Chapter Twenty-Three: On Silver Wings (Part VII)

Hossak lacked the usual swarm of Neverborn found at places of great atrocity. Not because of the broken nature of the discarded soul-stuff. Because they feared a predator greater than themselves. Now that monster faced down the IX Primarch. The Theophage of Hossak, hungering to taste the Anathema's child.

Greater Daemons in the material are masses of Warp-Power wrapped around a host body, given context and form by the Daemon's nature. Soul-Bearers saw the Daemon through the lens of its story. A being made of massacre and bloodshed appeared as winged hulks with horns and a greatsword. The product of pandemics appeared as a bloated rotten corpse carried by swarms of vermin. Theophages had no such context. They were not the result of emotions or events within the Warp. They were all that power consumed by an Alien mind, forged into a living weapon. The Theophage before the Primarch looked like a hole. A gap in reality that shifted and moved like an animal. Inverted space shaped in a vaguely humanoid form. Flashes of light, sound, and emotion flickered across/through/into the Theophages body. If the Primarch focused he could make out a vague shape underneath the "unshape of its body" A nightmarish visage of human and alien features together and marred by ancient battle-scars.

The Theophage spoke, not telepathically or by any conventional means. It sucked air into itself creating some inversion of speech. Speaking in a vacuum staccato of phrases plucked from humans it devoured. "Hibernating-Rock-Valuable-Now. Punishment-Guard-Complete. Wake-Spawn-Unleash-Death-Feed-FEED-FEED-Enemy-God-Ours."

Dante responded with a snarl and slashed his swords at the Theophage. It created tendril/limbs similar to Khrave Warp-Glamours to block his blows. Blades made of flickering madness lashed out at the Primarch. Imperial metal and Rangda Warp-flesh clashing faster than the human eye could react. Dante deflected a blow aiming for his head and the Theophage spun its body with the force of its blow. Redirecting the impact at a nearby Ophanim guard. Reducing the Astartes to a bloody smear upon the ground. Cursing himself Dante charged forward. Catching the Theophages arm-blades with his Wings. The Primarch thrust his twin blades through the monster's shoulders. Twisting his blades in deeper, Dante pushed off the ground with tremendous force. Launching himself and the Theophage hundreds of feet upward. Crashing them into the vaulted ceiling of the Dockyard.

Letting go of his swords Dante wrapped his armored hands around what he thought was the Theophages throat. The impact into the ceiling had freed Dantes wings and let him put them to full use. Transhuman muscle and incredible telekinetic force combined to propel Primarch and Theophage towards the Dockyard's gate. With each mighty downthrust of the Archangels wings the duo flew faster and faster. The swords lodged in the Theophages body burned its unflesh, making it flicker and twitch like a weak vox transmission. Gripping its throat seared Dantes hands. The caustic, broken nature of the Theophage rot/melted the auramite of the Primarchs gauntlets, forcing the Primarch to grip the barely contained Warp-Stuff of the Theophage with his bare skin. The pain of what was tantamount to sticking his hands into the Warp itself was nothing to Dante compared to his sons and subjects dying from his failures. He dragged the Theophage out of the dockyard and into the open sky of Hossak, blasting past entire Astartes squads before they could react.

As the soot-filled sky of Hossak surrounded the pair Dante let go. Ripping his swords from the Theophage and landing an armored kick to the monster's torso before disengaging. Flying up with a flap of his wings Dante watched the Theophage fall. Sending a telepathic message to Azkellon and the other Ophanim. Dante ordered them to assist in the destruction of the Bel-Haust shields. Turning his attention back to the falling Theophage. Dante felt disgust as he watched the new form it had taken. While still a gap in reality roughly shaped into a humanoid shape. It now flew up to challenge him in a twisted way. The Theophage's body seemed to undulate, swell and deflate like a Terran cephalopod, letting it move through the air like those ancient creatures do through water.

The Theophages arms stretched into long sinuous tendrils that reached out towards the Primarch. The air shimmered close to the Theophage as if the atmosphere itself wanted to move away from this Warp-wrapped creature. Dante could feel the Theophage's hunger boiling in the Warp. The creature made no attempt to disguise or hide its alien thoughts, broadcasting a palpable desire to crack open the Primarchs skull and devour his brain and nervous system. Even clad in an exoskeleton of stolen Warp-Power the Rangda was still a Cerabvore. Its tendrils lashed out at Dante and the Primarch easily dodged the blow. The Theophage seemed to pause for a moment and extend its senses outward feeling the losing battle across the Hive. Even as its ravening hunger for powerful flesh and souls gnawed away at it. The Theophage was no stupid beast. Quite the opposite in fact. It was of the highest pedigree of Rangda war-breeds. Cultivated in the flesh of a Vargheist host and trained from hatching to hunt Neverborn. Much like the Primarch it faced, the Theophage was more than a supremely powerful combatant. It was also a commander and force multiplier.

In an echoing vocalization that swept through the Warp and atmosphere, the Theophage reached out to the defenders of Bel-Haust, giving an order in the language of Rangda. Human tongues lack the ability to adequately describe the meaning of the order. The closest one could come is a proclamation meaning "Hatch-Rise-Awake-Rebirth-Claim-Defend-Unleash". As the command echoed through the Hive of Bel-Haust something started to change. A shift in the Khrave and human traitor armies fighting against Imperium. For unbeknownst to the Imperium the Rangda word for Farm or Agriculture has another simultaneous meaning. Nest and Nursery. Hossak was far more than a simple agrarian world meant to raise human cattle to slaughter. It was a breeding ground for the children of Rangda.

