Just when Sel had approached the other seers, the second Pathfinder arrived, being slightly out of breath, approaching the Autarch directly just as the Pathfinder before, whispering in his ear. "I was close enough to listen to a patrol of the Target City... There are chaos cultists among them and they might not even know... They talked about a second attack from their masters in just a few days... It seems whatever Chaos incursion happened here before, was just a vanguard, a test to see how strong the world is." Brillyen reported as swift as he was capable of.
"Very well." he walked over to the gate and sent a message through to the craftworld to send a few able walkers of the path of service to help speed up the transport of the soul stones. "Your service has been invaluable to the craftworld, soon your work shall be done and you can rest in the infinity circuit. But first we must defend the gate from any offense by the Mon'keighs to cut off the warhost." He started walking over to the infinity circuit to investigate it for signs of corruption or disrepair.
"It is unfortunate that Chaos may strike so soon, but perhaps they will pull the Imperial Guard's attention away from us. We will have to see. Either way this planet's Infinity Circuit must be moved. Rest for a moment." "Apologies. I did not mean to interrupt you all. Seers?"
Ilidarian stepped forward, knowing the Autarch would want to know his mind. Though he felt that few would heed his words. He already sensed the animosity of the Exarchs and he did not wish to add to the Autarch's burden with his own concerns. Selhiat had few allies in this room. His every action and decision would be analyzed, criticized and questioned. Ilidarian would make efforts to be the voice of caution and reason. "Autarch, as leader of our Seer Council, I feel it is my burden to inform you of the dire portents that surround this endeavor" Ilidarian began, as he gradually reached out to each mind in the room and permitted them an insight into the skein, as seen through his own eyes. He reached into a pouch at his belt and retrieved his Seer Runes, each marvelously crafted of wraithbone and engraved with the ancient witch sigils of fate. He cast them onto the crumbling table the had been moved to the center of the chamber. They clattered along it's surface, like the reeds of a chime in the wind. They each came to rest on their own, their patterns and meanings beginning to emerge, as Ilidarian deciphered them for all to hear. They were as dire now, as they had been previously. No clear indications for success or failure. Only ominous possibility. Each decision made could be their last. The slightest misstep spelling disaster. Each casting had been the same for days. This world was indeed a nexus of chance and a focal point of a vast web of possibilities. 'As you see, Shadows of Mymeara, we are at a crossroads. From this point onwards, we are at the mercies of fate. I, nor any of the other Farseers, can see the outcome of our actions here. We must tread carefully, for even the slightest action could have disastrous consequences for our people in the centuries to follow' He warned, hoping that his words galvanized the others to cast aside their petty pride and work towards their common goal. 'I will say only this with certainty: We must be of one mind, one heart and one blade, if we are to retrieve what we lost so long ago. The Autarch was chosen to lead us, by the will of the Council and great Bel-Annath himself. We must stay the course. The Teachings of Irillyth remind us that the shadows are our greatest ally and our greatest strength. Keep to their cool embrace and we shall have victory. Remember always: In darkness, we prevail' His words of council spoken, Ilidarian stepped back and rejoined the other seers. He prayed that his warning would be heeded. Only together would they succeed.
No pressure, Sel thought, relieving his own tension, and the seers are as vague as ever. At least I see eye-to-eye with him. Shadows and Unity. Although, the rest of that was considerably more calamitous than I was hoping for. "Agreed. We will have to move as a unit given our numbers, and we band of warriors number too few to not perform this covertly." Selhiat walked from the threshold of their meeting space, seers following, and convened with the exarchs and their warriors standing nearby, well within earshot. Everyone needed to know the plan of action. He allowed his hawk wings to stretch and brandish in full, as this needed to be encouraging. "Warriors!" He exclaimed, pulling all remaining attention towards himself. The Exarchs stood ready, their warriors now moving to form a rough semi-circle. Drawing a small circular pad from his hip, he scuffled a little divot in the dusty floor with his foot and rested the pad on the ground, holding his hand above it, he beckoned it activate and it was so. The pad projected a one-and-a-half meter wide, backlit hologram of Vizius IV clearly for all to see. "You are about to embark upon a great endeavor, toward which all the craftworld has striven. The eyes of the Eldar race are upon you. The hopes and prayers of Eldar everywhere march with you. In company with your fellow kinsman and aspect warriors here, you will bring about untold destruction upon the forces which have sought to destroy us for so many millenia, the return of a lost relic to usher in a turn of the tables against our foes, and further security for ourselves in this cruel galaxy." "We stand in the lost halls of our ancestors, now endangered by the gods we so despise. We, are here," he punctuated as he drew the map to a particular point. A small purple series of lines showed the extent of the tunnels as known by then. "You are all already well aware of our prize so I will spare its details. We do not have available wraithgates. We do not have available air support. We do not have means to deploy grav-tanks. We do not have means of inserting via the webway beyond this point. We. Are. It." He let that sink. "So. We will have to take the Lance of Moonlight and return it to this webway gate. The Imperial Guard defending this planet have taken their primary defensive stance in their capitol located here. The capitol is less than one of this planet's day's march from these tunnels towards the Northeast. The tunnels once led to the chamber containing the Lance, but they have become caved-in, destroyed and otherwise collapsed due to the mon-keigh's 'construction'. We must go overland. The Imperium has housed two common infantry regiments and a single armored regiment at the capitol and has not