akhenaten-imhotep

[akhenaten-imhotep]

The savior

Noel looked at the case report interrogator Magda Grace had given him. The document detailed the information she had managed to extract from the heretic which had been captured two weeks prior. He had finally been captured after a months long game of cat and mouse. It had been the Inquisitor's priority to hunt down anyone who might be connected to the security recordings of mysterious astartes who captured his servants which had recovered from the ruins of Coriza city after a daemonic incursion.

The inquisitor had reasons to believe the astartes were connected to the Word Bearer who corrupted the Divine Avatar candidates to the worship of the ruinous powers. The servants who had been kidnapped had assisted him in managing the project which he had painstakingly crafted for years. Any worshipper of the ruinous powers would have wanted to stop them from reporting what happened to the authorities.

His brow furrowed when he read the names of Akhenaten Imhotep and Achilles Keraunos. The report revealed they were former members of the XVth and IVth traitor legions, who were among those who turned their gaze away from the Emperor's light during the Horus Heresy. Worse, among the heretics' masters were astartes from the Dark Angels who had chosen the heretic Luther over the Lion.

Anger stirred inside Noel's chest. Heresy could hide among those who semt to be the Emperor's most faithful servants. The taint would have to be dug out root and stem. Plans would have to be made to address the threats of the treacherous Dark Angels, the Celestial Geists and Witch Master Samael of the Word Bearers.

It would be the best course of action to separate his forces in three teams. He would lead the one in charge of hunting the Celestial Geists. They would die screaming for what they did to the faithful servants who had walked the path of salvation along him. One of them, Magnus Bane, was been trained by Noel to become an inquisitor. Such mortal insult could never be forgiven.

He spent the next hours studying the reports, writing down anything which could help him take down the Celestial Geists. Akhenaten was particularly weak to anything based on the power of faith or which worked agaisnt the warp. Achilles, besides being a psyker, was a corpse reanimated by magic. Even more of a reason to throw the Celestial Geists into the pyre, for necromancy was among the blackest magics in practice.

The inquisitor would spare no resources in exterminating the Celestial Geists and Witch Master Samael. If they had destroyed one batch of divine avatar candidates, they would do the same to the others which stored in key points across the galaxy. "By His will alone.", he muttered as he prepared himself for what was to come.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Once she was done with the chat, Akhenaten turned around to look for Alethea. She found the Inquisitor completely lost in thought. It was strange, for she had never seen the younger woman like this before. The biomancer cleared her throat to catch the inquisitor's attention. "Alethea, is there something wrong?"

Near the market stall was a worn down statue. On its base was a plaque with the inscription "In Memory of Brandon, who defended the world of Aegyptus VI agaisnt the drukhari in its time of need." Aegyptus VI was one of the many imperial worlds who got forgotten by the Imperium. And the drukhari took advantage of it.

A few meters from the statue was another statue of an imperial aquila who was missing pieces. Whoever broke it was quite unhappy about the planet being left to its fate.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Near the market stall was a worn down statue. On its base was a plaque with the inscription "In Memory of Brandon, who defended the world of Aegyptus VI agaisnt the drukhari in its time of need." Aegyptus VI was one of the many imperial worlds who got forgotten by the Imperium. And the drukhari took advantage of it.

A few meters from the statue was another statue of an imperial aquila who was missing pieces. Whoever broke it was quite unhappy about the planet being left to its fate.

Akhenaten had come to the marketplace to greet friends and buy some things she'd been wanting to get for some time. Sometimes the merchants brought exotic goods from far away places. Though of the items would make monodominants throw a fit, there was nothing that was genuinely dangerous. The hazardous commodities were sold by the Cold Trade, and those knew better than to sell their wares out in the open. The only places one could find them in this planet were in the underbelly of cities. Places in which the police thought twice about entering.

One of the merchants called Akhenaten's name when saw her near his stall. "Akhen, come over here!" The biomancer turned around in the direction of the call and smiled at the man. "Marcus, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a long time!" She greeted her friend with a hug.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten had come to the marketplace to greet friends and buy some things she'd been wanting to get for some time. Sometimes the merchants brought exotic goods from far away places. Though of the items would make monodominants throw a fit, there was nothing that was genuinely dangerous. The hazardous commodities were sold by the Cold Trade, and those knew better than to sell their wares out in the open. The only places one could find them in this planet were in the underbelly of cities. Places in which the police thought twice about entering.