The Khrave were created in ages past by the Rangda to travel the stars, searching for sentient species to consume. Yet that was not all they were born to do. The word Khrave itself translates into Gothic as "Scavenging-Womb." Born as parasitic worms that infest stolen flesh. The Khrave find populations to conquer and devour then. Once the food source is secured and the first shipments of Brains, Bone and Bodies flow to the Core Worlds of Rangda. The Great House of the Empire that owned the Khrave conquerors would bless them with their seed. The viral life form known as the Rangda wound infect the Khrave and their host bodies. Infesting the jubilant Khrave. Slowly turning both Khrave-Worm and augmented host-body into the body of a Rangda Clan-Member.

The Rangda infection can spread rapidly, taking over entire worlds. Subverting entire populations from the inside out as they devour their nervous systems. However, that method was not the preferred. Saved for the lower castes and times of trouble. Rangda of higher pedigree were nurtured by their sire-Houses. Slowly gestating inside selected host-bodies for years or decades. Before emerging stronger and smarter. The Khrave were created to aid this process. Stealing useful bodies for their Masters and protecting them while enhancing the flesh. Waiting for the Rangda infection to spread into their own nervous system. Ending the life-cycle of the Khrave and starting that of the Rangda.

The Khrave worm even provides a valuable distraction for any enemies. They will rip out the worm and leave the seemingly dead husk behind. Not knowing a Rangdan Cerebivore or Osseivore grew within. Leaving the Rangda to survive another day. Or be awakened prematurely if needed, along with all its other kin. And that's precisely what the Theophage intended to do. Awaken the hundreds of thousands of Rangda growing within the Khrave, living or dead. At first, nothing seemed to happen. The battle continued as it had with Astartes cutting through the Khrave with methodical ease. Then the Khrave stopped dying. Bolt shells would rip the head off a Khrave warrior and it would keep coming. Melta fire turned its torso into burning sludge and the Xenos limbs kept operating there weapons. Across the Hive, the Astartes and Auxilia were caught off guard. Champion duelists turned away from bisected enemies to the newest foe. Then catch a blade into their armored ribs from the awakened Rangda.

Khrave bodies left to rot suddenly started to stir. Sparks of Warp-Energy channeled through cyborganic sorcery knitting bone, tissue and plastic back together. The IX Legion no longer faced a Khrave occupation force. Instead a newborn generation of Rangda. Sentient viral colonies that had slumbered now awoke and took command of the bodies prepared for them. Knowledge and skills woven into these spawns of the Rangda Clans and Houses kicked in. The primitive Warp-Glamours of the Khrave were cast aside. Flesh and metal impregnated with Warp Energy filtered through alien minds was unsheathed. Gouts of Necrotizing light that turned limbs to rotten stumps flashed. Horrible spikes of steel coated in a film of infected mucus extended from healing limbs.

Within Bel-Haust, Azkaellon led a force of Astartes through the darkened halls of the Upper Hive. They had followed the Primarchs orders and cut their way towards the nexus of the Hives peak and left a trail of broken corpses in their wake. The leader of the Primarch's Honor Guard flashed his blades as his company of Heroes was surrounded. Fallen Khrave from behind them rose up as Rangda and defenders before them awoke devastating power. Azkaellon hacked through an attacking Rangda Cerebvore as four of its comrades latched onto a Bull-Host terminator. Even through the thick ceramite shell of the armor, Azkaellon could hear the dying screams of fury and pain from his battle-brother. The Rangda had peeled the Terminators helmet off with lacerating tentacle-swords. Now the largest of the Four Xenos shoved cruel feeder limbs into the Astartes brain. Devouring him as he thrashed in his death throes.

Roaring in fury Azkaellon brandished his wings. Transhuman muscle and archotech metal throwing Rangda war-forms aside with ease. The Herald of the Primarch drew his bolt pistol and took aim at the feeding Xeno. Switching to Inferno rounds, the Captain-Commander of the Ophanim opened fire. A storm of gyro-jets burning hot enough to melt steel pounded into the Rangda, knocking the Xeno off its victim and letting Azkaellon pour more bolts into it. It still thrashed and attempted to stand even as the burning Bolts tore through its flesh. Yet as it burned it grew slower and more sluggish. The Rangda virus acting as a nervous system dying from the heat. As the last round of the Bolt-Pistol exited the magazine Azkaellon drove his blade into the Rangda's body. Hacking it to pieces with merciless efficiency. Ripped to burning shreds the scraps of the Rangda showed no sign of life. Ordering his force to switch to energy or superheated projectiles Azkaellon rallied the Angels and they fought forwards. Burning and ripping the Rangda as they went.

Back outside the Hive, Dante realized what had just occurred. The Theophage had rallied his army to match the Astartes Legion. This secret weapon the Rangda left behind to ensure control of Hossak needed to be stopped. As Archangel and God-Eater clashed in the sky, the Primarch gritted himself. He intended to end this duel and this battle as soon as possible. He would burn a message into the Rangda, a message of wrath and ruin. Showing them what was to come. Rangda wear the stolen flesh of their victims as bodies. No difference for the Theophage. Its true form was wrapped in an exoskeleton of Warp-Stuff. Taken from dozens of Greater Daemons it devoured over the centuries. A feat that made it one of the mightiest combatants in the galaxy. Few if any Astartes champions would be able to match a Theophage in single combat. Even mighty Abaddon or stoic Sigismund would fare poorly against this monster.