Everqueen Reclamation - 44 (Alternate Bonus Version 2, Non-Canon)

I went back and forth on chapter 44 many times, so I'm releasing the two alternate versions as a free bonus for all members of my Patreon.

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Leaving Isha behind in the labs to continue her study of the Fifteenth Legion, the Emperor withdrew to his private study.

He had made no changes to the decor in decades, but it was more…comforting somehow, now that sunlight spilled through the windows and the blue sky was visible outside, rather than being choked by toxic clouds.

Settling into his chair, George pondered what to do next.

Between Isha’s request that they should empower the Astronomican together and the revelation of the lingering curse on the Fifteenth Legion, George needed some time to gather his thoughts before he reached out to Magnus. To decide how best to approach his son about this potential course.

Obviously, he would need to project himself to Prospero rather than Magnus projecting to Terra. The chances the boy would notice something wrong if he came here were too high.

But beyond that, George wasn’t sure what to do. It had been a long time since he had had children, and he had never had children like the Primarchs. Horus was one thing, but contact with Magnus was infrequent and short, due to how busy George was.

Perhaps it was time to do something he hadn’t done in a while.

A flick of his wrist tightened the wards around the study, to ensure no one would interrupt him. Then, he added a new veil so that even Isha wouldn’t be able to detect what he was about to do. 

Closing his eyes, the Emperor breathed in deeply. Cracks of golden light spread across his skin like a spiderweb until he lit up in a blinding flare of light.

When the light faded, the Emperor was gone.

Instead, there were four people in the study.

"Let us begin,” Began the one now seated in the Emperor's chair, his voice deep, resonating with confidence and authority. He was seemingly an idol of pure golden light come to life, his skin glowing like the sun itself. He was bare-chested, his only adornments a white cloth wrapped around his waist and upon his head he wore a bulbous white crown with a golden feather on each side. In one hand he held a crook, a finely crafted but humble length of wood but upon his head was a bulbous white crown reminiscent of those worn by the ancient kings of the sands, with golden feathers on both sides.

"We are here today to consider the matter of the Fifteenth Legion, and Isha's request for the Astronomican. Given the urgency of the matter, I believe we should discuss the former matter first,” The Golden Shepherd continued.

“We should dispose of the Fifteenth Legion immediately," A voice growled. The speaker was an old knight, clad in neck down from armour, a red plumed helmet cradled in one arm at his side. The ancient warrior bore little resemblance to the Shepherd, his face weather-beaten and grizzled, his hair long and grey with sorrow. His armour was tarnished, covered in dust, soot and blood, with a ragged red cape hanging from his shoulders and a sword at his waist. 

Yet strangely, there were a few flecks of shining white on the armour, out of place and almost alien.

“They are a liability, and if the curse spreads, we could lose the entire Legiones Astartes. Better now to cut off an infected limb than to lose the whole body.”

“Disagreement: Such an action would be premature.” A new voice interjected, cold and mechanical. 

“Calculation: Based on previous record, Isha has a 75% chance of devising a cure for this new problem and a 100% chance of gathering data we have not been able to.”

The third speaker was not a man at all, but a golden eagle, flapping its wings as it circled the Shepherd’s head. But a closer look revealed the eagle was not flesh and blood, but rather made of intricate clockwork and metal, each wing a delicately crafted masterpiece, with glowing red eyes.

“Conclusion: The course of action with the highest probability of success is to give Isha time to work.” 

The Knight scowled. “Of course you would say that,” He snapped. “But this isn't one of your lab experiments, this is war. We have to act decisively, not get wrapped up in our curiosity.”

The Eagle’s wings puffed out, clearly offended.

“Statement: I have no objection to discarding tools that are an unacceptable risk to use. But thoughtless paranoia is illogical.” It cawed in its strange mechanical tones. 

The Knight opened his mouth to respond, but subsided as the Shepherd gently tapped the base of his crook against the floor.

“You both make valid points,” The Shepherd said calmly. “But I am inclined to agree with the Machine here. We should at least give Isha a chance to work on the problem before making a decision. She has not failed us in these matters yet. Let us see what she has to say.”

The Knight conceded the point with a scowl. “Very well.”

The Eagle’s eyes, however, flashed, pulsing in what seemed like frustration. It spoke, its tone a mixture of admiration and envy.

“Statement: Isha’s knowledge and capabilities give her the highest probability of solving the problem. However, sentiment hampers her efficiency, preventing her from taking the optimal course of action. If she could see the utility of building bioweapons and cloning-“ 

The Shepherd raised a hand to silence it. “There is no point in reviving that old debate. Isha has more than held up her end of the bargain.”

The Eagle huffed but didn't argue.

"But you have not spoken on the matter yet,” The Shepherd continued, directing his words towards the fourth person in the room. “What say you?”

The fourth of their number said nothing, remained shrouded in the shadows. They made no move to make themselves visible, nor did they speak.

The Shepherd waited, but when it became clear none was forthcoming, he simply sighed.

“Very well. The matter of the Fifteenth is settled for the moment, then. We will purge them if needed, but for now, it is best to let Isha do her work. Now: let us discuss the matter of the Astronomican and Isha’s request.”

