the table. As he walked, he thought about Magni and the young Wolfblade's last words.
Halfway across the room, he was noticed. Several Space Wolves stood up as he went towards Haegr. Rag-nar felt the eyes and the stares. He remained focused on Haegr, who seemed to be the only person in the room oblivious to his presence. Haegr was too busy devouring a huge joint of meat and drinking a keg of Fenrisian ale, apparently at the same time.
'Ragnar.’ shouted a Grey Hunter. Ragnar stopped and turned.
'To our battle-brother Ragnar! May he have another chance to drive a spear into the eye of Magnus the Red.’
'To your health, little brother.'
'It hasn't been the same without you.’
Suddenly, the voices came from all sides and so did the cheers. Then, a number of Space Wolves were all around him, attempting to commiserate for his assignment to the Wolfblade, asking about his part in the battle on Hyades, wishing him well, and hoping that he'd get a chance to get back at the Thousand Sons. It all seemed overwhelming and wonderful all at once. His battle-brothers knew the truth.
Ragnar was home. Someone thrust a drink into his hand and he gulped it down. It was the best-tasting ale he had ever had. 'To Berek's great company!' he shouted.
Cheers of agreement followed. 'When are you rejoining us?' yelled a Space Wolf. 'You should be there when we drive the Thousand Sons into the warp.’
'Ho!' roared Haegr, before belching loudly.
Haegr pushed his way through the crowd. 'Hands off, he's a Wolfblade now.’ Ragnar could tell by the way that Haegr was swaying that the giant had drunk too much, even for him.
Haegr clapped Ragnar's shoulder.
'I am a Wolfblade.’ announced Ragnar, 'but I will always be the battle-brother of any member of Berek Thunderfist's great company.’
There was a loud cheering and then, much drinking.
SEVENTEEN
Councils of War
Logan Grimnar stood at the window looking out over the mountains of Asaheim. His grey hair flowed like a mane, blending with the wolf pelt cloak he wore, making it hard to tell one from the other. This was the tallest tower in the Fang, and he often found himself here at times like this. Looking out over the mountain ranges of Asaheim brought him focus. He was the Chapter Master of the Space Wolves. He'd been the Great Wolf for several centuries, so long in fact that he was sometimes referred to as the Old Wolf. He sometimes found that title humorous for it was only at times like this that he actually felt old.
The Thousand Sons, the Space Wolves' ancient hated nemesis, were once again wreaking destruction and mayhem within Space Wolf-controlled space, on a scale that had not been seen since their assault on
the Fang, many years ago. The actions on Hyades were just one of a series of events that were unfolding; several worlds were under siege.
Logan knew the Thousand Sons all too well. They did not just initiate random assaults, mindless violence, or kill for the sake of killing. He wondered if the Sons of Magnus might be hiding their true intentions within several attacks. Perhaps a mastermind among them had devised a terrifying scheme. Maybe they were hoping to spread the Space Wolves so thin that their true objective would go unnoticed until it was too late. Dealing with the Thousand Sons was always problematic.
Logan pondered the challenges that lay before his Chapter and his battle-brothers. Upon hearing of the attacks he had instructed the Rune Priests to consult the runes in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Thousand Sons' true intentions. He had called on his available Wolf Lords to seek the advice of their veteran leadership. He had even woken one of the mighty Dreadnoughts to hear the wisdom of the ancient one. This information was imperative to allow him and his Wolf Lords to develop a cohesive plan of action and bring the incursion of the Thousand Sons to an abrupt halt.
The door to the Great Wolfs chamber slid open and Rune Priest Aldrek entered the room, accompanied by Ranek and two other Rune Priests. Grimnar stood gazing out of the window with his back to them, apparently oblivious to their presence. The four priests stood perfectly silent, waiting for the Great Wolf to acknowledge them before daring to speak.
Several minutes passed before Aldrek took a breath as he prepared to interrupt the Great Wolfs concentration.
'Yes, Aldrek, I know you are here. You've consulted the runes, I take it?' Grimnar asked.
'We have, Great Wolf,' Aldrek said.
'What do they tell you?' Logan took a deep breath and slowly turned to face the priests.
'The news is grave, Great Wolf, far worse than we first thought. The runes suggest that the Thousand Sons have recovered the Spear of Russ, and the signs indicate that they will attempt far more than they did in the past.' Dread filled Aldrek's voice as he continued.
Aldrek left unspoken the fact that when the Thousand Sons had last possessed the Spear of Russ they had attempted to summon their primarch, Magnus the Red from the warp. All of the Space Wolves had heard the tale of that battle.
