The Empress Can’t Communicate: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

At first there was nothing, then there was fire.

Like the gaping maw of a hungering beast, the sky tore open before the all the consuming warp spilled out and tore worlds asunder. Men, women, children, it mattered little. Like some great flood, it swept everything away, swallowing the stars and spelling the doom of the once great Aeldari Empire. 

Stone turned to flesh, people warped into all manners of shapes, and even the air itself turned heady with the scent of blood and perfume as the world turned mad in but a blink of the eye. It all happened so fast, ending so many lives in a flash, but perhaps it was a mercy for those that didn’t even see it coming as what followed made Eon wish he had joined them as well.

From the broken came twisted beings, once livings turned into a vessel for the neverborns. They were the very first of her children, terrible muses to her desires and they showed no mercy. With the very first breath they took, they enacted their twisted desires upon the world. 

Their cruel laughter soon filled streets as these terrible creatures seeked out those unfortunate enough to have survived through the cataclysm, enacting all manners of terrible deeds and debauchery upon the living. Not even those that had brought this madness upon the stars would be spared as they were cut open and their blood spilled upon their profane temples to serve their master’s desires.

As the screams of the damned filled the air and the cries of pain and pleasure drowned out all thoughts, Eon fell to his knees. He could feel it, every lash and tear, and every twisted moan of ecstasy echoing in his very soul. It was all too much, but nothing could compare to the pain he felt as he saw what laid before him. 

His childhood home, his family's villa, and even the forest which he explored as he youth was left. Nothing was spared as his world drowned in the warp. Still, as much as he wanted to scream out to the gods and despair, he found himself rising to his feet. 

“Iyanna,” He whispered as he powered through the maddening cries, “Iyanna!”

Half blinded by all these impossible colours and feelings, he stumbled along, searching for his beloved. Every step felt like torture as he felt his very muscles sliding against his bones and his nerves lighting up with all manners of sensation, but he kept going. He didn’t know how long he had run, nor how far, but by some miracle he would find her amidst the ruins. 

“Iyanna…” Despite everything, she remained untouched and like a beacon amidst the darkness, her radiant smile would greet him back. 

“Eon.” Reaching out to him, she spread her arms wide, inviting him over. 

With tears spilling down his cheeks, he pulled himself into her arms and held on to her like his life depended on it. “Iyanna, oh Iyanna. Thank the gods you’re ok.” He might have lost everything, but not her. She was safe here in his arms.

“Silly Eon, of course I’m safe,” Feeling his comforting hands, he all but melted into his hold, “You came to save me after all. Everything’s going to be alright.” As much as he wanted to promise her such, he can’t, not when they’re still here. 

“We have to get out here,” He told her urgently, “We have to go now!” Finding her was the easy part. Now, they needed to go away; As far away as he could take them. Unfortunately for them, his luck would soon run out as the hideous cackling of daemonettes filled the air. 

“Oh isn’t this a precious sight,” Half delirious from agony and ecstasy was he that he almost missed the daemons that crept up around them, “A hero and his princess. I wonder what they taste like together~”

Fury like never before filled his veins as his mind sharpened with focus. As turbulent as the warp was, he was its master. “You will not take her!” He shouted as he sang. Before they could even blink, the ground beneath them rippled as spikes jutted out. 

Impaled upon wraith bone, dozens died but not all of them. Ignoring their companions, they rushed at him, tearing at their own flesh as they ran straight into the storm of wraithbone that whipped around them. For as many that fell, two would take their place as they fell upon them. 

“Iyanna get back!” He shouted as he pushed her back, taking a clawed hand against his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he glared back at their mocking smile as he pulled out a sword from the field of blade around them and struck back. 

There was grace nor fluidity in his strike, just savagery as he stabbed them in the eye. Tearing their head from their shoulder, he hacked away at the hoard even as they tore at his limbs, bleeding him out. Even as more fell, so too did more wounds snaked across his form until he could barely hold on. 

Pulled up by his hair, the Neverborn laughed as they tossed him down on the ground. His fury quickly turned to horror as he saw their clawed hands around Iyanna. He tried to rise up, but a spiked heel would pin his ruined shoulder against the ground. He nearly passed out from the pain. 

As he struggled on the ground, reaching for Iyanna, she smiled back. “Everything’s going to be ok.” Slowly, they tore away at her clothes leaving only her bare skin against their claws. Tracing along her dark skin, he watched as blood poured down from the open wounds. 

“I’ll kill you all,” He roared out, his body straining as he pushed against the ground. Even as their claws dug into his wounds and pain overwhelmed his senses, he pushed himself up, meeting their captors' taunting gaze, “I swear I’ll tear your guts out and string you up with them!” 

