The first thing that met Chion's eyes was not a detailed log, nor a precise bureaucratic explanation. It was reduction. More than half gone—blacked segments with only fragments of language scattered between, like bones in ash.
---
Classification: BLACK
Issued Under Joint Authority
Primarch I — Selerian Imperium (Imperial Seal, Knightage Seal)
Primarch II — Nyxvalis (Patriarch Seal, High Council Seal)
Primarch IV — Evergarden (Matriarch Seal, Mage Council Seal)
OPERATION: The Black Water Breach
Location: Evernight Walls — Northwest of the Vale, 50 miles from the Border of Oath Valley
Objectives: Contain. Reclaim. Eradicate.
Command: Liana Lee Selerian XIV
Vice: Kael Nyxvalis
Details:
[REDACTED: COUNCIL LOCK]
[REDACTED: COUNCIL LOCK]
[SEALED BY PRIMARCH AUTHORITY]
Final Assessment: All Objectives Complete
Final Casualty: 21,000+
Contribution Assessment: [REDACTED] / [REDACTED] / [REDACTED]
Damage Report:
Severe — [REDACTED]
Permanent damage — [SEALED]
53 scars — [CONFIRMED]
Hands — replacement [PRIMARCH AUTHORITY]
Final: Top 5%
Honours: 3 Blade
Title: The Great Northern Gates
---
Chion's eyes narrowed slightly.
Everyone knew that incident. What he hadn't known was that his senior had been part of it.
He glanced at Violet. She didn't react. Not to the casualty figure. Not to the seals.
He moved on.
---
Classification: BLACK
Issued Under Joint Authority
Primarch I — Selerian Imperium (Knightage Authority)
Primarch II — Nyxvalis (High Council)
OPERATION: Moonfall
Location: Telesto — Moon Shadow Plains
Objectives: Terminate. Secure.
Command: Richard Nyxvalis
Vice: Aphasia Nyxvalis
Details:
Ally with the Single Moon Clan to eradicate the Dual Moon Clan.
Recon — [REDACTED] / Assets — [REDACTED] / Contact — [REDACTED]
Final Assessment: All Objectives Complete
Final Casualty: 231
Damage Report: Null
Final: Top 50%
Honours: Null
Title: Null
---
A cleaner operation. And one concerning a clan he'd once spent considerable time researching.
What a coincidence.
The page turned.
---
Classification: BLACK
Issued Under Joint Authority
Primarch I — Selerian Imperium (Imperial Seal, Knightage Seal)
Primarch II — Nyxvalis (Patriarch Seal, High Council Seal)
Primarch V — Velexis (Royal Seal)
Primarch VI — Grey (Patriarch Seal, Morne Committee Seal)
OPERATION: The Second Breach / The Blood Gulf Incident
Location: Blood Gulf — along the Grey Line, 63 miles from the Vale
Objectives: Contain. Contain. Eradicate.
Command: August Nyxvalis
Vice: Ilam Grey
Details:
[REDACTED: COUNCIL LOCK]
[REDACTED: COUNCIL LOCK]
[PURGED]
[SEALED BY MULTIPLE PRIMARCHS]
Final Assessment: All Objectives Complete
Final Casualty: 12,000+
Damage Report:
Severe — [REDACTED]
6 months out of commission — [CONFIRMED]
21 scars — [CONFIRMED]
Final: Top 3%
Honours: 9 Blade
Title: The Iron Veil
---
The incident that made him.
How neat.
---
Classification: BLACK
Issued Under Joint Authority
Primarch II — Nyxvalis (Patriarch Seal)
Primarch IV — Evergarden (Matriarch Seal)
OPERATION: The Warforge Incident
Location: Elisium — 23 miles northeast of the Boiling Sea coast
Objectives: Extraction. Containment. [SEALED BY PRIMARCH AUTHORITY]
Command: Claudia de Evergarden (Matriarch)
Vice: August Nyxvalis (Patriarch)
Details:
[SEALED BY PRIMARCH AUTHORITY] ×4
Final Assessment: All Objectives Complete
Final Casualty: Null
Damage Report: Null
Final: Top 10%
Honours: 1 Blade
Title: Null
---
His eyes lingered.
