All is Dust

**Qeztotz** · 05-27-2012, 09:11 AM

All is dust...
How prophetic those words seem now. A wise man on ancient Terra once said them.
I wonder if he was gifted, as I am?
I say gifted but with every passing day I come closer to regarding my powers as a curse.
He is comming soon, the red giant. He is ascending the tower. I have little time left, so i shall spend it compiling this tome.
This is my story, the story of war, hatred, loss. Of fate and destiny. Of brothers. Of betrayal. Of sons.
I might as well start with The Mountain.
The Mountain that eats men.

Chapter I Captains

"He's been gone too long."
"He told us to wait for him."
"He might be in trouble."
"We would know if he was, just leave it."
Those are my Brothers, Phosis T'kar and Hathor Maat, and they're arguing.
"We should go and help him Phosis, he would do the same for us."
"Yes, he would, and he expects us to not to help him. Besides, he's a God, and we are but men."
Not entirely true, He isnt quite a God. And we are not quite men.
"We arent men, we arent human anymore."
"No, some of us have retained our humanity Hathor, Azekh managed it. I have to respect him for that. Right Azekh?"
Bah. They're bringing me into this. Forcing me to take sides like a sibling quabble. It is better that I dont join in.
"..."
"Azekh?"
Thats me. Azekh Ahriman.
"OI, mister knowitall, we're talking to you!"
He knows I dont know everything. Nobody knows everything.
"..."
I know many things though. About the future. I can see it. It is my gift from God.
"Hmmmph. He's off in his dreamworld again..."
"Leave him. He's happier that way."
"You just dont want him to join in because he would side with me."
I wouldnt you know. He's wrong, He has been gone too long. Its time for me to intervene.
"I have to agree with Hathor on this one Phosis, He has been gone too long."
*sigh* "So, should i assemble the companies?"
Together the three of us control three great companies of Space Marines. Over 3000 souls all told. But 3000 is too many.
"No phosis, we shall take the Sekhmet only."
We shall take 81. 9 times 9. A perfect number.
"I win Phosis, I'm almost as good as Corvidae in predicting stuff."
We shall see about that Hathor, we shall see. The future is clouded. Not even I can pierce it.

Author's notes

**Jetroid** · 05-27-2012, 01:58 PM

This is beautiful.

>SPEHSS MAHREENS: ELABORATE, OR SOMESUCH THING.

**electronicgoat** · 05-27-2012, 04:30 PM

>Praise the sun.
Alternatively,
>Punch your brothers in their space marine faces.

**Dreamscythes231** · 05-28-2012, 12:08 AM

> Elaborate on what you are writing.
> Use your high Pulcheritude to establish diplomacy.
> Punch brothers in the hemet snout to establish superiority.

**Michael J. Caboose** · 05-28-2012, 09:42 AM

Or do something more productive than acting like an ork and actually fight a real enemy rather than out punching each other

**apatheticEnigma** · 05-28-2012, 01:57 PM

> Hathor: Kill a beetle with your crook.

**Cadorean** · 05-28-2012, 08:36 PM

Him: be too busy fighting the Tau Empire single handedly to bother with these idiots

**Michael J. Caboose** · 05-29-2012, 04:50 PM

>you think the tau empire are too infrearior to fight so you find a more intelligent enemy

**Qeztotz** · 05-30-2012, 12:54 AM

At this point in history, the tau havent even evolved from slugs yet. Just to let you know.
Update comming tonight.
These things are a buggery to draw.

**Qeztotz** · 05-30-2012, 12:02 PM

"So Azekh, what do i get to do while Phosis acts like a serf?"
"Do you want to come over here and say that to my face Hathor?"
"Hahaha, you get so easily wound up Phosis. It really is a pleasure serving with you."
"You honestly are trying to get into a fight arent you?"

"Ha! Do you want to fight brother? Feel free to come over here and throw a punch, and I'll return it in kind."
"You know I dont need to throw punches."
*sigh*, they want to have a battle of minds do they? I'll stop it before it gets lethal. For now though, I think i will sit and watch.
"Eat glass Brother."

High level Psykics Phosis. Youve learnt.
But so has Hathor.

"Ooh, that nearly came close there Phosis! Bravo!"
Now time to stop it. Hathor wont hold back like Phosis.
"Stop these magic tricks you fools! You aren't impressing anyone with them!"
"Yes Azekh."
"As you wish Brother."
They must stop getting at each others throats all the time.
"Both of you assemble the Sekhmet, we have work to do."
Like going after him.
Its wierd, I always think of him as an equal, yet all the others seem cowled by him.
Prehaps it is because I am the only one not to call him father.