'The runes show that the ritual they are attempting could bring about the destruction of Fenris and the entire Space Wolf Chapter!'
Within hours, the leadership of the Space Wolves had gathered in the Great Hall of the Fang at the command of the Great Wolf. Five Wolf Lords, each a leader of one of the Chapter's great companies, sat at an oval table, carved from rare woods. A large circular stone tablet hung at one end, the grand annulus with the symbols of each great company. Dominating them all was the rampant wolf, symbol of Logan Grimnar. The Great Wolf sat on a throne of stone, directly below his
crest. Behind each of the Wolf Lords stood a small retinue of Wolf Guard, hand-picked warriors from their companies, chosen to serve as the Wolf Lord's personal guard.
Other advisors and personages, such as Lady Gabriella of House Belisarius, held seats or stood behind the Wolf Guards. They included many Wolf Priests, Iron Priests and Rune Priests, the spiritual, technological and psychic advisors to their leaders.
Like the grand annulus, the table within the great hall depicted the symbols of each great company, each one having an assigned position. Several of those positions were empty, representing the severity of the situation facing the Space Wolves. It was not uncommon for a number of the great companies to be away from the Fang, on various missions, conducting Chapter business, however this time their absence indicated another threat within Fenrisian-protected space.
Logan Grimnar listened intently to Wolf Lord Berek's report on the events that had taken place on Hyades. Slowly stroking his beard, the Old Wolf had deep concentration etched on his face as he contemplated the course before the Space Wolves.
Logan rose to his feet and walked around the table, arms crossed. All eyes followed the Great Wolf as he paced across the room.
'The Thousand Sons manipulated us into fighting the Dark Angels and vice versa. This is not an isolated incident. On Gere, a Chaos uprising has destroyed valuable factories. Across the worlds we protect, numerous threats have arisen. Each one seems random, with no connection to the others, but we all
suspect that this isn't coincidence. We are at a dangerous crossroads, my Wolf Lords.’ The Great Wolf walked back to his seat. 'We have other indicators as well. Rune Lord Aldrek will explain further.'
Aldrek bowed to the Great Wolf and stepped forwards.
'Wolf Lords, at the behest of Lord Grimnar, I have gathered many Rune Priests and consulted the runes, interpreting the portents. The signs are disturbing. Dark castings indicate a terrible threat and show signs that the Chapter may be in even more danger than we imagined. We believe that the Thousand Sons may be seeking a powerful artifact, but we cannot be certain what and why. What we do know is that the runes indicate a threat to the Chapter as strongly as they ever have.’ Aldrek finished.
'Iron Priest Rorik.’ commanded the Great Wolf.
Holding a massive thunder hammer as the sign of his station, a large Iron Priest strode before the assembled lords. 'Wolf Lords, at the behest of Lord Grimnar, I have analysed the worlds attacked so far, along with others of my order and many of them held valuable resources. The Chaos Marines have attacked our production abilities, and although they have done nothing that we cannot rebuild, they have weakened our ability to maintain our production. We are not well-positioned for a protracted conflict.’
'Finally Wolf Priest Ranek.’ said the Great Wolf.
'I bring grim tidings indeed. In the battles that have unfolded in this conflict, we have harvested few gene-seed from our fallen battle-brothers. Although the number of gene-seed lost is small, every one is a
precious gift from our primarch, Leman Russ and a terrible loss. Without them, we cannot recruit battle-brothers to replace those lost in battle.’ Ranek stepped back.
Logan Grimnar stood once again, and this time he raised the double-bladed Axe of Morkai. 'The attacks have begun, and 1 believe that these random events are a prelude to the true ambitions of the Thousand Sons. I need every one of you, and every one of your men, to meet this threat. What you have not been told is this, and this information will not leave this hall without my leave: we have reason to believe that the Thousand Sons may have recovered the Spear of Russ from the warp. Each of you knows what the Thousand Sons attempted the last time they possessed the relic. You will find out the truth and discover the enemy's plans and intentions, as well as defending your assigned regions of space.’
Skalds entered the great hall, placing a scrolled parchment on the table in front of each of the Wolf Lords.
The scrolls you've just been given detail the assignments for each of your great companies.’ said the Great Wolf. We cannot let our personal ambitions cloud our judgement. We each must do what must be done. Now go and prepare your Wolves, for once again the Sons of Russ must cleanse the galaxy of the wretched Thousand Sons, just as Russ the Wolf Father did when he led our brothers to Prospero to destroy Magnus himself.’
A howl of agreement rose within the hall, as Wolf Lords and their Wolf Guards raised their weapons in