The elegant form of the craftworld Magc'Sithraal blazed.
Tower-sized spires, like those of a hive city, tumbled, wreathed in flames.
Psychic fires burned on the crystal domes, emanating a deep, strange light.
Blood Angels Purgior pattern landers rumbled towards their target docks. Kestrel assault craft, their winged rams gleaming, thrusters burning bright yellow.
Sanguinius flew into the void, accelerating to his maximum speed.
Behind him, his pristine white wings unfurled with a snap, their great span catching the air, effortlessly mastering the currents.
He wore no helmet; his heroic face was set with determination.
His radiant hair streamed in the void, and he roared a challenge.
Sanguinius drew his curved, barbed-hilted crimson sword, a weapon twin to that of his closest brother, Horus, on the other side of the galaxy.
Assault squads from thirteen companies, their jump packs roaring, followed their gene-father.
At the center flew the Angel's Sanguinary Guard, their golden armor and white wings mirroring his own.
Their wings were crafted of enameled metal; brilliant orange flames from their fusion engines propelled them across the void.
With an impact greater than a Titan's barrage, Sanguinius slammed to the ground.
His boots struck the stone, sending a perfect, circular ripple radiating out from him.
Azkellon, Commander of the Sanguinary Guard, landed close behind his Primarch, his eyes scanning alertly.
The craftworld's holographic fields mingled with clouds. Strange, organic leaves rustled.
In the grey, supernatural mist, a multi-layered attack suddenly struck.
Storm clouds gathered. A torrential rain poured down.
An unsettling wind howled, and the air grew thick with the smell of ozone.
Pulse lasers and plasma bolts, hidden within the hail, rained down.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In their neat formation, an entire assault squad was torn apart by the beams.
Before the crystal gates, the Aspect Warriors, their faces masks of cold fury, launched a dense barrage of shuriken.
They had already donned their War Masks, wielding the power of rage while calmly manifesting the many aspects of Khaine.
Only after battle would they allow their emotions to return, mourning their fallen kin.
The hurricane fire of the Dire Avengers surged forward. The front ranks of assault squads fell in droves, their blood staining the crystal path.
Within the rising, psychic mist, a brilliant light flared.
An Aeldari Warlock, holding a shimmering spear, materialized.
Warlock was a general term for those who had once walked the Warrior Path but had now turned to the Path of the Seer.
The runes on the Warlocks' ornate helmets denoted the shrine they had once served, and their enduring connection to it.
They relied on their vast military experience and potent psychic powers to aid the shrines they had once served.
A Warlock materialized behind the Blood Angels' lines. The fire dragon rune on his helmet blazed.
He uttered an elegant, clipped phrase, filled with searing heat.
Whoosh!
A line of Fire Dragons materialized amidst Khaine's power of destruction.
A torrent of molten flame rolled forward. Several squads of Blood Angels were vaporized in the hissing stream.
Molten armor plates splattered.
Sanguinius launched skyward, flying straight at the Warlock.
The Warlock raised his elegant left arm. His dragon's breath pistol loosed a blast of flame.
The flames shot into the air, but did not touch his pristine wings.
The tip of Sanguinius's sword traced a brilliant, gleaming arc. The blade whistled towards him.
The runes on the Warlock's armor blazed. A shimmering psychic barrier materialized, seemingly impenetrable, as the Fire Dragons' molten streams visibly dimmed.
The Warlock's raised protect could withstand ballistic missiles, but the drain on his focus and energy prevented him from performing other actions, including enhancing his aspect warriors.
The monomolecular edge of the blade continued to tear at the psychic barrier, producing a grating shriek.
The Fire Dragons turned their weapons, unleashing their destructive streams at Sanguinius.
Whoosh!
Sanguinius's pristine wings beat, and he circled the Warlock, unleashing a flurry of rapid strikes.
Streams of fire shot past, never touching his pristine white wings.
Boom!
With a crack, the monomolecular edge sliced through the elegant armor, gutting the Warlock.
Sanguinius withdrew his blade, nodding to his Sanguinary Guard.
Each of their helmets was sculpted with their gene-father's noble visage; each was a mirror of Sanguinius.
Their ornate wrist-mounted boltguns roared, firing at the Fire Dragons.
Sanguinius flicked his wrist. "Azkellon. First blood."
His blade continued its cut, the monomolecular edge biting into the Warlock's elegant armor.
At the same moment Sanguinius personally slew the Warlock guarding the docks, giving the Blood Angels their breakthrough, on the other side of the elegant craftworld.
Boarding torpedoes streaked past, scattering clusters of stellar dust.
Black gauntlet assault craft followed close behind, grains of dust sliding across their hulls.