In the Beginning of time, The God-Emperor began a Great Crusade to conquer the galaxy. He did so with help from his 20 clone sons. Each like Gods themselves.
Each son took unto himself an aspect of the God-Emperor. One his angelicness. Another his vitality. Another his pride. Stubborness. Honour.
One took his genius.
His name was Magnus.
Each son in turn had a legion of warriors made for them. And the legion, through genetic engineering, took on aspects of thier 'Fathers'.
Thus the space marines were born. Protectors of humanity.
Our Legion was unfortunate. Early in the great crusade our genetics were ravaged by brutal mutations. Thousands died. More went mad. We were nearly destroyed.
Then Magnus came. He delivered us from destruction.
Using his great mind he rewrote our genetics to more suit his own. He stopped the mutations, and we are forever in his debt.
At that time there were barely a thousand of us left in a legion that once numbered tens of thousands. We were the sons of Magnus.
The Thousand Sons
Over the years we have rebuilt ourselves, we now number nine thousand. We are still strong. Still in the Great Crusade.
And we have changed since the beginning of the crusade. We have grown intelectually. An unforseen Advantage of the rewritten genetics.
We have Magic.
Some of us are weak and can barely perform the basic rituals.
Others are Powerful, I have in my time, seen a particluarly powerful Sorceror annihilate hundreds of souls in a fraction of a second.
Some can conjure Fire from air. Some can move objects without touching them. Some can read minds like a book. Some can raise impenetrable shields.
Some, like me, can see the future.
And with all this power, we and our saviour strive to know all secrets of the universe. Call it our goal in life.
And this is what lead us to the mountain.
It rises from the sands like an ulcer. It is formed of Black rock and is twice taller that even the highest factory on Olympus mons. It cannot be natural.
So what put it there?
This is why he has gone up the mountain. And he has been gone too long.

Character change
The Marines are moving
Should we follow them Lamuel? We are thier remembrancers after all.
Im not sure, but I think they may want to be alone on this one
So, do we follow them descreetly?

**Galloglasses** · 05-30-2012, 03:27 PM

Pre-Heresy Thousand sons

Yes.

**Qeztotz** · 05-30-2012, 03:34 PM

Give that man a biscuit!
*gives that man a biscuit*

**Michael J. Caboose** · 05-30-2012, 04:29 PM

Was it a … chocolate buiscit

**Qeztotz** · 05-30-2012, 04:42 PM

It was a bourbon

**Dreamscythes231** · 05-30-2012, 10:58 PM

I say, it should be a chip.

>Lamuel: Show thyself, what is happening.

**Qeztotz** · 05-31-2012, 03:37 PM

Character change

I am aware of them Sebon, you should know better than that.
Do you wish me to obliterate them Lord?
No
As you wish my master

Too right
Damn the mountain.
It has the power to dampen our magic, only He can use them whilst up the mountain. Tutelaries also are unable to acompany us.

Aaetepio, fly. I shall return later.
Aye lord, fare thee well.
Fare thee well Aaetepio.

author's notes

**Dreamscythes231** · 06-01-2012, 11:55 PM

It sorta......looks weird...but not in a bad way....it's okay....also can you put spaces in speech or spoiler them? It is really confusing when the italic guy speaks ext to narration.

3 friends who are hiding behind the rocks from the marines: Plan
Marines: prepare to ascend.

**Qeztotz** · 06-02-2012, 05:10 AM

i think it would kinda make things even more complicated but i have put them in for you. The italics are Azekh's 'inner voice' the small red italics is the voice of his tutelary.

**Qeztotz** · 06-03-2012, 07:44 AM

The mountain has curious properties, it is clearly not natural and the ground around it is bare for a thousand miles. But prehaps the most curious trait is its ability to dampen our powers. It is why we are so infatuated with it, why we have stayed here, observing it, performing tests. The other legions are not happy with us, they say we are slacking. They do not understand the meaning of the mountain. They havent seen it.

Author's notes

**Dreamscythes231** · 06-05-2012, 03:59 AM

Drums: Be from a tribe, of aliens. Aliens that kill.

