Anger is my sword. Faith is my shield. Mind is my fortress.

"We know the darkness to master the light".

(c) Ars Kaelir 'Knowledge of the Way' (Understanding the Essence)

Mars | College of Masters

I looked at the people gathered in the hall. Around the oval oak table sat twelve Magos*. The leaders of all the Adepto, the men on whom the power of the Empire rests, their minds filled with thousands of blueprints, formulas and calculations. But today, I have gathered them together to discuss a very important matter and to make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives.

- Magos! - The whispering stopped for a moment. We are facing what I feared most and for which I have prepared you all for thousands of years. A swarm of advanced machines that destroy intelligent life every 50,000 years. And now we stand on the brink of another sweep. - Excited voices filled the hall, and I continued, 'I admit it. We are now the strongest race in the galaxy, space can't stand against us, and our development takes many miles. But we must become even stronger and get all the resources before this terrible war!

- My Emperor, but the alien machine has been destroyed. The fleet and the Legio Titanicus were able to destroy the alien! There were only eleven ships in the squadron orbiting Polis. Yes, we lost an aircraft carrier, but that's because we only counted on a few MLAs from the synthetic fleet. Are you sure the alien machines are so dangerous? - It was Magos Ritei, head of Adepto Stellar, who rose from his seat. He oversaw all of the Empire's shipyards.

- That's the way it is, Magos. Behold. - I picked up the recently shattered orb, now intact and shimmering with golden light. - This techno-ghost is a thousand times more powerful than ours. Enough power to control sentient beings. That's what I'm afraid of. That we will be attacked from within our homeworld.

- Master, you were without power last time we found you near this orb. Isn't it risky to approach it again? - Karo reacted immediately.

- Fear not, my friend. I have conquered this spirit, and now it is loyal to us. It doesn't know what it did before, and we can use that to our advantage. - I did not elaborate on coming out of my body and spending some time in the 'astral state'.

- If it has that much power, it needs to find a proper place," Karo's eyes showed business interest again.

- Titans.

- Titans? Yes... We could replace the pilot with one of them, and then there would be no need for stasis because of the lack of stress on the brain. My Emperor, that's a brilliant idea! But they can only be obtained in these ancient machines; we can't mass produce them.

- We don't need to. By destroying them, we can get a few at a time, and the more we get and incorporate into our war machine, the more we'll get in the future. The domino effect.

- Dominoes? - Everyone looked at me when they heard this unfamiliar word.

- An old word, mind you. I meant that if we start small, we will get bigger. There is no rush in this business.

- I hear you, Master. I will work with Magos to find a way to extract the 'orbs' from these machines, but it will take a lot of work.

- Don't get hung up on that. First, we must understand the power of their ability to subdue the mind. We can fight them in space and on the ground. But they can attack our minds.

- We could develop a suppressor it would block their power on the sentient, on a particular planet, for all those we would not physically have time to do so. This would rule out attacks on our rear planets, and the other exceptions, if any, would be destroyed by the Secret Guardian. If only the organics could be controlled, there would be no danger to them.

- Right, tell that to the Tribune. And what can you tell me about the nano-armour?

- It's fully functional and tested. The person wearing it has almost the same properties as the Shadow. The behaviour and knowledge of the object are not transferable, but the body can be altered. This should greatly increase the number of Shadows and our control over the Empire and space.

- Good. Give all this to the Tribune and have him start recruiting fighters immediately. He'll have as much to do in the future as the entire fleet and the infantry. - Karos nodded.

- Now, the task for you. Magos, who oversees production. We must receive new equipment at an accelerated rate. Delay is like death; the more we get, the stronger we can fight back. - A few people have started typing into their communicators. - We need to get the latest weapons and equip the troops. We need to understand the technology of the Ancient machine. We are most interested in its weapons at the moment. Once we understand its nature, we can make serious progress regarding weaponry.

- Roger, but there are a few more questions. To test the suppressor, we need controlled machines, but where would we find them? - I smiled mischievously at these words.

- I know one place behind a catapult in the galaxy's centre. We'll get many of them there, but first, you must work out the mechanism.

- Acknowledged, and what do we do with the Xenos in space? If we go to war, we could use their resources. - Interesting question; it took me a long time to answer as I looked out the window at all the different workshops. Millions, maybe billions of lives, depend on me now. And if I say a word, I will start a terrible war of destruction or conquest. Is that worth their resources? Definitely not.

