Perturabo scolded, "Sister, you're not a child anymore."
Calliphone, annoyed, pinched his arm. "You're grown up too, yet you still cling to Brother Caelan all day?"
"He is my father."
"He is my brother!"
"You are my sister, and Caelan is my father. Calling him brother is wrong." Calliphone made a playful face. "I don't care! We'll address each other however we want!"
"Still no." Perturabo's refusal was resolute.
He knew perfectly well whether Calliphone wanted to go to Inwit or something else.
"You don't get to decide!"
"Then go ask Father."
"Which father?"
"Both must agree."
Perturabo could defeat all the wise men and priests in debate, but he couldn't sway his sister.
Because Calliphone wouldn't argue logic with him. She could act spoiled, she could be willful. Even if Perturabo refused verbally, his words didn't count. The key was Caelan.
If Calliphone kept acting spoiled, Caelan probably wouldn't have the heart to refuse. This was Calliphone's irreplaceable advantage, something Perturabo couldn't match. He couldn't bring himself to do it, and Caelan probably wouldn't fall for it anyway. Fortunately, his brothers were the same, which was something to be thankful for.
Dorn once had this advantage, but he was growing up. A Primarch's childhood is always exceptionally short.
...
"Dorn."
Old Dorn gazed at the young man standing straight before him. "How many years have you been on Inwit?"
Dorn, "Three years, Grandfather."
"You look like a complete adult." Old Dorn smiled and shook his head. "But even the strongest warrior of the Dorn Clan is no match for you."
"Father says I'm still growing," said Dorn, who was over two meters tall.
"A Primarch, huh." Old Dorn murmured. "I've witnessed your growth with my own eyes. I am now one hundred percent certain you are not from Inwit. Inwit could never produce such a magnificent work."
"Forgive me for using that word, child, but I don't know how else to describe the... miracle within you."
Dorn remained silent, like a perfect statue.
Dorn didn't mind how old Dorn addressed him; he was simply too focused on listening. Dorn learned everything quickly, combat, tactics, strategy, politics, diplomacy, science... He displayed extraordinary talent in learning. Like his brother Perturabo, he was a genuine non-human genius. He had mastered all the knowledge old Dorn taught him in just three years and, together with Perturabo, constantly innovated.
"There's nothing more I can teach you."
Old Dorn's voice was filled with pride and joy for his grandson, mixed with a hint of subtle bitterness.
Probably Caelan felt the same way.
The student had surpassed the master. The teacher had nothing left to teach. What use was a teacher then?
Dorn paused for a moment, organizing his words before speaking slowly, "You can still teach me how to be human."
Old Dorn joked, "Isn't your father enough? I don't want to steal his job. He might come after me."
Dorn shook his head firmly. "Father is not like that. He's not that petty."
Old Dorn's eyes held worry and helplessness. "What I worry about most is your personality, Dorn. You're too rigid. Not like your brother, who knows how to adapt."
Dorn, "That's an innate difference in our characters. Father treated us equally. He loves me and my brothers the same."
Old Dorn couldn't help but chuckle and tease, "Alright, alright, you don't have to defend him so quickly. I wasn't attacking your father."
Dorn's voice remained steady. "I wasn't accusing you either."
Old Dorn sighed and shook his head. After three years of living together day and night, he had come to regard Dorn as his own grandson, but he also grew increasingly worried about his character.
Dorn was impeccable in every way, but he was too straightforward and rigid. When talking to people, he was always blunt, lacking necessary tact, often inadvertently killing the conversation. He wished Dorn could learn the art of speech, even just a little. He didn't expect Dorn to be as socially adept as Perturabo, but he should at least understand some worldly philosophy. Otherwise, he could easily offend others unintentionally.
If he were still a child, no one would take him seriously. But Primarchs mature early. Dorn was three years old. He had grown up.
"Father told me my brothers are magnanimous. They wouldn't mind."
Dorn was taciturn, but his mind was actually very delicate. He saw the deep worry in old Dorn's brow.
Old Dorn gazed at Dorn's resolute face, silent for a moment before speaking. "The trial in a week, are you sure you want to participate?"
Dorn nodded. "I won't let you down."
"Go find your father. He's waiting for you in the library."
After leaving old Dorn's private study, Dorn boarded the waiting air car.
With the low-frequency hum of the anti-gravity engines, the air car rose smoothly. Outside the porthole was the steel forest of the Ice Nest.
The Ice Nest was hundreds of times more habitable than the surface. The air was cold but clean.
The cold was deliberately maintained by the Dorn Clan. They used the cold to toughen their people. If they ever had to go to the surface, adaptation to the cold could save their lives. Also, maintaining a lower temperature in the Ice Nest effectively conserved energy.
