Chapter 10: Awakening

The Necrons continued to pound them ceaselessly.

Anasterian watched as squadrons of Eldar Fighters were engaged with swarms of Haunter Scarabs, the Necrons’ equivalent of fighter-craft. Lance, shuriken, and gauss fire pierced the blackness of space as the two sides continued to lay waste to one another.

The same could be said for the larger engagement of battleships taking place around the Craftworld. The Farseer helplessly watched as a couple of Solaris-class cruisers were torn apart by a concentrated wave of fire from several Dirge and Jackal Raiders. Half-a-dozen Aconite frigates followed shortly after.

A sudden buckling signified another strike on the Craftworld. Anasterian could only mutter curses under his breath as more Necron ships were coming. He knew they wouldn’t hold out for long, and he hoped that his sons would soon retrieve the relic.

The comlink crackled to life as the panicked voice of an Eldar Guardian filled the bridge. -+-Farseer Anasterian! Necron portals have appeared on the Saytica city-sector!-+-

His worst fears had finally come true. The Farseer quickly reached out to every Eldar in the Craftworld, sending out a desperate psychic message to the minds of each and every mind. The Necrons have appeared on our home! Drive them back to their tombs!


-+-


Warcaster Arathair looked on in grim silence as his forces engaged the Necron invaders. A hail of shuriken and lasfire struck the lines of metallic warriors. Though some fell, the rest continued to advance as they responded with a curtain of gauss fire.

Green lightning bolts disintegrated anything they struck with bright flashes, and several Eldar were quickly killed under the hail. Arathair quickly conjured a mist to shield his kinsmen from harm, and then mentally ordered them to regroup on higher ground. While they did that, the Necrons continued to fire on the thick Warp-conjured haze, stripping it out of existence atom by atom. By the time they finished, the Eldar were nowhere to be seen.

At least until a sudden barrage of mini-rockets struck them from the side. Several Necron Warriors were quickly destroyed before the rest managed to do so much as turn, and even then they only managed to fire a couple of shots before they were all eradicated.


-+-


Exarch Desmeil smirked in satisfaction at his squads’ handiwork. Acting as leader of the Reaper Shrine in Garim’s absence, he was second only to the chief Exarch in terms of skill and power. He and his Aspects had answered the Seer’s quiet telepathic call, and they had laid waste to the Necrons with the fury of the Destroyer.

As the Aspects linked up with the surviving Guardians, Desmeil sensed several presences nearing. He turned just in time to see another wave of Necrons emerging from another avenue, aiming their Gauss Flayers at him and his kinsmen.

Without a second thought, the Reaper Exarch unleashed a stream of shuriken discs from his cannon as the rest of the Eldar opened fire. Several of the Warriors soon perished under the hail of discs and missiles, but many Guardians and Reapers were slain by the retaliating curtain of Gauss fire.

Screams caused Desmeil to turn to his kin, and behold the horrifying visage of a Necron Wraith looming over him. The metallic abomination was simply a head and a pair of arms attached to a hovering spine, but its armaments and capabilities were enough to instill fear in all who saw it. Each of its fingers ended in claws that could be used to methodically dissect any unfortunate victim.

That was exactly what happened when the Wraith grabbed one Guardian and started ripping out his innards. The Eldar screamed as his body was shredded to pieces, and the Necron completed its grisly task by deftly ripping him into two.

Screaming out in rage at the kill, Arathair and the Guardians and Reapers opened fire at the Wraith. The Necron quickly phased out of existence, only to reappear again to sink its claws into several other Eldar before fading.

Desmeil swore under his breath as the Necron Warriors continued to advance, firing their Gauss Flayers. Several more Guardians and a couple of Dark Reapers immediately perished, and the Exarch uttered a war cry as he and the survivors opened fire on the deathless foes.
It seemed that they were doomed.

Desmeil’s hopes rose as the familiar barrage of blue-white lasfire peppered the metallic monstrosities. Swooping Hawks fell upon the Necrons with the retribution of Khaine, landing shots with their Lasblasters and throwing a mix of Plasma and Haywire grenades.

The soft hum of approaching grav tanks brought relief to the Reaper Exarch. Falcons and Wave Serpents unloaded their contingents of Guardians and Aspects, while Fire Prisms obliterated the Necron Warriors in a devastating shower.

