| Magnus POV |
After the Psychic Phonecall…
With the psychic form on Terra dispersed, Magnus's consciousness returned to his body on Prospero and remained motionless in a meditative posture on the ground.
Then he groaned in pain due to the taxing cost of projecting himself on Terra and from the scenes his father had shown him. In a single instant, his mind was given knowledge, knowledge that at the time he could not properly process.
It was far too much for him at once, and in that knowledge, he could even feel the emotions that humanity felt: their joys and sorrows from the beginning of their existence to far in the future.
His father had shared with him his own memories of the past, tragedies occurring in the present, and fragments of the future he had foreseen.
But one thing that stood out to Magnus was not the images of human history he saw, nor the wounds on his father.
Above everything he managed to witness in the knowledge, the memories his father had given him, he could feel his father's perspective on it all, and it was an utterly chilling rational view of everything, a view that would unnerve anyone in the galaxy.
However, Magnus, with his abilities and his father connecting to his mind for a brief moment, was able to see past that coldness.
What he saw, what he felt, was an abyss of despair that contained a lone man chained to a throne, desperately trying to protect his species from the countless horrors of the galaxy. Behind the throne were countless spectral blades embedded into his very soul, and they came not from enemies, but from the same humanity this lone man was trying to protect.
High in the sky of this abyss of despair, beings of insurmountable power were gleefully laughing, mocking the lone man. They taunted him, lashing out at him whenever they could while tricking humanity into driving another blade into the lone man.
This scene was a horror Magnus promised never to forget. It would become his driving force to aid his father no matter what it would cost him. Who of the human species could witness that and remain lax, remain weak, or worse, ignore it and delude themselves into thinking that the lone man could handle it all?
That they should continue what they were doing, profiting off the sacrifice of one man, continuing their decadence. Any who did could no longer be considered human; that was the conclusion Magnus came to.
'I am a fool,' Magnus mused in despair and rage, clutching his head in pain. 'Right in front of my father, I called the servants of his Archenemies friends! FRIENDS!!! Never again will I make such a mistake. Unless these warp entities are under my father's absolute control, then they are better off dead. Yes… either they submit completely or die.'
In that moment, Magnus made sure to imprint in absolute clear detail everything his father had shown him.
The past glories of humanity, its rise to dominance in the galaxy, the countless creations of wonder they had made. Their downfall due to the rebellion of Abominable Intelligence, and worst of all, the betrayal of their allies in their greatest time of need.
Every xenos species that had betrayed their promises of partnership after everything humanity had done for them. Many of them had been saved from extinction, spared in war, gifted technology to improve them, and granted status in the galaxy.
Yet they dared to prey upon humanity, dared to bite the hand that fed them. It was utterly unforgivable.
Magnus grit his teeth in rage, deliberating carefully, 'When I join the Great Crusade, the souls of these xenos will feel their sins and the pain they inflicted on humanity during the past 5,000 years. As for those monsters… the warp entities known as Chaos daemons… THOSE PARASITES!!!!'
Turning his head to the left, Magnus glared at the warp sprites that deceived him. These things were not harmless creatures of the warp, but parts of Tzeentch made to look harmless. It was a slow and calculated plan to bolster his own hubris, to make him believe that he had mastered the warp and was too powerful and intelligent to be deceived by denizens of the warp.
It absolutely infuriated Magnus to realize he would have fallen victim to this plan if he had never witnessed firsthand how powerful and deceptive they were. That even his father could suffer under their hands, and now Magnus recalled once again how he ignorantly viewed these warp sprites as friends in front of his father.
Channeling the warp, Magnus lashed out at all the warp sprites around him with concentrated bolts of psychic energy, absolutely annihilating them from existence.
Magnus rose from the ground and proceeded to walk out of the chambers of his home. Walking outside, he ignored the greetings of the mortal human psykers of the Tizca Commune—humans who survived the Psychneuein, deadly warp entities who decimated Prospero.
