The Primarch's Council, Hathor Temporarily Under Magnus
First person
The Imperium representative boarded the Golden Aquila Shuttle and departed from the ship on the Squat orbit.
One hundred and thirty aircraft formed a pattern of Aquila in the void.
Subsequently, the formation flew neatly to the airspace above the airport.
It stopped at the same time, and its tail flames bloomed in the sky above the starport.
The Aquila Shuttle landed neatly and stopped in the landing area.
Officials dressed in the robes of the Administratum, accompanied by their entourage, descended from the deck.
Malcador's representative, with a smile, said to his entourage:
"Only such an aircraft is the one that we, the representatives of the Imperium, those deeply trusted by the Sigillite, should ride in."
"This is not vanity, but what we need to do to serve the Emperor."
The attendant, beaming, agreed, "Lord Andrea is absolutely right."
"Now, let's go see the Primarch."
Moments later, Andrea saw three Primarch in the palace, and he crossed his arms in the Aquila Salute.
"Lord Nimrod, Lord Magnus, Lord Perturabo."
"Andrea, Administratum, pays homage to the Primarch."
Perturabo's icy blue eyes were unfocused. In his mind, the wings of the Aquila Shuttle were brought up separately, spinning and disassembling into individual parts.
Nimrod decided to spend the rest of his time at the Ancestor Shrine Forge-Ship, communicating with Votann and acquiring as much technology as possible.
"I have already spoken with Lord Grimnyr of the League of Votann, and the next round of negotiations will be conducted by you on behalf of the Imperium. I believe you will reach a suitable agreement."
"I am very interested in the culture of the Squats," the red-skinned Cyclops said. "I will participate in your negotiations."
Although Hathor had obtained information about the Squats from Nimrod and had made many unique discoveries, Magnus was very curious about this resilient race whose history was shrouded in mystery, yet whose technology was inextricably linked to the Imperium. He wanted to learn about this race firsthand.
Nimrod and the silent Perturabo then left, and Magnus patiently sat down with Andrea and the hastily arrived Adeptus Mechanicus Envoy Magos to learn from them about the demands of various factions within the Imperium.
As time passed, after the effects of the third vial of the personalized stimulant that Andrea had been injected with wore off, he requested a temporary recess.
Magnus, along with Amon, Hathor, and others, left the hall and returned to their flagship.
He then announced the convening of the Primarch's Council.
The members of the Primarch's Council are all personally selected by Magnus and are the high-ranking members of the "Thousand Sons" Legion, responsible for discussing all current affairs of the Legion.
Its membership is fluid; whether a Thousand Sons can join depends on many factors, one of the most crucial being their reputation within the legion.
The Five Cults are all vying for dominance, coveting the coveted seats next to the Primarch. Everyone knows that basking in Magnus's radiance will grant them invaluable knowledge and immense power.
Even Magnus's former mentor did not have a secure seat in the Council of Masters.
Luxentep of the "Falcon Sect" fought to secure his position and died not long ago in the war in the D-1519 system.
Hathor replaced Hasta in the "Pavoni," Ihoden barely maintained his position in the school and the Primarch's Council, but could only remain on the margins.
More than twenty members followed Magnus to the Red Giant's residence.
The palace contained none of the esoteric symbols, strange instruments, or mysterious ritual props that many people might imagine.
The walls were made of bright, clear glass, and the floor was not Adamantium from the Voidship, but of pure white marble taken from the deep mountains of Prospero.
Black tiles inlaid with gold wire are meticulously laid out in a repeating Geometry spiral, extending from the center.
More than twenty people stood on the spiral pattern, but part of the spiral was empty, as the original members had been sent to other legions by Magnus.
Their distance from the center serves as a yardstick for their status and, to some extent, indicates their position in the Primarch's Council.
Ahriman quietly moved along the black spiral, passing one Thousand Sons after another, until he reached his position.
He was in a prominent position, but there was one person, or perhaps two, who were closer to the center than him.
One person is confirmed to be Hathor, and the other is uncertain: Amon, the company commander of the Ninth Fellowship.
Amon was in charge of training the Legion's spies, which were the Thousand Sons's reconnaissance troops.
Ahriman neither saw nor sensed Amon's presence; few could discern his whereabouts, and among those present, only Magnus knew his location.
Ahriman had no complaints. After the Primarch returned, he stipulated that company commanders must complete their temporary training, which was precisely the evaluation criterion.
Amon did not stand beside Magnus as usual; at the Primarch's Council, he was acting as the company commander of the Academy, not as Primarch's Attendants.
He stood slightly in front of and to the side of Ahriman, looking at Hathor diagonally opposite him.
Within the "Pavoni," several meters behind Hathor was Ihoden, the school's leader from Prospero.
His and Hasta's standing within the school was surpassed by Hathor, and even by Amon himself.
The status of members in the council is not only related to their distance from the spiral, but also to many other aspects, such as the positions of the Thousand Sons beside him, behind him, and opposite him, who is obscured and who is visible, and the curvature of the curve between his position and the Solar Disc.
Everything revolves around the struggle for core power, with subtle interactions between the members' positions of influence weaving a web of power that only Magnus can see clearly.
Ahriman stood to the side and slightly behind Amon, while Hasta was farther away from Hathor, which clearly indicated that he had been surpassed by Hathor. At least for this moment, Hathor was at the top of the Council of Masters.
Above the central dome of the spiral, directly below the crystal spire, is a magnificent golden disc shaped like Sun, situated at the intersection of white marble and black spiral tiles, precisely at the very center of the entire palace.
Amon saw the crimson Magnus walk above the golden Sun and nod to the crowd.
"The Chamber still requires the Sothmes Sigil," Amon announced, his crimson armor blending into the shadows cast by the dome. The others in the Council of Masters could only hear his voice, not see him.
Magnus nodded, took the golden scythe from his waist, and with a gentle flick of his thumb, the hilt smoothly extended, transforming into a long-handled weapon with a low hum.
He struck the Solar Disc with a sickle, drawing an intricate, Distortion pattern on the ground.
Hathor felt the world around him suddenly darken, and the entire palace was no longer being spied on by outsiders.
At this moment, no one can use any technological or Psionic Energy means to explore what's inside the palace.
He frowned slightly; the sudden disconnection from the Warp was unsettling, but he was still a "Telepathist," able to peer into the thoughts of others like Apophis.
Hathor looked toward the center. At today's meeting, Magnus's pupils had turned violet, and he was staring at him with a scholarly smile.
Hathor knew that, as the Council of Masters and the first person below the Primarch, he should be the one to formally initiate the secret meeting.
Only in Prospero, where the Primarch's Council communicated via Aether, were the Thousand Sons forced to resort to crude language to begin their dialogue.
"I am Hathor Mhat of the 'Pavoni.' Who has come to this Primarch's Council?"
"The Corvidae Cult," Azek Ahriman.
More than twenty people gave their names one after another, Hathor finally reported to Magnus.
"Phosis T'kar follows Lord Perturabo, while Apophis is on loan to 'The Emperor's Children'."
"Besides them, we are all gathered together."
"There's no one else here," Amon confirmed.
Before Magnus spoke, the group exchanged glances.