Still, even as their putrid tongue ran across Iyanna’s skin and their filthy hands grabbed her naked form, she remained calm as he smiled back at him, “Everything’s going to be ok because my Eon’s going to save me after all.”

“Iyanna!” He cried, screaming as he tried to tear out his own arm, “Not like this!” This can’t be happening. It can’t end like this, not after everything he had done and after everything that they had been through.

All his efforts would be for nothing as another Daemonette would pin him down. Broken and defeated, he was made to watch as they took everything from him. As their hands dug into her chest and tore out her still beating heart, she choked out, “He just needs to wake up.”

-x-x-x-

Gasping, Eon bolted up right before slamming head first against a hard bar. “Ugh, my head.” Clutching his face, he fell back against the tight confines of the space he woke up in. Slamming his head against something hard definitely woke him up. Laying there, he nursed his head as he waited for his head to stop ringing. 

Still, as painful as the experience was and how cold and cramped it was wherever he might be, he felt relief washing over him. “It was only a dream.” 

His relief would prove short-lived as the rhythmic sound of metal striking metal along with the bellows of a great furnace filled the air. He wasn’t alone. Breathing in the strong, overwhelming scent of oil and metals fill, the type of which more primitive races were all too eager to use, he felt dread filled his senses. Was he captured by the Orks?

Even around his family’s planet, those terrible creatures proved to be a thorn on his side. Large, imposing and incredibly dumb, they seemed almost comical until they were riled to a fight. What they lack in intellect, they made up with vicious cunning and a terrifying proficiency in war. Along with their sheer tenacity and brutality, they were creatures even he wouldn’t take lightly.

Thankfully for him, he wouldn’t hear the familiar earth shaking roars that often accompany those brutes; Just what appeared to be the sound of metal being forged. He was safe for now, at least until whatever captured him made themselves known. 

The Aeldari had made plenty of enemies, plenty of which would be more than eager to exact vengeance against them. Right now, he doesn’t even know where he is. He could try and make a jump right now, but with his sense still shot from the uncomfortable awakening he had, he wasn’t sure it was the right idea. 

He didn’t quite trust himself not to fling himself into space if he were to jump in the warp now. “I’m not even sure how long I’ve been asleep,” He muttered as he tried to figure out how he got here. Last thing he remembered was going to the temples before… he got tangled with the god’s cruel plans. 

Memories, painful memories would soon flood his mind. The meeting, their hands rooting inside his very soul, along with experiences not his own. Of peace and wars, of triumphs and tragedies, and of failures and achievements across entire lifetimes he lived through. It not only felt like his mind was being torn apart, but his very soul was close to bursting. 

Clenching his eyes, he counted down, pushing it all back down as it came down to a trickle. He remembered everything and then some. He knew they weren’t his own, far unlike the memories of his life he once had, but they were his own now. As twisted as it was, he felt himself lived through all them… 

Dealing with all these new memories would have to wait for now  as he had far more pressing matters at hand. Forcing his eyes open, he found himself trapped in a cage barely big enough for him to sit up. “That explains everything,” He muttered as he powered through his nausea and righted himself to a much more comfortable position. He was captured alright, but who captured him? 

Looking around, he found himself in a dark cave, or rather a primitive forge as a lone woman worked the forge; A human. Why were her tools so… outdated? Focusing on her, he tried gleaning more details. 

At first glance, she looked unassuming, though quite fetching with her long black hair, a strong pair of arms and figure that even Iyanna would find herself jealous with. The more he looked at her however, the more he felt uneasy. She looked human, but there was something about her that made the hair at the back of his neck stand up in fear. 

There was something more to her, something which screams power. She looked human, but she didn’t feel like one. She felt more like them than anything else and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that as he found himself back up against the cage. He… he needed to get out of here. 

While teleporting was out of the question, he had other options. Feeling for his back teeth with his tongue, he found the wraith bones where his molars were. So long as a Bonesinger like himself has Wraithbones to work with, he was never without his tools. He just needed to pull it out…

Reaching inside his mouth, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain before he pulled. Choking back his cries, he wiggled it out until it was finally loose. It was bloody and he was in pain, but he got his piece. His struggles however wouldn’t come unnoticed. 

Skilled in shaping he maybe, stealthy he was not as he heard the rhythmic hammering seized. Slowly, he watched the woman set her tools aside before she turned around and glared at him. “Don’t bother.”

