"Only the Northern Wilds remain."
Lion stood atop a cliff, gazing toward the dense forest shrouded in mist to the north. It had always been forbidden ground to the people of Caliban, a cursed land where few dared to tread.
Heavy footsteps approached from behind, but Lion did not turn around.
"Luther, have the orders been delivered?"
"All the knightly orders are proceeding to the Northern Wilds according to plan," Luther replied. "Are we truly going to wage all-out war against the Order of the Wolf?"
"You are mistaken, Luther. We have been at war for a long time already."
Eight years ago, the Order had issued a call across all of Caliban to exterminate the Great Beasts. Some knightly orders joined in pursuit of glory, others to preserve their noble reputation, and still others out of concern that the Order might use the campaign to strengthen its influence. One after another, they all dispatched knights to participate.
Only the Order of the Wolf openly resisted. Even in complete isolation, they refused to obey, instead threatening the Order that if it insisted on continuing, the Order of the Wolf would stop them by force.
But now, the Order's allies were no longer limited to the Order of the Star Cup and the Order of the Flame Haze. Every knightly order across Caliban had joined this grand hunt.
They were all allies of the Order.
The Order of the Wolf was no longer threatening merely the Order, it was threatening the entire world.
Their arrogance ignited the fury of the people of Caliban. Even knightly orders that had long been at odds with the Order found the Wolf Order's conceit utterly unbelievable.
Where had they found the audacity to threaten every knightly order on Caliban?
At first, everyone believed the Order of the Wolf was simply making empty threats.
But after Lion extracted the truth from the Ironblood Order, that the Order of the Wolf had been the true mastermind behind everything, they finally dropped all pretense.
No longer content with covert sabotage, they openly dispatched knights to ambush hunting parties within the forests or attack their supply lines, inflicting heavy casualties.
Although Lion led counter-ambushes that annihilated multiple Wolf Order squads, severely crushing their arrogance, the Order of the Wolf still refused to give up. Ignoring every warning, they continued to obstruct the hunting parties at every opportunity.
As long as the Order of the Wolf existed, Caliban would never know peace. At last, every other knightly order had exhausted its patience.
The knightly orders of all Caliban unanimously agreed:
If the Order of the Wolf would rather aid the Great Beasts than their fellow humans, then the Order of the Wolf and the Great Beasts alike should disappear into the dust of history.
Apart from the Northern Wilds, nearly every Great Beast on Caliban had already been exterminated.
Even if an occasional survivor remained, the local knights could deal with it.
Over a thousand knights.
More than a hundred knight squads.
Their mission was to hunt the Great Beasts lurking around the outskirts of the Northern Wilds, clearing the way for future campaigns while securing the logistics and supply lines.
At the same time, they themselves would serve as bait, luring the Order of the Wolf into launching ambushes.
Otherwise, if the Wolf Order remained behind its fortress walls, the allied army would have to pay an enormous price to capture it.
After a moment of hesitation, Luther said, "Should we try talking to them one last time?"
He offered the suggestion only because it was his duty as Lion's second-in-command. He had no expectation that Lion would compromise.
He had thought Lion would reject the idea outright. After all, the Lion was famous for decisive action.
Yet, to his surprise, Lion slowly nodded.
"You arrange it. Invite every Grand Master of the knightly orders."
Luther was momentarily stunned. He could not tell whether Lion genuinely wished to negotiate again or was merely giving him face.
...
Caelan asked, "You still insist on exterminating the Great Beasts?"
"As always."
Lion's answer never changed.
"And how do you intend to deal with the Ouroboros?"
Caelan would never dampen a Primarch's determination, nor would he attempt to change it under the guise of a father's authority.
All he needed to do was quietly support his son from behind.
But he had to know whether Lion had a detailed plan, or was simply being stubborn.
Exterminating the Great Beasts was easy.
The difficult part was dealing with the corruption of the Ouroboros.
Surely they couldn't just ignore it?
If Lion truly intended to act so recklessly, Caelan could only find a way to clean up the aftermath.
But he believed Lion was not that kind of person.
Otherwise, his own efforts as a father would have been a complete failure.
"The Great Beasts occupying the Northern Wilds do prevent mortals from entering," Lion said. "In the short term, they can indeed serve as a useful deterrent."
"But if this continues indefinitely, who can say we are not raising a tiger that will one day devour us?"
