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by NBKFuzzy at 17 Jul 2009, 01:32 
Lorn III
Craftworld Biel-Tan, 20 light years from Lorn System
41st century, imperial space.
"Our song has been sung throughout time and space."- Eldar Wraithsingers
Farseer Ulfathe, one of the newest Eldar to be lost to the Path of the Seer, he lay on his bed looking at his screen waiting for a reply from the webway assembly. He never got to spend much idle time in his small house aboard Biel-Tan, and as he lay he notices the room around him. The small imperfections of the wraithbone, proving the quality which it was made, the runes etched into each piece for good blessings. He had first completed his Path of the Warrior, and his divination ran deep as he foresaw the destruction of a small vessel that mined spice for Biel-Tan from a Chaos Storm. After the ship was saved, he was ordered to take the Path of the Seer, and acting upon it he quickly lost his title of Warlock, and replaced it with Farseer, the most revered of all the Eldar Castes. Now on the Path of Command, he is being tested with a vision he foresaw on the same system his craftworld had previously failed to shine. His screen flickered on. The un-covered face of an Eldar showed, hooded and wearing a jaw-communication device.
"Cercis; Farseer."
"Cercis; Captain, what news do you report?" Ulfathe was eager for news.
"The Webway on Lorn III has been recovered and is functional. It seems it is in very close vacinity with an unknown alien structure, though."
"Orcithli?"
"No, its to advanced."
"It can only be human. Can you go in undetected?"
"The shadows befriend us Farseer." he spoke sharply as if offended.
Filavi was an outcast of the Biel-tan. At a young age he left to see the world outside the Craftworld, and realized to soon how cruel it was. Finishing his Path of the Outcast after four centuries he returned as a very shady individual who took no trust in anyone. He was instantly recognized and revered as a well experienced pathfinder, and given the garb and technology to match his skill. He became an Exarch, which was extremely rare in the Craftworld Biel-Tan, due to their distrust of Rangers. Two others were to accompany him to the surface, Ithvil and Alyden were recently trained as scouts, wearing light Ranger wraithbone armor and cloaks, they were to assist Filavi.
Ulfathe has always disliked the Craftworld Ulthwe for their carelessness and foolishness in the incident on Lorn V. This has also entrusted a deep hatred towards Humans and Necrons. His mission was to go to the Lorn System, and Lorn III which is a Jungle World that was once an Eldar Production Facility, before the Fall. It was ravaged by pirates throughout the countless ages until now, and only one Webway Gate remains. If this planet is a Necron Tomb World, it is to be destroyed before they can wake.
The Swordwind shall not be the back up for this threat. "This eothlos shall be one remembered through history shall you find your objective, Filavi. We shall be incontact when you arrive on the surface. Khaine be with you."
"Hitain." Filavi walked away from the station to the Gate. Ithvil and Alyden were already being prepped for combat. The Ranger wraithbone was light, but offered an array of technology, allowing them to tread lighter, cloak themselves to the naked eye, and had touch censors to allow them to instantly calibrate weapons they picked up, Eldar or foreign, on the battlefield. Experienced rangers often did not wear the wraithbone helm and instead just a hood and a jaw-communicator, since they did not need the helmet to tell them direction and aim their weapons. Ithvil and Alyden were not rangers, they were not even finished with their Path of the Warrior, and this was their final test. It is supposed to be simple; arrive and document, return to base. They wore the light ranger armor with hoods over their helms and Ranger Long-Rifles ready. On their belt was two Guardian Blades, small blades of sharp wraithbone that can cleave through Power Armor, and a Shuriken Pistol. Filavi spoke while walking towards them. "Cercis initiates."
"Cercis, Exarch." the replied together and saluted.
"Are you ready to go through the gate?"
The armorer spoke through his helm, "They are suited up and awaiting your command Exarch. Khaines blood drip on your path."
"Initiates, the recent scan shows unknown alien structures to the east of the warp, almost touching it. We are not sure how, but we have confirmed it is not enclosed and they are not aware of its presence. We will enter the Webway and find out who is living there, and hopefully get a full scan from any frequency we pick up. Lets go."
The three approached the Webway Gate. It is a console with a large arch raising above it, but halves looking like a crescent. The red spirit stones along the ridges of the crescent light up rhythmically and reach the final one. A stream of light reaches the top and streams to the bottom in an instant; and a large blue light fills the gap, and the three step in.
Lorn III surface.