Feeling her gaze upon him, he froze in place. As soft as her voice was, there was steel behind them, steel that stole his breath away as easily as her golden eyes stilled his heart. Just who was this woman?

Letting out a nervous grin, he replied with every once of false bravado he could muster, “So the blacksmith isn’t mute. What a surprise.” It took every ounce of his will not to flinch. How could he when faced against someone like her? 

He could still feel those terrible golden eyes boring into him even as she turned back to her project. Still, he couldn’t let that shake his resolve. He had faced the gods so what can she do that would make her any worse?

Steadying his breath, he pushed through the haze of the pain and terror as he readied himself. He had one shot at this; a single look and a mad dash to freedom. Breathing in the warp, he felt it pool in his lungs before it flowed like molasses. It would take him great effort to even craft a simple knife, something that he could have done in a blink before he got here. 

Choking back panic, he pulled at the warp, trying to tap at its power yet it would feel as if he was trying to hold water between his fingers. As soon as she tried pooling it, it would slip past his grasp. “W-what the hell?” This can’t be right… unless. 

Reaching out, he grabbed hold of the bars and it all clicked. “You used Blackstone?” His rusty cage wasn’t so rusty after all. It was solid blackstone down to the very base. No wonder he could barely muster the warp. It was even a miracle unto itself that he hadn’t gone gibbering mad until he remembered what the gods did to him. 

“Small mercies I suppose,” He thought before turning to his current predicament. As solid as the construction was, there were links and joints to bond the stone as well to lock it in place. Even those would prove to be impossible as he felt the golden material beneath his touch. 

For a moment, he thought he had stumbled upon a human made Wraithbone, but it felt wrong. It was lightweight, but dense. It also felt dull to his senses, far more inert than even the unliving stone itself, but it was tough. almost impossibly so. Not even his knife could mark it more than a scratch. “What the hell is this?”

Whatever it was, one thing was clear though. “Damn it,” He cursed, slumping against his cage. He was caught and he had no way out. Turning to his captor, he raised his hands in surrender. “Ok you got me.” Struggling would only exhaust him further. “What do you want?” 

She clearly had something in mind for him if she took the effort to cage him up. His question however would be met with silence. Feeling sweat drip down the back of his neck, he muttered, “Look, I get that you want to get me all uneasy with the silent treatment and I get it, but can we just cut to the chase?”

“Is there anything I could give you to let me go?” He begged her as he got to his knees, “Anything at all?” He didn’t care what it would cost him, just that he got back to Iyanna. “I just want to get back to my friend…”

That request however might be a stretch too far as the woman turned back at him with a scowl and the steel in her hands now forged to a great sword. “That’s a pretty sword,” He gulped, staring as she lifted it off the anvil and held the still burning metal tightly in her hands, “So bright and golden. You aren’t going to stick that in me, right?”

As she marched towards him, he started begging, “Look, I know my people might not be the best-!” He had to suck in his gut as the woman had a stab at him. “Ok, they can be horrible, but that doesn’t mean all of us are!”

He cursed the day that the pleasure cults came to be as the woman redoubled her efforts. “Anari’s fucking tits woman, what the hell is wrong with you?!” He screamed as his heart hammered away at his chest. 

“Surely I can give you something, anything!” Begged as he might, his words would quickly fall into deaf ears. Frustration would soon mount as he gripped his blade. “Listen damn you!” Why should he beg when she wouldn’t even listen? “I said listen!” 

Roaring out, he felt something in him break as the cage shattered. He felt power the likes of which coursing through his veins as he unleashed his might. As his mind came into focus however, he felt dread fill his veins as the woman’s golden aura clashed against his own, “... Oh, you’re him.”

Before he could react, he felt a gloved hand punch him in the face, shattering his concentration. Dazed, he fell on his back as the world spun around him. He wouldn’t have time to rest as he quickly found himself hauled to his feet as he held him by his neck. “What do you want?”

Righteous anger burned inside his chest at her ignorant question. Glaring at her even as she leveled her sword at him, he spat back, “Now you’re asking when I’ve been telling you this entire fucking time you bitch!” How dare she!  

As he struggled to breath, she slammed his back against the walls, driving what little breath she had in his lungs. “Who sent you!” She shouted. She wasn’t even listening to him. 

Forcing out a bitter laugh, he choked out, “You want to know who sent me? Fucking Asuryan and the rest of those bastards!” That loosened her grip enough to let him breathe. Sucking air greedily, he glared at her, “If you want someone to be angry then get angry with those assholes you whore!”

