Kleir, an Oblivion Knight of the Sisters of Silence, stared at the black-armored warrior with the short sword.
She felt an aura radiating from the man, similar to her own Sisters, the aura of a Blank.
'Lord Nareth's mysterious warriors.'
As a veteran Sister of the Oblivion Chamber, active across numerous fronts against psykers, Kleir had fought alongside many Expedition fleets.
She had heard of these mysterious warriors in Lord Nareth's service, warriors who inspired instinctive unease and possessed extraordinary resistance to psychic powers.
Sixteen years ago, Knight-Commander Jenetia Krole had ordered all Sisters of Silence to gather any relevant information during their missions.
Five years ago, upon returning to Somnus Citadel on Luna for the Conclave of the Orders, the Chambers of Oblivion, Vigilance, Judgment, and Astra had shared their findings.
They had confirmed the existence, within Lord Nareth's domain, of a force of over one hundred Blanks.
Every Chapter of the Shadows of Order, as well as its Librarius and other departments, had Blanks in their ranks.
Every full Sister attending the Conclave had voiced their opinion. Finally, the Grand Master of the Sisters had announced the decision: no contact for now; continue gathering information.
Kleir, in silence, studied the Blank for a few seconds, then suddenly turned, looking into the distance.
Her greatsword held tight, she silently and swiftly departed.
Etrich watched the tall, powerful woman and the five gun-wielding women behind her turn and leave. Only then did his tense nerves relax.
He slung the chainsword, oversized even for his large Vessor frame, over his back and picked up his Vostoyan-pattern laspistol.
He glanced into the distance but did not follow.
Kleir, the Oblivion Knight, led her Sisters towards the stench of the Warp.
The shimmering psychic mist dissipated before them. Scattered battlefields flashed past her vision.
Shadows of Order in black armor and Blood Angels in crimson were scattered across the area, surrounding and hunting the Aeldari.
Kleir's gaze was drawn to a squad of black-armored warriors. They were fighting a powerful Aeldari Warlock.
The Warlock raised his head, chanting in an ancient, wild tongue.
A wave of Warp-stench surged around him. Glowing rings gathered around him.
As his chant ended, a blinding flash erupted, and the rings detonated.
Pillars of fire engulfed five Shadows of Order. One warrior's ceramite armor melted and sloughed off.
His flesh burned to ash, releasing a pungent odor.
A flicker passed through Kleir's eyes. She looked at the other four Shadows of Order.
An invisible barrier seemed to envelop their armor.
Two of the Vessor-born Shadows of Order raised their Bedrock-pattern boltguns, firing a roaring barrage.
The Seer shrieked, a blazing flame shield erupting around him.
Bang, bang, bang...
Amidst the explosions, the flame shield expanded rapidly.
The two Shadows of Order, seeing this, slung their boltguns and drew their monomolecular combat knives.
Kleir watched, astonished, as the two charging Shadows of Order, one on each side, swung their power swords at the expanding flames.
Spurt! Spurt!
The fiery stream was cleaved in two.
That was not the explosion caused by a disintegration field meeting psychic flames. It was more like a Blank's psychic suppression, directly severing the Warp-energy flooding into reality.
Though this negative psychic influence was still less potent than that of an Novice-Sister who had not yet taken the Vow of Tranquility, it was still astonishing.
No Legion, not even the lost ones, had ever exhibited Astartes with this level of immunity to psychic powers.
'These four Shadows of Order have psychic immunity far surpassing that of any Astartes.'
As the thought flashed through Kleir's mind, two blazing streams shot from the Seer's eyes, striking two of the Shadows of Order. The force of the blasts hurled them back.
The other two Shadows of Order, one hand guiding the other, thrust their monomolecular knives at the Seer.
Kleir, committing the scene of these four unusual Shadows of Order slaying the Aeldari Warlock to memory, continued towards the distant stench of the Warp.
Then, streaks of foul Warp-light shot into the Oblivion Knight's vision. Wraithbone filaments, engraved with xenos runes, converged in a single direction.
A hive-tower-sized dome suddenly loomed before her. Blinding, searing light stole her vision and that of the Sisters behind her.
Rumble!
The searing 'light' stabbed at their brains, just above their high top-knots. A terrible storm of Warp-energy gathered overhead.
The five Witchseeker did not panic. They dispersed, forming a defensive ring around the Oblivion Knight, sensing the shifting Warp-stench.
The entire ring moved in sync, advancing rapidly.
Yet, the storm overhead moved with them, tracking their every step.
Boom!
A destructive torrent poured down upon them.
A tremendous force slammed into Kleir's back, hurling her forward.
Her nose and mouth bled, but she struggled to keep her balance.
Kleir squeezed her eyes shut, then snapped them open.
Her vision cleared. She saw an Aeldari Seer, her lower body crystallized, seated amidst a grove of crystal, her eyes gleaming with pale light.
The Seer looked up, her long, elegant fingers plucking at something unseen.
Kleir's step faltered. Her body shuddered.
Her knees trembled as her physical form fought against an invisible force.
Bang!
Kleir was thrown to the ground. Her gaze swept around. Two of her Sisters' boltguns twisted grotesquely, shooting their own heads off. Another Sister rolled in flames, silent.
'A powerful xeno Seer!'
As Kleir struggled against the invisible force, a black-armored, golden-winged figure flashed before her eyes.
Lord Nareth!
A light flickered in Kleir's eyes. She felt the invisible net around her loosen slightly. She forced herself upright, looking towards the crystal grove.
The xenos' crystallized legs crackled. Cracks spread across them.
She struggled to pull herself from the crystal. The Seer scrambled away awkwardly.
'The Aeldari Seer fears Lord Nareth!'
'She's running...'
Whoosh!
A flash of gold. Lord Nareth pursued the fleeing Seer.
His speed was not great, as if he, too, were being pulled by some invisible force. But he remained on her heels.
Kleir scrambled to her feet, completely upright. She found her two surviving Sisters and led them in pursuit of the fading golden light.
In the air, Nareth flew over a dense crystal grove, looking down at lifelike crystal statues below.
Some held staffs. Some had gleaming eyes, as if gazing into the distance.
Nareth knew these crystal statues were not carved from wraithbone as memorials, but were actual Aeldari Farseers, transformed.
As an Aeldari Farseer aged, their physical body would gradually succumb to a dormant state, while their consciousness became increasingly intertwined with the craftworld's core.
When the time came, they would simply walk into the craftworld's crystal dome, joining their ancestors as crystal statues.
These transformed Farseers were actually psycho-sensitive crystals. Their transformation was caused by prolonged exposure to the energies of the Warp.
Nareth watched the fleeing Aeldari Farseer.
Farseers were the most powerful and revered of all Seers. The most full-fledgedFarseers formed the council that governed a craftworld.
When he had seen this Farseer plucking at fate-threads, using the power of Doom to slay three Witchseeker and nearly kill the Oblivion Knight, he knew that this partially crystallized Farseer was likely the most powerful on Magc'Sithraal.
Nareth immediately recognized her as the craftworld's most potent psyker, and thus the most valuable prize.
Though the Farseer's doom had no effect on the "Burial" fueled by the "Mentor of Disorder's" burning ambition, he deliberately allowed her to escape.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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