later, on the floor of the shrine, alone. Yet not alone. He stood wearily. That had been rough, the older elves had been right slaying the beast had been the easy part, this was so much harder. He was Karhellion, yet he was no longer Karhellion, what had been taken had been given.
He left the shrine, the large elf sat outside in the sunlight, now thathe knew what to look for he saw the similiarity to a big cat bathing in the sunlight. The elf didnt open his eyes as the younger elf approached. ”The others are hunting, so how did it go?”

”We are one” the elf who was once Karhellion said and sat beside the older elf.

”Of course” the older elf laughed, and the younger elf realised he had canines to. ”had you not become one you would both have been torn apart by angry daemons”

”You didn't tell me that”

”Suprisingly few fail, those who did would have been lost to Khaine anyway. Bloodlust is in our nature but if we cannot controll it... how did you do it”

”I surrendered” Karhellion said ”Eventually” he then admitted.

”I fought my beast for hours and hours, neither giving in, chaos had a grip on that ones soul, and perhaps khaine a firmer grip on mine that I would have admitted, but we shed ourselves of that as we fought and finally we realised than neither could conquer the other, not in that realm, and became one”

”A chaos touched lion... you are Korhil” the younger elf gasped. The captain of the White Lions himself.

”I am Charandis too, but I dont need to explain that to you”

”What of the others?”

”I have never asked Akenash, of his fight, I did not stand for him, Haraldar stood for me, he spoke to his beast rather than fighting it, he always does”

”Always?”

”You have stood unto the path of the great hunter, every time you hunt and slay a beast part of it will become part of you. Nothing as deep as the lion you are now one with, but still a feeling that you will come to know. Come now young cub it is time for us to join the hunt” he stood offering the young elf the skin of the lion he had slain. The skin he had once worn and would now always wear.

The Fall pt1

Elyash entered the main circuit chamber alogn thousands of others running, the circuit was overloading, jsut when he had thought there was no emotions for him to experience tahat he had not he, and those with him through the link they had in the warp aswell as the fact that they were still linked throught the circuit, was introduced to an entirly new one terror. Fear was one thing that they had experienced thousands of time reliving the battles their ancestors fought against the necrotyr, but terror like this, perhaps if any soulstones had been recovered from the battles with the c'tan themselves there woudl have been terror but now it was an entirly new emotion. Elyash looked around him several faces was savourign the emotions letting it flow through them and flow out of them.
Fools! he thought they are taxing the circuit furhter. He for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, and probalby would be several lifetimes for non eldar, mastered his emotions and shut them of from the glowing warming vastness of the warp. He felt isolated abandoned and cold. But it was better than dead. Still a deep dark place in him hungered for death, the final sensation, the one thing he had not experienced, the soulstones could share all experience up to death but what happened after was not part of this realm and so could not be stored in the stones. He shut that emotion of too. How long had it been since he had done that, chillingly he realised it was probably decades ago. And he was one of the circuit technicians, he had to be responsible once in a while, others here had probably gone centuries without even thinking. He saw his childhood friend Aldeyesh close by, Aldeyesh had spend his last two centuries eating sleeping and experienced his childhood love Adana, though he had never really been with her, he had experienced her through the eyes of another, through the circuit. Adana had been dead for atleast ten years now Elyash realised. It was a chilling thought, the circuit had been contructed to allow the eldar to share their knowledge with common generations, not to share what should have been a private matter with every eldar in existance.
