Chapter Twenty One: Gold, Silver, and Steel (Part VI)

Location: ???

Date: 834.M30

Sagitari-17 did not know how long he sat in the darkness. After the Anathema plucked him from Luna he had been locked in a box of cold metal. Silver inscriptions inlaid in his container constantly burned any tainted flesh touching them. Forcing the Chaos Spawn to huddle in a single corner. In the shadows, he waited. Fear and misery oozing through his being. The failure of the Lunar Rebellion and his subsequent punishment broke Sagitari-17. No longer the confident demagogue who turned Luna away from the Emperor. Now he was little more than a twitching puddle of meat.

The ability to sleep had been robbed by his mutation. So he simply waited, staring into the dark with a dozen eyes. Each belonging to a different species and each protruding from his form at random locations. He could not even shut his eyes, his nerves were a jumbled burnt mess. Forcing him to stare into the shadows and confront himself. Cut off from the Warps power and locked in a box blessed by the Anathema. Something strange started to occur. The madness of chaos started to leak away. Not enough to return sanity or even remorse to the broken being. Just enough for Sagitari-17 to fully understand how much he had fallen. What he had become and that he had none to blame for himself.

Eventually, after what felt like weeks of waiting in the black, the box moved. Or at least Sagitari-17 thought it did. He lacked inner-ears now. Sensing movement was rather difficult. After another period of stagency, his container moved. This time he was certain of it. These fits and starts of movement convinced Sagitari-17 he was being moved somewhere. Another stimulus soon touched his consciousness. It was light. A pure bright light that scalded him. His very flesh started to hiss and pop at the illumination. This was because the Light was not simple photons. It was the psychic feedback of the presence of the one Sagitari-17 feared above all. The Emperor of Mankind stood outside his container and had turned his focus to the Chaos Spawn.

A shimmering face of golden sparks appeared in Sagitari-17's mind. It was horrific in its perfection. A golden Adonais, incarnate of order and power. It spoke into his mind and Sagitari-17 shivered at its words:

"I am everything you think of me as. A tyrant, monster, abomination, anti-messiah, fiend and worse. By my actions, trillions have died and more will. The Great Crusade will be the single largest military campaign in human history. It will also be the single greatest atrocity our species has committed. The weight of sins greater than any except the first races shall be on me. Sagitari-17 I tell you all this so you listen and understand what comes next. Despite all that, all my horrors and evils. I am humanity's only hope, and I am a saint in comparison to the beings you serve. Sagitari, you betrayed our species. Hoping to damn us all in your desire for petty boons and freedoms. You are like so many throughout history. Chafing at any restriction or law because it exists. Caring not for the consequences or understanding of why it is necessary"

The face started flicker and it finished its last words as the box moved one last time. "And look where that has gotten you. A mutant hulk of broken flesh. Don't worry too much though. You still have purpose Sagitari-17. Humanity will learn from your sins. Your name will be recorded and hallowed like so many other myths. Icaros, Addin-shah, Harrold, Hutler, Druumpft, Kion and now Sagitari-17 are known as mankind's great fools. I must thank you for this gift of knowledge and warning."

With that, the face disappeared and Sagitari-17 was left in the Dark, but not for long.

Location: The Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis (Under Construction)

Date: 835.M30

At the Emperor's command, the elite of the Sol System had been gathered. Generals, Governors, Dignitaries, and more had come to the heart of the Imperium. The Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis. An unfinished edifice to Imperial rule. That one day would hold the Emperors Court. For now, it had been cleared of equipment and served as an amphitheater for its master.

In the center of the great structure stood the Emperor, a dazzling light on a podium of gold and adamantium. Floating above and a bit behind him, on a set of grav-platforms was a massive container of black metal. Iterators and Remembrancer scurried through the audience, hoping to catch every moment for documentation and inspiration. All twenty Primarchs and the Emperor's Inner circle were seated around the podium. Facing out and looking into the audience. A wall of superhumans separating the Emperor from his subjects.

At the appointed time the hall quieted, hundreds of thousands silencing themselves out of respect for the Emperor. He had summoned them all here to teach humanity. To explain the threat of Chaos and why humanity must fight. The Emperor began his speech, which would echo across the ages and be known to humanity for eons to come. To each member of the audience, the words were different. The message filtered through perceptions of authority and power. Even so, the message was heard and understood.

A terrible truth of the Cosmos was unveiled, the Neverborn. Sentient Warp-Predators feeding off insanity and worship. Four false-gods who sought to devour everything in their insatiable hunger for life. How the storms that cut apart the ancient human Empire was the result of the youngest gods birth. That the reason psykers went insane and unleashed evil was these monsters.

The Emperor explained how the Four sought to enslave humanity, turn us into cattle or worse like so many other Xenos. Using countless examples from the Unification War he demonstrated the corruptive nature of Chaos. That religion gave them an opening. In a quote that would echo across eternity, the Emperor said: "Any being that demands worship is undeserving of it."

Continuing the Emperor spoke on the mythotype of demon and devil. How these were based on the Neverborn, just as the Fairfolk could be traced to the Aeldari Slavers. The enemy knows this and uses it. They want us to believe there invincibility and omnipotence. Like everything the Neverborn say, it is a lie or half-truth. The Four hoped to kill the Imperium in its cradle, dragging mankind eternally into the dark. They failed, the Legions had broken them. Twenty Legions of Superhumans were crafted to protect mankind from the horrors of the universe. No matter if they were alien, mutant or neverborn.