41st Century, Imperial Planet - AUX-L3
"Shadows are our infinite twin."- Path of the Outcast
"A comeris!" Alyden was shocked. They couldn't see anything and the dark was consuming. Filavi took an eyepiece out off his belt and attached it to his right eye. Pressing a button he could see the room in a shaded red. "Silence." he spoke, and it relayed through his jaw communicator to the others helms. Looking around he saw they were in a cave, and turning around he saw an old wraithbone webway, still strongly intact. Their was runes etches on the webway, a note. He read - "Entrance of stone be crumbled by light." Withdrawling his pistol he shot three shuriken rounds into the wall opposite of carving. Silence.
"Exarch, we're sealed in here." Alyden spoke hopelessly through his mask. Then a cracking noise, and then the stone crumbled into dust, and light shined into the room. Removing his eye piece, Filavi spoke; "Crumbled by light, into dust, as the legend of Isha and Khaine. A code."
"Very clever Exarch, the Path of the warrior taught you-" Alyden was interrupted.
"No. I never stepped a foot on that Path. Don't take my knowledge for granted. You will only have it this one mission." He spoke quick and sharp.
"Right, Exarch...". Ithvil shook his head at Alyden as he followed Filavi.
"Hitain, carun itsu." Filavi spoke into his jaw-piece.
"Captain, I have been awaiting contact. Your training I took for farse; I cannot even get a word in your head." Ulfathe replied through their helmets and jaw-piece.
"I lived on death worlds, blocking out psych is vital. We have made contact with the surface, we are heading eastward now. Purtotair Hitain."
He turned exited the cave and saw lush jungle all around them, and behind them a rigid hill where they emerged. Redish rocks stuck up the side with a grassy plateau at its peak. He turned and looked at the hill. He spoke to the initiates, "Eun."
"Cairam?" Alyden asked.
"Cuisich tilas." He replied, as he pressed a button on his bracers and small wraithbone blades withdrew from them, and he jumped onto the rocky wall, and punctured them in, and used them to climb up. Alyden and Ithvil followed suit, and they were quickly going up.
They reached the top in a minute, and proned on top of the small mesa, and crawled making no noise towards the other end. They peered over and saw a small Imperial penal compound, with the communication array on top of the central hub with green lights, meaning its active. The outer fence was down, or never built, there wasn't much for a prisoner to escape to on this world. After a moment Filavi layed out a small device from his pack that contained a signal beacon. He spoke into his comm: "Imperial Penal Colony, no activity seen, beacon relaying all available data from the surface." He moved his hand away and looked back over the ridge. Alyden spoke; "Looks empty captain, should we go down?" As he finished, a small door opened from the building closest to them. "Laith..." they all shimmered away at once, and a human wearing a guardsmen outfit walked out of the building, followed by another with a full helmet on.
"You sure?" the one in the helmet asked.
"Positive, somethings using our signal. Maybe we can get away from these freaks and off this forsaken rock." The one without a mask took out a small hand held device with a screen and an antennae. It made a faint beeping noise until it reached the location of the rangers. They looked right in their eyes and took a step forward. "Signals gettin' strong..." they kept walking, until it made a steady beep. They both looked up and raised their rifles. The one in the mask shrieked; "Eldar!" but before pulling the trigger fell to the ground in a thud, a hole in his mask.
Las rounds zipping by they all rolled back. "We must silence him!"
"Its to late, Alyden, they know we're here. We must make sure they don't interfere with the beacon until its finished!" as Filavi spoke he withdrew his shuriken pistol, and shot a tree nearby to distract the guardsmen. The guardsmen shot some rounds into the trees and three more appeared from the building and shot las rounds all around the area. At the center of the mesa, the beacon finished its transmission. Alyden grabbed it and stood up. "Its completed, where to now Exarch?". After a shriek through the comm, Ithvil and Filavi turned around to see a bloodied hole through Alydens chest, and before Filavi could do anything, Ithvil screamed as his side was slashed open. Grabbing Ithvils body he dragged it towards the edge of the mesa, and took off his helmet. His distinct shaved head and pointed ears made his face look blank, with all white eyes. Moving his hand from the wound while looking around, seeing nothing, he glanced at the wound. The pale skin around the area was puffed and a lime green. "Poison..." he muttered. He heard a footstep and shot three rounds into the seeming air. Hearing a thud he suddenly fell on his chest and could not move. As his vision blackened a shimmering figure appeared in front of him, leathery boots with many straps holding them together, and then... darkness.
