Everqueen Reclamation - 51

The Emperor's departure was characteristically grandiose.

Rather than taking the Bucephalus, the Emperor had selected the Epona for this journey, reasoning it would be more subtle. 

Relatively speaking, Isha reflected in amusement, considering that the hull of the ship was still plated in gold.

As far as the public knew, the Emperor was not on this voyage. It was Horus alone who was being sent out, to boldly explore in the daring fashion of the new Rogue Traders that were all the rage these days, to search for his brothers and see the galaxy with fresh eyes. A detachment of Custodes were being sent with him as his guard, and Isha was accompanying the young Primarch to introduce him to her people.

None of it was technically untrue, just absent a great deal of context.

Isha followed the young Primarch down the red-carpeted walkway. Horus seemed to be enjoying himself, waving to the crowds of mortals and Space Marines who had gathered to witness his departure. 

The two of them were accompanied by the Emperor, who had come to bid son farewell, and the Custodes.

Or technically, two Emperors.

One of the human God of the Dead's avatars wore his customary guise, while the other was wrapped in an illusion that made him look like a Custodes, silently leding the guards down the pathway.

Isha was largely ignored by the crowd, surrounded by gold-clad giants as she was, and she preferred it that way. She had downsized her height to a mere six feet for the day, having no interest in being a spectacle for the crowd as Horus was.

Finally, they arrived at the ramp leading up into the Epona, and the Emperor placed a hand on Horus's shoulder.

"Go now, my son,” He said, his voice resonating for miles even though he wasn't speaking loudly. "See the galaxy with new eyes, and discover who you are meant to be! I wish you triumph in all your endeavors. And someday soon, we shall meet again, and you will truly be a man.”

The speech brought the crowd to both cheers and sobbing, as many of them cried out for their young Primarch to not go even as others wished him luck. The thunderous sounds echoed across them, and Horus beamed, as the Emperor made a show of being a proud father letting his son venture into the cosmos.

It took considerable effort on Isha's part for her to stop herself from pulling out a dataslate and begin fiddling with some task. She understood the importance of pomp and spectacle for a monarch, truly, but none of this involved her and it was so terribly boring. She itched for something productive to do, for actual work and not just being an ornament in the Emperor's show for his empire.

Fortunately, they were all ushered up the ramp soon enough, leaving the single avatar of the Emperor behind.

Once the ramp was sealed, the avatar wearing the illusion of a Custodes promptly dropped it, resuming his ordinary - well, for him - appearance. 

“I think that went well,” He announced, looking pleased with himself.

Isha didn't bother to dignify that with a response, instead focusing on her dataslate and walking away to look for her quarters as the Emperor and Horus began to discuss their plans.

***

For several relatively pleasant days (despite the screeching horrors outside their ship, kept at bay only by the Emperor's might) Isha spent most of her time absorbed in working through a few hundred different diseases and devising cures for them. She could have gone faster, but the point was to occupy her time.

But soon, they had arrived at their first destination and the Emperor summoned her to the deck of the ship to survey it.

"This planet has a world spirit,” Isha said, observing the projection of the planet they were currently in the orbit.

It was faint, but she could sense it. The spirit was clearly sleeping and had been for a long time, but it was there all the same. Isha reached out carefully, analyzing the planet's ecosystem and structure, but doing her best to avoid disturbing the spirit for now.

The Emperor nodded. “Indeed. I was surprised to find one so close to Sol back in the day. I would have preferred to have it only be a scientific outpost, but…well, some people were very keen on colonizing it.”

Isha gave him a puzzled look. The planet below was beautiful, in its own way. It might not be a garden world, but there was beauty to be found in every form of nature.

But while she could appreciate the planet's fascinating ecosystem, Isha could not see what would make it appealing to humans. Winter saw it covered in snowstorms and ice as it was now and going by the unstable tectonic plates, it would be even less hospitable in summer if anything. Isha could sense the lingering memories of fire and flame buried in the planet's crust, images of volcanoes erupting to churn the seas and unleashing streams of lava that could drown nations.

Even her children would find it difficult to maintain a settlement here without the use of advanced technology or a strong connection to the World Spirit. 

What could attract humans to it so strongly?

"Did they wish to prove their strength and ingenuity by settling such a harsh world?” Isha ventured, drawing on her admittedly limited knowledge of human culture. 