The Great Beasts were no ordinary creatures.
Their claws could easily tear through a knight's power armor. The stronger ones could effortlessly slaughter an entire knight squad.
The longer they remained in the Northern Wilds, the deeper the corruption seeped into them, and the stronger they became.
If they were not eradicated completely, one day they might truly give birth to a Godzilla-like monster, and Caliban would pay a terrible price.
That was the real danger lurking in the future.
"What concerns you is nothing more than the spread of corruption from the Northern Wilds."
"But preventing that spread does not require relying on the Great Beasts."
"We can establish fortified checkpoints at every strategic route leading into the Northern Wilds and have the knightly orders maintain a strict blockade."
"No defensive line is ever perfect, but the Great Beasts themselves cannot completely stop reckless mortals from sneaking into the Wilds either."
"The result is ultimately the same."
Guarding the Ouroboros required jailers.
But why did those jailers have to be Great Beasts?
The Great Beasts had been born through the corruption of the Ouroboros itself. They could be regarded as its servants.
They possessed no reason.
They prevented mortals from entering only because killing was their instinct.
Entrusting them with guarding the Ouroboros was no different from letting thieves guard the treasury.
If an intelligent Great Beast were ever born, it might instead lure mortals into the Northern Wilds under the Ouroboros' command.
Such a creature would undoubtedly excel at hiding itself.
It would know to avoid confronting the Primarch directly, patiently waiting until he left Caliban before carrying out its true plans.
Lion refused to leave behind such a hidden threat.
That was why he insisted on destroying every living thing tainted by Chaos corruption, whether beast or human.
Once corrupted by Chaos, a person became no different from a Great Beast.
Furthermore, Lion was not completely helpless against the Ouroboros.
If the Great Beasts truly proved indispensable, he could simply release ordinary wild animals into the Northern Wilds.
As long as the corruption remained, there would never be a shortage of Great Beasts.
And once the Imperium reached Caliban, he could seek guidance from his gene-father.
The Emperor was the most powerful psyker in the galaxy.
If even He could not prevent the Ouroboros from breaking free, then nothing Lion did would matter anyway.
Eradicating the Great Beasts was both Lion's determination and his promise to the people of Caliban.
He would never break his word.
Lion quietly looked at his adoptive father.
If Caelan still opposed him...
Then Lion would regret it.
Between his father and Caliban, he knew which mattered more.
He would have no choice but to break his promise.
Caelan smiled.
"If this is the decision you've reached after careful thought, then go all out."
"Don't hold back."
"Even if you tear a hole in the heavens, I'll clean up the mess afterward."
"What if I have to kill people?" Lion asked.
"When you need someone to set the fires," Caelan replied, "just let me know."
Lion laughed.
That was exactly why he was the First Primarch.
He had already surpassed all of his brothers by far.
Looking at his son, Caelan spoke gently.
"Lion, I think you've earned the right to draw that sword."
"I believe so too, Father," Lion answered. "But not today. I have other plans."
...
Zahariel and Nemiel stood at the outer edge of the circular hall, nervously watching the growing crowd.
"I've never seen so many knights gathered together!" Zahariel said, both excited and honored.
There were several hundred knights present, along with more than a hundred knight apprentices like themselves.
Normally, apprentices were not permitted to attend such meetings.
Today was an exception.
The apprentices and squires entered the circular hall through the upper entrance, while the fully-fledged knights entered through the corridor gates.
The former sat upon the elevated benches around the perimeter, while the veteran knights gathered around the central platform.
The hall buzzed with activity.
Ceremonial banners had been dusted off and hung from the ceiling.
The red and crimson war banners had been replaced by banners steeped in legend, crisscrossing overhead as reminders of the brotherhood shared among the knightly orders.
Only fully-fledged knights had the honor of carrying out such ceremonial duties.
The apprentices and squires could only watch in envy.
Adias lowered his voice.
"Why are we here?"
"We're about to go to war with the Order of the Wolf," Zahariel replied.
The two had known each other since they were seven years old, when they first took the knightly entrance trials.
Zahariel had helped Adias endure the brutal training.
Without his guidance, Adias would undoubtedly have been eliminated within the first few weeks.
Failing to join a knightly order was unfortunate.
Being accepted only to be expelled was a disgrace.
Adias looked around.
"But this doesn't look like preparations for war at all."
Mustering troops before battle was customary.