Craftworld Biel-Tan, 20 light years from Lorn System
41st century, imperial space.
"Space is cold, dark an infinite. But a refuge, never the less." - Anonymous
"Hitain" a voice spoke through his helmet.
"Yes, my seer?"
"The upload is finished. You should take a look at this."
Ulfathe was on the lift going down to the webway assembly already, to look at the data when it finished. He had hopes that they would find signs of hollowed earth running deep to before the heat of the core. A sure sign of a Tomb World. Upon entering the assembly, he saw two of his seers standing by the monitor unit with a bonesinger controlling it. "What does it show?" he had no fortelling of what to find.
"Everything is normal, on the surface and there is no underground cavities, simply because nobody has seen beneath the surface."
"Well then, whats so important about the scan?"
"The compound where they broadcasted from had a large ammount of interferance."
"Can't we irregulate a simple Imperial jamming system?"
"Thats just it Farseer, its not human. It was just analyzed, its a dark matter source system."
"Dark matter? You mean...?" Then the bonesinger spoke,
"My lords, we cannot regain contact with the scout team."
Lorn III Surface
Imperial Penal Colony.
"There is no cure for a nightmare, only a cure for fear." - Farseer Idraniel of Ulthwe
Coming to, his vision was blurred, and a ringing in his ear. He could tell he was bound to a chair, and his jaw piece removed, along with his hooded cloak. With his vision back he saw two humans in guardsmen armor, with the numbers on the left shoulder pad scratched out. One said "He's awake." as they moved towards him. The room was empty with one light above lighting the whole room. He could not move his legs, as he was dragged through a hall to a door, his head hanging down he could not see anything but the concrete floor. One of the guardsmen slung his rifle on his back and pressed a comm on the door. "Hes awake, still paralyzed. We've got em' here."
A strange voice replied. "Hmm... Bring him in..."
He was dragged in, set on a chair, and bound at his ankles and wrists to the chair. His head hung down a man walked up to his left side, with a black robe long enough he could not see any feet, but hear footsteps. He injected something in his neck, and then in almost an instant he regained feeling in his body, incredibly with no pain. He lift his head up to see a figure standing there who spoke; "These humans sure are brutes, sorry for the rough entrance..." he chuckled as he spoke and the other walked away from Filavi to the one in front. Terror struck through his spine, as he saw the pointed ears of an Eldar on his head, but the claw arm and poison injector.. of a Heamoculi on his arm. All his knowledge of the traitorous Dark Eldar went through his mind, when the one in front stepped forward and crouched to eye level. The grotesque armor of the twisted Archon. Black, with silver trim, the wraithbone old and runed. Spikes protrude from the shoulders, and elbows. His tall helmet with the hair of long dead eldar, men, and tau soldiers killed in combat flowed out the top down the back. The face opening was covered, where the stretched skin of a dead human covered it, with eye and mouth holes where you could see his through, covering his face. "A little ranger walks onto my planet in my little summer get-away home. And I lost a mandrake... what am I to do with you?" Despite his appearance, he spoke with a slightly feminine voice, with a flamboyant tone. "Kavul my dear, take him to the vault would you?"
"Of course my Lord, he'll be waiting for you." Unable to speak, the Heamoculus grabbed him and injected a chemical, numbing his entire body again. Unbinding him, he dragged him through a different door and to a lift. In the lift he made it go down, in an underground basement level, he saw a purple glow. Dark matter crystals poked out of the surface, and mandrakes and wyches lay near them, breathing in their fumes. The ranger was put in a small cage in the back of the dug out cavern, and again injected by the Heamoculus. He could move again but the cage was made of wraithbone, and protected with rune-magic. To his left three naked human women lay chained to the wall, with a few Warriors caressing them. To his left... "Ithvil!" Filavi said to the eldar body against his cage. To no avail, he soon saw his skin white as his armor, his soul had been removed and consumed.
He awoke in the same cage, in a different place. He was above ground being carried on a skiff across the compound into a smaller building. He touched under his right bicep to feel a very slight bulge under his skin. Satisfied, he returned to his limp state, being massively starved and dehydrated. The skiff stopped and some lightly armored warriors grabbed his cage and put it in the room, where he could see nothing. The lights flashed on blinding him, and he felt a prick on his neck and could not move. The Heamoculus opened the cage and grabbed him with his claw and put his body on the table in the center. The Archon approached him laughing as he was strapped down. The warriors left the room and from outside, could hear nothing but screams. And suddenly, they stopped. As the warriors re-entered the facility the Archon was holding a goblet that was glowing purple. "Take his body to the jungle for the animals." And so they did.
