'I need to know how you killed her.'
'Captain? You speak as if to an equal,’
'I saw what you did, commander,’ Tarvitz pressed. That scream, it was some… I don't know… some power I've never heard of before,’
Eidolon held up a hand. 'I can understand why you have questions, and I can answer them, but perhaps it would be better for me to show you. FolВlow me,’
Tarvitz followed the lord commander as they walked further down the Gallery of Swords, turnВing into a side passage with sheets of parchment pinned along the length of its walls. Accounts of glorious actions from the Legion's past were meticulously recorded on them and novices of the Legion were required to memorise the many different battles before their elevation to full Astartes.
The Emperor's Children did more than just remember their triumphs; they proclaimed them, because the perfection of the Legion's way of war deserved celebrating.
'Do you know why I fought the Warsinger?' asked Eidolon.
my?'
Yes, captain, why,’
'Because that is how the Emperor's Children fight,’
'Explain,’
'Our heroes lead from the front. The rest of the Legion is inspired to follow their example. They can do this because the Legion fights with such artistry that they are not rendered vulnerable by fighting at the fore,’
Eidolon smiled. 'Very good, captain. I should have you instruct the novices. And you yourself, would you lead from the front?'
Sudden hope flared in Tarvitz's breast. 'Of course! Given the chance, I would. I had not thought you considered me worthy of such a role,’
'You are not, Tarvitz. You are a file officer and nothing more,’ said Eidolon, crashing his faint hope that he had been about to be offered a way of proving his mettle as a leader and a hero.
'I say this not as an insult,’ Eidolon continued, apparently oblivious to the insult it clearly was. 'Men like you fulfil an important role in our Legion, but I am one of Fulgrim's chosen. The pri-march chose me and elevated me to the position I now hold. He looked upon me and saw in me the qualities needed to lead the Emperor's Children. He looked upon you, and did not. Because of this, I understand the responsibilities that come with
being Fulgrim's chosen in a way that you cannot, Captain Tarvitz,’
Eidolon led him to a grand staircase that curved downwards into a large hall tiled with white marble. Tarvitz recognised it as one of the entrances to the ship's apothecarion, where the injured from Isstvan Extremis had been brought only a few hours before.
'I think you underestimate me, lord commander,’ said Tarvitz, 'but understand that for the sake of my men I must know-'
'For the sake of our men we all make sacrifices,’ snapped Eidolon. 'For the chosen, those sacrifices are great. Foremost among these is that fact that everything is secondary to victory,’
'Commander, I don't understand,’
'You will,’ said Eidolon, leading him through a gilded archway and into the central apothecarion.
'The book?' asked Torgaddon.
The book,’ repeated Loken. 'It's the key. Erebus is on the ship, I know it,’
The ashen darkness of Archive Chamber Three was one of the few places left on the Vengeful Spirit where Loken felt at home, remembering many a lively debate with Kyril Sindermann in simpler times. Loken had not seen the iterator for weeks and he fervently hoped that the old man was safe, that he had not fallen foul of Maloghurst or his faceless soldiers.
'Abaddon and the others must be keeping him safe,’ said Torgaddon.
Loken sighed. 'How did it come to this? I would have given my life for Abaddon, Aximand, too, and I know they would have done the same for me,’
'We can't give up on this, Garviel. There will be a way out of this. We can bring the Moumival back together, or at least make sure the Warmaster sees what Erebus is doing,’
Whatever that is,’
Yes, whatever that is. Guest of the lodge or not, he's not welcome on my ship. He's the key. If we find him, we can expose what's going on to the Warmaster and end this,’
'You really believe that?'
'I don't know, but that won't stop me trying,’
Torgaddon looked around him, stirring the ashes of the charred books on the shelves with a finger and said, Why did you have to meet me here? It smells like a funeral pyre,’
'Because no one ever comes here,’ said Loken.
'I can't imagine why, seeing as how pleasant it is,’
'Don't be flippant, Tarik, not now. The Great CruВsade was once about bringing illumination to the far corners of the galaxy, but now it is afraid of knowledge. The more we learn, the more we quesВtion and the more we question the more we see through the lies perpetrated upon us. To those who want to control us, books are dangerous,’
'Iterator Loken,’ laughed Torgaddon, 'you've enlightened me,’
'I had a good teacher,’ said Loken, again thinking of Kyril Sindermann, and the fact that everything he
had been taught to believe was being shaken to its core. 'And there's more at stake here than a split between Astartes. It's… It's philosophy, ideology, religion even… everything. Kyril taught me that this kind of blind obedience is what led to the Age of Strife. We've crossed the galaxy to bring peace and illumination, but the cause of our downfall could be right here amongst us.'
Torgaddon leaned over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. 'Listen, we're about to go into battle on Isstvan III and the word from the Death Guard is that the enemy is led by some kind of psyВchic monsters that can kill with a scream. They're not the enemy because they read the wrong books or anything like that; they're the enemy because the Warmaster tells us they are. Forget about all this for a while. Go and fight. That'll put some perspective on things,’
'Do you even know if we'll be headed down there?'
'The Warmaster's picked the squads for the speartip. We're in it, and it looks as if we'll be in charge, too.'
'Really? After all that's happened?
'I know, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth,’
At least I'll have the Tenth with me,’
Torgaddon shook his head. 'Not quite. The War-master hasn't chosen the speartip by company. It's squad by squad,’
'Why?'
'Because he thinks that confused look on your face is funny,’
'Please. Be serious, Tarik,’