These people wanted to ask if everything went well in whatever project Magnus had set out to do, but seeing the expression of rage on his face, they all went quiet and stepped out of his way. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of whatever had enraged their savior and king.
They watched from a distance as Magnus marched on, and then they watched in horror as Magnus began to burn all the warp sprites present.
From building to building he sought them all out and burned them to ash. This scene continued all throughout the city of Tizca, the only remaining city on Prospero.
And it did not stop there. He started burning detailed books on warp sorcery, making many believe he had gone mad.
As much as the people wanted to stop him, all they could do was watch and plead that he stop. However, he ignored them all and continued burning whatever he now considered too dangerous.
Eventually, one man stepped forth. It was Amon, the closest human to Magnus. Amon was the one who found Magnus when his pod had landed, and for a time, he taught Magnus how to use the warp until eventually Magnus's knowledge far outstripped his and everyone else's.
Amon walked into the Library of Tizca, a place just recently made to hold great knowledge of the warp and its uses. Yet this library was now burning, and in the middle of the library was Magnus.
Magnus was currently slowly scorching a warp sprite to death. Amon walked over to Magnus cautiously.
Once he was a few feet away from Magnus, he asked, "My friend, just what has overcome you so!? Why are you killing all the warp sprites? They are like pets, friends to us all. What could they have possibly done? Most of all, burning all our progress, our history?? Just why would you burn what's left of Prospero?!"
Magnus did not respond. He only increased the intensity of the flame burning the warp sprite. Meanwhile, Amon was shaking in trepidation, hoping this eerie silence would end.
Once the warp sprite was turned into nothing, Magnus turned around to face Amon directly.
Magnus's face was contorted in a scowl full of rage, rage that was aimed at everything, even himself. Amon lowered his head because he could not meet his friend's gaze.
Seeing the fear and worry he was causing, Magnus calmed himself and let out a shaky breath. Originally, in his rage, he wanted to see them all burn to nothing with his own two eyes. But now that he had calmed down, he cleanly put an end to all the warp sprites and books he deemed too dangerous.
With that matter settled, he then spoke to Amon. "I've met with my creator… my father, the Emperor of Mankind. In my meeting with him, I learned many things. The warp that we draw power from is much, much more dangerous than you can even imagine.
Very soon I will contact my father again. While I am away doing that, I need you to calm the people and let them know that any use of the warp is now temporarily banned. Later today I will hold a public address for my actions and for what we will do going forward."
Magnus then stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He put his hand on Amon's shoulder and said, "Sorry for the trouble I've caused you, my friend. I promise very soon that you too will see the necessity in this. That is, if you're willing to bear such crushing knowledge."
With that, Magnus made his way out of the Library of Tizca, entrusting Amon to handle the cleanup of what had occurred until he returned. Walking through the streets, he felt the gazes of his people looking at him with fear, anger, and confusion.
Feeling these emotions crushed Magnus's heart, because he knew all too well how he would react to someone destroying his life's work without an explanation. However, knowing that it was for a good reason, he steeled his heart and kept walking back to his home.
Soon he reached his home. He went straight to his private chamber and was once again left deep in thought, while waiting for his father's signal.
After some time passed, Magnus felt a familiar, overbearing psychic presence calling to him, telling him that it was time. Magnus, with the help of his father, projected his consciousness into psychic form on Terra.
When Magnus's form appeared in Malcador's tower, in the span of a second he took note of the room he found himself in and felt appreciation for its historical simplicity. The room was pretty spacious, with tall bookcases, candles hanging from the walls, small plants, and a ceiling mural that depicted humanity's history.
Looking at the center of this room, Magnus saw his father, Valdor, and some other faces he did not recognize. All of them were seated at a large, exquisitely crafted table made from some unknown wood with gold engravings, and on top of the table was a beautiful mosaic depicting the victory of the Unification Wars.
Magnus quickly greeted the people in the room, saying, "Hello, I am Magnus, the 15th. I recognize some of you; as for the others, who may you be?"
