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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIn a flash of cold blue light, Gorath\u2019s hulking, multi-legged form reappeared and stepped from his Teleportarium pad aboard The Black Morass<\/em>. Brushing errant soot from the dull metallic grey of his armor, the Chaos Lord approached Teufel, who stood before a portion of the Siege Lords, fists to their chests in salute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe battle goes poorly, my Lord?\u201d\nTeufel offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a siege<\/em>, Teufel,\u201d\nGorath growled, rising to his full height, stalking forward to tower\nover his Lieutenant. \u201cThe long and bloody path to victory. The\npath of certainty forged in fire. The path of Iron<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course.\u201d Teufel said, his\nhead bowed in acknowledgement, but none of the doubt erased from his\nvoice. \u201cShall we make preparations for the final assault?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed, my Champion. All of the elements are in place now,\u201d Gorath said, motioning to his Terminator retinue, who quickly marched into position, their boots clanging brightly on the Teleportarium pad\u2019s plasteel surface. \u201cAll that remains is the final hammer blow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I, Lord?\u201d Teufel asked,\nraising his head to meet Gorath\u2019s gaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou, my Lieutenant,\u201d Gorath said\nwith a cold smile, \u201cwill watch our triumph from above.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teufel\u2019s skin prickled at this\ninsult. His ambition was undisguised, but had Gorath sensed his true\nintentions? It did not matter, now. The time was not right. Not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it is your will, Black King.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed,\nTeufel, it is,\u201d Gorath nodded. \u201cSend the teleport coordinates to\nthe Word Bearers and signal the Cultists to interrupt the power to\nthe main citadel\u2019s shields on my mark.\u201d Gorath stepped back into\nposition with the Siege Lords. \u201cIt’s time we finished this…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Once again, the tingling cold of the Gellar compensators filled Gorath with a shiver. For a split second, he felt a strange rush as his molecules raced through the Immaterium. He had long ago decided it was what mortals called \u201cgoosebumps,\u201d though he had not truly felt such a sensation in the flesh for millennia. The sickening light of the warp was snuffed out in a chorus of screams as Gorath and his Siege Lords re-materialized in a hallway crowded with terrified Guardsmen.<\/p>\n\n\n Gorath\u2019s hammer lashed out, pulping\na hapless mortal and feasting on his soul. The Siege Lords followed\nsuit, letting loose a fusillade of bolt rounds and plasma bolts which\ncleared the hallway within seconds. Gorath grimaced as he beheld\nMalek, who had re-materialized inside the wall, twitching in death\nthroes. He cursed the loss of such a valuable suit of Tactical\nDreadnought Armor, but paid it no heed as he led the Siege Lords\nonward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each\nmakeshift fortification erected by the defenders they encountered was\ndemolished without breaking stride. No defender could slow their\nprogress, neither Guardsmen, nor Eldar, nor the pathetic thin-blooded\ninfants that called themselves \u201cAstartes.\u201d The iron and ceramite\nof the Siege Lords made Gorath\u2019s own cold will manifest, with no\nopposition able to stand before them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Iron Warriors approached the\nCitadel\u2019s main hall, where the shouts and carnage of battle were\nsubsiding into agonized screams. They rounded the corner to find\nEsharradon and his retinue of Terminators finishing off the last\nstand of the Angels Sacrosanct. Loyalist corpses were strewn about\nthe flooring, staining it the deep red blood of Astartes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath watched while the maimed\nremnants of the defenders were dragged from behind cover. Each was\nstripped of weapons, and their power-generating backpacks torn to\npieces by the Word Bearer Terminators. With their now-lifeless armor\nweighing them down, the Astartes were bound and arranged in a ritual\ncircle punctuated with teleport homers. With a nod of acknowledgement\nto their Lord, the Sicarii Terminators and their captives blinked out\nof reality, back to the Word Bearer fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnjoying yourself, Esharradon?\u201d\nGorath asked, barely concealing the venom behind it his words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Esarhaddon chuckled darkly. \u201cThe\nroad to Terra is long, Gorath, and the pain that can be inflicted\nupon these Angels as we descend upon the Cradle of Man will provide\namusement to my Sicarii. In our wake, we will leave a psychic trail\nof woe for the tribes and houses of Chaos to follow. The spawn of\nSanguinius will live just long enough to bear witness to the Long\nWar\u2019s end. They shall be made to watch as the Emperor that their\nPrimogenitor bled for burns in the fires of our vengeance, as new\ngods rise to replace the old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pneumatic hiss signaled the opening\nof an anterior door to an intersecting hall. There stood a\nTerminator-armored warrior, his plate all black. Bright red\ncruciforms on his knees and arms dripped from fresh – and hasty –\napplication. Dents and chips across his armor showed evidence of the\nbattles now raging across the Citadel, but the warrior\u2019s ragged\nstance and trembling limbs spoke of something more than the rush of\ncombat in his veins. Despite that, the Angel stepped forward with the\nmajesty and purpose that spoke to Gorath of days long since passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Avestus Titus, the Master of the\nAngels Sacrosanct pointed his ornate thunder hammer at the two Chaos\nLords and roared with a voice that belonged to both legend and\nnightmare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTraitors!<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plasma weaponry of the Siege\nLords immediately moved to target the new threat, but Esarhaddon\u2019s\nmace swept out to block their path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d Esarhaddon said sliding his\ntusked combat helm into place. He turned to Gorath, the rough stone\nof his voice replaced by a booming vox-blare. \u201cTime\u2019s wheel\nturns, and once more the Betrayer shall bathe in the blood of the\nAngel. Go, Gorath, and claim your prize. The Dark Ones watch over us\nnow, ready to feed upon the Carrion Lord. The end is near.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath shook his head and signaled\nthe Siege Lords to follow him to their final goal as the Angel\nSacrosanct charged the Lord of the Sicarii. Such melodrama<\/em>,\nGorath thought with irritation, but he could not deny Esarhaddon\u2019s\npoint. For millennia, he had felt the cold, implacable fury of the\nHeresy claw at the back of his mind. Now he would hold the power to\nspit his thousands of years of suffering back in the face of those\nwho had condemned him to the endless hell of this existence. He felt\nthe cold prickling of something ancient running through his veins. An\nemotion he\u2019d thought long since burned away in the forge of hatred\nand discipline. In the depths of his dark heart, Lord Gorath, the\nBlack King of Viridian once again felt hope.<\/p>\n\n\n In the command throne of The Black Morass<\/em>, Teufel seethed. He tended the small indignities that Gorath heaped upon him over the millennia like a precious coal banked in fine sand. Blown on until white hot it could explode, but ignored it would fade to a useless dull gray. Teufel felt great pride in keeping the rage he felt in his soul at a fine cherry red. One day, that heat would be the ignition of his ambitious goals. Very, very soon.<\/p>\n\n\n Teufel snapped out of his reverie as\nan incoming transmission was relayed to him. Glancing to the crew\nthat manned the ship\u2019s main bridge, he patched the communication to\na private vox channel in his own helm, setting it to maximum\nencryption. After a moment, a rasped voice resolved through the\nstatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTeufel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cApostle Shupro.\u201d Teufel said. \u201cI\ntrust you have received your due, Cultist?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d Shupro replied, \u201cwe\nhave, and we are ready to proceed with our end of the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcellent. My fleets are currently\nclearing all Imperial resistance to your path of orbit. When you\nreceive my signal, you will deactivate the shields protecting the\nCitadel, and fire all<\/em> available weaponry at the Command Tower.\nThere can be no risk. It must be destroyed. Utterly. Do you\nunderstand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will comply, Teufel. The Heart\nof Zaral is ours; we have no more stake in your political games. And\nour escape?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is guaranteed. The Black Fleet\nis yours. I\u2019m afraid that, in the confusion, The Black Morass<\/em>\nand its escorts will be unable to respond to this sudden betrayal by\ntheir erstwhile allies before they make their way into the void,\u201d\nTeufel said, a smile in his voice. \u201cNor will they be able to make\npursuit as they attempt to recover the remains of their fallen King\nand flee the vengeful Imperials. Best to live and fight another day,\nunder their bereaved<\/em> and reluctant<\/em> new Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDespicable, Teufel.\u201d Shupro\nchuckled. \u201cYou will make a fine addition to the Brotherhood, Iron\nWarrior. One day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teufel snorted. \u201cIf such a day is\nto come, half-breed, ready yourselves. I will burn you, your precious\nHive and the whole galaxy to ash before I let you take me into your\noblivion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout a doubt. And that tenacity\nis precisely<\/em> what will make you such a prize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnough,\u201d Teufel spat in\nannoyance. \u201cRemember this: wait for the signal. Once Gorath has his\nprize, you will strike. At the moment of the Black King\u2019s greatest\ntriumph, you will render him to atoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnderstood. One final thing,\nTeufel. Satisfy my curiosity; did Gorath truly have any intent of\ndelivering the Heart, as he had promised? Or would he have betrayed\nus, as your kind so often does?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teufel let out a grunt. \u201cPerhaps he\ndid, Cultist. Perhaps not. It does not matter now. You have what you\ncame here for. And so will I.