Chapter 92:

Chapter 92: Of strange abilities and nonsense few people will complain, for they keep us alive.




The Eldar have a funny and whimsical relationship with technology.

To the species that see our people outside of the Empire or on the periphery our technology is advanced and even if it runs on strange principles what it does is understandable, predictable and something one can calculate and account for and say that it is simply 'more efficient' than what they also have.

This makes other species feel as if the Empire and the Eldar are something they can deal with, something that while it has an overwhelming advantage over them it is something that they can understand and eventually overcome if they put their minds to it for a few thousand years. Sixty-Five million years of technological and psychic advancement as the galaxy's most powerful species does not work like that and the Middle Worlds is where their delusions are shattered.

On the world of Eidafaeron, one of many wealthy Middle Worlds of the Empire there are sports leagues centered around sailing on the surface of the local star with trainers constantly trying to find new talents and sell spots to any aspiring sportsman in the hope of finding the next champion or just trying to find more people for filling participation quotas.

In Commoragh, the largest port our people still had left and the largest located outside of the Empire , Asdrubael Vect would bring his own city to its knees for daring to defy him and use the surface of a star to destroy one of the most important redoubts of his people, a redoubt of such strategic importance that it could serve as the seat of one of the few noble lineages and military forces in Commoragh that he, the leader of the greatest remnant of our people would have to be cautious of.

In the Middle Worlds of the Empire of Ten Million Suns sports equipment can and will provide better defenses than the mightiest fortresses outside of the Empire because this is the level of absurdity one needs to understand is normal for us. And worse, for any that would try to make sense of our technological might, is the fact that the difference between the Middle Worlds and the Song Worlds is greater still.

In the Song Worlds the reality our people experience there has less in common with what happens outside of the Empire than the Warp does, because yes the Warp makes more sense to a being outside of the Empire than our oldest worlds. They are worlds of whimsy and a million stories being written and re-written at any given time as our whims become reality and reality is but putty in our hands.

There technological marvels are not called such, for they are called props and trinkets. Trees that can cure almost any illness, homes the size of a galaxy that fit in your pocket, gems that transport you to other realities where you can talk or dance with other you's or even make time feel like a doughnut and more are not something noteworthy there, they are daily facts, props one would use for busking made more remarkable by the skill one would need to turn such 'benign' things interesting to look at than by any inherent quality to them compared to what else is around.

This large disparity in available technology exists for a single reason, because our people have different preferences for technological development and resource abundance. Some want to experience something closer to brutal reality, others want to only experience whimsy and others want something in-between and the Empire can accommodate the needs of every single Eldar as there is a type of world for everyone to enjoy. Or at the very least it's trying to as some cannot find what they desire inside the Empire and so they look somewhere else.

Despite all that there are restricted technologies, things that are not allowed for some to know of for a single reason, because then the civilians can learn to Emulate them and if they learn to do so then they'll do something worse, they'll improve them and spread them. This is because Technological Innovation happens through Emulation and Obsession.

Someone gets an idea of a concept by seeing and hearing of it, then they Emulate it and thus create something similar, if not quite as potent as the original, and then mix and match it with something else until it gains a specific identity. Then someone will Obsess over it and enhance every single component part of it to heights previously unimaginable and then the process repeats for millions of years.

I did it when I turned into a ship and enhanced my Voice of Khaine into a strategic weapons on a solar system scale, turned my treasure senses into enhanced sensors and my shape shifting ability into the ability to duplicate various ship systems without even knowing what exactly all of them were meant to be doing ahead of time. Even my humble shuriken pistol that I rarely use turned into an anti-capital ship weapon and my swordsmanship and sword made me more capable of ramming other ships with greater ease. All because I was Obsessed with my body being nothing but myself and so I translated the experience that is myself from the mortal scale to ship scale.

Emulation and Obsession do something similar with everything our people learn about and it is for this reason that we restrict certain technologies from being known, for even the gods fear what our people can get up to when being given new toys to sate our thirst for more with and certain technologies can exacerbate existing conflicts far beyond what the social fabric of the Empire can easily handle.

Some things just make certain experiences worse or destabilize society the more they are spread, but this doesn't mean that societies are static and that worlds are in a tech stasis. Technologies are constantly discovered, stolen, forgotten, rediscovered, stashed away, restricted, unrestricted and more each day as new technologies are tools for you to use or keep from others.

My simple food synthesizers are a perfect example of this concept.

In some worlds it is shameful to claim you've made such things at all, in others they are an important step into learning various crafts and trades, in others they are a staple, something completely normal and unremarkable while in others they are rare things almost unheard of and most importantly outside of the Empire they represent something almost unheard of in their ability to turn psychic energy into food on an industrial scale even if the food itself is not that good.