They reached the open area before the dias holding the controll stone of the circuit. The main controll stone, set in place by Avernia of Atash more than million years ago. She had created the first circuit that all other circuits on the other maiden worlds had grown out of. The greatest creatrion of the eldar people, and it was shining with inner light, pulsating like a heartbeat. about to crumble unde rthe pressure of all the emotions flowing thorugh it. The eldar had grown to many, used the circuit to lightly and now it was failing. Even shielded from it and the warp Elyash could feel the warmth of the circuit burning him. The crown stopped, but Elyash and several other circuit technicians hurried towards it, not thta they had any real idea what to do, this wasnt suposed to be possible, the circuit was suposed to grow to allow for more inout if it was strained. It's scope should be that of the warp itself, infinite. But it was not so. The flashing got faster and stronger, Elyash saw eldar men and women collapsing on the floor screaming. Their pain spilled over into others, most never thought of shielding themselves, some probably didnt even rememeber how. Then the flashing and the heat got so instense that Elyash had to stop. Then a single flash and the circuit was quiet. Totally quiet, totally dead. In horror Elyash looked on it, the stone conencted to the circuit here and on thousands of worlds grew cold. Then he saw it, a little girl was standing naked before the main stone. He wondered what she did there then felt a rush of uneasiness as the emotions of his fellow eldar flowed over him, admiration, reverence and sexual desire. He turned to look at them in shock, she was a little girl such emotions for a child was wrong, the sight that met hi eyes chilled him, several hundred eldar behind him had collapsed their eyes was empty their souls was gone. Other was caught in some kind of trance staring at the girl. Elyash turned his eyes back to her, he knew her. She was Hevenra the daughter of Avernia, the first eldar ever to submitt an experience into the circuit, and she had been dead for at least a hundred thousand years. Elyash had seen her through the eyes of others as he went through his traning. Even seen the ceremony when the circuit was first opened.
She opened her eyes and looked at them, if he had not shielded himself he knew those eyes would have consumed him, had he not worked for close to a millenia with the circuit he wasnt sure how much diffrence his shielding would have done.
”I thirst” she said, she walked up to one of the technicians and touched him, he collapsed into a pile of convulsing flesh then stopped moving. Even shilded Elyash knew he was dead. This wasnt Hevenra, this was the infinity circuit, the thirst of the eldar race given form. And she would consume them all and still thirst.
Then he felt something else, something even more fundamental than the compulsion to seek out desires, it made the blood boil in his veins and pushed back her effects on him. He knew if from the old memories, the attack command, the call of Khaine. The very reason for the eldar to exist. He smelt burnt ozone and turned. At the end of the hall stood a giant armoured in burning armour, his hand dripping with blood and a mighty curved sword in his hand. Atleast that was how Elyash experienced him, the psychic emissions was so strong they clouded the physical form of this being.
”Thirster in the dark!” it said looking at she who thirsts. ”I am the reaper of souls, I have come for you!”