Sasebo Tezuka's body was pressed into his seat by inertial restraints. After becoming a "Spirit Medium" and returning to the Tenth Chapter, he had joined Ramsey's Honour Guard.
Now, he followed his battle-brothers to the Helioret system.
As a "Gravedigger," he was part of the spearhead, alongside the other Chapter initiates, tasked with assaulting the docks and securing a landing zone.
Sasebo Tezuka looked across at Librarian Okafor. As a member of his Lord's Honour Guard, he knew that five hundred and thirty Librarians were providing support for the Chapter.
"Attack!" Okafor the "Scrolls Professor," his ever-open "Eyes of Mystery Prying" catching a flash, shouted a warning.
The gauntlet assault craft shuddered violently.
Urgent alarms echoed through the compartment. Anti-gravity coils exploded. The assault craft lost balance, falling like a kite with cut strings.
Boom!
Crack...
The moment the inertial restraints released, Sasebo Tezuka grabbed his Bedrock-pattern bolter.
Crackle...
A wave of heat hit his cold body. Smoke filled the compartment.
Just as Sasebo Tezuka was about to charge into the flames, he heard the Dunnic: "Freeze."
A grey-black scroll slid past him, streaking towards a cascade of crystalline light.
The blazing flames were instantly frozen.
Okafor the "Scrolls Professor" walked past Sasebo Tezuka, stepping first onto the landing slide.
Sasebo Tezuka followed, leaping out. Before he landed, a blast echoed in his ears.
Rumble!
He turned towards the sound. A figure stood poised in the air, surrounded by swirling winds.
He raised his force staff high. Psychic crystals emitted a blinding light.
Clouds layered. A silver-white lightning bolt struck from the void.
Bang!
Amidst the explosion, the shimmering holographic phantom tore apart. The xenos' elegant floating craft disintegrated into countless small serpents of electricity.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Winged eagles howled as they swooped from the clouds. Aeldari Swooping Hawks, bearing wings on their backs, dove.
They drew small but powerful grenades from their pouches, hurling them into the storm.
Exploding white plasma spheres roared, tearing apart several Stormbirds. Shadows of Order were blasted to bloody pulp, their bodies disintegrating completely before they could fall.
The winged eagles circled in tight formation, raining las-fire down on the black-armored warrior in the air.
Nicholas the "Ocean Songster" abruptly opened his mouth. The cold, sharp voice of Fenris tore into the Swooping Hawks' minds.
The beautiful, elegant hawks, their minds shredded by the tearing "song," collided mid-air with muffled thuds.
Nicholas, a storm psyker, moved his mind. Conductive filaments linked to his cerebral cortex drove the flipping of thousands of plates of finest custom alloy.
His body tumbled, pulling away from the hawks amidst the storm's embrace.
The Warlock beat his wings, focusing his indomitable courage and inspiring resolve, and roared aloud.
The hope of victory instilled by "Inspire" quickly re-formed the Swooping Hawks' formation.
On the ground, Okafor the telepath stared into the sky, searching for the Warlock amongst the howling hawks.
The materials issued by the gene-father before the battle had specifically emphasized that Magc'Sithraal was very different from other Aeldari craftworlds.
Command was held not by a Autarchs, but by Warlocks. Their psychic power could greatly enhance the Aspect Warriors.
Okafor the "Scrolls Professor" raised his hand and flicked a pale black scroll. "Wind Walk!"
Cyan flames roared, swirling around him, propelling him rapidly upward.
He ascended to the Third Level of the Enumeration, his consciousness spreading rapidly.
Boom!
Okafor's nose and mouth bled. He was completely outmatched in the psychic duel with the Warlock.
A smile touched his lips. Despite his defeat, he had followed the psychic trail and pinpointed the Warlock's location.
The telepath moved his mind, preparing to send a mental pulse, but his thoughts suddenly stalled.
Okafor abruptly shifted from the Enumeration to the Thelema mindstate.
Boom, boom, boom...
Amidst the ongoing psychic clash, the "Scrolls Professor" extended his spirituality, simultaneously touching Nicholas in the air and Sasebo Tezuka on the ground.
The "Secret Voice" channel established by the "Scrolls Professor" remained free from the Warlock's interference.
Nicholas the "Ocean Songster's" black hair flew. His hands wove. A hurricane materialized from nothing.
The howling wind swept over the Swooping Hawks, tearing at their wings.
Their speed abruptly slowed.
"Burn!" the "Scrolls Professor" shouted, throwing an orange scroll.
Crackle!
With a crack, a psychic shield enveloped the Warlock.
Amidst a series of detonations, the flames dissipated.
Bang!
A diamond-hard shell screamed upwards, punching into the ornate helmet.
The Warlock's head exploded.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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