Chris Wright - Age of Sigmar - Omnibus

‘Kill or be killed,’ said Arkas. He started to pace. Movement assisted the flow of thought. Light from the growing fires gleamed on his armour, countless scratches marring the surface. With a thought he let a surge of celestial energy sparkle across the surface, turning the plates back to unblemished turquoise while blood and crusted gore fell away in a shower of dried flakes. ‘When I fought the skaven they were led by a verminlord, a Corruptor named Skixakoth. By description I think this creature is among the daemonkin that assault the sylvaneth in the Vaults of the Spring Moon.’

‘How did you come by this knowledge?’ The question was asked in a neutral tone — too flat for Arkas’ liking, clearly masking more than curiosity.

‘Does it matter?’ He regretted his snapped reply immediately. It looked like evasion, which hinted at guilt. Arkas sighed. ‘I learnt this from the Queen of the Peak. It was her power that granted me the visions of the undercity of the skaven, and the realmgate.’

‘You have seen its location? Could you take us there?’

Arkas nodded. ‘That is my intent.’ He hesitated again, clawing for words that were uncomfortable to say. ‘I would welcome your opinion, Silverhand. In matters of strategy. I am the Warbeast, I’m sure you know my reputation as well as any other. I can seize the realmgate, I am sure of it. But I need your help to hold it.’

‘We are allies, are we not?’

‘We are.’ Arkas swallowed hard. ‘And in the spirit of alliance I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I laid hands upon you.’

‘Worse has been done in the Gladitorium.’

‘No, it should never have happened. I… This place, Ursungorod, affects me. I am a child of these lands, more than in flesh, in spirit. Sigmar took me, made me a being of the Celestial Sphere, but he cannot remove that shard of Ghur that is in my heart.’

‘I cannot say that I understand,’ said Theuderis. ‘It is obviously something more than simply returning to the place of your birth, but it is not an experience I have shared.’

Arkas looked at the Knight Excelsior for some time. Theuderis was unsure what the purpose was for such scrutiny.

‘Ask me what you want,’ he said. ‘I will answer truthfully to the best of my ability. There will be no secrets between us.’

‘Why do you care?’ said the Warbeast.

‘Care about what?’

‘All of this,’ said Arkas, waving a hand towards the Ursungorans, the camp, the forest, the mountains beyond. He turned slowly, looking up to where the light of celestial beacons flickered. ‘Why do you fight for Sigmar?’

The question surprised Theuderis. It took him a few moments to articulate his reply.

‘For the same reason as you. To save my people. To ensure that mankind has a future free from the tyranny and wrath of uncaring darkness.’

‘But you had saved your people, when Sigmar took you. The Glittering Breaches, your castles and armies, were safe.’

‘At that time. If I have learnt anything in Sigmaron it is that the threat of the Chaos Gods waxes and wanes. For a time they were held back by the God-King and his allies, but that did not last. We are where we are. Sigmar took me because I protected my lands, fostered cooperation rather than war, built as well as conquered. I would repay that honour.’

‘Honour?’ Theuderis could hear the grin in Arkas’ voice. ‘You think honour will help us in this place?’

‘I think that I believe in two principles. My honour and my duty, and they are entwined. I cannot say that Ursungorod holds any particular relevance for me. I would feel the same wherever Sigmar despatched me.’

‘Even to the Glittering Breaches?’

Theuderis had no answer for that. He did not like theoretical situations and questions.

‘I have a special regard for that place, but it is not my home.’

The Knight Excelsior started towards the perimeter, put on edge by Arkas’ attitude. The older Ursungoran children were digging in the mulch and dirt, creating a ditch and rampart between the trees. It was hard work on the frozen ground, and only a few paces had been erected. Theuderis did not see the point in any defensive sense, but it kept them engaged and made the Ursungorans feel they were doing something useful.

‘How can you say it is not your home?’ Arkas kept at his shoulder, speaking quietly but insistently.

‘The worlds turn, places change. Castle Lyonaster might be a great city or it might be nothing more than the duardin and human ruins that make up the bones of Ursungorod. My family are dead. The people I served and who served me are dead. The Glittering Breaches I knew no longer exist.’

Movement in the darkness further into the trees drew his eye, but it was only a trio of Ursungoran hunters prowling the shadows on patrol. Like the entrenchment, it was of little purpose when Stormcast Prosecutors, Knights-Venator and Knights-Azyros kept an immortal watch above. Theuderis’ warriors would know of any threat long before the natives.

‘You do not know?’ said Arkas, shocked. ‘How the war fares in the Glittering Breaches?’

‘No Stormcasts have yet been sent.’

‘It is possible to find out what is happening in the realms beyond Azyr. Lord Sigmar could tell you…’

‘I do not wish to know!’ snapped Theuderis. He kept his next rebuke in check, snatching in a breath instead. When his temper had cooled a little, he continued with quiet words. ‘I know you, Warbeast. Hungry for revenge, needing to punish those that wronged you. I cannot blame you, but I do not sympathise. You harbour a doubt, the thought that if you had stayed that perhaps your people would have prevailed?’

‘It is unlikely, I know, but…’

‘But nothing! I had won, Warbeast!’ Theuderis turned on his companion, taut with aggravation. He kept his voice low, conscious of the Stormcasts and Ursungorans close at hand. ‘I had ensured peace for a generation, for my family and my people, after a life of war and death. My wife was bearing my third child.’ Theuderis leaned close, his helm almost touching Arkas’. ‘Do not think that I gave up nothing! But the sacrifice was worth it. They lived long and happy lives and my children sired many descendants who continue to protect Castle Lyonaster to this day.’

He did not say out loud the alternatives that crowded his thoughts in the dark moments. Ursungorod was proof enough of what had beset the Mortal Realms during the long age of Chaos. The bare truth was that the Glittering Breaches would be no different to the rest of Chamon, overrun or at least besieged by the followers of the Chaos Gods. His great victory had been a blink, a momentary respite in the great turn of history.

The real lesson he had learnt as a Lord-Celestant was that all victories were fleeting, until the last one.

The Knight Excelsior turned and marched away, shoulders stiff. He thought for a moment that Arkas would follow, but was grateful when he heard the other Lord-Celestant calling for his Knight-Heraldor and Knight-Vexillor.

He strode out past the perimeter and into the fluctuating shadows away from the campfires, fists tight, teeth gritted. He already regretted his outburst. It was a display of weakness he should have avoided. Whether Arkas was deliberately baiting him, it was impossible to say, but the effect was the same. Maybe the wildness of Ursungorod was affecting him too.

The pad of large feet on frosted leaves caused him to turn. Tyrathrax emerged into the fronds of pale blue light, drawn by her master’s unease. She came up alongside Theuderis, close enough for him to lay a hand on her armoured shoulder. Her presence was reassuring, anchoring him back to his purpose.

Being paired with the Warbeast taxed the Knight Excelsior’s patience. Raised to admire the perfection of interlocking functions, the beauty of military drill and expertise, the wild nature of Arkas and his Strike Chamber concerned Theuderis.