The Lunar Gene-cults had fallen for the promises and power of Chaos. Like every other fool who choose Chaos, they had betrayed the Imperium and mankind. That is what the chosen of Chaos are. Traitors who sell themselves and their species to parasites and predators. The Lunar Cult hoped to feed every man, women, and child of Sol to a sentient evil. This enemy would show no quarter and they must give none. In facing Chaos mankind fought not just for its right to exist but its very soul. In ancient times the Emperor had been chosen to help protect and guide humanity. He was no god nor demon. Just a very old and powerful human. One who had walked the golden path of salvation and hoped to guide his kin along it.

For humanity, everyone from the highest noble to the lowest serf was kin. One species, one soul. One that must unite together against the hungry dark. Unite in the Light or Die in the Dark. To further prove his point the Emperor summoned up a holo-portrait. Showing a handsome young Gene-wright of Luna. Gesturing to it he continued speaking. "This was Sagitari-17, a brilliant Selenar Cultist who hoped to do great things. He and his followers listened to the whispers of faith and followed the self-proclaimed Gods. Unleashing the Horrors of Chaos on the Solar System. For this, he was rewarded by his masters. I want you all to see the blessings of Chaos.

At that, the metal crate fell open. A scream powered by over half a million lungs was forced from the audience as they saw its occupant. The Chaos-Spawn Sagitari-17 hung in the air. Held in place by a force-field and inscriptions. The handsome portrait of what he once was orbited the creature. Providing a terrible contrast to the mass of limbs, organs, and other parts. Grasping out with stunted arms and peering with shrunken eyes the creature moaned in horror. With the screams and shock dying down the Emperor gestured to it and spoke: "You can all feel that can you not? The disgust rising in your very soul. The knowledge that something cannot be. What you are feeling is the aura of Chaos. The Warps corruption seeping from its fallen servant. No simple gene-horror or mutant can produce such a thing. You all feel it, the evil that seeks to devour your soul."

With a gesture, the Emperor summoned dozens of men and women from alcoves near the Podium. They ranged from mighty Astartes, and cold Skitarii to simple PDF Troopers. In total, the group held representatives of every military branch in the Imperium. As one they leveled their weapons at the Chaos Spawn. "That evil is real, but it is not invincible. Far from it in fact. The Legions cast the armies of hell back into the pit. They along with the rest of the Imperium's might must be leveled against this foe. I ask you, every citizen of the Imperium, from now till the end of this Long War, to fight. Not for gods, wealth or anything so simple. Fight for survival! Fight so that one day your descendants may know a galaxy free from horrors! Place your faith, not in false-gods and false-kings. But in humanity. Stand strong and together the darkness will be pushed back! The Horrors of Old Night shall be no more. The Age of Strife is over. This is now the Age of the Imperium!"

As his words echoed around the great hall the representatives of the Imperiums might opened fire. Bolt, Las, Plasma, and Kinetic rounds punched into Sagitari-17. Reducing the traitor to ash. Letting his tortured soul fly screaming into the maw of chaos.

With the Emperors great Proclamation and the destruction of the Chaos Spawn a great cheer erupted in the chamber. Any being without protected or enhanced hearing suffered damage to their ears. Thousands rose from there seats and gave thunderous applause. The Enemy of Man was known and nothing would stop the species from avenging a trillion trillion crimes.

The Emperor let a smile cross his ancient lips and looked into the Warp. Watching as this moment provided mortar to build mankind's future. The easiest way to unite tribes is giving them a common enemy. He had originally hoped to wait until mankind was safe within the Webway before telling them the truth regarding the enemy. Too many risks with naive and dangerous children. The God-Emperor's experience had brought him to a different conclusion. Better to destroy whatever innocence was left in humanity then let its nativity ruin them all.

The Applause eventually died down as the Soldiers took empty seats and the Chaos-Spawns remains were cleared away. Summoning a new holographic image the Emperor continued. This image was a stylized =][=. Cast in silver, capped with a Human skull on each end. "This enemy is not a simple thing. They fight not just on the fields of battle but in wars of shadow and manipulation. Worming its way into our lives like the parasite it is. While the Legions and Auxilia may stand against the Forces of Chaos. We need guardians to battle the spread of this taint. As such I am announcing the formation of a new body of the Imperium. The Adeptus Umbrex will fight and die in the Shadows. So one day we can all live in the light. The symbol floating here will be the marker of the first child-organization of the Umbrex. The Silver Order. Humans selected for their skill, strength of will and inquisitive mind. Who shall battle the corruption of Chaos wherever it may be found."

Imperceptible to all the Emperor paused for an infinitesimal moment on the words "Inquisitive Mind" He knew what he was creating. An inquisition to hunt his enemies. All he could hope was with his, Malcador and the Twins guiding hands this order might not fall to the levels of that infamous organization. It was still necessary, the Officio Assassinorum and a few other groups would be rolled into this Adeptus Umbrex. He could already see the power and threat such an organization would present. It could not be allowed to be corrupted. Drastic Measures would be taken. Similar to the ones already being implemented with the Astartes.

With a few more parting words the Speech ended and the Imperium was forever changed. Warned against the darkness and hopefully armed against it.