One of the merchants called Akhenaten's name when saw her near his stall. "Akhen, come over here!" The biomancer turned around in the direction of the call and smiled at the man. "Marcus, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a long time!" She greeted her friend with a hug.

"Apologies accepted. Now, could you please follow me? I think there is something you might like in the town market." The two psykers were near a town located in a non-imperial planet. It was one of Akhenaten's favorite places to take a stroll. Besides, there was plenty of opportunities to buy anything that might catch her eye or listen to gossip.

The biomancer hummed a merry tune as walked into the town. For some strange reason, she remembered the day when she discovered Ahzek, her adoptive father, had fathered biological children. A consequence of him being The Mollusk's favorite plaything. Two twin girls, who were his living image, lying a crib near their mother; who was selling cheeses and sausages in her market stall. Akhenaten had been surprised when she saw them while she was talking to Marcela about the price of a wheel of premium cheese.

It took some time, but eventually she got the story of how the twins were born from an affair Marcela had with Ahzek while he was laying low after fleeing from the Inquisition. Though the relationship between her and Ahzek had deteriorated, there was no way she could leave his offspring unprotected. And so she took the twins and their mother under her wing.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"What kind of old places have you gone to? This is not the first time I have gone on expeditions to Dark Age of Technology ruins. My clan often takes part in them in search of knowledge, both for the betterment of ourselves and our allies. Some of them were down on their luck when we met them, so our help was appreciated."

What went unsaid was that since Achilles was not a people person, he kept relationships with allies strictly professional. He had few people he could call friends, but it took them a lot of time to earn his trust. He was a solitary man.

The sound of chattering caught his attention. The astartes commanded his servoskull to focus in the direction of the sound. When it zoomed in, it caught the presence of mutants. Children, by the looks of it. Not big enough to be a menace, but experience had taught him adults were often near.

"Mutant children. We are entering the territory of the mutant packs. We must be on our guard. Even though they are not dangerous to us, the adults are. And I would not be surprised if at least one of them was an alpha mutant. This area seems to be richer in resources than the subway." The other servo skulls had caught signals of an abundance of vegetation. A short burst of techna lingua commanded the one who had been made from a skull of a deceased clan bodyguard to search for their source. 10 minutes later, Achilles HUD display was filled of images of overgrown gardens teeming with wildlife.

"Ana, have you fought Alpha mutants before? Because sooner or later we will find one. They never appear in wastelands."

The mutant children got nervous as the group got closer to them. "Our scent puts them on edge. I wouldn't be surprised if they called for mom." The children scattered like rats. They definitely were on their way to inform their pack of the presence of intruders.

☢️ (Achilles, he, Ana and Jenny are exploring dark age of technology ruins.)

The long dead hive soared high into the clouds before them. The colossal arcology’s geometric structure looked nothing like the titanic gothic edifices of Imperial hive cities but its design instead hinted at something far older, to a time long before even the Age of Strife.

Even from here Ana could see the vast gaping holes that now marred what must have once been a sleek exterior.

Wind and dust battered her form and she wrapped the scarf around her nose and mouth tighter. The glassy dust attempting entry into her eyes and lungs made her glad that she and Jenny had both worn goggles and face scarves among other things. Her duster jacket flapped in the wind behind her, revealing flak armor.

Jenny wore a weather-worn and Ogryn-sized jacket beneath heavy body armor. Over her shoulder was slung an intimidating looking Thunderstrike claw hammer instead of her usual ripper gun.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"Apologies accepted. Now, could you please follow me? I think there is something you might like in the town market." The two psykers were near a town located in a non-imperial planet. It was one of Akhenaten's favorite places to take a stroll. Besides, there was plenty of opportunities to buy anything that might catch her eye or listen to gossip.