It seems that the local prince is one more type of self-taught seer as he has foreseen my presence here and wishes access to certain technologies before he is willing to tell me what he knows of his former hired blade.

"So you want me to provide you with the technology to enhance Shuriken projectiles and how to make the food synthesizers in exchange for telling me all that you know of the clan that took Camaus Silverblade from your service." I repeated his demands.

Getting an audience was surprisingly easy, especially with the help of the lovely barmaid and the many vassals and employees of the prince which were quite disturbed by his lack of care for one of his hired blades disappearances and possible death.

"Yes, as I have said before I have little intention to interfere in an Imperial Investigation by the Armada, but I have promised to the family of the newlyweds that I won't interfere in their marriage rituals when I agreed with their proposal to take Camaus Silverblade from my service. I need something of sufficient price as recompense in addition to assisting the Armada that I can also pay to them if they come seeking recompense for the broken oath."

I looked straight into the princes silver eyes for any sign of deceit as the prince knew to keep his song hidden from me.

There was none.

The man was speaking the truth as he knew it and his retainers who all knew him and his ways and could not hide his song from me believed he was telling the truth. They were also quite uneasy at the thought of an official investigation and the fact that I am an official of the Empire far more than they were by the fact that their liege was uncaring for the death of one of them.

I am unsure if I still have crystals with the knowledge of making the Synthesizers as I've been spreading them around like candy. Soon the things will become widespread beyond the Empire too and will become worthless. Thankfully it seemed that I still did and I pulled out two crystals from my bag after searching through it for a bit.

But if a prince calls them valuable who is this lowly priest to tell him no? It seems I still have two of them which was good, but I will need more.

"Here your highness, albeit I would like some empty dream crystals in exchange and knowledge of how you learned of the fact that I am an official of the Empire, as that should be restricted information that only I am allowed to share with others of similar or higher noble rank to yourself or when openly acting as my role demands of me."

That made the physical silence feel even louder, but the prince cared not for it and cut through it as is his birthright and earned status.

A whisper and crack in the song told me that he understood my message and the fact that the knowledge he sought was now worthless… or not… as I have only spread the synthesizers, but the knowledge of how to enhance shuriken weaponry and projectiles is something easy enough to do and yet doesn't help him much as the skill ceiling for that is high, incredibly so in fact.

If he can make proper use of the knowledge remains to be seen, but at the very least it is not useless.

"An easy enough request to fulfill holy one. My servants have prepared some hundreds of empty dream crystals already and they will be delivered to your apprentice's ship as you leave this room. As for knowledge of your status, I purchased this information from an influential information broker, one that not even the clan of Brisea Amada can dispose of or pretend to. I will write a letter of introduction to you as a token of my appreciation for your civility and to assist you in your investigation." The prince replied with a smile.

One of his servants brought a pen and paper for him to write said letter which he quickly proceeded to do.

I bowed to him in gratitude when he finished doing so to the whispers and songs of his subjects after I received not one but three letters he's written with his seal on them. One for me to know where to look for this man, one for the ruler of the space station I am to go to and another for the information broker.

"I thank you for your assistance in this investigation prince Eagganm Neamhis and I assure you that I do not find you responsible of the breach of secrecy as to my identity." I said as I rose.

Another break in the mask, this time one of fear. He knows what me saying his name could mean as he only introduced himself as the prince of the station for a reason.

For a priest to say your name means that the Divine will hear it and if they learn of it then they may introduce you into their schemes and plays and that is rarely something you survive intact, unless you are special or too useful to kill off that is and even that might not save you.

I didn't find him responsible, because if knowledge managed to reach even beyond the Empire then it meant that my time as a disposable agent was coming to a close and the Pantheon has decided as to my fate and the end of my story. Them acknowledging that I hold an official position in the Armada meant little as to what they wished my fate to be. It only meant that they've decided on it and how my story is to be interpreted.

That didn't change the fact that I would have appreciated him not saying it out loud where everyone else can hear it. Princes and very connected individuals knowing is one thing, every random person learning it by word of mouth is another.

"Now of the clan of Brisea Amada, what can you tell me of it?" I asked.

The prince's mask was back on and his fear was nowhere to be seen even if it was present, as is appropriate for a prince.

"They are the shadowy overlords of this territory and while I am uncertain as to the extent of that which they claim, the various Princes and Princesses in this stretch of the Void know very well that we are vassals of another and that someone is Brisea Amada and her corsair clan. They prey on various ships as tribute and occasionally demand us to acquiesce to and ignore their strange marriage rituals of which I only know the fact that they can make them look like Assassinations when they wish for it.

