Everqueen Reclamation - 62

Inconvenient Truths

Author's Note: This will be updated with a longer draft later

EDIT: New draft uploaded.

***

For once in his life, the Emperor of Mankind was at a loss for words.

They had been escorted to a private room among the titanic sculpted trees that the Exodites called home. It was not particularly grandiose, woven from trunk shaped and branches woven together to form a floor and roof and four walls. There were chairs that had been grown out of the floor, large enough even for a Primarch and the Emperor.

Sunlight illuminated the room through a large round window, and the smell of leaves and fresh air filtered in as well.

It was pleasant in a rustic sort of way.

And it was recent. The Emperor could feel the warpcraft that had gone into this, and it was clearly new, made only a few days before arrival.

He had to begrudgingly extend some respect to the tribal Queen Meril's precognitive prowess. They were no match for his own, of course, but they were not unimpressive.

She had known he and Isha were coming, and had clearly made preparations, even in such small ways as preparing a private room for him and Arion.

Now if only George could think of what to say to his son.

In a way, he was still in shock that his son had landed on a xenos world. An Exodite world!

Humanity and the Exodites did not have a historically friendly relationship. While the Dominion was staunchly isolationist and far too powerful for any human power to challenge, they had never extended any protection to the Exodites. Largely out of spite for the Exodites forsaking their ways, the Emperor suspected.

And so it was that mankind and the Exodite Eldar had fought fiercely over the Maiden Worlds. Humanity had been attracted by the allure of the beautifully terraformed planets, engineered with sorcery and technology even greater than of humanity’s own.

The Exodites in turn had fought fiercely to defend their homes, clinging to them with all their might even though they had given up much of the technological prowess of the Dominion. And the Exodite combat walkers and the sorceries they commanded with the aid of their World Spirits was nothing to be scoffed at.

There was a bloody history there, of humans and Exodites slaughtering each other over these precious worlds, for centuries, for millennia.

The Emperor honestly would not have expected any Exodite Eldar to spare one of his sons if they landed on a Maiden World.

Except that they had.

Arion’s affection for his adopted mother and the people had been raised in was obvious. Teaching him to let go of these attachments and put humanity first would be…difficult.

It had to be done, however. The Emperor could not afford for any Primarch to value xeno lives above human ones.

But the question of how remained. Inarguably, it would be a process of several years. Arion would have to be removed from this world, and forge bonds with other humans as swiftly as possible, indoctrinated with Imperial ideals over time.

His Legion would have been ideal for that, but they were still in Sol.

…though perhaps that was for the best. The psychic resonance between a Primarch and their Space Marines might have led to the Second Legion sharing their gene-father’s sympathies.

The only consolation was that he had found Arion so quickly. Who knows how attached his son might have become, if he had remained on this planet for years and even decades more without any human contact?

The Emperor gave his son another once-over, assessing him.

Arion was strong and healthy, with dark skin and white hair. His eyes were a warm amber, a shade highly rare but not entirely absent from baseline humans, but those eyes were filled with unease, watching the Emperor warily.

The Emperor probed his son’s thoughts as subtly as he could. Anything too overt would likely be noticed, given the boy had been raised among the Eldar, but perhaps he could at least see how his son perceived him.

What George found was immediately disheartening. His own son saw him as some sort of angelic automaton, a bringer of terror and ruin and war clad in light and gold.

To be feared by his own son…it had always been a possibility for the Primarchs.

No, George admitted to himself, it was something he had planned for. To keep the Primarchs in line, he had intended for them to fear, love and respect him in equal parts.

His plans had changed since then, however.

But putting aside sentimentality…it could be useful here. Until Arion had learned to embrace humanity and let go of his attachment to the Eldar, it might be best for him to fear the Emperor.

It was unfortunate, but no thoughts of disloyalty could be allowed.

The Emperor’s musings were interrupted as Arion finally spoke up.

“You’re going to take me away from here, aren’t you?”

The Emperor considered the question for a moment. “Yes, I am,” He admitted, though he tried to coach it in gentle terms. “Your destiny is out among the stars, my son. Not on this world.”

“My destiny,” Arion repeated softly, his face twisting in a mixture of fear and curiosity.

“Yes,” The Emperor confirmed. “Your destiny as one of my sons and generals. Together, you and your brothers shall help me save and reunite mankind. After that, we shall restore our civilization to its former glory and take our rightful place as masters of the galaxy!” 

Arion didn’t seem impressed, however, nor even intrigued by the thought of brothers. Instead, his fear of the Emperor seemed to deepen, but after a moment, he spoke hesitantly. 

“Save mankind?”

Ah, there was a chink to exploit.

“Yes,” The Emperor said smoothly. “Many human worlds out there are under siege by orks and slavers and other abominations.” 

“Like the Dark Ones?” Arion asked.

The Dark Ones? Ah, the boy meant raiders from the remnants of the Dominion in the Webway.

“Like them, yes,” The Emperor confirmed. “And other rapacious monsters just like them, enslaving and tormenting billions of innocent humans.” 