deployed forces elsewhere on planet. Time is of the essence here, as the forces of Chaos have already set their roots on this planet, and we must be quick to remove our subterranean treasure before those roots dig too deep." "There is another concern. This planet houses an infinity circuit. We will also be evacuating that through the webway. The Spiritseer is coordinating this as we speak, and there is a possibility many of the souls will seek to aid us. If they do, then this city located nearby towards the south," he directed on the holographic globe, "will get quite a surprise. I cannot be guaranteed the deads' support, but if they so choose, we will be able to draw some of the entrenched guardsmen from their defenses to protect the nearby cities. Else-wise, we will be moving in under the assumption that we are all there is." "As for the Dark Powers, they have already planted dissent and corruption amongst the ranks of the guardsmen, and the forces of Chaos may attack during our operations, so we will need to move swiftly to assure that we can move in and out before they arrive. We must fight covertly. I cannot stress this enough. Our offenses will not commit. Our defenses will be a feint. We fight the Corpse-Emperor's 'Hammer' and though they are slow, if we do not stay in motion, we will be utterly crushed by their tanks, their artillery, and their sheer numbers." "Here is our approach vector," he directed, showing the diagram of the path they would take, "And here is our marching order. Rangers will lead the way, scouting for hang-ups. Following them at 80 paces distance will be the Scorpions. 20 paces behind them will be the Banshees. Then the Dire Avengers and Fire Dragons. Then the Dark Reapers will maintain a zone of covering fire over all those forces in front of them, followed by the Shadow Spectres who will maintain our rear, able to cover at long range and silent enough to spot enemies first should we ever be followed. The Spiders will stay besides the Dire Avengers, guarding the flanks from enfilading fire. The seers will support alongside the Banshees. This is our marching order until we reach the outer defenses of the northwestern side of the city." "When we arrive at the city in the dark early hours of the morning, we will face these defenses," the hologram produced a ranger's view of a small set of berms and ranks of short bunker walls with pillboxes and defensive cannons. A line of razorwire, dragon's teeth, and czech hedgehogs prevented direct entry from ground vehicles and infantry. "The Dark Reapers and Shadow Spectres will take defiladed positions in the treeline alongside the pathfinders, and will wait for a signal. The Warp Spiders will wait alongside them for my command, guarding the flanks until otherwise commanded. The Reapers, Spectres, and Rangers will open fire first, then the Banshees, Dire Avengers, Fire Dragons and Scorpions will charge the position with the defensive psychic support of the warlocks and farseer protecting them. Banshees and Scorpions will breach, with the Fire Dragons clearing obstacles and guns, and the covering fire clearing entrenchments and preventing the Guardsmen from returning fire. Once we've breached the defensive line, the Spiders will port in, and begin clearing out any other positions endangering the Reapers and company. Then the Reapers, Spectres and Pathfinders will move in, taking high ground and covering further advances. We will leap-frog in this manner until we reach the closest opening to the catacombs located here." The map zoomed into an old human building located only a few hundred meters from the outer entrenchments. "Once there, the seers will unlock the gates barring entry to the catacombs, and we will find what lays there. It has not been mapped so it is a gambit from that point on. Once we have the Lance, our escape relies on flexibility. We will attempt to find another exit from the catacombs, and abscond towards the Southwest heading directly to this webway gate and returning home safely." "No plan survives contact with the enemy. I expect this approach to require many changes, as the seers visions are only clear that darkness and unity will win the day. The Ruinous Powers are approaching. Be ready for their machinations to force us to change our tactics." "We will succeed, I was not given this charge without good reason, and you were not requested to join in this endeavor without good reason. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely." Stepping forward from the hologram, he surveyed the warriors left to right, "I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to you kin and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!" "Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Isha and the wrath of Khaine upon this great and noble undertaking. We march for the Lance of Moonlight!" Selhiat deactivated his holopad, returning it to his waist, and began his walk towards the northeastern exits of the cavern. He pointed out the pathfinders and waved them forward to begin leading the path. Donning his helm, he activated his comm, "We must move now, swift as Kurnous, all Exarchs sound off on comm and take your established positions. If you have questions, now is the time." Huh...Bel-Annath had chosen me? I wonder why no-one told me that prior, Sel considered. I wouldn't have even chosen me! he jested to himself. --Marching Order-- Pathfinders--------Scorpions--BansheesDire Avengers, Warlocks, Warp SpidersFire Dragons-Dark ReapersShadow Spectres
"Orders are understood Autarch. Death shall tread behind you and none shall stay our wrath." Fadren and his Reapers waited for any questions to be spoken and answers presented before he and his Reapers marched out to form up, still as statues as they waited for the rest to form up. He took a moment to cycle through the vision of both barrels on his Tempest Launcher, making sure each one had at least one of each ammunition type ready for whatever they may face. "Ereth you will open fire first when the time comes, focus on enemy heavy infantry. Banin, Draklith your duty is to cover our brothers and sisters, prioritize your targets and co-ordinate your fire. Norten single out vehicles for destruction, I will deal with threats as they arise. " There was no confirmation of his orders but he needed none, they would obey to the letter and they would do their duty. Despite the troubling portents brought forth by the Seer he had resolved they would win, they only needed to destroy everything else that posed a threat, and few could bring devastation better than he and his pupils.
