Session 17
Progress Report 1
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| +++ | Document Name: Sveslor Subsector Crisis Report 6 | +++ |
| +++ | Author: Lazerus | +++ |
| +++ | Date: 3 623 815 M41 | +++ |
| +++ | Clearance Level: Carmine | +++ |
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Thought For the Day: A coward always seeks compromise.
Lord Inquisitor Trantor, what follows is an update of the progress of your Unremitting Cell of Acolytes in their mission to solve the Sveslor Subsector Crisis.
Warp travel times have diminished to a previously unheard-of extent. The fleets astropaths warn of a dangerous weakening in the veil that seperates reality from the immaterium. The stress this is putting on your humble servants is evident in our actions detailed in this report.
On arrival in the Tejal system, the taskforce found the wreckage of many pilgrim ships as well as the hulk of the Unrelenting Pride. As we approached orbit, the remaining pilgrim ships broke from combat and split up, half fled while the others approached the fleet claiming to be loyal to the emperor. Ishmael believed this to be a trap and recommended the fleet destroy the transports. Magnus, instead, believed them to be loyal and recommended against that course of action. As the argument drew on without any hope of resolution, a frustrated Rear Admiral Bytham rightly labelled the two as 'children'. Violence threatened to ensue but, due to the intervention of Lord General Rekvist, cooler heads prevailed. A compromise was reached where the pilgrim ships would stand away from the fleet.
The situation on Tejal had turned into a continent spanning trench war with PDF and pilgrim levies on both sides. The bulk of the fighting was centred around the Cathedral of Saint Levincraft, the site of the initial incident. Unable to judge which, if any, side was loyal, the fleet began indiscriminate orbital bombardment of the front lines. The force in control of the Cathedral identified itself as loyal, under the control of Priest Maellar. His identity and loyalty were confirmed and the bombardment was focused on his adversaries.
The cell then traveled to the Cathedral to confirm the situation and investigate the incident that sparked the conflict. Upon arrival we were met by Priest Maellar who took us to the inner sanctum and informed us that our 'brother servant' Commander Aurelius was already within. Considering that Commander Aurelius was the ranking military commander in the loyalist forces, the cell decided to delay his execution to avoid a major incident. This was confirmed to be a wise decision when the nature of the incident was made clear.
Behind the altar, another incorporeal daemon was bound within a ring of holy flame. The layout is described in Document ξ87 - Location: Tejal Cathedral of Saint Levincraft. After the initial incursion, Priest Maellar bound him in place and set many pilgrims to work, chanting and praying to keep the evil bound. Commander Aurelius and Priest Maellar were both working on a way to banish it entirely, however none of their efforts had succeeded.
As suspected this daemon was much like the previous ones encountered by the cell. It was put in place to ease the summoning of the 'one true god' and wished to be freed. In return for being freed it offered gifts and would return to the warp from whence it came. When it made the offer of gifts it intimated that some of the cell had accepted previous gifts. I am not aware who has committed such heresy but when this crisis is over I expect a full investigation. This time it was Drake who freed the daemon, dousing the flame with holy water. Commander Aurelius took issue with this course of action but was convinced to allow it.
After the daemon had left, Maellar set about re-sanctifying the cathedral. Commander Aurelius was content to accompany us back to the fleet and to be detained until his loyalty could be assured. Considering his loyalty to the Emperor during the incident on Tejal, we decided to leave his fate in your hands. When questioned about the incident on Gorane, he told us that it was a terrible accident caused by the Heretic Varnias.
Drake attempted to contact you regarding our detention of Hastur Aurelius but a warp breach occurred in the astropathicus just after the message was sent. The ship's navigator informed us after the incident that something had forced it's way back through the link. The navigator also shared that, during the previous weeks there had been a strong warp current centred around Sveslor but that now the warp was completely calm. He recommended that the subsector be abandoned while the light of the astronomican still shone. Disregarding the navigator's warning, the cell made haste for Sveslor on the IN Fury's Hand III.
It should be noted that the heretic Lord Raltus was executed on 3 623 815 M41, 66 days after his official execution.
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Progress Report 2
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| +++ | Document Name: Sveslor Subsector Crisis Report 7 | +++ |
| +++ | Author: Lazerus | +++ |
| +++ | Date: 6 633 815 M41 | +++ |
| +++ | Clearance Level: Carmine | +++ |
| +++ | Priority: URGENT | +++ |
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Thought For the Day: A moment of laxity spawns a lifetime of heresy.
Lord Inquisitor Trantor, the crisis in the Sveslor Subsector has escalated to a dangerous phase. Your servants are ill equipped to handle the current events and your assistance is humbly requested. What follows is a report on what occurred to prompt this urgent communique.
IN Fury's Hand III arrived in the Sebrian system on 3 634 815 M41 to find that the Svelsor system was also in the system. This astronomical impossibility was compounded by Sveslor's appearance. The planet was covered in flame and looked as if it had been burning for some time. The ship's navigator told us that there was a message from the planet we ought to hear however he died before he could relay it. The message, dated 633, was preserved on a wafer and read thus:
Send help, massive catastrophes across the planet...ph'nglui mglw'nafh wgah'nagl fhtagn
As the destroyer approached the stricken planet, the Sebrian system faded and we found ourselves in the Sveslor system proper. Clocks on the ship began running backwards and the planet appeared to move backwards through time, the fires extinguishing themselves. The temporal distortions corrected themselves at morning on 633 and the cell watched helplessly as one of the cities was destroyed by atomics.
Panic filled the vox channels with one transmission overriding the others, "two down, two to go". Then, on our personal voxnet came the follow up, "your previous group of servants failed to stop me, you will not stop me either. I will claim this world and then this system and then the subsector. Even mildly inconveniencing me through the release of my brothers were just delaying the inevitable."
In a display of its power, the daemon then possessed Slate and forced him to shoot the destroyer's captain. Then it used Magnus as its puppet to attempt to strange another officer. Finally the beast issued a challenge, it told us that it would be at the cathedral where its summoning would occur.
On planet-fall, the cell found all the citizens unconscious, their chronos stopped at different times. The daemonhost stood in front of the ruined altar. It attempted to leave, but Slate distracted it long enough for the cell to strike. The cell was, however, unable to defeat the daemonhost before it used its magiks to knock all but Ishmael unconscious. By himself, Ishmael was unable to impede the daemonhost's escape.
Your servants, having recovered their senses, are now gathering equipment and planning a course of action. Our success, however, is not guaranteed. I implore you to hasten to our assistance so that the beast may be destroyed and the Emperor's light restored to the Sveslor Subsector.
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