Raphael gets an assignment

Raphael hesitantly entered the chamber. Being called before the primarch himself was an honour, and he could think of no way that he could have made himself worthy of it. The room was large but despite that it was wholly dominated by one massive table in dark oak. Totally round. Around the table stood chairs, here the primarch would meet the company captains under his command, it was as far as Raphael knew a replica of a similiar room from which the lion had ruled on Caliban. The room was mostly deserted now, there was only one person in it besides himself. If person could even be used for such a being. The table was large and took up most of the space of the room, yet it seemed small and unimportant besides the giant who sat in the largest chair. His armour was gilded with lions heads wings and vines, yet the armour seemed bland before the majesty of the man in it. The primarch Lion el'Johnson, the lion son of the forest. He sat absolutely still beside the table, staring out in the distance lost in thought.
Raphael knew better than to disturb the lord of the first legion, so he stood silently by the door. A company captain might have allowed to sit down, Raphael didn't know, the inner circles rules was for the primarch and the inner circle to know. It didn't matter Raphael wasn't inner circle or even a company captain, for him it was unthinkable to sit in the presence of this demigod. As was it to force his presence on him.
For a long while he stood there looking at his lord and master, then the lion suddenly shook his head as if to physically shake a thought out if his head, he suddenly realised Raphael was there, he didn't look surprised and definitely not startled, but there was a slight widening of his eyes that betrayed that he was a bit uncomfortable that Raphael could have entered the room without him noticing. Then a moments hesitation, Raphael wondered if his company captain had been wrong and the primarch had not sent for him after all.
”It's captain Raphael now isn't it?” The lion finally said.
”Yes my lord primarch” Raphael answered with relief. The lion did not ask him to sit and Raphael did not ask to.
”The Imperium has won a massive victory at Ullanor, the emperor is retiring to Terra to build his Imperium leaving one of his sons as warmaster of his forces” The primarch told him.
Rapahel opened his mouth, but the primarch interrupted him.
”It will not be me” there was a hint of bitterness in the words ”The emperor has seen it fit to a point my brother Horus to warmaster” not bitterness... concern?
”A fine choice my lord, the Luna Wolves are second only to us, Horus is a good general”
”That he is, but sometimes to clever for his own good” the lion muttered then continued ”The emperor has taken his personal honour guard with him back to Terra, all eighteen companies. As well as the full force of the legio custodes. He has asked that each of the primarchs send a force to act as a honour guard for the new warmaster. No specifics to how large this force is to be have been given so I will send captain Kellaniel and five hundred space marines” Half as many as had been in the emperor's dark angel's honour guard, not few enough to make it an insult but few enough to show that the lion considered parading not to be the duty of the space marines and this new warmaster not the emperors equal.
”I understand” Raphael said, wondering if the primarch truly knew how much he read from the situation. The primarch laughed, it was a dry bitter laugh but a laugh none the less.
”I sincerely doubt that captain, which is why you are here, I will make you understand”
”Sire?”
”Your commanders have said you are something of plotter captain, always looking to peoples agendas, always seeking to gain an advantage. While I may normally have no patience for such behaviour amongst my Dark Angels, there are times when... special talents... may be useful”
Raphael's mind raced, considering what the lion had just said he tried to not to do it but he couldn't help but run through the information sort it and evaluate it, it was simply his nature. He thought he knew where the lion was going with this and it frightened him, because if it was true then...
”Do you remember when we first met, captain?” The primarch asked, the question took Raphael aback but how could he forget.
”In the hall of servants, on my home world, after we had cast down the tyrants and joined the Imperium, you spoke to all of us who would be given the chance to become space marines”
”Yes, we stood under the statues of your gods, and I told you the imperial truth, do you remember what you responded?” How could Raphael forget he a mere human had spoken out of turn to the primarch of the Dark Angels legion, and almost contradicted him.
”While it may be true that there are no gods, the things that the servants worshipped were real, whatever they are I have felt their presence their thirst” Raphael cited himself. One of the marines of the lions bodyguard had lifted him from the ground in one hand and told him to deny the existence of false gods, and Raphael had done so. He did not think the primarch had remembered the incident nor that the boy who spoke out of turn was the captain who stood before him.
”Yes, you could feel their thirst, I though nothing of it at first but then they told me you were a psyker” the lion said ”And that thirst, if you felt it again, would you recognise it captain”
Raphael was startled was the primarch saying what he thought he was saying?
”I... but... the Imperium doesn't believe in gods or daemons, what...?”
”My reasons to ask is for me to know captain, what is for you is to obey, answer my question”
”I would recognise it my lord” Raphael said quickly ”That is if i was to reach out, which I am forbidden to do by the edict of Nikkea”
”And if I were to order you to reach out” The primarch said beginning to stand.
Raphael went down on one knee, clasping his right hand over his chest and lowering his eyes.
”As you said my lord, for me is to obey, you are my primarch, for me your words is the will of the emperor” He heard how the primarch sat down again, and that dry laugh.
”You truly do speak like a politician captain” the lion scoffed ”Very well this day it suits my purpose. You will accompany the honour guard sent to my brother Horus, you will... keep your eyes and ears open”
”For what my lord?” Raphael dared to ask though he doubted he would be given an answer.
”I'm not sure, but I have a feeling you'll know should the time come. You may leave me captain”
Raphael got on his feet bowed again though the lion no longer paid any attention to him, and and turned to leave.
"Captain" the primarch halted him "Should you encounter any other worlds with similiar religions to that of your home world, I would very much want to hear of it, now you may go" Raphael bowed again and left. The primarch had been right he had not understood, but he planned to remedy that. Parts of it he had understood, the lion wasn't sure about the imperial truth, it was concerning that he would think that the gods of the servants may be out here as well. As concerning was being asked to spy on the warmaster. They had always been told how the primarchs was united, a brotherhood, set on protecting mankind. Turns out there was at least some sibling rivalry. And being ordered to break the edict of Nikkea, regardless of what he had told the primarch Raphael was fairly certain the order to do so had not come from the emperor. He could not imagine the lion being disloyal though. The primarch of the first legion had his flaws, Raphael knew that well enough, but lack of loyalty was not one of those. Raphael hurried towards the bays, he had to try to get a word in with Anntheus before word got through of his reassignment.