Craftworld Biel-Tan, 20 light years from Lorn System
41st century, imperial space.
"We would kill one million men for ten of our own." -Path of the Warrior
"Hitain, life signs diminished."
"Khaine curse those traitors..."
"The team is ready now Farseer, they are approaching."
"Though their kind is more savage they serve the Swordwind to well to dislike..." Ulfathe turned and saw the lift rise, and three fully armed and armored Eldar approached him, and bowing they spoke: "Hitain, we are here for our prey."
"Spin your webs where you like, this is not a hunt." He looked the Exarch in the eye. His gray hair and runed scalp showed how many battles he had fought in, and how many lives he had taken, without a single injury.
Exarch Naveen started as a Guardian in the Craft War, fighting off traitor Dark Eldar from all the Craftworlds, uniting them as one. He quickly grew a deep warrior passion, granting him the attention of the Seers. Through more rigorous training, he adorned the Spider Mantle. Warp Spiders are among the most feared and dreaded of the galaxy, appearing, feeding, and then suddenly gone. His experience was called upon to find the body of lost Pathfinder Filavi, who had been captured, tortured, and then drained of his immortal soul.
"Bonesinger, do you have a direct location of Filavi?" The Farseer moved towards the Webway Gate.
"No, Hitain, but we have his signal in the area of the compound, but still outside, we believe."
"You believe?" said Naveen, fastening his helmet on.
"Hah... Guess it is a hunt afterall."
"Don't get to excited Exarch. The webway is ready for you. The display signal should be on your communicé"
Without a word the three Spiders walked through the webway. Ulfathe turned to his seers and told them his thoughts. "Prepare yourselves, my seer council. We may not be far from going down their ourselves. You are the wisest of all our Warlocks, and I do not want your lives wasted on these petty renegade Dark Eldar...", they replied swiftly: "Do not worry Farseer, they will not escape this time."
Lorn III surface.
41st Century, Imperial Planet - AUX-L3
"The prey fall in our web as a moth falls in a flame..." -Warp Spider Manifest
Walking through, their infrared vision showed a clear view of all in the cavern, including the exit the three rangers made. Turning around, and switching the vision on the helmet they saw nothing through the rock. The two Spiders followed Naveen out of the cavern and they all looked up. With a quick gesture of the hand they all warped to the top of the hill. looking over the compound, they saw two traitor warriors walking through. "And so the hunt really begins, lets tangle a web spiderlings."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"The ranger?"
"Yeah."
"Ha! I heard him scream like a little girl."
"Pathetic Eldar. What do they think they are to assume they are so much better than us, when they don't even have a home!"
"Flying around all the time. Sickens me." The two warriors walked from one end of the compound to the other to go to the pleasure den. Three more are near by, setting up a small Raider-Class Skiff. One of them heard a sort of shimmering noise to his right, looking over, above the skiff and crew, a strange figure stood on the roof. Before he could realize it, two blasters popped out the side.
"Die traitor!" Naveen spoke as he pulled the triggers and the monofilament weapons fired, locked on to the warrior. Monofilament weaponry, the specialty of the Warp Spider. The Dual-Monofilament Cannons, called the Death Spinners are attached to the Spider Mantle, along with the warp pack. They are manually controlled via psychic power, to cause a dead accurate shot. Monofilament rounds are not rounds at all, like the light round of a las or physical metal round of a bolter. Monofilament weaponry makes use of projected streams of wire which wrap around the victim and seek out gaps in armor where the wires can penetrate flesh most effectively to liquefy the target. The wire itself is, as the name suggest, a single molecule thick and is extremely effective at getting through enemy skin. Which happened to the warrior target. Screaming in agony as he fell apart, the other grabbed his Splinter Pistol, the same sound came from behind him as he was torn in two in a swift swing of the Spider Claws. Naveen ran along the roof and signaled the Spider on the ground. The spider took out his Spinneret Rifle and fired at the nearby Skiff Crew, who ran behind the skiff. Instead of pursuing he warped to the roof. The third spider warped in across the compound on the roof.