The biomancer hummed a merry tune as walked into the town. For some strange reason, she remembered the day when she discovered Ahzek, her adoptive father, had fathered biological children. A consequence of him being The Mollusk's favorite plaything. Two twin girls, who were his living image, lying a crib near their mother; who was selling cheeses and sausages in her market stall. Akhenaten had been surprised when she saw them while she was talking to Marcela about the price of a wheel of premium cheese.

It took some time, but eventually she got the story of how the twins were born from an affair Marcela had with Ahzek while he was laying low after fleeing from the Inquisition. Though the relationship between her and Ahzek had deteriorated, there was no way she could leave his offspring unprotected. And so she took the twins and their mother under her wing.

The biomancer hummed. She was interested in turning Alethea away from the Imperium, for she could be a good asset for the Geists. But it would be suicide to talk about her plans. Specially since the Inquisitor was still quite loyal to her masters.

It would be better to claim it was because of a sense of familiarity. After all, The Geists had served the Inquisition for years. But never Puritans.

"You remind me of someone that used to work for many years ago. One of the few Imperials who actually treated me with decency. Such treatment sticks with you when you are used to the opposite."

[akhenaten-imhotep]

The biomancer hummed. She was interested in turning Alethea away from the Imperium, for she could be a good asset for the Geists. But it would be suicide to talk about her plans. Specially since the Inquisitor was still quite loyal to her masters.

It would be better to claim it was because of a sense of familiarity. After all, The Geists had served the Inquisition for years. But never Puritans.

"You remind me of someone that used to work for many years ago. One of the few Imperials who actually treated me with decency. Such treatment sticks with you when you are used to the opposite."

Akhenaten knew it would be a bad idea to speak about how she used kindness to ingratiate herself with Inquisitor Aranea all those years ago. Aranea was the disciple of Inquisitor Matthew, one of those xanthites who loved using daemonhosts. He had used his power to force the Celestial Geists into his service. When eventually his pet daemonhost killed him, the Geists passed to Aranea. Akhenaten managed to ingratiate herself to the young inquisitor because she was not a daemonhost.

Aranea would never be trapped in the dilema of choosing between security and strenght when dealing with a daemonhost. And so it was that Akhenaten gained a lot of benefits for the Geists.

"No, to be honest. I bear no ill will towards you. I have dealt with horrible inquisitors, so you are a breath of fresh air.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Achilles wondered just what kind of vermin they would find down the tunnel. Mutation could happen due to exposure to pollutants, toxins or pathogens. And there were plenty of chances for any survivors to be exposed to them through the years.

When they entered the tunnel the astartes made sure to send forward a servo skull so it could scan their surroundings. They hadn't found any alpha mutants while they were in the subway, but some might dwell in this place. Specially if there were more opportunities for food. Some ruins in other locations had developed their own ecosystems, full of flora and fauna.

"Jenny, is this your first time going on an expedition to dark age of technology ruins?" He figured out he should get to know the ogryn better if they were going to participate together in future expeditions.

☢️ (Achilles, he, Ana and Jenny are exploring dark age of technology ruins.)

The long dead hive soared high into the clouds before them. The colossal arcology’s geometric structure looked nothing like the titanic gothic edifices of Imperial hive cities but its design instead hinted at something far older, to a time long before even the Age of Strife.

Even from here Ana could see the vast gaping holes that now marred what must have once been a sleek exterior.

Wind and dust battered her form and she wrapped the scarf around her nose and mouth tighter. The glassy dust attempting entry into her eyes and lungs made her glad that she and Jenny had both worn goggles and face scarves among other things. Her duster jacket flapped in the wind behind her, revealing flak armor.

Jenny wore a weather-worn and Ogryn-sized jacket beneath heavy body armor. Over her shoulder was slung an intimidating looking Thunderstrike claw hammer instead of her usual ripper gun.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten knew it would be a bad idea to speak about how she used kindness to ingratiate herself with Inquisitor Aranea all those years ago. Aranea was the disciple of Inquisitor Matthew, one of those xanthites who loved using daemonhosts. He had used his power to force the Celestial Geists into his service. When eventually his pet daemonhost killed him, the Geists passed to Aranea. Akhenaten managed to ingratiate herself to the young inquisitor because she was not a daemonhost.