“Statement: Risk of agreeing is too high. Increases our dependence on Isha even further.” The Eagle said immediately. 

“But the benefits, if it worked,” The Knight murmured, his dark eyes glimmering with thought as he tugged on his beard. “The souls we could save, the daemons we could kill…”

“Acknowledgement: Potential benefits of agreeing are high. But the probability of failure is even higher.”

The Shepherd hummed in thought. “The risk and the rewards here are both high. Isha is bound to us by the contract, but so are we. And it does not cover anything about the Astronomican specifically, merely the general possibility of betrayal, for we never considered such a thing.”

His eyes turned back to the figure veiled in shadow. “This is your area of expertise, in the end, as our psychopomp aspect. What say you, oh Valkyrie?”

The Valkyrie stepped out of the shadowed corner of the room, her footsteps almost ghostly in quality. Like the Knight, she was clad in armour, but hers was the deepest black of the night, with spiked gauntlets and greaves. The only spot of colour on her armour were  gleaming golden skulls on her pauldrons.

She was almost beautiful, with high cheek bones and long golden hair pulled back in a braid. But her complexion was too pale, almost ghostly white and her eyes…her eyes were voids, with no sclera or iris visible, an endless darkness.

Yet, her most eye catching features were undeniably the great wings of golden flame that erupted from her back as she walked forward, spreading wide as they shrouded in the room in ominous light.

“Our plans would change drastically if Isha were to add her strength to the Astronomican,” The Valkyrie said, her words quiet as a whisper yet echoing across the room. “It would not be mankind’s alone. It would be for Eldar souls as well. We could divide it, but they would always be two parts of the same realm, irrevocably intertwined.”

The Knight’s frown deepened. “I don’t like the idea of sharing humanity’s afterlife,” He said gruffly. “But-”

“- we would be able to set one up much faster with Isha’s aid,” The Valkyrie finished. “As things currently stand, if we go forward with our original plans without Isha’s aid, it will be centuries before we are able to make the Astronomican more than a beacon, to carve out a proper domain of our own. But with her strength and perhaps most importantly, her experience…”

The Eagle seemed more thoughtful now. “Statement: Our objective would be achieved with greater speed and efficiency with Isha’s power added to the Astronomican. But the risk percentages are still exceptionally high. We would be binding ourselves to her and the Eldar irrevocably, in ways not even our current contract achieves.” 

The Valkyrie smiled bitterly. “We neglected our duty for millennia, and now here we are, paying the price for our actions.” 

For all that she might have been the Emperor’s psychopomp-aspect, the Valkyrie was no more eager to embrace the duties of a god than the others were. 

But circumstance and tragedy demanded that they take up the responsibilities they had refused for so long. None of them were happy about it, save perhaps for the Shepherd, who was the youngest of them all, born when they had taken up the mantle of the Emperor.

“What say you, then, Valkyrie?” The Shepherd asked. “What would you say is the best course of action? To accept Isha’s offer?”

“I do not know,” She said flatly. “It should never have come to this,” Anger crept into her voice. “While mankind may have brought about its own downfall, we are forced to build an afterlife ultimately because of the folly of the Eldar! It is they who have plunged the Warp into corruption and madness!” She calmed somewhat. “But…Isha has not given us any reason to doubt her good faith.”

The Valkyrie paused for a moment “I believe it would help if I were to come to the forefront and have a frank discussion with Isha about the Astronomican, but we cannot make any decisions at this time. Only our whole self can make this choice.” 

“Agreed,” The Shepherd said, the other two nodding as well. “Then, this meeting is over.”

And then, in another golden flash of light, the four were gone, and the Emperor sat once more in his chair.

George grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose as the unfamiliar sensation of a headache settled on him. He never did enjoy splitting himself like that, but he would have to get used to it if he intended to split avatars while searching for the Primarchs. It was one thing to maintain two avatars and one mind within a single solar system, but across interstellar distances, it was another matter.

He would need to decide which Aspect would go look for the Primarchs, and which one would remain behind on Terra.

It was not a decision he was looking forward to in the slightest.

For now, however, he needed to speak to his son.

Closing his eyes once more, the Emperor projected his will into the warp.

In the form of a golden beam of light, he pierced through the dark tides of the Immaterium, searching for the luminous soul of his most psychically gifted son.

Isha’s presence was most immediately obvious, an ancient star steadily at work in the Imperial Palace. Malcador was holding court, merely a bonfire in the darkness yet all that much brighter for it.

And then there was Magnus, far in the distance, a distant but bright beacon across the stars.

The Emperor swam through the dark tides, burning a pathway through the horde of ancient daemons and ignoring the furious gaze of the Four upon him.

His projection appeared inside a library, stacked with scrolls instead of books, with hieroglyphs in many colours painted on the bronze walls. And with his nose buried in one scroll was Magnus, so absorbed that he hadn’t even noticed his father.

“Hello, my son,” George greeted warmly and Magnus’s head snapped up in shock. “It is good to see you.”