**Qeztotz** · 06-09-2012, 02:13 PM

A giant. A red giant.
Magnus the red rises from the throng of Aghoran tribesmen, he is thrice the height of them and many times over their intellectual peer.
He stalks through the tribe, ignoring them, they are unimportant in the face of this new complication. They wouldn't manage to hurt him even if they wanted to.
He is of a changing nature, some moments he appears to be twenty metres high, others like a normal man. Sometimes broad, sometimes slim, all due to his prowess of manipulating magic, constantly changing his appearance. The only features that stayed static are his hair and eye. Brilliant red hair flows from his scalp and flows down his golden breastplate. And his eye, yes his eye his left eye is an everchanging multitude of colours but where his right would be lies a flawlessly smooth patch of skin, unperturbed by an eye.
He is known among his enemies and rivals as the Red Cyclops.
He wades through the tribe to the source of the newest hindrance to his machinations.
His sons have come and disturbed the ritual. He knows why they have come, and it infuriates him.
"Ahriman! What did I tell you? You have done great damage by coming here son, the tribesmen asked me to keep all others off this place, it is a sacred place to them. Leave. Now."

**Dreamscythes231** · 06-15-2012, 06:59 AM

(Sorry for not posting....)
Everyone: Explain. You have been worried, you didn't mean to interrupt. Promise to depart quickly.

**Qeztotz** · 06-16-2012, 05:58 AM

"M-my lord we only meant to-"
I know why you have come, you forget I can read you mind like a book, Azekh.
Lord! It hurts! My head!
"Leave"
"Yes, lord"

----

"Azekh, I told you not to come."
"I know my lord, but we were worried."
"And yet have I not told you on countless occasions that i can look after myself."
"Master, I have expressed my worries about this before, one day you will face an enemy that even you and your godly powers cannot defeat, and I want to be by your side when that happens, either to face the howling dark with you, or to save you from defeat."
"You are brave, Azekh, but i sense that your time is far distant, to be measured not in years, but millennia."
"My lord?"
"I have said to much, and i shall not repeat it. Anyhow, how goes the Corvidae?"
"Our powers are still weak, the strongest among us can only pierce the veil of time for a few seconds, and so far, none of it is of anything prudent."
"Everything about the future is prudent Azekh"
"Yes, but these visions carry no weight and are of little importance in the grand scheme of things."
"Dont worry, the tides of The Ocean will soon flow back to the Corvidae, and this period of blindness will fade away into history as nothing but a nuisance".
"Yes my lord."
"Azekh, there is something else i wish to speak to you about, the remembrancers."
"Ah, yes."
"The one known as Lamuel."
"The male?"
"Yes."
"What about him?"
"You must have noticed."
"Of his powers? Of course, what of it?"
"I want you to train him in our ways, when we next return home he shall become a son."
"Aye my lord."

----

"Lamuel, enter."
"You asked for me Lord Ahriman?"
"Yes, we have something to discuss."

Author's notes

**Dreamscythes231** · 06-16-2012, 07:04 PM

Ahriman: Explain
Lamuel: Be more powerful than the others normally.

**Qeztotz** · 06-17-2012, 05:27 AM

What do you wish to discuss with me Captain?
I know of your power
W-what power, I dont know what your talking about.
Liar.
My lord I know nothing of any-
Lamuel you test my patience, you can read people's minds, you know this, you can use it.
No, I can't-
YES YOU CAN! YOU LAMUEL ARE A WITCH!
no, no I didn't ever mean to hurt anyone with t-them! i never used them against the emperors will! p-please dont kill me!
hahahaha! You think I would kill you because you are better than the average pick of humanity?
Better?
Aye lamuel, what did you think I was, a crazed witch hunter, on a crusade to hunt down mutants or something? No, your powers are the same as mine.
But your powers have been sanctioned by Lord Magnus, and mine have not.
That is why I will train you, and then he will sanction them.
My lord?
I once had a vision Lamuel. It was of you, though I knew not at the time. You were standing in front of the temple of the Corvidae, the Seers of time.
Well, I have done that in the past my lord, I have visited Prospero many times.
You were wearing the robes of an Initiate.
Wait, that's a rank in the legion.
You will become a son lamuel, very soon.

Kallista is lying on her bed when the pain comes, creeping into her skull, she knows she has only a few minutes to take the pills before she is beyond help.
She reaches desperately for the bottle, but it slips from her grasp and smashes on the floor, by that time it is too late and she has started to vent her powers.
She grabs a piece of paper and places it on her table, also grabs a stylus and places it on the paper.
She subconscously scribbles hundreds of words, the stylus breaks halfway through.
There are hundreds of words but they are all the same.

When she awakes Lamuel and Camille are there, comforting her.
Ahriman is there as well, looking at the paper. At the prophetic words;

The wolves are coming

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