Aranea would never be trapped in the dilema of choosing between security and strenght when dealing with a daemonhost. And so it was that Akhenaten gained a lot of benefits for the Geists.

"No, to be honest. I bear no ill will towards you. I have dealt with horrible inquisitors, so you are a breath of fresh air.

@akhenaten-imhotep, continued from [ here ]

Akhenaten lifted an eyebrow. "You really aren't used to gestures of kindness, are you?" Thoughts about what Serge had told her about what he and Alethea experienced under the clutches of that madman crossed her mind. That, and the Schola Progenium. Now that definitely made her want to eat those people. She needed blood, and they had more than enough.

There would be a pause at the question, the frown deepening briefly. "I am used to there being a motive behind the kindness," she responded, inspecting the flower up close before looking up to Akhenaten.

"Whether that be in an attempt to endear themselves to an Imperial Inquisitor, or to utilize subterfuge in some attempt on my life. I suppose it at least appears you would not bother with either..."

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten lifted an eyebrow. "You really aren't used to gestures of kindness, are you?" Thoughts about what Serge had told her about what he and Alethea experienced under the clutches of that madman crossed her mind. That, and the Schola Progenium. Now that definitely made her want to eat those people. She needed blood, and they had more than enough.

“A flower, for you.” (for alethea

More Questions/Comments to be sent anonymously!

The Inquisitor blinked at the offered flower, a twitch of her hand to accept the gift suppressed purely out of suspicion - and confusion.

"Why?"

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"Admiration. For trying to make the world a better place, even if it's hard."

“A flower, for you.” (for alethea

More Questions/Comments to be sent anonymously!

The Inquisitor blinked at the offered flower, a twitch of her hand to accept the gift suppressed purely out of suspicion - and confusion.

"Why?"

[akhenaten-imhotep]

The biomancer tilted her head. At first glance, the knife didn't have anything which would indicate it belonged to someone. So she thought she could pick it up to take a closer look since it had caught her attention. She handed the knife back to Ozura. "Apologies. I did not know it belonged to you. Was it a gift from someone special?"

Akhenaten's mind went to the rings which adorned her fingers. They were gifts given to her by Ahzek to celebrate the succesful implantation of the black carapace; and the completion of the final step in becoming an astartes.

BLOODLINE:  In  the  receiver's  house,  the  sender  stands  over  a  box  of  old  photos  and  secrets.

(Akhen, for Ozy)

𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐓  𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄  𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒  .  .  .  || Not Accepting!

"That doesn't belong to you," Ozura said, looking at the knife in Akhenaten's hand. However he doesn't yet move closer to the sorceress. "I would like that back."

[akhenaten-imhotep]

The beast's broken back made it impossible for it to move, so Anna's force glaive put it out of its misery. Achilles let it drop to the floor while muttering curses in Olympian. This beast had given them a lot of trouble.

[Flash forward]

The trio finally arrived at the doors of the library. Achilles convinced Ana to take them there, for he was fed up with walking. He frowned as he looked at the dilapidated building. Its roof was filed with holes, so pretty much everything inside had been ruined by rain a long time ago. "Our best it the basements. Chances are any cogitator that is in there hasn't suffered water damage. There might be any enemies such as bramblebacks or mutant packs living in there, so we must be careful. Specially if its alpha mutants."

The first thing he noticed when he entered the building was how run down the place looked like. It was very far from how it was in its glory days. The presence of skeletons definitely sent the message. "I wonder how these poor sods met their end. They probably died of hunger or diseases."

☢️ (Achilles, he, Ana and Jenny are exploring dark age of technology ruins.)

The long dead hive soared high into the clouds before them. The colossal arcology’s geometric structure looked nothing like the titanic gothic edifices of Imperial hive cities but its design instead hinted at something far older, to a time long before even the Age of Strife.

Even from here Ana could see the vast gaping holes that now marred what must have once been a sleek exterior.

Wind and dust battered her form and she wrapped the scarf around her nose and mouth tighter. The glassy dust attempting entry into her eyes and lungs made her glad that she and Jenny had both worn goggles and face scarves among other things. Her duster jacket flapped in the wind behind her, revealing flak armor.