Now, he saw a spark of anticipation in Arion. The desire to help humanity, to liberate them from monsters, the basic idealism that had started so many men and women on their path to greatness.

But then came a question that the Emperor had been dreading.

“Will we also fight daemons? Like Chaos?” 

Now, this was a major problem to deal with.

The fear had been lurking at the back of his mind ever since he had realized what sort of world his son had landed on.

Of course the Exodite Eldar would educate a young psychically powerful man on the dangers of the Warp. What reason did they have not to?

Damn them.

For a moment, instead of Arion, the Emperor saw another idealistic child with potent psychic powers, one who had delved too deep into the Warp and gone mad.

The Emperor forcibly shoved those memories away. Now was not the time.

Arion was the child in front of him, the child he had to deal with. His mind whirled at speeds unrivalled by most beings in the galaxy as he considered the possible solutions.

Very briefly, he considered simply altering Arion's mind, erasing the knowledge of Chaos.

But after a moment, he reluctantly discarded the idea. Arion clearly had at least a basic grasp of the Warp, and would strongly resist any attempts to tamper with his memories. There was no chance the boy would actually be able to stop him, but the conflict would likely damage Arion's mind, and that was a risk that the Emperor was unwilling to take.

In the end, there was only one way to handle this, no matter how much the Emperor may have wished otherwise.

“Yes, we will be fighting the dangers of the Warp as well,” The Emperor acknowledged. “Daemons will be some of our most dangerous enemies. However, this is not something you can share with your brothers or the common people of the Imperium.”

Arion's eyebrows knit together in confusion, clearly puzzled by this. “But the best way to oppose the dangers of Chaos is to know them, understand them as best as we can,” Arion said, clearly quoting something he had been taught. “If people don't know about Chaos, they won't understand why they need to exercise the discipline needed to avoid it.”

“Humanity is different from the Eldar,” The Emperor said firmly. “We are not damned by our sins, nor are our souls linked to a Chaos God. The Eldar, by their very nature as damned souls, cannot avoid knowledge of Chaos, but humanity can and must. You cannot apply the lessons you have learnt here to mankind. Ignorance is the best shield for keeping the masses safe from Chaos.”

Arion looked distinctly dubious at this, but he didn't argue. In this case, the boy never having met humans was a blessing in disguise, for he had no knowledge he could use to oppose the Emperor's point of view.

“But what about my…brothers,” Arion questioned, even as he obviously still found the idea of siblings to be strange. “Shouldn't they know? If they're like me, they'll know anyway.”

“Not all your brothers have active psychic powers,” The Emperor said firmly. “Most of them, in fact. There is no need for them to either awaken them, or to learn of Chaos. They know the Warp is full of dangerous entities that prey on mankind and psykers in particular, but they do not need to know the specifics. It is too dangerous.”

“But-”

“This is not up for debate,” The Emperor said, an authoritative edge bleeding into his voice. “You will keep this a secret, and you will not tell your brothers.”

Arion backed down, his eyes wide, and the Emperor remembered a moment too late as what sort of terrifying creature he appeared to his son.

But it was too late now, and as he had thought before, it might not be a bad thing for Arion to be afraid of him.

Nevertheless, it would also not do for the boy to have a negative impression.

Gentling his tone as much as he could, and modulating his aura to convey a less threatening impression, the Emperor rested a hand on his son's shoulders.

“In time, you will understand, my son. For now, however, you have no knowledge of humanity and your brothers. Follow my lead, and once you learn more, you will see why I do what I do.”

Arion swallowed, a bead of sweat tricking down his face, but he bowed his head and accepted it. “Understod, Your Majesty,”

The Emperor would have preferred ‘Father’ but he supposed it was too much to ask given how he had just scared the boy.

"Good,” He told Arion, hesitating for a moment. Part of him wanted to insist on bringing Arion up to the ship immediately, and not letting him return to the planet. Isha wanted to stay for a while, that much was clear, but that didn't mean Arion had to stay here.

But ripping his son from the only home he had ever known without giving the boy some time to adjust to the idea would only breed fear and resentment. Giving Arion time to come to terms with leaving and make his goodbyes would make for a cleaner break. It would also make it easier in the long-term for the boy to let go of his attachment to the planet.

So with some regret, the Emperor put aside the idea of taking Arion up to the ship at this very moment.

But that didn't mean he couldn't lay the groundwork.

“Perhaps coming up to my ship and meeting your brothers and the crew will help you understand,” The Emperor suggested. “We don't have to go immediately, but think about it.”

Arion nodded slowly, clearly reluctant, but there was also a spark of curiosity, of venturing into the stars and seeing what lay beyond this world.

“Can I go talk to my mother, first?”

The Emperor squashed the instinctive 'no’ and instead inclined his head in agreement. “You may.”

Arion practically fled as soon as the words were out of the Emperor's mouth, rushing out of the room.

The Lord of Terra sighed.

This was going to be difficult.