Prelude

A Jokersminis story

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Tomax woke to the sound of bare feet, padding across his bedchamber.

As his slaves assisted him in donning his armor, Tomax Hell, Warmaster of Chaos, allowed himself a moment to reflect on recent events. Things were progressing well. The battle had gone as planned. Losses had been acceptable. His first task as Warmaster was a success.

His palace was the first new structure constructed. The very grounds of the unholy edifice had been consecrated with the blood of ten thousand civilians, and the construction completed by forced labor, and inducted machinery. Tomax had named his new home The Temple of Fear. Inside there were sanctuaries to each of the Chaos Gods to represent the allegiances of Tomax's forces. Acts were taking place in all of them to honor those mighty powers. Followers of the Blood God harvested skulls from slaves in mock gladiatorial combat in the depths of the Hall of Blood. Craven servants of Slaanesh indulged in all manners of depravity inside the Hall of Pleasure. Similar activities were taking place in the Halls of Change and Decay. Daily sacrifices were made in the Hall of the Undivided, directly adjacent to Tomax's throne room. All of these acts were done for a single purpose: to gain the favor of the Pantheon of Chaos.

Patrols of Tomax's legions were removing the last bastions of resistance. Captives were brought before him daily, and he would decide their fate. It was not a matter of whether or not they would die, but how. The False Emperor's marines were great sport, and their death was a thing of beauty. The civilians and Imperial Guardsmen, fragile humans that they were, were forced into labor camps. There they would work ceaselessly until they died.

The spoils of the conquest had been almost overwhelming. Massive amounts of Machines, Vehicles and Weapons were now at his disposal. This system and its inhabitants would serve him well in the destruction of the Imperium and the final downfall of the Corpse.

As his slaves withdrew, Tomax brought his thoughts back to the day at hand. He was expecting visitors. With flaps of his massive wings, Tomax rose from the marble floor and soared out of the bed chamber into the blood red dawn.

*****

*****

“My Lord Tomax Hell, Warmaster of Chaos, may I present Captain Heinlein and Veteran Sergeant Kreutzmann of the Order Encarmine.”

Tomax glared down at the two Chaos Marines from his throne. They wore deep burgundy armor with black trim, and although they still bore the titles of loyalists, their faces and armor showed the corrupting power of the Eye of Terror. The Flames of Vengeance had begun to appear on the ceramite armor plates and leering faces and skulls were beginning to form on the shoulder pads. Their eyes burned like smoldering braziers. The hatred in their hearts had hastened the descent. They had not been in the Eye for long, only a few decades. Soon they would be unrecognizable as the great defenders of the Imperium they had once been.

They had come to ask his protection and support. They had a common enemy in the Scions of Dorn and the woman, Holst. It had been Holst who had ordered the Scions to attack the Order Encarmine and driven them into the Eye. They wished to be able to strike back, but had not the numbers to survive without protection.

Tomax, seeing the benefits of manipulating this headstrong group of renegades, had agreed, but had stated terms of a sacrifice to prove the loyalty of the Order Encarmine. With a wave of one massive claw, Tomax gestured for them to proceed.

The children were herded into the throne room in a huddled mass, there were fifty in all. They were natives of the planet that the Order had landed on just inside the Eye. One by one Kreutzmann forced the children to kneel at the foot of Tomax's throne and Heinlein shot each one of them once through the stomach with his bolt pistol. The screams of the dying filled the chamber as the blood and entrails pooled on the floor. Tomax smiled wider with each death. They would be loyal.

The screams had faded into the recesses of the chamber and Heinlein and Kreutzmann had gone with his blessing. Tomax sat on his massive, black marble throne, his claws resting gently on his axes. All things were going according to plan. Yet other plans were in motion, and the Will of Chaos would soon be done. He was the Warmaster, leader of the Legions of Chaos, and the time for action was close at hand. His brutal laughter rang of the walls of his throne room.

“SOON!”

*****

*****

“The Warmaster will see you now.”

Noctus Cain watched the servitor-construct withdraw from the ante-chamber. He was amazed at what the Warmaster's machine savants were able to create here. The plunder of this world had been bountiful, and Tomax was taking full advantage of his new capabilities. Noctus looked down at his armor. The ancient suit of Terminator armor was well over 10,000 years old, but one would not know to look at it. The savants had repaired and overhauled it upon his arrival at the palace. They had also changed many aspects of the suit, in response to Noctus' request. The ability of the savants was undeniable. The armor was flawless. The newly forged plasteel plates merged seamlessly with the older ceramite structure of the armor. The power cells were operating as never before, all external couplings and cables had been internalized for protection and the newly mounted combi-bolter looked as if it had been made for his forearm. As he adjusted his fur cloak, in preparation to see the Warmaster, Noctus let his mind wander back, to just a month before.

…He had forgotten the name of the planet. He knew only that it was between him and the Warmaster's eventual target, and therefore needed to fall. The Global Defenses had been easily defeated, and the Planetary Defense Force had been laughable. They had not been the problem; the problem was the Black Marines. They were Adeptus Astartes, but not of any chapter he recognized. They all carried bolt weapons and chainswords, and were formidable in battle. They were also smart. They used tactics that Noctus respected, small swift, deadly raids on important targets that had slowed the advance of the entire Legion of Fear. They wore black power armor and most bore a shoulder pad reminiscant of the Xeno Hunters, the Deathwatch. Noctus did not know why they had appeared or how they came to land on an occupied system without detection, but they had certainly caused more than their fair share of problems.

Noctus laid a trap for the Loyalists, he openly called a meeting between himself and the other 16 Lieutenants of the Legion of Fear. The Loyalists took the bait. Noctus defeated the Black Marines, cutting the combi-bolter from the arm of the squad captain with his Dark Blade, but they victory was not without a heavy price. The ten Black Marines had killed 7 of the Legion of Fear's lieutenants, many of them gifted with arcane powers from the Gods of Chaos. One of the Black Marines escaped unscathed, and had activated a teleportation device that transported himself and the injured captain to safety. That marine bore the insignia of the Brazen Claws Space Marine Chapter on his right shoulder, and a face Noctus Cain would never forget.

The ambush was the last that Noctus had seen of the Black Marines, but the memories burned bright inside his mind. They had slowed his progress and the Warmaster had not been pleased. He had not told Tomax the reason for the delay, but the Legion of Fear had fought ceaselessly of the rest of the bloody campaign, and they were able to arrive at the Palace of the Warmaster in his Favor…

Noctus Cain shook his head to clear the thoughts of the past, and strode out of the antechamber and into the presence of the Warmaster.

Tomax Hell sat on his throne, looking down at Noctus. When he spoke his voice was low and guttural, his tone ominous.

“You have regained my favor, Lord Cain. For that I gift you with command of the Legion of Fear in my stead, but I require you to address two issues for me.”
“One, Follow Heinlein of the Order Encarmine, I do not trust him, report his activities to me directly.”
“Two, I want you to explain to me, immediately, why you failed to include information concerning the Legio Bolter and Chainsword in your vid reports.”

Noctus Cain stared at the Warmaster.

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