He didn’t care if she was the God Emperor. She was just as horribly as he imagined, if not more. Fortunately, he didn’t have to tell Iyanna that inside She Who Thirst’s stomach as the woman finally let go. “You’re not lying…”

“Why the hell would I be lying?” He coughed as he grabbed his neck, forcing his collapsed windpipe to inflate with a touch of the warp. He could tap into it now, but it felt off. It felt disgusting, almost like he had dipped his hands in oil. 

Still, beggars can’t be chooser as he knitted his wounds close and weaved himself a tunic. It was scratchy and stiff, but better than being naked around this bitch. Clutching the white cloth closely, he muttered“I don’t even want to be here or anywhere near you, but here I am.” 

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have gone to their temple…” If he hadn’t thought of that bone head plan, if he had just stayed with Iyanna instead of trying to save everyone, he would have been with her. Instead, he woke in the God Emperor’s, or rather God Empress’ dungeon. “I’m such an idiot!” 

As he collapsed against the wall of her dungeon, she watched him wearily. Ever the untrusting bitch, wasn’t she. As he glared back at her, she asked coldly, “Why did they send you here?”

“Hell if I know,” He shrugged as he clutched his chest, “They just stuffed my soul with their stuff and chucked me out here.” Even now, he could feel them inside him. These memories weren’t just anyone else, they were there and now they were part of him. He wanted nothing to do with them. 

For a moment, the woman stared at him impassively before she grimaced. “They wanted me to protect you,” She hissed as stabbed her sword on the ground and sat down on a nearby stool. 

It took him a moment, before realization dawned on him. “Bastards aren’t they?” He laughed bitterly. All their talks on him uniting the Aeldari was just that, talk. He wasn’t meant to defeat her, he was meant to deny her of her prize and they now forced the Empress’s hands on this matter. 

As the realization sank in, he covered his face. It wasn’t every day that he woke up and found himself with a target on his back. The moment the whore those monsters worship woke up, he will be first on the menu and Iyanna might just be caught in the crossfire. 

Blissful silence soon descended upon them as he took a moment to process it all. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t expect her to take care of him just because. This wasn’t humanity’s fight, but his people. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, he forced himself back up as he apologized, “Look, I’m sorry for causing you any trouble, but can you just please let me go?” 

“I just want to go back to my friend before the Warp Storms start popping up,” He explained as the woman looked at him with an unreadable expression, “Both of us already had enough on our plates and I’d rather not deal with this drama…” He had an apocalypse to deal with, while she had her own. Speaking of preparing for the apocalypse, “Why the hell are you in a dump anyways?”

“Don’t you have an STC somewhere?” He asked. He shouldn’t have been knocked out for that long. Surely she had time to prepare for when shit hits the fan. “I know they’re not cheap and they have AI, but shouldn’t you have one or at least something basic? Not… whatever this is.”

Wherever this was, it was a dump. There were no advanced STC fabricators, nor was it even a factory. It was just a workshop, albeit a well stocked one with all the gun barrels and blades hanging on the walls. 

The woman would only stare at him before she spoke those terrible words, “You don’t know what year it is, do you?”

Feeling ice fill his veins, he sat there unmoving. He… he couldn’t have slept that long right? He remembered them speaking how he needed time to rest, but they can’t be that cruel. All those years, all those times that Iyanna would have waited for him. Swallowing, he whispered, “What year is it?”

Her answer was cruel as the faith heaped upon him by the gods of his people, “It’s M28.” 

Several thousand years, he had slept millenia for the sake of the gods. “You’re shitting me,” He laughed as he cried. The gods weren’t just cruel, they were monsters. “Fuck!” Throwing his blade away, he sobbed at the life that was taken away from him. 

He cried and laughed, before he finally got it all out. He… he was no longer in his own time. He was a man not only lost in space, but that of time as well. Even with his great life, he couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around the passage of such time. 

“I might as well be a distant memory,” He whispered as he tried to remember what he had missed. The Men of Iron Revolt, Age of Strife as well as the countless warpstorm that would come about from his people’s self destructive and collective suicide. “Fuck, I’m stuck with you am I?” He laughed as he tried holding back his tears.

Rubbing his eyes, he soon found himself staring at a towel offered by the woman. Seeing her soft gaze, he felt his spirit crushed. He must have been quite the pathetic sight if she had taken pity on him. No words would be exchanged as the woman helped him back to his feet. For better or for worse, their lives were tied together. He just hoped that he wouldn’t spell doom upon them all.

A/N:

I'm sorry it ended with such a sad note, but this is Warhammer. Tragedy is just part of the parcel of living in this world. Let's just hope that Eon pull himself together for the long fight ahead.