Chaplain Mathieu

Thousands of light-years from the Blackstone Fortress.

Aboard the Law of Faith.

The magnificent Gloriana-class Battleship stood among the stars.

Far from the clamor of the bridge and the bustle of the crew quarters lay a sanctuary reserved for the ship's master.

This was the Primarch's private training chamber, where Lorgar practiced combat and honed his fighting techniques.

Imperial technology and arcane principles came together here. Smooth Adamantium walls bore intricate Imperial Aquila and ancient scriptures of Colchis, while the vaulted ceiling cast a cool, even light, like an artificial sky.

Now, lifelike holograms filled the chamber's central area.

A powerful virtual-reality engine had recreated a specific battlefield in perfect detail.

This time, it was an alien forest crowded with giant fungi and heavy with a sweet, rotting smell.

It was a region of Urisarak, the notorious Murder Star.

The air carried the faint tang of ozone and the simulated irritation of spore dust.

At the center of this virtual battlefield stood the Primarch Lorgar.

He wore none of his signature Power Armour, only a fitted gray training suit that showed the sculpted muscles of his towering, superhuman frame all the more clearly.

Every muscle held the strength to shatter stone. Each breath followed a steady rhythm.

Lorgar had chosen as his opponents the Giant Spiders, terrifying creatures recorded in the archives for the grievous losses they had inflicted on Imperial forces.

These insectile Xenos came from an ancient age. Defeated by an advanced human civilization and exiled to Urisarak, they were notorious for their immense size, astonishing strength, and deadly traits.

Among their accomplishments were crippling the 140th Expeditionary Fleet and nearly beating the shit out of Eidolon.

Now, virtual versions of those horrors served as whetstones for the Primarch's skills.

Several Giant Spiders closed in on Lorgar from different directions. Each was a moving hill of glossy chitin armor, with eight eyes gleaming viciously and scythe-like forelimbs capable of tearing through tank armor.

They hissed harshly. Venom dripped from their fangs and ate into the virtual ground.

But a Primarch was still a Primarch.

He was the pinnacle of the Emperor's genetic engineering, a demigod among mortals.

Even if Lorgar ranked among the weaker of his brothers, his combat instincts and command of his body far surpassed those of ordinary soldiers and even the finest Space Marines.

As the Giant Spiders surrounded him, Lorgar moved like a phantom.

He did not seem fast enough to leave afterimages, yet he always slipped past lethal pounces and slashing blades by a hair's breadth.

Fists, elbows, knees, legs—every part of his body became a deadly weapon.

A casual sidestep carried his arm into a blow powerful enough to break rock. It struck a seam in one Giant Spider's flank, bursting through shell and spraying dark green fluid.

With a graceful turn, he swept out a leg like a steel whip. A Giant Spider trying to ambush him from behind staggered back with a pained shriek.

He relied on more than brute force. His fighting had an almost artistic rhythm, blending strength, speed, and precision.

He seemed to anticipate every attack, his nimble steps carrying him through a deadly dance of blades and venom.

Before him, the Giant Spiders' frenzied attacks looked clumsy and slow.

At last, he closed in on the final Giant Spider, clamped both hands around its hideous head, and twisted.

Bone cracked with a sickening crunch. The virtual creature's shriek cut off, and its massive body crashed down before dissolving into flickering streams of data.

[Training complete. Evaluation: Excellent. All threat targets eliminated.]

A cold synthesized voice sounded through the chamber.

The holograms receded like a tide. The alien forest vanished, leaving Adamantium walls and cold lights in its place.

Lorgar slowly relaxed his stance. His chest rose and fell, and fine beads of sweat dotted his brow, but his breathing remained steady.

He closed his eyes and reviewed every detail of the fight, drawing lessons from the simulation.

Then he sensed someone watching him.

Lorgar opened his eyes and looked toward the chamber entrance.

A man stood there quietly: Mathieu, the Terra-born Chaplain.

Mathieu wore a plain dark robe and held a scripture scroll symbolizing his faith. Lorgar could not tell how long he had been standing there.

He had not spoken or interrupted. He had simply watched the Primarch with rapt attention.

In Mathieu's eyes, the Lorgar who had just finished fighting seemed surrounded by an invisible halo.

How sacred, how magnificent he was! No mortal words—valiant, majestic, supreme...

To Mathieu, none of them came close to describing him.

The vitality that burned in Lorgar after such fierce exertion, his flawless body seemingly sculpted by a god's own hand, and the wisdom and power as vast as the stars beneath his calm expression filled Mathieu with trembling awe and boundless devotion.

He saw more than a mighty warrior. He saw a divine son walking among mortals, the embodiment of the Emperor's radiance and of the faith that believers like him devoted their lives to pursuing and serving.

Lorgar's gaze met Mathieu's.

The Primarch had long since grown used to the open worship in Mathieu's eyes.

Everyone close to Lorgar was someone he trusted, and Mathieu was no exception.

He had been chosen as Chaplain for a reason. Besides sharing his name with the war Chaplain of the Dark Imperium, Mathieu's loyalty to the legion had been revealed by Lorgar's psychic probing.

"Speak. What do you need?"

The Primarch's voice roused Mathieu from his daze. Realizing he had been lost in the sight of the Primarch's divine form, he hurriedly said, "My lord, none of the Rogue Traders we sent out have returned. But the equipment they carried recorded what happened to them."

"Mm. Good." Lorgar nodded.

"Then have the Great Crusade fleet detach one Chapter to accompany me. The others will continue along their original route. That Chapter will help me seize the fortress," Lorgar said, his voice solemn.

(The extra update will go up tonight. Since it's the holiday, I'll try to post earlier over the next few days.)