Starting from his father's right, an old, bulky, and rough-looking man whose presence felt slightly similar to his father's in origin but much weaker and, oddly, far older.
This ancient man looked at him indifferently and replied, "Ollanius."
To the right of Ollanius was an old man in dark robes, frail in appearance but strong in power. This person looked at him appraisingly and introduced himself. "Welcome, Fifteenth. I am Malcador, an old friend of your father, and I serve him as his voice, the Imperial Regent of Terra."
Next to Malcador was Valdor, whom he recognized. As for Valdor, he gave a simple nod and looked over to his right. At his right was an olive-skinned, clean-shaven young man with bright blue eyes and a rather unremarkable face.
Magnus could feel it deep in his bones that this man was surely his elder brother in terms of being found. Although Magnus found it strange that this brother of his felt wrong in a sense, as if he were incomplete and weak, he still felt danger from him, as if his brother were an ever-changing weapon who would wear him down until a flaw was found.
This brother of his spoke to him neutrally. "Hello, brother. I am Alpharius, Primarch of the 20th Legion, the Alpha Legion. Perhaps, if you have time afterward, we can get more acquainted as brothers."
Magnus replied, "It would be my pleasure to get more acquainted with you, my brother. I can definitely make time later."
Looking to his brother's right, there was a tall and lithe lady in golden armor. Her face was bold and valiant. She had a winged tattoo on her forehead and red-dyed hair bound in a topknot on her head.
However, her most striking feature to Magnus was the fact that she did not have a soul, or rather, she did not have a psychic presence in the warp, making her presence hard to notice but noticeable at the same time.
Magnus had learned of and encountered these beings known as blanks. Usually, he was able to forcibly ignore their presence due to his overwhelming psychic power. But this lady was far more powerful than all the other blanks he had ever encountered.
If it were not for his father supporting his psychic form, Magnus was sure her presence would have utterly scorched his psychic form to ashes. Even if he were here in person, his real body would probably suffer damage from being in the same room as her.
Then Magnus was snapped out of his observations when she began to make hand signs instead of speaking. Pretty quickly, knowledge about thoughtmark appeared in his mind, and he deciphered that she said, "Greetings, I am Jenetia Krole, Knight-Commander of the Sisters of Silence, and it is an honor to meet you, Magnus, Fifteenth Son of the Emperor."
Magnus, using thoughtmark, replied to her, saying, "It is actually my honor to meet someone who has served my father faithfully for so long, and for you to be a blank no less. I never knew blanks could reach such a level of strength."
With introductions and pleasantries out of the way, everyone turned to the Emperor, awaiting what would happen next.
The Emperor conjured a chair between Alpharius and Valdor, then signaled Magnus to sit. Magnus took his seat at the table, in a spot that placed him almost directly across from the Emperor.
In the next instant, the Emperor created two life-like replicas of two different xenos species. Magnus recognized one as an Eldar, but the other he did not recognize.
"The Eldar presented here is Eldrad Ulthran," the Emperor said to Magnus, gesturing to the xenos image he had made to his left. "A Farseer of the Ulthwé Craftworld, one of the strongest Eldar in the galaxy. We are currently in a rather ambiguous alliance with him. I require his aid in plans I wish to enact, plans that you will learn of later when you complete your training under my own tutelage."
The Emperor then gestured to his right and continued, "This is Trazyn, a Necron Overlord of the Nihilakh Dynasty. His species is far more ancient than ours and the Eldar's, along with being arguably the most dangerous species in our galaxy. At least, that is if they manage to reform their broken empire."
The life-like images were dispersed, and new images of other members of the Eldar and Necron races were shown. Looking directly at Magnus, the Emperor spoke again.
"If you ever encounter the two of them on Terra, there is no need to attack them unless I give the command. If you ever see Trazyn doing his so-called 'collecting,' let me know and I'll grab a gift for you from his vault. Other than the two of them, when it comes to the rest of their respective species, they will be dealt with should they launch the first attack. Both of their species are very complicated, and you will learn more during your training with me."