"Affirmative Autarch, we will comply." Signaling his scorpions, Korlynth leads them behind the pathfinders. Spreading out, they quickly disappear into the shadows.
When the Autarch began his briefing Maiev drew close and kneeled beside the map. Her shrine followed close behind her, curious to see what the Autarch had planned. At the mention of The Great Enemy's involvement Haeneth shifted. She was likely uneasy with the thought of their presence, as she was inexperienced in true combat, but her war-mask pushed most of her fear away. Maiev took note of her reaction. Berendes seemed anxious for a good fight. Arthiel seemed as confident as ever. ... After Sel had finished Maiev stood up and led her Banshee's to their positions. "The Foreboding Doom, falling into formation." She responded quickly and sharply, no sense of affection or trust was displayed in her voice. She watched the other Exarchs giving their orders. Her Banshees would need no orders until the battle began, they knew what to do, they had been trained well and would not require Maiev to hold their hand every step of the way. Scorpions leading the way. They'll die in place of our Banshee's. You doubt Korlynth's ability to hide himself from combat? I would assume that's the one thing he could do properly. I would hope so, I'm in no mood to dig them out of a hole they dug themselves into. We could assume this all goes well and the Scorpions dont get themselves killed. Please. We have all seen thousands of years worth of combat, and as the Autarch said, no plan survives contact with the enemy. You're agreeing with the foreigner now? Hah! Never, he merely uttered a repetition of a well known truth. The Seers are of little use as well. You are surprised? The help they do provide comes in riddles anyway, as if they do not desire to help us. Perhaps they have no idea what they see themselves. A likely thought. Maiev silenced the voices, it mattered not, the plan would not change with their constant discussion of their dislike. What would change it though, was the Mon'Keigh resistance.
''Very well, Autarch. Spiders, form,'' Exarch Arkash commanded. ''Clean up duty?'' Sithian mumbled to Hwaith as the Warp Spiders moved away from the assembled warhost, taking a moment to gather before they moved out. ''We do as tasked,'' Elirian responded, blunting the sharpness of the discord he detected from Sithian. The Spiders formed a semicircle, with their Exarch at its center. ''We have our task, warriors, and whilst that is the case we shall do as asked. We may not approve of the orders we are tasked with, but we We march beside our...brethren and cover as they advance, biding our time. Once the enemy stronghold is breached we will move in and strike the enemy down before they ever know we are there,'' Arkash said. A clean up, then? A Warp Spider isn't there to pick off the scraps. We are proud warriors, this task dishonours us. Typical of one who never traveled our path. They steal our glory and let the lesser warriors take it in our steed. I agree, we should be the first into the fray, to distract and sow confusion through their cowardly ranks, not last. Enough! We have our orders, they must be followed. Our strike will come when they are already weakened, when we can create the maximum havoc. If they aren't all dead by then. No further orders were needed. His shrine were well versed in the ways of war, and they could handle anything that the frail humans might have been able to muster against them. Waiting to strike was to Arkash's distaste, but he would obey the orders given, for now.
"Specters to Me, we shall haunt the host's shadows, the enemy is vast but they are weak of heart. We must crush their armor if it rears its head of course, but they will overwhelm us should they muster. Cut off the head, when combat commences, target the officers, leave them leaderless and they shall falter. We strike from shadows."