They have been good overlords, and while I would not call them ideal overlords, this station has certainly had worse and under their protection we have not faced any attacks from Mon'keigh species and pirates and other scum are kept low. All I know of them is that they are migratory and in competition to other clans like theirs and that something has caused them to leave their territory and move somewhere else." The prince revealed.

I sighed at his words as that something is probably me. Also it was not lost on me that the prince has all but admitted that his realm and those nearby are soon to find themselves without an overlord to protect them and keep them safe from outside influence.

Also a corsair clan, truly? This woman went with that cover story? I am surprised it held that long as corsairs are not known for remaining hidden.

They may be hard to find, but everyone knows where they prowl.

I guess that by limiting the knowledge of who and what they do to select few it allowed them to control the spread of information. After all, if the princes know the truth, at least partially, as to what is really going on they will work to keep it hidden to maintain an advantage against any that wish their positions as the support of an Overlord none knows about is useful in dealing with those after their position.

Newcomers can't petition the true masters of the area for boons and the puppets get the prestige of everyone thinking they are independent and the benefits of being a vassal with few of the detriments as long as all sides decide to agree to the charade and enter a hidden and mutually beneficial agreement.

This however would only last as long as both sides wanted the relationship to continue and it seems that this ship-eldar clan pretending to be a corsair clan no longer wanted to do so and granted their vassals independence and now said vassals are forced to adapt… or find others to replace them.

The whispers turned even more worried now as the prince revealed too many worrying secrets and now his subjects are worried. I would be annoyed at it but as it is my job to help our people this meant that it was my job to offer a solution to their worries without complaint if I wished to maintain my influence, especially now that I am known as an official of the Empire.

We can't have people think that the Empire and its officials bring our people anything but prosperity after all.

"Are you familiar with the princess known as Sil Orgaus, wise prince?" I asked.

The prince was intrigued by my question and his brow furrowed as he tried to recall the name.

"I am familiar in passing with her, she is some form of revolutionary in the Empire if rumors are to be believed, but I care little for princely conflicts on the far side of the Empire." He replied in confusion as the name was just a passing curiosity, one of several names that echoed across the worlds outside of the Empire.

Less than what I expected but such is fine.

"She is not a revolutionary as she has not risen against any mortal authority. No, she merely disagrees with calling the Unborn Divine an Eldar and has declared her allegiance to the Pantheon and to Cegorach's cause of Retribution against what she calls the Parasite. If you contact her and offer assistance in her conflict she will send her very experienced warriors and mariners to keep this area of space secure and useful for her future logistics needs as she has need of industrially minded eldar still."

The Empire is not industrial in nature, we don't need or want to bother much with it, but people on the periphery and outside of it are beholden to Industry which is beholden to War in the Eldar mind. Sil Orgaus wishing to add people outside of the Empire to her cause meant that the Empire won't be a worry to her for much longer one way or another.

The prince understood what I meant by informing him of this judging by the relieved look in his eyes. What conclusions this leads him to are up to him and I don't care for them. I've offered him a solution and knowledge he did not posses to help him chart a course for his people.

The rest is up to him.

"I will send emissaries to inquire further holy one, I thank you for bringing this to my knowledge." The man said from his throne.

"You have nothing to thank me for my prince, I am merely fulfilling my duties." I replied with a smile and a bow then left the room.

Behind me the room erupted in whispers and my sister's subordinate joined me silently. I had a lead and an information broker to squeeze dry of information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My dead face stares back at me, it's one eye somehow more captivating than the massive hole where the other one should be.

It is my eye, on my face. I have seen that eye a thousand times before, I have seen it and its twin smile and cry, I have seen it reflected in mirrors and in other's eyes but I have never seen like that, never seen it so… so lifeless.

And it stares at me, death stares at me in my dreams and I cannot escape.

"You are not dead my love, you live, you are loved and do not allow yourself to think that you are anything but." A female voice intervenes and the dream is shattered.

It wasn't death that looked over me, but the woman I love and she was kissing me.

I pulled her in and she fell right into it without complaint or resistance. The kiss lasted… I do not know how long it lasted as both of us were lost into it.

"I am glad to see you are better now Camaus." My love said as she fell right next to me and I turned towards her.

"I am glad too see you at all Fiochar." I replied.

She looked back deeply into my eyes and we both lost ourselves into each other's eyes.

"I am sorry for my sister."

"There is nothing to forgive."

There wasn't. The only thing at fault was my own weakness.

I have faced conflict before, I have stared death in the face and seen friends and companies die, but I have never seen my own dead face look back at me. This will pass and the fear that accompanies the dead face will turn into a muted pain just like before.