George rubbed the goatee he had grown recently, looking faintly embarrassed. “No. You see, there was a culture collaquially known as the Vikings on ancient Terra, and they lived in a very cold region of the planet.”

"So the settlers were Vikings who sought a planet akin to their home?” It wasn't the strangest reasoning for choosing such a hostile planet to live on, Isha supposed.

George sighed. "No. The Viking culture died out centuries before humanity discovered space flight. But there were certain…enthusiasts who sought to recreate as much of it as possible. They viewed Fenris as an ideal place to settle and re-enact the lives of the cultures they so admired.”

He appeared to be waiting for some sort of judgemental remark, but Isha simpled raised an eyebrow. “How quaint,” She mused.

It was a little strange. But it was hardly as if she had any ground to pass judgement, given that a substantial portion of her own children had decided to re-enact aristocratic cultures and systems so ancient that they had passed into antiquity before Asuryan's Edict. And for no reason other than their own amusement.

“Yes, well,” George coughed again. “But I am curious, do you know where this planet's World Spirit comes from? I was under the impression that they only formed artificially, created by the Eldar…” He trailed off, leaving the question unspoken.

"That is correct,” Isha nodded absently, half her attention still on analyzing the planet's ecosystem, probing deeper and deeper into the oceans. Some truly fascinating wildlife seemed to have evolved here, some of which seemed to be genetically engineered, but others bore the mark of the World Spirit's influence. “This world was likely settled by my children before the Sundering, or at least they had it marked for settlement and seeded it with a World Spirit accordingly. But the Eldar populace, if there was any, were most likely wiped out or abandoned the world in the civil wars that followed the Sundering. The world would have then been forgotten, and thus never reclaimed even once the Dominion conquered and re-unified all of my children under one banner.”

Isha had been unhappy with the violent conquests launched by the Dominion even then, given their habit of eradicating Eldar cultures and subspecies they deemed ‘impure' and she looked upon it even less favourably now.

The Fall might have been avoided if her children had remained divided and distinct with various cultures instead of being forcibly assimilated under one banner by a collection of power hungry warlords.

But that was more than five hundred thousand years in the past. There was nothing to be done about it now.

The Emperor absorbed her explanation, his eyes contemplative. “Do you intend to, ah, lay a claim to this world?”

Isha snorted, shaking her head. Of course his first thought was territorial concerns. “Hardly. This world is long abandoned by my species, and there are plenty of more recent Maiden Worlds settled by Exodites. I have no need of this one.”

The Emperor nodded, looking pleased. “Would you be willing to come down to the surface with me to look for my other son?”

“Certainly,” Isha said, somewhat surprised. “Though I thought you would take Horus, if anyone.”

George gave a wry smile. “I've had a few visions of this new child, and I suspect he would not make a very good impression on Horus in his current state.”

What was that supposed to mean? 

But the Emperor didn't wait for her to ask, instead vanishing in a flare of light as he teleported down to the surface.

After a moment, Isha followed, tracking his psychic signature.

They appeared in the midst of a blizzard. The winds blasted against their faces, and hail that could rip a man to shreds smashed against their skin. It was incredibly cold, sufficient to freeze a human without appropriate environmental protection to the bone.

Isha found it rather refreshing. Terra was healing up nicely, but there was something to be said for a good storm or two.

The Emperor, a blazing golden beacon in a storm, the snow melting under his feet, marched off and Isha followed, her own footsteps hardly disturbing the snow at all.

And then the World Spirit woke up.

The enormous presence under the world stirred to life, its metaphorical tail wagging as it greeted Isha happily, like an eager puppy.

Isha chuckled slightly, reaching out to pat it on the head, so to speak.

All-Mother! Happy. Honoured.

The words were a little rough, the World Spirit calling on ancient etiquette it had not used in over a million years, but Isha was warmed by the respect, all the same.

“It is good to see you as well, child.”

Welcome. The world spirit responded, broadcasting images of the people of Fenris. My people. They will honour you.

“Ah…” Isha cast a glance at the Emperor, remembering their many arguments over the Imperial Truth. “Let’s leave that aside for now. I am not here to seek new followers, merely to find my…companion’s child. I would rather do discreetly.”