Yet what they were seeing looked more like preparations for a grand banquet.
"This is the final negotiation before the war," Zahariel explained.
"Negotiation?"
"Sir Sartana is on his way here," Nemiel said. "We must extend him every courtesy."
Adias frowned.
"The Grand Master of the Order of the Wolf? I heard they've been helping the Great Beasts."
Zahariel shrugged.
"And they've paid dearly for it. At least thirty of their knights have died at Sir Lion's hands. I doubt they even have a hundred men left."
"Surely not. They used to be a great knightly order just like the Order."
"That was before. They've spent all this time helping evil flourish. Even their own knights became ashamed of them. Quite a few abandoned the Order of the Wolf and joined us instead."
Pointing discreetly toward a knight nearby, Zahariel whispered,
"That knight joined us two years ago. I'd bet he used to belong to the Order of the Wolf."
"So isn't that betr, "
Before Adias could finish, Zahariel clapped a hand over his mouth.
"It was the Order of the Wolf that betrayed the people of Caliban. They're simply correcting that mistake."
"It's not just the knights, either. Even the common folk living in the Wolf Order's territory can't stand their rule anymore. Every year only a handful of people apply to join them. Before long, the Order of the Wolf will disappear on its own."
"That's rather pitiful."
"Not at all. They brought it upon themselves."
"Then why are we still negotiating with them?"
"Maybe Sir Lion wants to give them one final chance, to make them realize how hopelessly outmatched they are and return to the right path. That way we can avoid a major war."
"And it's not only the Order of the Wolf that's coming. Representatives from all the other knightly orders will be here too."
"Do you think they'll accept?"
"I'm afraid not."
Adias frowned.
Sir Lion had already shown them more courtesy than they deserved, yet they still refused to appreciate it.
Protecting those Great Beasts instead of protecting their own people...
What exactly did the Order of the Wolf hope to gain?
Nemiel raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh... they're here."
Zahariel's gaze shifted across the crowd toward the corridor entrance on the eastern side of the hall.
A column of standard-bearers wearing hooded robes marched into the hall in perfect formation.
Their heavy footsteps filled the chamber with solemn dignity.
Upon reaching the circular dais, they split apart with practiced precision, forming a ring around the ancient platform.
A series of metallic clanks echoed as each banner, embroidered with the emblem of its respective knightly order, was firmly planted into its stone socket.
The standard-bearers knelt on one knee before the banners, heads bowed, awaiting the arrival of the Grand Masters.
Lion entered the hall.
His black armor, adorned with golden ornamentation, gleamed brilliantly.
The black armor shimmered with gold, while a flowing white cloak was fastened over his shoulders by bronze clasps.
As he walked, the white mantle billowed behind him.
The Primarch's immense frame nearly filled the entire doorway, making the legendary knights following behind him appear like children.
Though every one of them was a hero among their respective orders, they still paled beside Lion.
"Honor the Lion!" Luther and Amadis were the first to rise.
Bang!
Every member of the Order stood as one, striking their breastplates with their right fists.
Their cheers shook the hall.
Among the assembled representatives, one warrior clad in bronze armor stood out above the rest.
A complete wolf pelt draped over his pauldrons.
The wolf's head had been masterfully fashioned into the crest of his helmet, while its forelegs rested upon his shoulders, so lifelike that the beast seemed almost alive.
He was Lord Sartana.
An aging knight with a weathered face and drooping silver mustache, yet still powerfully built.
A Grand Master should have commanded the admiration of all.
Instead, he had chosen to shelter the Great Beasts and oppose every other knightly order.
He was a traitor to humanity in every sense.
Even the apprentices of the Order looked upon him with unconcealed disgust.
Yet he appeared utterly indifferent.
Turning to face the assembled representatives, Lion spoke.
"Welcome, brothers."
"Welcome to the Circular Hall."
"Here, there is neither high nor low, noble nor common."
"All knights are brothers bound by blood."
Lord Sartana snorted in disdain.
"Lion El'Jonson, spare me your hypocritical speeches."
"I did not come here for theatrics."
"Let's speak plainly."
"Abandon your protection of the Great Beasts," Lion said. "Do so, and we will let bygones be bygones."
Sartana answered without hesitation.
"Absolutely impossible."
"I know your type."
"You're obsessed with fulfilling your own ambitions."
"You simply don't care what consequences they bring."