With a sudden explosion and melting metal as his feet, Naveen saw the Skiff working with a Dark Lance cannon at its bow. Warping to the ground he signaled to the others to meet at the rendezvous on the exterior. The Skiff fired another round, Naveen warped behind the skiff and threw one of his Haywire Grenades at the skiff. The EMP wave knocked it out. Before the driver could get out he found himself being shredded by the Spinners. The other, grabbed his halberd and ran for the compound. Noticing the advanced armor, Naveen warped infront of him with his claws out, kicking him to the ground and cutting through his halberd. Pinning him he spoke calmly; "Where did the Pathfinders body go?" - "I'll never tell you, you Eldar dog!" - Raising his bladed fist to the face of Naveen, the Spider was gone. Knowing he warped, the Incubus rolled and got up. "They prey never gets away." - and suddenly the Incubus found himself on the ground again, in a plasma web. The web burned and with his helmet off, Naveen walked to him. Amongst the Inubi's screams he spoke: "I shall ease your passing if you give me the location." In pain, "I don't know... They dump the victims out in the old Imperial quarry area to be eaten by beasts!". With that the web tightened, as Naveen left him their to suffer, and warped out of sight.
"Have fun Exarch?" one of the spiders said as Naveen appeared.
"I try not to over thrill myself. The weakling spoke. The nearby salt concentration must be an old Imperial Quarry. Lets get out there."
They ran and warped through the trees to a small opening. Their was a cave entrance, and the ground was white. Old Imperial mechanical equipment lay in ruin, and some burned out buildings lay about the mess. The salt was dried, and some being grown over by vicious vegitation. Walking behind the burned out building, one of the spiders saw something in a patch of thick grass. It was a body. "Exarch, over here.". Naveen appeared and saw the body laying in the grass, still with his wraitbone chest and greaves on. "Excellent." Naveen picked up his right arm, and felt under his bicep. He could easily feel the buldge. Using his claw he slit the skin carefully. He then lifted the arm and held his palm beneath it. A small red stone fell out, glowing. Standing up, he spoke through the jawpiece of his helmet:
"Hitain, Naveen"
"Report" the Farseer replied in an instant.
"We have retrieved the spirit stone of Filavi. It is in perfect condition. The Dark Eldar are losing their touch."
"Excellent! Return at once."
They ran through the jungle, warping back to the webway. They passed the compound. The Heamoculus was outside observing the wreckage and bodies. If Naveen was not in a hurry, he would go in there and kill them where they stand. He has learned to control that temper, though, and knew to look only at the mission at hand.
Craftworld Biel-Tan, 20 light years from Lorn System
41st century, imperial space.
"The Stones watch over us, and shield us in death." - Farseer Falhalas of Ailtoc
They walked through the webway and approached Ulfathe. Holding out his hand Naveen showed the glowing stone to Ulfathe, who took it and bowed. "You did your duty, Naveen, and we are all in your debt." With a bow, Naveen left, and Ulfathe wasted no time. He left the Assembly, out into the main Courtyard in the center of the Craftworld ship. The trees around here always made him feel as if he was in paradise. Walking beyond the trees he entered the Chamber of Heroes, the heart of the Craftworld. Bowing in the center holding the spirit stone of Filavi, he did all he could do in such a dangerous moment, he consulted the dead on what to do. The spirits of the Eldar are contained in Spirit Stones upon death. Even if the immortal soul is devoured, the eternal soul remains. Biel-Tan had a unique place, the Chamber of Heroes. Farseers came here in times of need for advise on what to do, to consult with Farseers long past. They spoke to him. "The traitors they must be silenced..." a voice spoke in him. Another, "Assemble the Bahzakhain...". "Bring them the pain at our strife. Rebuild Eldar." Then silence. Ulfathe left still holding the spirit stone, into the singers assembly. There he approached one of the Bonesingers and gave him the stone. With a bow, the bonesinger warped above to a large, Wraithlord walker. The Wraithlords were the supreme walker vehicle type of the Eldar. They were the hardest of Wraithbone, with massive swords, and brightlance or shuriken cannons mounted on their shoulders. Wraithbone wings spread out their back, with the long water drop shaped head. Drapes extended from the groin area, showing the symbol of the Biel-Tan. The cup holding a heart. The rune of Rebirth. When the Spirit Stone of Filavi was placed withing the core of the machine, its red stones began to shine. Taking a step forward, it looked at Ulfathe... A deep mechanical voice spoke - "I have returned to serve the Craftworld".