Jenny wore a weather-worn and Ogryn-sized jacket beneath heavy body armor. Over her shoulder was slung an intimidating looking Thunderstrike claw hammer instead of her usual ripper gun.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Achilles became very quiet as he tried to figure out what was coming their way. Mutants weren't the only danger lurking in the dark age of technology ruins. Predators like bramblebacks and hellbears had also made these places their home. And they did not take kindly to the presence of strangers.

The astartes' servo skull detected the heat signature of a large creature which was stalking them. Closer investigation detected it was a brambleback. "Fucking hell.", Achilles murmured. The brambleback hissed at them as it approached the group. Achilles took out his omnissian axe. "Come closer so I can skin you, bloody cat from hell. Your pelt will make a nice ornament for my quarters." The brambleback growled before pouncing on them. Achilles wounded it on its side, leaving a deep gash. The beast roared in pain, and attacked the astartes with claws and fangs.

What followed was a fight in which the astartes used his mechadendrites to keep the beast's weapons at bay as he struck it with his axe. Though his armor was durable, he didn't want it to risk it becoming damaged by an enraged predator. A particularly nasty blow broke three of his mechadendrites, and Achilles retaliated by using his telekinesis to send the brambleback crashing agaisnt the wall. This wasn't enough to put the beast down, for it threw itself again agaisnt the astartes. An invisible hand wrapped around the feline, crushing it as one would crush an insect. The brambleback thrashed so much that for a moment Achilles feared it would break his hold on it.

"Ana, Jenny, helped me finish off this bastard. It is making things difficult for me."

☢️ (Achilles, he, Ana and Jenny are exploring dark age of technology ruins.)

The long dead hive soared high into the clouds before them. The colossal arcology’s geometric structure looked nothing like the titanic gothic edifices of Imperial hive cities but its design instead hinted at something far older, to a time long before even the Age of Strife.

Even from here Ana could see the vast gaping holes that now marred what must have once been a sleek exterior.

Wind and dust battered her form and she wrapped the scarf around her nose and mouth tighter. The glassy dust attempting entry into her eyes and lungs made her glad that she and Jenny had both worn goggles and face scarves among other things. Her duster jacket flapped in the wind behind her, revealing flak armor.

Jenny wore a weather-worn and Ogryn-sized jacket beneath heavy body armor. Over her shoulder was slung an intimidating looking Thunderstrike claw hammer instead of her usual ripper gun.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

She tilted her head. "I was in my tower reading old arcane books when I felt a disturbance in the warp. I came over here to see what had happened, and that was when I found you. You seem to be on some sort of quest to find esoteric knowledge. I may be of help for I have lived in this system for many years, and I am well familiarized with the magical knowledge of its people."

Uriel growled at the Sorcerers, but a word from his mistress silenced him. "Halt!..Oh, don't mind my minion. He doesn't like strangers, but he won't bite unless ordered to. My name is Neferure. A pleasure to meet you." There was no way the sorceress would use her true name. Doing so would invite disaster.

The expedition

@stories-from-the-warp

"Strange, I never thought a chaos marine would want to be in this godforsaken place." All around on the forest were signs of battle. Traces of warp energy, marine-sized footprints, bolt casings inscribed in runes, multi-colored embers, scorch-marks left by lighting and the mutated corpses of bramblebacks showed the battle was fierce.

Bramblebacks were notorious for being territorial, so whoever wandered into their territory must be either very stupid or very brave. "It truly must be a miracle that this marine avoided becoming their dinner. I still feel bad for the bramblebacks. Their corpses look like something straight from a nightmare."

Going to this place wasn't in Akhenaten's plans, but she recently noticed warp disturbances while she was reading arcane tomes in her tower. Fearing the worst, the sorceress travelled to the place with her beastial minion. Uriel semt to have found the scent of the intruder, for he rushed in the direction of the old xenos ruins.

Akhenaten followed him. The warp disturbance got stronger as they got near to the crumbling temple of knowledge deity Xu'ul. Could be intruder be one of the thousand sons? As far as she knew, other chaos marines were not so fond of quests of knowledge.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Noel looked at Ana. Nell was right, being mugged was a possibility. Even with her power, there was a chance shit would hit the fan. He was prepared to letal force in case they hurt her.

