Lorgar's steps never faltered as he continued through the grand, orderly fabric of Colchis's City.
Before he knew it, the surrounding architecture had grown more austere and utilitarian, and the streets had widened enough to accommodate heavy transport vehicles.
The smells in the air gradually shifted from the bustle of the commercial district and the warmth of the residential neighborhoods to metal, lubricating oil, dust, and the faint odor of sweat that came with large crowds.
From afar came perfectly synchronized commands, heavy footsteps, and the low rumble of some kind of heavy machinery.
He had reached the outskirts of the City, a vast area designated for military use.
Several enormous buildings stood here, their designs simple and their lines stark, their exterior walls painted plain gray and marked with the Emperor's Aquila.
Level drill grounds lay between the buildings, where countless squads were undergoing basic training.
But the most striking sight was the queue outside one of the buildings, stretching away like a winding dragon, its end almost impossible to see.
The Colchis Auxiliary Army recruitment station.
The crowd, mostly young people, formed a ceaselessly moving river.
Most wore ordinary work clothes or casual attire. Their faces bore the healthy color and resolute spirit characteristic of this Star System's people, now heightened by barely contained excitement, nerves, and anticipation.
They clutched standardized forms as the queue inched slowly but steadily forward, their eyes straying from time to time to the enormous screen suspended beside it.
The screen played footage without its original sound, but scrolling subtitles and an impassioned voice-over booming through loudspeakers filled the silence.
The footage opened with battlefield recordings so starkly realistic they could only be called brutal.
The backdrop was a town on some alien world ravaged by war, its buildings burning and collapsing.
The