"There is but I know I won't get you to agree to it you stubborn man. Unfortunately we need to rise as mother is preparing a conference for the children and spouses of children to come up with ideas of where to go and what to do there and you're the only information broker we have to ask for knowledge we lack." She continued.

I sighed and nodded at that and start to get dressed into something appropriate as I doubt nakedness is the appropriate dress code, something my love seemed to agree as she did the same. Her and her clan's strange ability to guess my thoughts and emotional state was disconcerting, but it would be something she will be allowed to teach me once she becomes a Mother, one of the ship kin.

It was strange to even think of it, but it would be something I would have to get used to.

The white shirt and black pants came easy to me, albeit I did not understand why it must leave half of my upper body barren, but such is their customs for spouses as from what little I have seen, both men and women were to wear these shirt.

"A tradition, one among many given to us by Lammah Airgid, a Wanderer and priest who taught us how to maintain our citizenship in the Empire and gifted us many technologies, knowledge and artifacts to help the old clans create our own culture and identity." Fiochar said and responded to a question I did not as.

The name of the Silver Hand meant nothing to me, but for the ship-eldar it carried a reverent tone that was unmistakable.

"I can't wait to learn how to stop you from doing that to me, or worse do it to you." I replied.

Her laugh was as soft and melodic as the small bells of my old home and the sound of her laugh made her face seem even more beautiful.

"I can't wait to teach you."

The road to this conference room was short at least as it seems the entire body of the 'mother' was filled with small wraithbone portals that would take us from one part of the ship to the other. It felt like a waste to me, even if it was told to me that it is a part of the ship's security systems as the space that would have taken by hallways is instead taken by armor, wraithbone reserves and various other systems and redundancies thus turning the ship I am in far more dangerous and hard to kill than it had any right to be.

The conference room was bone-white but there was something different to it, the same organic curves were present, the lights were the same as those I have seen somewhere else and I could not detect anything strange but my instincts told me that it was different compared to what else I have seen of this ship in a way I could not quantify.

"Come, our seats are here" Fiochar said.

She pulled me by the hand and placed us on some blue cushions which were arranged in a semi circle around the statue of a woman that looked a lot like her. There were at least a hundred such cushions but the two of us took one of them as she decided to stay in my lap.

We weren't the first but we were among the first groups and the others quickly followed. Children in their long shirts and their lovers with the short ones followed and all of them that came with their lovers settled in a similar arrangement as Fiochar and I.

"Why is this conference necessary? Wasn't the family dream enough to tell us what we need to do?" I asked.

That something naturally being to run away from the ship that reminded everyone why Khaine's followers and those like them were terrifying to behold. It wasn't only that they were frightening Murderers and butchers that can kill most things, but that their Madness is contagious and it spreads and leaves world in fire and pandemonium as people devolve into an endless killing spree devoid of logic or restraint.

It wasn't Fiochar that answered me but the statue in front of us and all of us turned towards it as she spoke.

"All parents have their own duties to assist our Exodus, and mine is to try and find out more about this man, Bessar Agail, for while we seek to run from him, the Matriarch has decided that we must also learn more about him and make preparations in case others like him find us." The mother answered.

I grimaced at that.

"Aren't there others more qualified for this?" I asked.

The statue which previously wasn't looking at me but upwards turned to me.

"You are the only information broker we bothered to exfiltrate and take into the family as we've silenced the others permanently or erased their memories and sent them to Webway settlements and Fiochar is our only operative that has managed to get any information on Bessar Agail, so no, there is nobody else among the clan that has a better chance of learning anything useful."

I did not like that answer for far too many reasons to list.

"You did what to the other information brokers?" I shouted.

I didn't need to see or use whatever psychic trick the clan used to know that the others were spooked by my words. I was quite scared myself of the reason for them

I sincerely hoped they did not actually do what her words implied.

"We've systematically dismantled the information ecosystem we've nurtured in our territory and some parts of the adjacent territories of other clans and they did the same to slow down our pursuer and give us time to gather our assets and leave our pursuer floundering in confusion. Judging by your reaction you disapprove of this course of action." She said

I very much did not want to hear that.

Fiochar hugged me to calm me down as I felt a headache hit me.

How do I respectfully explain to her that what she did was accelerate our time table to run, because unless they managed to kill off or silence each and every single information broker in a 1000 light year diameter, all they did was unite every single information broker in twice that radius to start looking for us and pay bounties for any scrap of knowledge on whoever is trying to get our art eradicated from a given area.


AN:

Briseadh na nAmadán→ Brisea Amada= Breaker of Fools

Eagna an Anama Neamhbhriste → Eagganm Neamhbis= Wisdom of the Unbroken Spirit

Lammah Airgid→ Lámh Airgid = Silver Hand