- I will give them life. Everyone has the right to one. Let them live their lives as long as they don't bother us. Besides, their powers will be exhausted or destroyed in times of war. Then we'll incorporate them into the Empire. In the meantime, let them be..." Karos sat down at the table again.

- One last thing, then, and then I'll leave.

- Are you going somewhere else? - The mechanics thought I'd be here for another week.

- Yes, I'm going to Kaelir, to the Understanders. They say they've made progress in their work and are anxious to show it to me. I will also discuss with them a mental defence against machine control. And there is a task for you. - A map of the Empire has appeared above the table. - Along this border, you must create orbital rings and turn these lines into a monolithic line of defence. Start on the side of the former Batarian state. You have several years to build this. We're running out of time. Also, speed up the destruction and dismantling of the resource catapults; this will give us a mobility advantage over the Ancient machines. That's it. I'm going to Kaelir. Karos, I'm counting on you.

- I will not fail you, my Emperor.

The Magos began to disperse, giving orders to their subordinates directly from their seats via communicators. Caro went to the lower levels, pondering my task. At the same time, I made my way through the front entrance to the hangars, where my personal fighter awaited, ready to take me to the Comprehenders' abode. Soon the small ship's engines roared and carried me into the blackness of space...

A few hours later | Kaelir's orbit

I still enjoy piloting the ship. Though incredibly fast, the constant transfers are less exciting than they used to be. Steering the ship, though not for long, is fine. I aimed the ship at the planet and began to study its landscape from above. It was a huge chain of mountains that took up almost all of the land. One of these chains, with the highest mountain, was occupied by a huge complex where all the phenomena of the universe were studied.

Soon the ship broke through the veil of clouds and approached the complex, touching down gently on the pillars of the place. Stepping out of the ship, I was met by a delegation of a dozen legionnaires in black robes, halberds in their hands, and one of the senior officers. His rank was evident from his cloak. In the intricate weave of the pattern, one could read a secret subtext that told almost everything about the owner of this cloak.

As I approached the warriors, who had stood motionless the entire time the ship had shut down, they bowed to me. After receiving permission to stand, the officer turned to me:

- My Emperor, we are pleased to see you in our world. Unfortunately, Magister Kelier has not been able to meet you, though he would have liked to. He is preoccupied with our discovery and cannot tear himself away.

- It's a pleasure to meet you. Don't worry. I'm not angry with Keliir; your discoveries are important to us. I received your message that you have ended your centuries-long journey. Do you have anything to show me now?

- Of course, my Lord! We will show you the power of Vilarium! Please follow me.

The whole delegation, with us at the head, made their way to the huge doors leading into the depths of the complex. I saw glowing runes as we approached the doors instead of the usual interfaces.

- Here is the first thing that will show you our progress. The Energy we receive at the centre of the complex is directed to all of these runes, allowing us to affect objects without any physical pressure. - With these words, he held out his hand towards the symbol and streams of Energy flowed from it to his hand. Immediately they surrounded his hand, and as soon as he clenched his fist, the door opened silently, and the currents returned to their original state, transforming into a golden pattern. All this came as a great surprise to me. I had expected something less.

- This is only a small possibility of Energy, my Emperor! The Master has promised to show you its true nature. Come.

We entered the room, and the door closed softly behind us.

Inside, everything was illuminated by glowing orbs that emitted a blue light similar to the colour of the waves of the sea on Terra. Melodious songs could be heard in the corridors, sung by the legionaries in special halls. There, they understood the unity of their spirit with the universe and expressed their emotions in song. All this gave the place an air of mystery and, for some reason, antiquity. Or rather, ancient secrets.

Once inside, we found ourselves in a gallery flanked by columns. The guards quietly retreated into one of the side corridors, and we moved on, entering the opposite corridor. After a few more passages, we emerged into the Vault. Not even that - the Vault. Huge shelves filled with all sorts of books and scrolls. Many of them were over two thousand years old. Some didn't even know their date of creation. Some had been found on the planets of ancient races. They were crystals filled with information that could only be retrieved with a special device, the secret of which only the Cognitives had the power to create. The Legionaries read these books, scrolls and crystals. They copied the information onto "modern" scrolls or other information storage devices, which they then carried somewhere in the depths of the fortress. Here we walked extra quietly to not distract the brothers from their work.

