Chapter 690: Craftworld Ulthwe
Elandir did not conduct that critical trans-universal communication on Pandora; the risks were too great.
Through the dimensional gateway controlled by Ryo, she first returned to the desolate Death World base in the Warhammer universe.
The moment she stepped into this familiar universe, eternally haunted by the whispers of the Warp, that soul-deep, shuddering oppression struck her once more. The contrast with Pandora's "clean" starry sky had never been starker.
She did not delay. Utilizing the Eldar Webway beacon deployed deep within the base, she immediately opened a hidden path back to Ulthwe.
The journey through the Webway was bizarre and kaleidoscopic, blurring the boundaries between reality and illusion.
When Elandir once again set foot in the magnificent, wraithbone-constructed spires of Craftworld Ulthwe—a place eternally steeped in twilight and mourning—complex emotions surged within her. This was home, yet it was also a resplendent, despairing cage.
The Seer Council of Ulthwe was not fully assembled, but the core members were present.
Seated upon the position symbolizing ultimate authority and wisdom was the High Farseer, Eldrad Ulthran.
His ancient form seemed to merge with the wraithbone throne beneath him. His face, etched with the marks of time, was as placid as an ancient well. Only those eyes, seemingly capable of piercing the fog of time, fell upon Elandir the moment she entered the council chamber.
"Elandir," Eldrad's voice resonated directly within the consciousness of every Seer present, calm yet carrying unquestionable majesty. "Your aura... is tainted with the dust of an unfamiliar universe, yet it is bizarrely pure. What have you brought back that warrants utilizing your emergency authority to summon us?"
"Honored High Farseer, members of the Council," Elandir bowed deeply, her voice clear and resolute. "What I bring back is not another early warning or an ally to be weighed. What I bring back is a possibility—a possibility that allows us to completely cast off the Dark Prince's curse and allows Ulthwe, and indeed all Aeldari, to reclaim the true right to 'live'."
Subtle psychic ripples spread through the chamber, reflecting the Seers' fluctuating emotions.
"Arrogant delusion!" a relatively young Seer voiced his doubt, his aura brimming with deep-seated distrust of humanity. "Is this a promise given by that human faction you contacted? High Farseer Eldrad warned us long ago of the dangers of associating too closely with humans! They are all variables; they cannot be relied upon!"
"It is not a promise," Elandir countered calmly, having anticipated this. "It is a verified fact. The universe I arrived in, designated 'Pandora', has no Warp corruption! There, my soul could not feel that eternal, greedy pursuit! No whispers, no curses, only... tranquility."
Her words were like dropping a boulder into a calm lake.
Even Eldrad's eyes flashed with a microscopic fluctuation.
"Proof," another conservative elder demanded concisely, his aura full of scrutiny.
Elandir raised her hand. A pure psychic projection emerged from her palm—a spectrum analysis of her soul state recorded while on Pandora, forming a stark contrast with her current soul fluctuation in the Warhammer universe. The disparity in the data was so obvious it could not be faked.
"I lived in that universe for several weeks," Elandir continued, her voice carrying an almost sacred conviction they had not heard in a long time. "My soul was lighter than it has ever been. This means that as long as our people can reach that place, we can break free from the doom that has shadowed us since the Fall. We will no longer need to walk on thin ice just to continue our civilization. We will no longer need to worry about the destination of every departed soul, nor will we need to... eke out a living in eternal terror."
She looked at Eldrad, knowing the ultimate decision lay in the hands of this High Farseer who had weathered ten thousand years of storms.
"However, this is no free gift," Eldrad spoke slowly, piercing through the surface to reach the core. "That human cooperating with you... what does he want?"
His attitude toward humanity was far more pragmatic than many of his kin, born of wisdom and unique foresight accumulated over millennia.
"A transaction," Elandir answered honestly. "What he needs is not this perilous cradle beneath our feet, but the homeworld of another martial species. He requires our power to assist him in 'relocating' that planet, along with the entire species upon it, from that clean universe to this one—or rather, to a dimension under his control."
This grandiose, borderline blasphemous plan caused several Seers to gasp in cold air.
"Moving stars? Even during the zenith of the Empire, this would be a monumental undertaking!"
"This requires deploying the ultimate esoteric rites surviving from the Empire era! The energy consumed would be enough to sustain a millennial crusade!"
Facing the gazes of doubt, Elandir's voice grew even clearer: "Precisely because of this, it proves its value! Imagine, exchanging an alien world destined to be our enemy for the future of the entire Aeldari race! We lose only some accumulated energy and a single use of the rite, but what we gain will be an infinitely vast new horizon without the shadow of the Dark Prince! Ulthwe will no longer be a wandering Craftworld, but the founder of a new universe!"
She turned back to Eldrad, her tone earnest and resolute: "High Farseer, you have provoked wars to preserve the Craftworld for the survival of our race, and you have seen the dangers of the Cabal's plans and decisively purged them. Now, a way out far more absolute and fundamental than any previous opportunity lies before us. This is not merely strategic cooperation; this is our only chance to leap off this doomed chessboard. I swear on my soul and my foresight, I speak no falsehood."
The council chamber fell into a long silence.
The Seers' auras clashed and communicated fiercely.
Finally, Eldrad Ulthran slowly stood up.
His ancient, wise gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Elandir.
"Ten thousand years of exile and sacrifice... perhaps, it truly is time to change our course." His voice carried the weight of ages, yet also revealed a new decisiveness. "The hope Elandir has brought back is worth Ulthwe risking everything for. Contact our kin on the other Craftworlds; initiate the recalibration sequence for the rites. Simultaneously, dispatch a vanguard technical team and our strongest ritual specialists through the pathway Elandir established. They are to proceed to that universe for assessment and preparatory work."
He paused and said to Elandir, "Go, return to your human collaborator. Tell him that Ulthwe... agrees to this transaction in principle. But the final execution must wait until the vanguard team confirms the technical feasibility. The fate of the Aeldari should no longer rest on empty luck, but must be grasped in our own hands, regardless of the cost."
Elandir bowed deeply, a massive weight lifting from her heart.
This ancient machine of war and survival—the Eldar—was about to operate at maximum efficiency once more for the continuation of their race, and their target was a brand new future.
She did not linger, turning and stepping back into the Webway leading to the Death World base, ready to bring this news to Ryo.
The grandiose plan spanning two universes had finally taken its most substantive first step.