novelraw Chapter 27: Grey Marrow
Chapter 27: Grey Marrow
Upon entering a Chapter, aside from undergoing augmentations and training, a recruit must also learn a vast amount of Imperial history—although this history is mostly lost or distorted, it is already far more profound and dark than what mortals could ever access.
It is widely known that eighteen legions were active during the Great Crusade era, but deep within the Imperial Palace on Terra, there are twenty-one pedestals commemmorating the Primarchs. (The Alpha Legion consists of twin Primarchs).
According to the historical records Soshyan had come into contact with, two legions had all their records erased long ago. What they were called, their history, including the names of their Primarchs, all became a mystery.
The Second and Eleventh Legions became two lost legions.
Soshyan had asked his instructors in private what grave crime they had committed to not even be allowed to leave a single trace behind.
At the time, the instructor told Soshyan that this question had also troubled him for many years, and he had asked his own mentor back then, only to receive the same answer.
But regardless, there was no doubt that they must have existed once.
So, where exactly did they go?
Were they all destroyed? exiled? Or do they still exist within the Imperium under a different guise?
So when the military banner of the Eleventh Legion appeared before Soshyan, he finally understood why the Chapter's history lacked a founding date and time. Beneath the heavy veil of vaguely worded history was a bloody and cruel past.The Astral Knights Chapter was the surviving descendant of the Eleventh Legion.
But if this were true, then even more questions arose.
"Why did we become a Successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists? Did they not record this history?"
Brother Zayd did not answer Soshyan's question immediately, but instead inserted his arm back into the granite, retracting the battle banner underground.
"Because regarding this matter, they don't know either."
"What? Not even Rogal Dorn knew?"
"He knew, but he forgot."
"Forgot?"
Soshyan's eyes widened. This answer seemed a bit perfunctory, but Brother Zayd's tone was extremely earnest.
"Exactly. Everyone forgot, and it was not merely selective amnesia, but having this memory completely wiped from their brains."
"The Primarchs? Everyone? Had the memory wiped from their brains?"
"Yes, including us."
This sounded like a mythological tale. Soshyan could not imagine what kind of power could achieve this, unless...
"It was the Emperor?"
"Strictly speaking, it was the Emperor together with the Sigillite Malcador."
Malcador the Sigillite, Malcador the Hero, who had assisted the Emperor since before the Great Crusade era. Most of the Imperium's current framework was also built single-handedly by him, making him the only mortal hero in Imperial history capable of rivaling a Primarch.
"Then, Brother Zayd, you..."
Soshyan did not finish his sentence, but his meaning was very clear. Subsequently, a low sigh drifted from the cold iron coffin.
"I happened to be severely wounded at the time and was undergoing Dreadnought augmentation, luckily becoming the only person in the legion who wasn't brainwashed. Afterwards, I carefully hid my thoughts and remained dormant until I awoke five thousand years ago. At that time, there was no longer an Eleventh Legion, only the Astral Knights."
Looking at Brother Zayd's body, which was full of the traces of history, Soshyan's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
The Eleventh Legion must have been erased because it committed an unpardonable crime. Those accusations might not have been lifted even after ten thousand years. As a descendant of sinners, his identity suddenly became extremely awkward.
After a long silence, Soshyan asked in a low voice,
"What... were we called in the past?"
"The Deathless Army."
"Our Primarch..."
"His name was Artaxerxes, a great ruler and a highly skilled commander."
"Have you seen him?"
"Yes."
Soshyan raised his hand and pointed across the parchment scrolls in the shrines.
"So all these record that erased history?"
"A portion of it. I slumbered for too long, and many things have been forgotten. I could only record what I can recall to prevent forgetting any more. The one who assisted me in this task was the thirty-first Chapter Master of the Astral Knights."
Soshyan walked to the wall and pulled out a scroll from a shrine, but upon opening it, he found that it contained a script he completely did not recognize, somewhat similar to cuneiform, only far more complex.
"This is the script of the legion's destroyed homeworld."
"Why?"
Soshyan rolled up the parchment scroll and stuffed it back into the shrine.
"What crime exactly did the legion commit back then to be treated like this."
Even with such a sensitive question, Brother Zayd's voice remained as placid as an ancient well.
"In a sense... our Primarch did indeed commit a very terrible crime."
"What was it?"
"Colluding with xenos."
Soshyan's eyes widened. He found it hard to believe a Primarch would collude with xenos. Even though he had never met the man, even the corrupted Horus had never collaborated with xenos.