After passing through the library, we found ourselves in one of the halls of the Keep, which was responsible for the heritage of the ancient races. Corridors and stairs led to the Prothean beacons found throughout the Empire and brought here. So far, there were only 'technical' beacons, mostly useless to the Empire. Still, the one reporting the Reaper invasion was about to arrive. There were also the remains of several long-dead races, but they were of little use.

After all the halls of the Vault, we came to a room with an Astronavigator. Everyone thought the main Archi-Astronavigator was in the Terra palace or Mars palace. Still, it's just a duplicate, the real one here. It coordinates the flights of all the ships in the Empire and contains maps of the vast interstellar space and the shortest routes to traverse it. It knows where a particular planet is, all the information about it, the location of the asteroid fields and much more.

The Astronavigator looks like a large sphere, about five metres in diameter. It's an ancient machine created in the early millennium by the first Mechanicus to help the first ships carrying colonists to new planets. Some never made it...

It received information from myriads of small spy drones that flew all over the galaxy, discreetly monitoring everything in it.

The orb was hidden inside a mock-up of Terra, flying in the hall's centre. Also nearby were mock-ups of the Moon and other orbiting artificial bodies that moved and looked like the real thing. Except they were all powered by Energy coming out of a special hole in the ceiling. On the opposite wall was a large door, all painted in bas-relief. As we approached it, my companion said:

- We have arrived, my Lord. The Master is waiting for you in his hall. I cannot go any further with you. - With these words, he activated a rune, opened the door, and moved in the opposite direction.

I looked again at the model of Terra flying above me. It was completely silent, which made the model seem even more real. When I had seen enough, I pushed the door open and walked into the room.

I stood up almost immediately... If I had a jaw, it would have fallen off. In the middle of the room was a huge... star? A huge burning ball, drawing its Energy from a spire on one of the mountains. Strangely, I hadn't noticed it when I landed. Calier stood calmly before the 'star' and stared at it. Soon he turned and ran towards me. As he approached, he dropped to his knees.

- My Emperor, I am incredibly pleased to welcome you to our fortress. Forgive me for not coming out to meet you, but my exp...

- I know, don't make excuses; there's nothing wrong with that. Your achievements are important to the Empire, so I've come to see what you've done in person. And I see it was not in vain. - I said as I looked at the orb.

- Thank you, my Lord. Our labours have finally been crowned with success. We have discovered the power of our... faith. - He reached towards the star and held out his hand. The currents from the hand and the sphere almost instantly merged into a single channel. - We called it Star Energy - Vilarium. Or just Energy.

- Where do you get it from?

- Our soul is this Energy. As you can see, its colour is Imperial Gold. All this Energy, faith in you, my Lord. Each of your subjects is connected to a single energy network. His faith transmits Energy through it, through prayer or simply through the power of the soul. The strongest flows are during extreme events: battles, danger or great emotional upheaval. Then the Energy flows in huge quantities, even without special actions. You understand! Our souls can serve the Empire forever! Even after death, we will be faithful servants of humanity!

- This is... incredible! You've done the impossible, Kelier! But why is this Energy accumulating? Or is it going somewhere?

- It is meant for you, my Emperor. But it does not go; it accumulates... You may need it to mark you, and then it will do the rest. I received my power just as I discovered it. - He raised his hand, which was surrounded by currents of Energy.

- It was dangerous, you could have lost your life, and there is no telling what else might have happened!

- My life is nothing before the future of the Empire. I am happy to improve it to the best of my ability. And if my life should end, or something should interrupt it, the next one will take my place, and I hope he will continue my path. When the good of a whole nation or people is at stake, one man's life is not worth a penny. It may sound strange, but to give one's life for one's people, no matter how, is the greatest act of all. So I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to accept it as something empty, but in the service of you and the Empire, I will no longer die in the shadows. And I am happy to know that...

We just stood there for a while, looking at the miniature star. Minute after minute passed in silence. Everyone was thinking of something far away. But all things end, and this time I interrupted our thoughts.

- Well, we have to start. You mean she's going to take me in herself?