That was an extraordinary volume of seals—even by the clan's standards. He glanced sideways at Violet, looking for some acknowledgment. She appeared more interested in whatever was on the next page.
He moved on.
---
Classification: BLACK
Issued Under Joint Authority
Primarch I — Selerian Imperium (Imperial Seal, Knightage Seal)
Primarch II — Nyxvalis (Patriarch Seal, High Council Seal)
Primarch III — Drovantis (Patriarch Seal, Matriarch Seal, Storm Council Seal)
Primarch IV — Evergarden (Matriarch Seal, Mage Council Seal)
Primarch VII — Moonsoon (Royal Seal)
OPERATION: The Siege of Vallhala
Location: Farlands — 700 km Northeast of the Sarraphie Expanse, Seat of the Farlandic Chieftain
Objectives: Termination. Extraction. Retreat.
Command: Rion Nyxvalis
Vice: Alaina Drovantis
Details:
Scourge of the Great Meridian Empire. Scourge of Life and Prosperity.
They raid. They loot. They bring death with every season.
[SEALED BY PRIMARCH AUTHORITY]
[SEALED BY PRIMARCH AUTHORITY]
A new Great Chieftain rises to unite the Barbarians.
THORS RAGNA.
Objective: Eliminate the Great Chieftain. Extract prisoners. Evacuate Vallhala at all cost.
Final Assessment: All Objectives Complete
Final Casualty: 47,000+
Damage Report:
Severe — [SEALED]
Lightning-Induced — [SEALED]
Coma — [SEALED]
Final: Top 2%
Honours: 7 Blade
Title: Null
---
He closed the campaigns there.
Impressive—not only the BLACK classifications, but the RED records as well. Each one building on the last with the kind of quiet, compounding weight that never needed to announce itself.
As for the BLUE—that was a different matter entirely.
A diplomatic campaign to the central continent. A new trade agreement with the Sol dynasty. A Sol-Glass Crystal—token of the Emperor's Favor—secured and handed over as a dowry to House Noctis, which, apparently, required courting the Noctis in question first.
How troublesome.
A whole campaign for that.
He turned it over once and set it aside. Why anyone would volunteer for such a thing escaped him. Then again, perhaps it was simply a matter of age.
---
The next fragment was the Combat Doctrine Assessment.
As expected, it was a novel's worth of bureaucratic flattery. Lucky for him, the Clan was very keen on highlighting the segment that deserved the most attention.
His eyes moved across the page.
COMBAT DOCTRINE ASSESSMENT
Preferred Engagement Mode: Breach and Annihilate. Sustained high-pressure assault. Hostile psychological environment maintained throughout engagement window. No withdrawal protocol recorded across ninety-three—Irrelevant.
His gaze dropped.
Endurance: 127% above standard threshold. Prolonged engagement categorically favored. Attrition strategy inadvisable. Subject has demonstrated operational capacity beyond—
He skimmed past the rest—the tactical breakdowns, the psychological evaluations, the instructor notes—and stopped where the Council's analysts had highlighted the only figures that would matter at midnight.
Maximum Current Output: Documented exceeding O-Critical during the Blood Gulf Incident. Standard ceiling at O below Critical. Surge capacity confirmed under combat stress. Replication of conditions inadvisable without—
Destructive Capabilities: City-wide. Collateral threshold deemed possible in under 15 minutes. Containment protocols require minimum safe distance of—
Maximum Combat Time: 29 hours before first symptoms of collapse. Extended operations viable without resupply. Subject has previously engaged for—
Spell Mastery: Capable of running seven spells concurrently. No degradation in output recorded. Multi-thread casting confirmed across multiple—
Tactical Designation: High-Value Vanguard Asset. Breach priority. Siegebreaker. Deployment authorization restricted to—
Equipment Requests:
Mantle Blade Modification — Siege Hammer… Approved. Specifications: [SEALED]
Armour Customization — Twelve-tonne Cronton Armour… Approved. Specifications: [SEALED]
FINAL ASSESSMENT: Rank 4 — SUPREME
---
How impressive.
The only tragedy was that all of it fell within his predictions.
Oh well. Time to see what kind of spells the Iron Veil is holding.
He turned the document over to its final segment.
Hallmark Spell Assessment and Classification.