As the reinforcements dealt with the survivors, Desmeil knew that he and all the Aspects on Quallathan would give it their all to protect the Craftworld from the locusts of death.


-+-


The warhosts were moving out at Kalin’s declaration. Aspects and Guardians were on their feet, and grav tank divisions and Jetbike squadrons were quickly powered up and mobilized. Spiritseers roused legions of silent Wraithguard and majestic Wraithlords so that they would fight once more for the Craftworld.

But a something was about to take place.

Kalin rushed through the base as he headed towards where the ritual was to be performed. He needed to speak to Exarch Airak before it began. That Kiril had mentally contacted him in regards to the awakening ceremony was not the only thing he knew they would perform it. The Exarchs… they were feeling the call.

Thankfully it had not yet started. As Kalin neared the clearing, he could see the Seer Council members as well as the lead Exarchs of Quallathan, the Craftworld’s Court of the Young King so to speak. As dictated by tradition, one member of the Court held the title of Young King for a year, and in a major war it was he who awakened the Avatar.

And now, the current Young King was the Exarch of the Striking Scorpions.

Kalin had managed to find the familiar green-hued armor worn by Airak, who was currently deep in conversation with Li’Fai and Draig. His helmet had been removed, revealing a face which bore the marks of a lifetime of battle. His expression was determined and steadfast, and the Autarch knew that he had fully accepted what had been asked of him.

Airak, Kalin mentally called out. The Exarch didn’t turn his head in response, but he knew that he had acknowledged him. I would like to have a word with you, if you would allow it.

Once again, the Scorpion Exarch didn’t respond, but instead he concluded his talk with the other Exarchs and approached the Autarch where he stood. “You wished to speak to me, Lord Dath’Remar?”

“I wanted to… say a few parting words before the ritual begins” Kalin said.

Airak didn’t respond immediately, but his mouth curled into a small smile before he responded. “I know my part in this, as well as what has to be done”.

“Exarch, about before-”

“The fault was mine, my lord” the Scorpion cut in. “I told you before, I was wrong to doubt you”.

“I still think I am partly to blame, Airak” the Autarch said flatly. “I’m a commander, and the lives of my people are my responsibility to protect”

The Exarch didn’t answer. In the background, the Seers were focusing their minds for the ceremony while the other members of the Court of the Young King conversed amongst themselves. At length, Airak finally spoke. “You are fortunate to avoid my fate, becoming one of the incarnations for an ancient warrior”.

Kalin did not reply. Since the time of the Phoenix Lords, Exarchs were able to reincarnate themselves through their armor. The Airak he was seeing now was but the latest of a long line of manifestations, all of which bore the same name and were dominated by the consciousness of the first wearer.

There were, however, ways for that chain to break.

“There were times, my lord, when I think about my actions before donning the suit” the Exarch told him. “I had chosen to forsake the greater Path to live a life of bloodshed, to embrace the call of Khaine. I knew that as an Exarch of the court, I might be called upon to fulfill the most sacred of duties”.

He sighed before speaking again. “And now, with that moment at hand, my final wish has been granted to me”.

As another silence fell, Kyara and another Warcaster approached them. The moment Airak’s eyes met theirs he knew that the time had come. Kalin managed to speak up as the Scorpion moved only a couple of feet away. “Exarch…”

The Young King turned.

Kalin felt his heart sink as he said the words, but at the same time he felt something primal stir in him. “May Khaela Mensha Khaine deem you worthy”.

Airak nodded, and he followed the two Seers to where the rest of the Council awaited them. The Autarch knew that this would be the last time he would see the Exarch, both now and in the future.


-+-


The flying abominations gracefully dodged any bolter and lasfire directed at them, while their riders simply shielded them from those that struck.

Barik cursed endlessly at the xenos as he continued firing at one of the Manticores. The monstrous leonine beast employed a series of graceful and sharp maneuvers, all the while raining down on the Imperial forces with showers of long spikes. One Battle-Brother collapsed with two sharp protrusions going through his head; another was incinerated by purple Warp fire.

The Manticore made a sharp turn, roaring as it headed straight to Barik. The Force Commander screamed as he kept firing at the monster. The Dark Eldar rider raised his staff and conjured an eldritch shield to block the incoming hail.

The very moment Barik’s bolter was completely empty, the psyker hurled a fireball straight at him as its mount flew by. The Force Commander now had a few precious seconds to evade the flame or be incinerated.