- As far as I know, yes. But all those who have passed on have accepted the Energy into their bodies. Conversely, you exist beyond our comprehension; perhaps Energy will accept you even better than us. - At these words, he stepped back and let me pass. Nodding to him, I approached the orb. It was then that I felt fear for the first time in a long time. Fear of the unknown. It was as if I could reach out, and the sphere would incinerate me in a second; the light was so bright. But I overcame my fear and cautiously reached out. A shoot began to emerge from the side of the balloon, reaching out to my hand, and soon it gently touched my fingertips and began to gently probe its way further. Soon my whole hand was immersed in the golden substance, but I felt no 'contact' with the Energy. When I turned back to Keliir, all I could see was the confusion on his face. He didn't seem to understand why there was no contact.

Then I remembered his words about how my body could only receive Energy. Yet, my body was hidden beneath this steel, so it couldn't recognise me. Concentrating on my inner self, I tried to get into the same state I was in near the Reaper. After a few attempts, I opened my eyes and was stunned. Through the armour that had been my body for the past year, my old human arm, made of transparent threads, shone through. The steel body still did not obey me, having become a mere statue. Still feeling indescribable freedom, I reached out to Energy again. It flew towards me like a living being I had not seen for years. And so our meeting happened...

It was like a nuclear explosion. I could feel it spreading throughout my body. I was happy; for the first time in a long time, I could feel the light breeze blowing through the corridors of the fortress. The frost that came down from the mountains into the rooms. I breathed in the fresh, cool air again; even though I didn't need it, I could breathe it. From all these sensations and the bliss the Energy gave me, I did not notice how I fell into a sweet sleep...

Waking up was pleasant. The feeling of bliss was still warming my body from within. The only thing that disturbed me was the incessant whispering, and the number of voices seemed enormous. When I opened my eyes, I could see an endless space, a vast field with many stones and a rock in the middle. On closer inspection, the rocks appeared to be small spheres of Energy, almost replicating the great energy cluster in the fortress. A beam emanated from each of them, heading straight for the top of the rock. The whispers, by the way, were coming from those very spheres. When I approached the closest one, I saw a young boy, who I understood from the whispers to ask for help with his studies, although I somehow knew he was an excellent student. The next "window" showed a Legionnaire patrolling a dark planet with his troops. In every corner, even I could see frightening creatures. He asked me to give him vigilance and strength. Still, I knew this Legionnaire had been rewarded for bravery in a terrible battle with the Hierarchy. All these stones showed that they believed in me. This was the place of which Caelier spoke. I circled the mountain and looked for a place to climb. To my surprise, I found a very wide staircase that went around the mountain and up to the top. After looking once more at the vast field filled with clumps of Energy shimmering with golden light, I began to climb the mountain.

The last few steps separate me from the summit, and I pass them in a second. Looking around from the mountain, I can see millions of lights stretching to the horizon. It's beautiful. Turning towards the top, as I had done long ago on a distant planet, or rather in a car, I saw a throne standing in the centre. It was quite high, three or four metres. On top of it was a huge stone eagle. And that was where the Energy from the spheres was flowing in. It went through his wings and his body and into his talons. It held a wreath of laurels in its claws, which stood out clearly. On the back of the throne was my crest in the form of a half-mechanical skull and the inscription below it, in Latin:

"Died in chains, reborn free. Bringing light in times of darkness".

And under the wreath itself was another:

"Bearer of the burden of domination, condemned to immortality."

I chuckled. "They" are right, after all. I will live forever or be killed one day, but the Empire I created will stand until the end of time. And when I disappear, my name will shine through the ages. And that gives me something I couldn't get in a previous life. I have become free. And I have created my own burdens. And if it burdens anyone, I am glad of it.

I inhaled and took the wreath of the eagle's unclawed claws firmly in my hands, put it on my head, and sat on the throne. And as soon as the Energy hit me, I fell into darkness.

This time the awakening was ordinary. No voices, no pleasant sensations. As soon as I opened my eyes, I only saw Kehliyir leaning over me, his face whiter than chalk and his hands trembling. When he saw that I was awake, he was about to hit his forehead on the floor.

- My Emperor, I am ready to accept any punishment! I have failed...

- Calm down, I'm fine. Stand up already! - Forcing him to his feet had a calming effect. - I have seen a lot, Caelier. Your discovery may be called the greatest in our history. - I looked down at my hand, and streams of bright gold were running through it. - You have done a great thing for the whole Empire. You have given us our faith.

And you gave me my life...