The cleanliness came from the lack of pollution. Though factories produced waste, the automated recycling systems processed it. What couldn't be processed could be discharged into the wilderness. The ice plain was uninhabitable anyway, as long as the quality of life for the Ice Nest's residents was ensured.
Dorn gazed at the crisscrossing metal bridges below, thousands of air cars moving orderly among them. He wasn't from Inwit, but this city was his home.
Old Dorn was his grandfather. The Dorn Clan was his family. So, he too was an Inwitn.
The air car swept past the spire-studded administrative district. The lumen lights embedded in the building surfaces faked an endless day for this underground city.
"Authorization verified. Welcome, Rogal Dorn."
The library's central intelligence let out a mechanical female voice after scanning the Primarch's entire body.
Dorn strode through the vaulted corridor. In the reading room he usually used, Dorn saw the figure bent over the cogitator terminal.
"Father." Dorn called out softly.
"You're here. Sit down first. I'm copying data for your brother. Give me five more minutes." Caelan looked back with a smile, pointing to the chair beside him, then buried himself back in the cogitator.
The Ice Nest's library had both precious paper books, which also had electronic backups on the cogitator, readable via data slates.
Caelan, "Old Dorn's lessons are done?"
Dorn nodded slightly. "Grandfather says there's nothing more he can teach me."
Caelan, "Only the theoretical lessons are done. You still have much to learn, child."
"I will remember your teachings, Father."
Even when talking with Caelan, Dorn's personality hadn't improved much, but he occasionally took the initiative to find a topic.
"Father." Dorn said. "When will my birth father come?"
Caelan, "Hard to say. Maybe the day you unify Inwit. He will choose the right time."
Dorn, "Father, you said my homeworld is very unique?"
Caelan nodded. "Inwit's existence is indeed strange. It doesn't fit the known patterns of colonization I've summarized. Human colonial expansion has always followed two models, either the world is resource-rich or possesses special value."
When humans colonized other worlds, they always had various purposes. Resource-rich worlds were of two types, habitable worlds. This was the most common type, comprising the vast majority of human colonies in the galaxy. Some uninhabitable worlds, rich in precious minerals or other resources, were also colonized.
For example, Nostramo, Salvation, and other mining worlds, industrial worlds, and forge worlds.
Worlds with special value usually had unique astronomical or geographical conditions. Some were shaped into various theme parks. Others were for experiments, modifying humans into various strange shapes.
Inwit was an anomaly. It matched none of these. Inwit was tidally locked to its sun. The dayside was barren, the nightside lifeless. It was not habitable. Its surface and underground had no valuable mineral deposits. Even the materials to build the Ice Nests had to be transported from other worlds.
Compared to worlds suspected of being theme parks, Inwit's environment seemed too monotonous and dull. It lacked Fenris's colorful Fire Seasons, nor did it have Nocturne's astonishing Time of Trial. It wasn't strange enough.
If used for experiments, Inwitns didn't show significant mutations. They were indeed more cold-resistant than average, but compared to other subspecies, this mutation was almost negligible.
Yet, over a hundred Ice Nests were built underground on Inwit. While their population density was lower than hive worlds with hundreds of billions, they were no less impressive in the scale of their hive clusters. And technologically, Inwit surpassed the average level of surviving human colonies. The Phalanx in orbit was particularly mind-boggling.
Even with the Imperium's technological level, they couldn't replicate this engineering marvel from the Dark Age of Technology. Such a magnificent star fortress wouldn't be surprising on Terra, Mars, or other forge worlds, but it appeared on Inwit. Inwit didn't even have the materials to build the Ice Nests; building this behemoth was simply impossible.
Dorn, "Perhaps Inwit was meant for some unique mission."
"That's the only explanation." Caelan said. "On ancient Terra, human nations established gene banks to prevent species extinction due to catastrophic events, preserving the spark of Terran life in an apocalypse."
"These gene banks were mostly built in permafrost caves or underground, using the environment as natural protection."
"Inwit was probably established for the same purpose. It might be a gene bank from the Golden Age."
"The Phalanx exists to protect this Golden Age gene bank on Inwit. Before this magnificent star fortress, any invading enemy would be mercilessly annihilated."
"Even if the space battle is lost, the blizzards on the nightside can shield it from outer space detection. The deep-underground Ice Nests can also avoid direct orbital bombardment. In the worst-case scenario, civilization can survive underground."
If Inwit was indeed established as a gene bank, then it had fulfilled its mission. Inwit's human civilization never experienced a technological collapse. Inwitns, with their advanced technology, colonized the entire star cluster. They could build their own fleets, possessing the necessary conditions for reviving human civilization. Though the Phalanx was damaged, Inwit surely had the technology to repair it; otherwise, the Primarch couldn't create something from nothing.
But no refuge is foolproof. If Inwit faced an enemy it couldn't defeat despite its best efforts, that enemy could use powerful technology to destroy the entire world. Under destructive orbital bombardment aimed at annihilation, no world could survive.
