As soon as the Blackwatch Legion entered the system, the Aeldari spotted them. They watched the Primarch's every move like stalkers.
The Aeldari couldn't understand why their own gods would have their people follow a human. Even if he was a special Primarch, the Aeldari looked down on the young human race, always arrogantly calling them monkeys.
Still, they weren't wrong. Back when the Aeldari had gotten lucky and come to rule the Galaxy, humans might still have been playing with rocks and wondering how to make a spark.
Naturally emotional, the Aeldari were nothing like the noble elves in other fantasy stories. Their once-powerful civilization had brought about its own ruin through sheer recklessness, creating Slaanesh.
Their own gods had been wiped out. Some were dead, others had fled, and one had even been taken by Nurgle to serve as a lab rat.
Worse still, every creature in this universe had a soul. The Aeldari, a race of natural psykers, had been doomed to have their souls devoured by Slaanesh ever since the Chaos God's first wail.
Even the surviving Aeldari couldn't rest in peace after death. Their souls were drawn into Slaanesh's domain, where they were brutally tormented, a fate worse than death.
Some Aeldari had returned to Commorragh, once supposed to be the Galaxy's capital, now the most infamous dark place in existence. They kept their souls intact by torturing others.
Some of the rest had regressed into wild Aeldari, while others eked out an existence aboard artificial Craftworlds.
All in all, the Aeldari were pretty much finished.
Yado was one of those Aeldari clinging to survival, a member of the Alaitoc Craftworld. His people's future was pitch-black, and he was constantly searching for a way to escape their grim fate. A divine revelation had brought him hope.
A holographic projection appeared on the Auspex. A fleet of Aeldari ships was approaching the Blacklight from the distance.
The Blackwatch, unaware of why the Aeldari had appeared, began to surround them. As the encirclement closed, the Aeldari ships seemed to go dead, making no move at all. Just as Hogg was growing puzzled, an Aeldari shuttle emerged from the mothership and requested permission to board the Blacklight.
"Father, these Knife-ears must be planning to harm you. Let me kill them!" Lyla Lynn shouted.
"But if they wanted to hurt me, why wouldn't they just attack? Let them aboard. If they make a move, the fleet can open fire and sink their ships."
The airlock opened. A squad of Aeldari Warriors and Banshees escorting Yack was surrounded by Blackwatch veterans. They were disarmed and left with nothing but short robes.
"Behave yourselves, you fickle Knife-ears." The Blackwatch treated the Xenos roughly, but these long-eared folk, who usually held their noses so high they could touch the sky, were remarkably well-behaved.
"This must be an Xenos plot! Father, let me kill them!" Rossmanderson, the loyal First Company captain, brandished his glowing green Necron Phase Sword and volunteered for the task.
Pushing aside the noisy figure in front of him, Hogg scolded him. "How many times have I told you to paint these things? You never bloody do it! Who am I? A Primarch! The Imperium's eleventh prince! Get out and paint them. Don't show your face until you've done it."
Seated on a throne and deliberately making himself taller so he'd look more imposing, Hogg gazed down at the Aeldari before him. Honestly, they were nothing special.
Not ugly, just not as breathtaking as he'd expected. Yack was a male, and an old man at that. The female Aeldari accompanying him had face paint that made her look like a ghost, though she had a good figure—agile but strong.
"Speak up, long-ears. What have you come to see me for?" In keeping with the principle that a guest from afar deserved a welcome, Hogg gave them a chance to explain.
"Honored Primarch of the Eleventh Legion, child of the Emperor of Mankind, I have come because of a revelation. A divine revelation."
"Oh! A god. How many gods do you Aeldari still have? Don't tell me it's that perverted little Spiritling, Slaanesh?"
"My lord, please don't speak the name of She Who Thirsts. It could draw their gaze," Yack hurriedly interrupted, afraid the Aeldari's great enemy might turn its attention here.
"Yeah, right! What a load of rubbish. It's just Slaanesh. What, we can't even say its name? You lunatics caused this mess, and now every race in the Galaxy has to suffer for it." Hogg sat on his throne, unimpressed by the fear shown by Yack, who was clearly the leader.
"My lord, you may not know this, but the lives of all Aeldari are haunted by the gaze of She Who Thirsts. We can only hide from it wherever we can, hoping to find a moment's peace.
"And I have come to meet the Primarch for the sake of my people's fate. I have brought you a planet with surviving human technology, intending to offer it to you!"
Yack had done his research and prepared his pitch in advance. He'd heard you had to bring Hogg a gift to get his help, so he'd specially chosen a planet occupied by a Craftworld, right next to the Blackwatch Legion.
When Hogg heard they planned to give him a planet, and one with surviving technology at that, he perked up. His disdainful expression vanished, replaced by a very different look.
"Hey, you! Ginny, come over and serve our Blackwatch guests some Nuka-Cola. Make sure it's the blue kind." Ginny, who'd been assigned to stand watch on the bridge, hurriedly took drinks from the fridge and poured them for both sides.
"So, about this planet—no, wait. What did our god say?"
"My lord, our people's Cegorach told us to follow you. That is the only way we can find salvation." Yack looked at the towering Primarch across from him, his face full of longing.
"What? Follow me? Has Sillago gone mad? I'm a human, and you're a bunch of elves! I'm not Guilliman—I don't fancy Aeldari girls. Are you out of your mind?"
"Primarch, we adore you! We want to follow in your footsteps and contribute to the Great Crusade. You may not know this, but I actually believe in the Imperial Truth."
"..."
"..."
The blasphemous words made everyone nearby reach for their weapons. But what happened next left them questioning reality.
As if they'd rehearsed it countless times, the long-ears in front of them stripped off their clothes and used their pale bodies and impressive skills to form the symbol of the Imperium. Every Aeldari had the Imperial Aquila tattooed on their chest, and some had even tattooed the entire text of the Imperial Truth on themselves.
Loyal! So damn loyal! Everyone present had just witnessed something unbelievable.
"666," Hogg blurted out in praise.
"You really went that far. Tell me, what do you want? And put your clothes back on. We don't do that sort of thing here." The Primarch hurriedly gulped down a large mouthful of Nuka-Cola to steady himself, then continued questioning them.
"My lord, when we Aeldari die, our souls are captured by the Warp and sent to She Who Thirsts' palace, where they're cruelly violated.
"But the Aeldari have a very low birth rate, and death isn't the end for us. Our souls are usually placed in Spirit Stones so we can continue to serve our people.
"Yet we're naturally sensitive, and it's easy for them to snatch our souls away. We only need you to allow us to worship you."
"Worship me? Oh, I get it. You want to be safe after death, right? Sure, do whatever you like. What do I care?"
"But, my lord! We've tested it. We can only find peace after death with your approval."
Yack's old face twisted into a chrysanthemum as he ingratiatingly smiled.
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