The images crumbled away as the Emperor sat back in his chair and said one final part, "News of your return, even if not physical, will be known, and you will be introduced to your sons, the 15th Legion. And now, finally, I believe you have some questions you wish to ask?"
With that cue, Magnus nodded his head and started off with, "First, I would like to say that while I believe our alliance with these xenos is way too risky, I know you have definitely taken measures in case of whatever foul treachery they may attempt. I just ask if I may take part in any operations in which we work with them. I want them to see through my own abilities what their fate will be should they dare attempt anything."
Magnus noticed that after he finished this statement, he earned looks of approval from everyone present.
Even his father, the Emperor, nodded and said to him, "Yes, once your training is complete, you will fulfill a vital role in my plans, which will involve you working together with our current allies."
"Thank you, Father," Magnus said happily, and then he continued. "Ever since you showed me the risks of unfiltered warp use, the truly dangerous entities in the warp, and my ignorance in believing that warp entities could be controlled and befriended, I took it upon myself to burn everything: every warp sprite, books of knowledge, experiments and studies of my people, and the Library of Tizca. Anything that even risked a hint of corruption I reduced to ash, and furthermore, I issued a temporary ban on all warp use.
"However, I know this will not last long. My people will not take too kindly to this. They do not know of the true dangers, and I am not sure how to properly explain it to them. May I know what would be the best way for my people to use the warp safely? Is there any way to create a proper barrier to filter out the filth in the warp? Or must all warp use they attempt be conducted only under my watch?"
Everyone in the room turned and looked at Magnus in shock. They could not believe he was actually audacious enough to try to befriend warp entities. But his next step of burning everything after learning some truths about the warp somewhat barely satisfied them. All of them gave him a mental brand of someone who must be watched at all times, lest his ignorance and curiosity doom himself and all around him.
The person with the greatest shock was the Emperor. Never once would he have thought that Magnus would set fire to Prospero. After all, it was quite ironic in a sense. Though the Emperor quickly got past it and looked at Magnus softly, and said:
"You've done well, my son. I know all too well how painful it is to burn your own works and the works of your people. But you did so for a good cause, and do not punish yourself for your ignorance and hubris regarding the warp. You've learned your lesson, and you've shown that you will not let that ignorance and hubris guide you any more.
"As for your questions… The safest way for now will be for you to temper their willpower, increasing their mental and spiritual discipline. When they channel the warp, they need an anchor for their thoughts. This anchor must not be belief in anything other than themselves, though this has an increased risk of falling due to hubris. It will be up to your education system to ensure that every psyker knows that if they risk too much or give in to it, their soul will no longer be theirs to own. Your governmental system must document and monitor every psyker heavily. At sporadic times, they must go around checking every psyker for any signs of corruption. The specifics of how this will work will be taught to you by Malcador."
Magnus absorbed every detail and understood the messages his father passed him between the lines of what he said. In the next moment, Magnus asked his final question, a question that had bothered him since he had awoken in that pod.
"Father, I do not mean anything hidden in this question, but I have been wondering for some time…" Magnus awkwardly paused, as if trying to find the right way to ask, or if it was even appropriate to ask. However, he forced himself to continue, and with a face full of anguish and curiosity, he asked:
"Is the woman who can be considered my mother dead? During my time in the pod down in the laboratory, there was a woman there I felt a connection to, one that told me she is my mother. My last memory was seeing her rush in as if panicked, then I suddenly found myself on a completely different planet. Seeing that she is not here, did she perhaps heroically die trying to save me and my brothers?"
"What!?" the Emperor said out loud, absentmindedly, with an expression frozen in utter bewilderment.
Meanwhile in the background, Alpharius's eye twitched. Valdor and Jenetia had expressions that said they did not want to be here. Malcador snorted in mirth at the ridiculousness of the question. As for Ollanius, for the first time his face was not passive and had a ghost of a smile. This smile was not due to the question, but due to the utter bewilderment on the Emperor's face.