As if knowing there would be such a reaction, Brother Zayd continued calmly,
"Artaxerxes was the seventh Primarch to return to the Imperium. His homeworld was a world that worshipped xenos gods. After uniting the world, the Primarch ordered all the xenos temples torn down and led his people to rejoin the Imperium."
"Then..."
"Do you know that the Emperor sitting high upon the Golden Throne serves another purpose besides sustaining his life?"
Soshyan shook his head.
"Deep within the Imperial Palace, there is a massive project called the 'Webway'. The Emperor secluded himself to study this ancient xenos technology, believing it could free humanity from the shackles of the Warp. But this project was ultimately sabotaged, and massive numbers of daemons poured into the Webway, forcing the Emperor to personally guard the Webway's entrance."
Such secretive history struck Soshyan with a tremendous impact, but he quickly steadied his mind and quietly listened to the Chapter mentor's narration.
"Long before the Emperor began repairing the Webway, the Primarch already knew of this plan. He saw that this project had a massive flaw—the Webway is by no means a peaceful place, and Warp powers still have the opportunity to breach the Webway. Therefore, he intended to provide the Imperium with a legion dedicated to guarding the Webway, a legion capable of suppressing Warp powers without relying on psychics."
"Dedicated to guarding the Webway..."
"You are the only person to have successfully received the Grey Marrow augmentation in the past ten thousand years. Do you know what this means?"
"What exactly is Grey Marrow."
"That was the solution proposed by the Primarch to combine the anti-psychic abilities of Blanks with the powerful constitution of Astartes to further enhance the Astartes' anti-Warp capabilities. They were named the Gloom Walkers."
"This sounds very similar to the Sisters of Silence."
"It's different. Their anti-psychic ability merely suppresses, whereas the ability granted by the Grey Marrow is offensive, more similar to that of the Officio Assassinorum, but much stronger, and capable of terminating the Blank's field at any time."
"A Blank capable of freely manipulating their power?"
Soshyan blinked. He wasn't quite sure that he possessed such an ability.
"Yes, the Primarch called it the [Gloom Field], but you are still very unproficient right now. The essence of the Grey Marrow is a biological living metal. When they are active, they need to consume massive amounts of heat."
Soshyan instantly recalled that chill, a coldness that had nearly frozen the blood throughout his body.
"You should have felt it."
Brother Zayd seemed to notice what Soshyan was thinking.
"The longer the living metal is active, the more massive the amount of heat required. The thermoregulation systems of power armor alone cannot compensate for it. Had it been a warrior from any other legion, they probably wouldn't have even lasted twenty seconds before freezing to death."
"Then why did I—"
"Because our legion's bloodline is special. The gene-seed of the Deathless Army grants us powerful regenerative abilities. These regenerative abilities do not just apply to superficial flesh wounds, but also involve bodily fluids, soft tissues, and even the soul. Only the gene-seed of the Deathless Army can sustain the development and utilization of the Grey Marrow."
"But... many brothers didn't demonstrate this ability."
"When the legion's remnants were absorbed, the organizational structure was completely broken up. We were like sand thrown into the sea, nearly losing contact with one another. When the Astral Knights were founded, only a very few high-ranking members carried the bloodline of the Deathless Army; the rest were all warriors of the Imperial Fists."
Saying this, Brother Zayd's body sank slightly, and Soshyan seemed to hear a sigh coming from inside the iron coffin.
"When I awoke, very few of the Deathless Army's bloodline remained in the Chapter. Only the Chapter Master and a scarce few others still maintained the legion's bloodline. Over the long span of time thereafter, I carefully preserved the existence of the legion's bloodline, forming a secret society named 'The Undying' within the Chapter. For a very long time, the society's responsibility was to safeguard the legion's bloodline, only submit Imperial Fists gene-seed during tithe collections, and increase the augmentation ratio of the legion's warriors."
The fact that a secret society actually existed within the Chapter was a secret that made Soshyan feel very uneasy.
Could this still be considered loyalty?
"By Amulad's generation, the proportion of the legion's soldiers had already accounted for half the Chapter's numbers. The thirty-three recruits you see right now, including Lothar, all bear the bloodline of the Deathless Army."
"I have another question. The Emperor... why did he destroy us?"
"Because the Grey Marrow technology originated from a certain xenos faction, and the Primarch privately struck some sort of deal with that xenos faction."
Soshyan's breathing immediately became heavy. This information placed an oppressively massive amount of pressure upon him.