"Primarch!"
"Primarch!"
"Primarch!"
Low, resonant voices, filled with ironclad loyalty and the utmost reverence, rang out one after another in the broad corridor leading to the uppermost conference area of the Law of Faith, merging into a solemn tide.
The Word Bearers standing at attention before each archway struck their breastplates with their fists and bowed in salute, their gray armor gleaming solemnly beneath the corridor's cold light.
With Hercules and Anna accompanying him on either side, Lorgar advanced steadily.
They passed through the final massive archway, secured by intricate psychic seals and physical locks, and entered the true heart of the Word Bearers' power and decision-making.
This was the Legion's highest Strategic Conference Room, heavily guarded at the very top of the warship.
The space opened up before them.
The conference room was a perfect circle, vast yet devoid of unnecessary ornamentation, its austere, efficient, utilitarian design devoted entirely to war and faith.
The walls were smooth, dark gray alloy, etched with the Word Bearers' holy words and simplified star charts of major campaigns.
The enormous ring-shaped conference table was fashioned from some dark, rare timber, its edges inlaid with bronze. Apart from the necessary dataslate ports, its surface was bare.
At that moment, every one of the dozen or so places around the table was occupied.
That meant one thing: all the Word Bearers' highest commanders, the thirteen Chapter Masters, had arrived and assembled here.
The light from the dome was soft and even, suffused with a pale golden glow that enveloped the entire conference room and reached into every corner.
Beneath that light, the thirteen Chapter Masters of the Word Bearers stood imposing behind their respective places.
They wore silver Artificer Armour, covered in marks of battle honors and the distinctive insignia of their Chapters.
Though