There was a wave of hurt and confusion from the World Spirit. All-Mother. Angry? Have I done wrong?

“No, no,” Isha said hurriedly. “I merely wish to be discreet. I have not much time, and I am afraid I cannot stay for celebrations. You must have noticed the state of the galaxy, the rise of Chaos. I have much work to do, I fear.”

Nor would she risk inflicting the Emperor’s wrath on the World Spirit or the people of Fenris for worshipping her.

The World Spirit of Fenris settled, understanding. Of course. But All-Mother always welcome here. Beloved. 

Isha smiled, happy despite everything. “Thank you.”

“Shall we go?” The Emperor cut in, a little dryly. 

Isha gave Fenris another pat on the head, urging it back to sleep. “Yes, let’s.”

George seemed to be heading for a nearby cave, and after a moment, Isha sensed the powerful but distinctly young psychic signature within.

So this was the young Primarch, it seemed. He must have emerged from the Warp not long ago, he seemed quite a bit, younger than Horus and Magnus, both mentally and physically.

And there were others with him, not people but animals.

It didn't take long to reach the cave. The entrance was rather too small for George and Isha at their usual heights, however. Isha half-expected the Emperor to simply blast through but apparently he didn't want to scare his son, for he shrank down to the size of a normal human, before squeezing through the rocks.

Isha followed suits, adjusting her size and entering the cave.

It was dark and cold inside, but the eyes of both deities immediately found the Primarch at the back of the cave.

He was young, as expected. Large, but his proportion and the baby fat on his features suggested he was roughly the same age as Horus had been when they had found him. Unlike, Horus, however, he wore only rough furs.

And most importantly, he was curled in protective grasp of an enormous she-wolf, easily the size of a Space Marine, along with her other cubs.

The children didn't awake at George and Isha's entrance, but the wolf did, golden eyes opening to land on them, and her jaw opening in a threatening snarl, revealing enormous, pointed teeth.

Clearly a genetically engineered specimen, Isha thought appreciatively. The workmanship of her DNA was excellent, on par with the Selenar cults, but without the cruelty that marked their ‘experiments'. This wolf had been raised in the wild, but the genetic code of her ancestors had clearly been molded with care and love, not merely as a test for genetic alteration as of yet unsuitable for humans.

The Emperor reached out, ready to wrest his son from the wolf, but Isha gestured for him to wait.

She walked forward, raising her hands as the wolf growled, and her children stirred in her grasp.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Isha said gently. “But my…friend here is looking for his son, who was lost to him.”

With its enhanced intelligence, wolf understood after only a moment, and growled again. There was intent and conscious thought behind its growls, even if it could not voice them.

Abandoned. Cold. Found him. Made him safe. My cub now.

“I appreciate that,” Isha said gently. “I do not doubt your love for him. But he was not abandoned, he was stolen. By great and terrible monsters, ones who will come after him again,” Isha projected images of Chaos in a way an animal would understand, of catastrophes great and terrible such as storms and earthquakes, yet acting with malicious will and force that no real natural disaster ever would.

The wolf rumbled, more thoughtfully this time.

Monsters stole once. How will father keep safe?

“His safety cannot be guaranteed,” Isha said honestly. “But his father will teach him, prepare him in ways that you cannot. I know that is a cruel thing to say, but I am afraid it is true. The boy will never achieve his full potential if he stays here.”

The wolf was silent for several moments, and Isha could feel the Emperor barely restraining his impatience behind her.

But in the end, the wolf relented.

Will let go. Treat well. Make strong.

The message this time was directed at the Emperor. A genuinely startled expression crossed his face, but then he nodded.

“I will,” He said quietly.

The wolf let go of the sleeping child, pulling her cubs away from him. The boy whimpered in his sleep, but didn't awaken. He was a Primarch, but still young to endure such harsh elements with so little protection and not be exhausted.

The Emperor gathered his son in his arms, and walked away.

Isha lingered for a moment, placing a hand on the wolf's enormous head.

“Be well,” She murmured, blessing the creature and her children. It would make them healthier and more robust, reduce their need for food, and ensure they lived longer.

The wolf nuzzled against her hand, and Isha smiled.

Ah, the simplicity of animals.

With one last stroke of the wolf's fur, Isha stood and then followed the Emperor back out into the storm.