An awkward silence took hold in the room as the Emperor's face contorted, trying to process the question and how to answer it. Well, at least the silence was only awkward for the Emperor and Magnus, who now realized there seemed to be something wrong with his question due to the snickers of Malcador.
The first to speak was Alpharius, saying, "I believe the main points of this impromptu meeting have been covered. I will take my leave first. After all, I have some training to do now under Valdor and Jenetia's guidance."
Both Valdor and Jenetia looked at Alpharius with appreciation for his help, and they both bowed to the Emperor and quickly made their way out behind Alpharius.
Next to speak was Malcador, who signaled to Ollanius and said, "I have to bring Ollanius up to date on certain matters. We'll also take our leave and go into the next room."
With one final chuckle, Malcador walked out with Ollanius trailing behind him. Now left in the room were a father and a confused and embarrassed son.
The Emperor inhaled deeply and, over the next hour, explained to Magnus that Erda, his mother, had actually inadvertently become a pawn of Chaos. She had helped in the scattering of him and his brothers across the galaxy, leaving their fates up to chance, depending on whether they suffered or not, and on who reached them first: the Emperor or Chaos.
Magnus's copper skin became even redder from embarrassment and rage that such a thing had occurred.
Then the Emperor told him that he intended to bring her back under his command because he needed her skills. This was something Magnus did not want to approve of, but his father's insistence that the scattering was also his fault, and that she had value, somewhat pacified him.
Following this discussion, the Emperor and Magnus talked some more until the Emperor seemingly got an idea. He gave Magnus specific coordinates on Terra and asked,
"Would you perhaps be interested in talking to her? She is quite stubborn, and if I speak to her now, it may not end the way I hoped. But perhaps if she sees you, she will be more open to speak with you."
Magnus paused and pondered this for a bit, then replied with a smile, saying, "Coercion, or as the knowledge you gave me of humans of long past would say, guilt-tripping, is a wonderful strategy, Father. I will make sure she understands the full consequences of what she has done, why she must rejoin you, and her required penance toward me and my brothers. Worry not, Father, I swear I will not fail you."
Before the Emperor could even respond to deny Magnus's belief in why he wanted them to talk, Magnus directly teleported to the coordinates given, leaving the Emperor alone in the room with an exasperated expression.
Seeing nothing else to do, the Emperor teleported to his flagship, the Bucephelus. It was time for him to lead the 1st Expeditionary Fleet.
Meanwhile, at a house hidden in Guelb, an ancient site in Mauritania on Terra, a Space Marine in pale silver power armor stood guard outside. He wore a beak-helm, and the armor's only insignia was a small stamp of LE 2.
This Space Marine was Leetu, a prototype Space Marine who wore allegiance only to the woman inside the house he was standing guard outside of.
Inside the house, an unexpected guest was being received by a dark-skinned woman, wrapped in dull purple robes, with a blue shawl and scarf.
This woman, Erda, was listening intently to a young man named Magnus, a young man she dared not call her son due to her past actions.
Magnus was telling her things that she never believed even possible. First, Magnus forgave her, and he truly meant it. Second, he was telling her that the Emperor, his father, Neoth, a man full of hubris and ruthlessness like no other, had changed greatly and that his future plans for humanity had become greater.
This was news to her because she had completely shut herself out from the rest of the world, awaiting his judgment of her. She did not know whether she should feel dread for the future, that his plans had supposedly become greater, or glad that perhaps his plans would no longer be as ruthless as before.
For months to come, Erda constantly talked to Magnus, who had now become her source of news about what happened in the outside world. He would tell her of all he and his brothers had achieved. He would also conjure holograms showing her what Neoth had been doing.
This dynamic continued until one day, the day she constantly feared but looked forward to, came. Neoth was at her door to deliver her rightful punishment for what she had done to their sons.
At least, that was what she believed…
-To Be Continued...
(A/N: Two chapters in a week? I know surprising right, hopefully I can keep this up. Lmk if I got any Magnus lore wrong, I made due with what I could find. Back to MC next chapter, we got some crusading to do.)