The fireball suddenly halted in mid-air and dispersed completely. A second later, a spike of Warp energy struck one of the Manticore’s wings. The creature roared out again, this time in pain, as it and its rider fell onto the ranks of the heretics.

Turning to the direction of the psychic attack, Barik nodded in thanks to the Codicier Librarian, who soon turned his attention to the remaining Manticores. Everywhere he looked, several psykers were now focusing their attacks on the beasts.

Seeing that the problem was contained at the moment, the Force Commander raised his hammer, rallying his forces and resuming the charge.


-+-


The Seers soon finished saying the anointment chants, and Airak now walked towards the looming monument that was the dormant Avatar. The other members of the court now flanked him on either side, reciting the hymns of past battles. Loranon, Li’Fai, Aegeus and Garim were on his left, their expressions solemn as they chanted. Calenth, Draig, and Tarantus flanked his right as they, too, narrated the proud battle history of Quallathan.

And then there was the new leader of the Striking Scorpions, chosen by Airak to succeed him, who followed in the wake of the last three Exarchs. He knew that Peinsir would guide the Aspects of the shrine well.

Finally, they stopped near the shadow of Khaine’s vessel, and the Exarchs halted while Airak moved to stand completely beneath the Avatar’s towering form. There was no turning back now.

He was ready.

While the rest of the Exarchs continued to recite the hymns, Airak knelt down and began chanting the exploits of his past lives, recounting tales of glorious battles and ancient duels. All the narrations took about a couple of hours to complete, and by the time he was done all was silent, and the Scorpion then uttered the final piece of the ritual.

And also the last words he would say.

Unto you great Khaine, I give thee three things.
Unto you, I pass my experience, the skills and knowledge gathered from years of battle
Unto you, I offer my power, to use in smiting the enemies of the Craftworld

Airak paused, allowing himself a final moment of respite. It was too late to stop now.

Unto you, I sacrifice my life, so that you may walk this world once again

An ancient rumble was heard from the statue, and the eyes began to shimmer with primal power. Then the ground began to shake, and red veins appeared over the statue. Airak felt a tugging on his soul, and he knew that the moment was at hand. Without any doubt, he finished the ritual.

Now rise, once again, to bear the Wailing Doom down on our foes
Rise again, to instill upon us the proud history of our race
Let your essence in this vessel stir once more on the battlefield
Rise, Khaela Mensha Khaine, Hunter of Shadows, Warcry made Manifest, and Patron of all the Aspects!

The ground trembled violently.

Pillars of flame erupted around the Avatar as it was finally, fully, awakened. The eyes blazed to life as orbs of orange, and tongues of fire danced around the body as the veins grew brighter and brighter.

Flames enveloped the Exarch, and he flailed out his body in pain. It was not from the heat that was now searing through his flesh, but from the wrenching of his soul. The cycle of life, death, and rebirth had a violent aspect, for to bring forth the power of Khaine required a sacrifice.

And in this case, it was the former leader of the Scorpions.

Airak continued to cry out as his soul, along with those of all the Aspects who became his incarnations, was slowly being ripped out of his body, in order to power the Avatar. There would be no one to take up his armor, and the cycle of war that he had been in for so long was finally coming to an end.

As the darkness finally overtook him, Exarch Airak, former master of Quallathan’s Scorpion Temple, curled his lips into a smile of self-fulfillment. The flames intensified until they completely consumed the corpse, with only ashes to prove its existence.

The Avatar began to move limbs long unused since it last stirred. As it stepped down from the dais, burning footprints were left in its wake. A flame coalesced in the palm of its right hand, shifting and expanding until it solidified into the shape of a broadsword. The Avatar raised the Suin Daellae high in the air as it spoke out in a deep, booming voice.

“I am Khaela Mensha Khaine”.




Author’s Notes

1 – Haunter Scarabs are based of a flying enemy in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. The Scarab’s standard weapons are two double-barreled Gauss Blasters, and an infused soul powers it.

2 –The chants uttered by Airak, as well as the bit about the cycle being broken, are an original idea. See the Lexicanum internet site for info.

3 - Hunter of Shadows is an original title. In my fic, there are various awakening chants for the Exarchs to use, depending on their shrine.

4 - Suin Daellae is the Eldar word for the ‘Doom that Wails’. It refers to the weapon of the Avatar.