"Go, we will we waiting for you. Send us a sign if anything goes wrong."

[[flash forward]]

While Ana was with the rogue psykers, Noel got busy with praying. He beseeched the chr'ok pantheon to watch over her and protect her from any danger, and to keep the enemy at bay. She had become dear to him during the time he'd known her, so would hate it if anything bad happened to the perpetual.

"it’s incredible, and i’m mad about it." (Noel, feel free to have this start the psyker rescue rp)

“Couldn’t agree more. I need to do something. Been feeling restless.” She wasn’t sure if it was the Star Child giving her a nudge or the fact she had been thinking back to a horrible public burning she saw once some years ago but she was beginning to feel the need to commit crimes and heresies against the Imperium again, and what better way to do so than saving people from its bloody and iron grip? “What say you Noel?” She raised an inviting eyebrow.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"Bloody hell"., Akhenaten thought when she saw the Thousand Sons. Things between them had ended badly.

She had thrown her lot with the Imperium after she witnessed Ahriman sacrifice Hathor Maat to a daemon during a quest to seek one of the shards of Magnus. For if he had done that to someone who had been his lover, then what would be willing to do to her?

Her decision was vindicated when the Thousand Sons used every vile sorcery agaisnt the Imperium during the Siege of Terra. No one who resorted to black magic was her friend. And many years later, when she went to the Eye of Terror in search for answers, did she witness how the Thousand Sons were willing to betray their closest allies for personal gain.

It wouldn't be good if the group learned her true identity. The rubricae might be easier to deal with, but the sorcerers would be a challenge. Luckily for Akhenaten, she looked very different from how she did millenia ago.

Why had the Thousand Sons come here? Were they trying to set up a base of operations for a recruitment campaign? Many years ago, a thousand sons warband had planted a Tzeentchian cult in the Amerian nobility who were notorious for their interest in magic. 100 years later, they arrived to capture the cultists which were psykers of high caliber, for they were the only ones in which the Thousand Sons gene-seed would take root.

The Faith only learned about the cult when the Sorcerers got too ambitious, and decided to steal novices from the local temples. Under Alpheccan tradition, any psyker was destined for priesthood because of their bond to the other side. So the novices' kidnapping was a grave crime which could not go unpunished. What happened next was a bitter war between the warband and the Faith, which ended in the warband and cult's destruction, the deaths of 5,000 locals, and high priests being turned into chaos spawn.

"I must follow them. Only then I will be able to know their nefarious plans. But deception must be my ally." She would pretend to be a chaos sorceress who was interested in helping the Thousand Sons with their quest. It wouldn't be hard for her to sell the illusion. After, wasn't she horribly mutated after a terrible incident with the flesh-change in which she narrowly avoided turning into a chaos spawn for a god of death saved her for unknowingly gaining their favor?

"Greetings. I wasn't expecting to see other Thousand Sons coming here in search of magical knowledge, but it is a welcome surprise.", she said in Tizcan as she approached the group.

The expedition

@stories-from-the-warp

"Strange, I never thought a chaos marine would want to be in this godforsaken place." All around on the forest were signs of battle. Traces of warp energy, marine-sized footprints, bolt casings inscribed in runes, multi-colored embers, scorch-marks left by lighting and the mutated corpses of bramblebacks showed the battle was fierce.

Bramblebacks were notorious for being territorial, so whoever wandered into their territory must be either very stupid or very brave. "It truly must be a miracle that this marine avoided becoming their dinner. I still feel bad for the bramblebacks. Their corpses look like something straight from a nightmare."

Going to this place wasn't in Akhenaten's plans, but she recently noticed warp disturbances while she was reading arcane tomes in her tower. Fearing the worst, the sorceress travelled to the place with her beastial minion. Uriel semt to have found the scent of the intruder, for he rushed in the direction of the old xenos ruins.

Akhenaten followed him. The warp disturbance got stronger as they got near to the crumbling temple of knowledge deity Xu'ul. Could be intruder be one of the thousand sons? As far as she knew, other chaos marines were not so fond of quests of knowledge.