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cutting the transmission, Teufel\nturned in his chair and began once more to command the Iron Fleet in\nits new path, harrying Imperial and Xenos forces while the Cult moved\ntheir own vessels into place. The ember of rage in his chest grew\njust a bit warmer now, primed to finally vent its fury on the thing\nhe hated most.<\/p>\n\n\n Constructed as a final defensive measure, the Command Tower rose well above the rest of the Citadel, past the atmosphere into the void of space, and accessible only by a single elevator shaft. Even in the event of an overwhelming invasion, the guardians of the Omega Station would be able to seal themselves away within their fortress\u2019 last redoubt, leaving the spacious hall beneath as a grand killing floor. Deadly turrets embedded in the ceiling and walls would see any invader shredded the moment they entered the room.<\/p>\n\n\n The security doors to the hall crumpled like paper before Soul Hammer as Gorath entered. Thunderous footsteps heralded the Siege Lords behind him. No defenders met their advance, and no barricades stood in their way. The turret batteries, long since deactivated by cultist treachery, sat silent. The last line of defense for the Omega Station\u2019s Command Citadel lay open and very, very still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are close, Lord,\u201d voxed one of the Siege Lords. \u201cShall I contact Teufel and have him ready the operations crew for teleportation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All seemed clear, but a suspicion\ngnawed at the back of the Chaos Lord\u2019s mind. \u201cNo,\u201d Gorath voxed\nback. \u201cSo near to victory, with such little resistance? This is not\nfinished ye-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath cut off as a mass of shadow\nreached out from hallway behind them, and enveloped one of the Siege\nLords. With a gentle hum, the shadow flowed off of him, leaving him\nslumping to the floor, cut in two. The shadow took form, fixing\nGorath with glowing magenta eyes. Then, it dashed for him, raising a\nwicked sword that dripped dark fluid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Siege Lords instinctively blocked\nthe doorway, lashing out with weapons too slow and clumsy to harm the\nshadowy assassin. It dodged between them as if it was the wind, and\nleapt, striking like a viper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ear-piercing ring filled the hall\nas Soul Hammer met the dark blade. The shadow parted, revealing the\ntwisted, ornate armour of a Dark Eldar Lord. Gorath’s spidery legs\nrocked backwards slightly as the fallen Eldar planted his foot on\nGorath’s chestplate and flipped backwards into the mass of the Siege\nLords. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath opened a channel to the\nsurviving Siege Lords. \u201cKeep it busy.\u201d Chirps of acknowledgment\nanswered him. No longer off balance, Gorath\u2019s Terminator guard\nformed a wall of ceramite that pushed the battle into the entrance\nhall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath stalked\nthrough the room, towards the doors at the end that would take him\nup, and into the chamber that held his goal. Decades, centuries of\nplanning and schemes, promises and betrayals. All of it had led to\nthis point. With the Omega Station, Gorath would finally have the\npower that he\u2019d sought for so long. Not for glory, not for godhood,\nnot even for vengeance itself. He would bring an end to this\nwretched, eternal cycle. The degradation and humiliation of the long\nmillennia would finally end. The Long War would close out in one\nfinal conflagration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Iron Warrior approached the\nfar end of the chamber, a low tone heralded the arrival of the\nelevator. The elevator that Gorath had not summoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The simple plasteel doors parted\nwithout fanfare. Behind them stood an Astartes in Terminator plate of\na familiar deep blue, armed only with a shield circumscribed by\nshimmering power blades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gorath sighed. Once more, victory would have to wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chapter Selection Intro\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a02\u00a0\u00a03\u00a0\u00a04\u00a0\u00a05\u00a0\u00a06\u00a0\u00a07\u00a0\u00a08\u00a0\u00a09\u00a0\u00a010\u00a0\u00a011\u00a0\u00a012\u00a0\u00a013\u00a0\u00a014\u00a0\u00a015\u00a0\u00a016\u00a0\u00a017\u00a0\u00a018\u00a0\u00a019 \u00a020 \u00a021 \u00a022\u00a0\u00a023 \u00a024 \u00a025 \u00a026 \u00a027\u00a0 28\u00a0 29\u00a0 30 \u00a031\u00a0 32 \u00a033\u00a0 34 \u00a035 \u00a036\u00a0 37 \u00a038\u00a0 39 \u00a040\u00a0 41 \u00a042\u00a0 43 \u00a044\u00a0 45 \u00a046 \u00a0Epilogue In a flash of cold blue light, Gorath\u2019s hulking, multi-legged form reappeared and stepped from his Teleportarium pad aboard The Black Morass. Brushing errant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5865","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5865"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7364,"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5865\/revisions\/7364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fourstrandshobby.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n<<<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 >><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"