Inwit was just one safeguard. There were probably many such safeguards in the galaxy. As long as any one gene bank survived, humanity's civilization still had hope for revival. Even if Inwit was destroyed, as long as the Phalanx remained, survivors could still roam space in it. This showed how painstakingly the builders of Inwit, this gene bank, had planned.
Dorn said slowly, "Father, when Inwit joins the Imperium, I want it to remain as it is as much as possible."
A gentle smile appeared on Caelan's face. "And I will support you."
"Besides, you don't need to worry too much. Your father is not an unreasonable person. As long as you are honest with him, he will listen patiently and consider your proposals seriously."
The Primarch would eventually return to the Imperium. His father would come for him one day. But even then, he must remember that he was an Inwitn.
Inwit would contribute to the Imperium, but he must also protect his home. If necessary, the Inwit Empire would continue to exist.
Inwit was once a gene bank of the Golden Age. In the future, it could be a gene bank for the Imperium of Man. This would also be a safeguard in case his plan failed. And this might explain why the Imperium of Man had always been reticent about Inwit's existence.
With Inwit's natural conditions, even the Tyranids would find it unappealing.
Dorn was silent for a long time. "Father, I have decided to participate in the trial next week."
Caelan's gaze fell on Dorn's face, his voice lower than usual. "You've already decided?"
Dorn nodded silently.
"Then do it." Caelan showed a complex smile, both proud and worried.
Dorn was visibly stunned.
He had expected to be dissuaded. If his father insisted on stopping him, he would find it hard to convince himself to persist. But he hadn't expected his father to support him so readily.
Caelan, "I believe you won't let me down, right?"
Dorn clenched his fist and nodded firmly. "Absolutely not!"
He should have waited longer, for him to grow further, to learn more knowledge. But Dorn didn't want to wait any longer. He was already far stronger than an ordinary person. He was confident he could pass the trial!
Only by passing the trial would he be qualified to realize his ambitions. And he would never lose, because he carried expectations on his shoulders!
...
The young man stood in the darkness. The piercing wind carried ice crystals, slashing his cheeks like razors.
He gripped his sword hilt, waiting quietly in the dark.
On this eternally dark ice field, it was hard for mortals to see the dangers hidden in the darkness. They couldn't see in the dark, and the howling storm confused their senses. Whenever the wind howled through the crystalline ice pillars, it sounded like the wails of vengeful ghosts.
Even though the young man was no mortal, his vision was still limited by the darkness, only able to capture blurry outlines. And that thing almost merged with the surrounding darkness.
The young man held his breath, focusing. Amidst the howling wind, he precisely caught a faint, low growl.
The predator was nearby, watching him silently. He was alone, and it was hungry. This hunt was inevitable. The ravenous beast lacked the intelligence to recognize a trap.
Suddenly, a dark shape lunged at him with the biting wind. The young man ducked low, using a sliding tackle to precisely evade the beast's trajectory. His sword rose from below, entering through the beast's lower jaw, slitting its belly along the midline, and exiting at its tailbone.
"Thump!"
Warm beast blood rained down, freezing the moment it touched the ground. The six-legged beast, neatly split in two, crashed to the ground. Its innards, still steaming, scattered on the snow, freezing into ice shards in an instant.
The young man wiped the warm blood and flesh from his face to prevent it from freezing on his skin in the extreme cold, causing frostbite.
The young man trudged silently across the dark ice field. He didn't need to confirm the direction, even if he couldn't see the destination.
This was his trial. He had to leave one Ice Nest, trek fifty kilometers across the frigid surface, and arrive at another Ice Nest. No supplies, no support.
This was an ancient ritual of his clan, passed down for millennia. Only those who completed the trial in the extreme cold and darkness were true warriors. Not everyone underwent the trial, and not everyone was qualified to apply. But old Dorn had undergone the trial, which was why he became chieftain of the Dorn Clan.
All Ice Caste clans were the same. Every chieftain had to be a warrior who had successfully challenged the trial.
The trial's cruelty stemmed from Inwit's harsh natural conditions. They had to endure the cold and also discern direction in the dark. Even a slight deviation would lead them off course, getting them lost on the ice field. If they were unlucky enough to be targeted by a beast in the dark, human warriors would struggle to fight back. The most unfortunate would encounter a blizzard. A mortal caught in one would freeze solid in seconds.
Many left the Ice Nest full of confidence, but only a very few passed the trial. Inwit didn't need weak leaders. Their bodies and minds had to be tough enough to lead the clan.
He would lead the Dorn Clan, then Inwit, and eventually the entire Imperium.
His brother was about to unify Olympia, and he would end the strife on Inwit.
....
15 chap [email protected]/DaoistJinzu