Nareth tapped his finger lightly on the back of his chair and asked, "What kind of rumors?"
"My lord, please forgive my indolence." After apologizing, Tierney continued:
"The rumors first arose in a library, one of the Terran libraries.
"A book titled Revelations was discovered. It described the horrors of the Age of Strife."
"The prologue claimed that the misuse of occult arts was the spark. The chapters that followed depicted a civilization that recklessly wielded great sorcery, leading humanity into the Long Night."
At this point, confusion appeared on Tierney's face.
"At first, this was treated merely as a warning from the Age of Strife. It had nothing to do with you or the Eleventh Legion."
"But then, suddenly, things changed. It was as if someone was manipulating events from the shadows."
Tierney forced himself to continue factually, not wanting his confusion to cloud the Black Emperor's judgment.
"In cafes in the spires, in bars of the underhive…
"Scholars, Imperial officials, and workers alike began whispering that the Shadows of Order possessed evil sorcery that would one day bring ruin to the Imperium."
"The Imperial Judiciary struck ruthlessly at anyone spreading the rumors. Now no one dares speak of it openly, but in the shadows, in dark corners, it is still spoken of."
Tierney produced a data slate and handed it to the Primarch's aide.
"The treasure-hunting squad moves in those shadows. From time to time, they encounter those spreading the rumors.
"They captured five and interrogated them. All five swore that it was a hooded figure in a library dust-robe, like a monk, who had revealed these 'truths' to them.
"My men used their testimony to construct a likeness of the figure."
The aide connected the data slate to the holoprojector. A simulated image appeared.
Nareth studied it. The figure's face was round and soft, with no hard lines.
Beneath the milky-white robe, it looked like the body of a man who had lost weight suddenly, once obese, now sagging and loose.
A figure like a ghost.
Nareth gazed at the image, deep in thought.
'Library. Revelation. Occult sorcery. Accusations of witchcraft against the Shadows of Order. Round face, sudden weight loss, ghostly frame.'
A spark of realization struck him. He asked:
"Besides the Shadows of Order, have there also been rumors about the Fifteenth Legion?"
"My lord, your insight is divine." Tierney looked at him in awe.
He had led armies across the Wheel of Fire and gone to Medusa, thousands of light-years from Terra, yet he knew exactly what was happening here.
"From nine months ago, the rumors spread to the Fifteenth Legion as well, accusing both legions of being sorcerous fiends."
Hearing this, Nareth had already identified the mastermind, Fallen Horus.
He remembered: after Horus' fall, he sought to eliminate his greatest perceived threat, the Thousand Sons, masters of psychic power.
For psychic power was the bane of Chaos daemons. Guilliman and the loyalist Primarchs, upon realizing this, had unanimously revoked the Emperor's Edict of Nikaea.
The Thousand Sons, being the most numerous psykers, were humanity's strongest weapon against Chaos. To Horus, they were the greatest threat.
Nareth recalled: Fallen Horus, exploiting the Warp's instability in time and space, went back centuries to weave his plots.
He spread throughout the Imperium the image of the Thousand Sons as monstrous sorcerers, while also reinforcing the Wolves' role as executioners.
He even possessed Kasper Ansbach Hawser, traveling to Fenris to mislead Leman Russ and the Wolves, making them believe it was Magnus' attendant Amon behind everything, further deepening the rift between the two legions.
In the end, the final warning Russ sent to "Amon" never reached Magnus at all.
Nareth thought: 'Casting aside loyalties, it was a masterstroke of strategy, centuries in the making.'
Fallen Horus achieved his goal: he destroyed the Thousand Sons, his greatest threat, while also bleeding the Wolves heavily in battle.
Though Magnus' destruction of the Webway and Tzeentch's manipulations played a role, Horus' plotting was indispensable.
What Nareth had not expected was that now, the conspiracy was turning toward him, Horus seemed to see Nareth and his legion as the greater threat.
'Because my legion has so many beyonders? Because the Sun pathway can deal devastating damage to daemons?'
'In Horus' eyes, the Eleventh Legion's beyonders were all psykers.'
'The Shadows of Order outnumbered even the Thousand Sons. Counting all beyonders and psykers together, we may surpass them. No wonder he sees us as the ultimate threat.'
Nareth turned his gaze on the "Swindler" and said: "I understand. Leave this to me; you need not pursue it further."
The treasure-hunting squad was ill-suited for such matters. Nareth decided the assassins, led by Maria Kournikova, would take over.
Fallen Horus was only beginning his schemes. He dared not yet act openly.
'Good. I've completed the formula for the "Instigator" potion. I hadn't yet decided where Maria and her agents should apply their new strength. Now I know, they'll purge the networks Horus is planting.'
"As you command, my lord." Tierney bowed and departed the Throne of Shadow's Sovereignity in secret.
He ordered his men to begin constructing an altar, while Nareth returned to Terra's surface to continue participating in Malcador's propaganda campaign.
On the sixth day after Nareth's arrival on Terra, his aide received a meeting request from Violet, the matriarch of the Navigator House Visscher.
That evening, Nareth met her at a villa.
The Visscher colors were blue and crimson. Violet wore a flowing blue silk gown, its collar and sleeves embroidered with crimson thread.
Upon her brow was an ornate jewel that concealed her third, gifted eye.
Seated opposite, Nareth observed her. She was young, with no visible signs of mutation.
Her flame-red hair, her tall, slender figure, and her swan-like neck gave her a refined elegance.
Nareth knew: Navigators, due to unstable genes and generations of inbreeding, were mutants.
The rate and order of mutations differed by family and individual, but inevitably they accumulated, transforming Navigators into grotesque, toad-like beings known as Elders.
These Elders, unsuited for public view, instead appointed Grand Patriarchs or Matriarchs as their representatives.
From the embryo stage, these heirs were carefully screened for mutations, ensuring none, unless they were favorable, such as extreme beauty or grace.
"Grand Matriarch, what urgent matter brings you to me?"
Violet smiled elegantly, her red lips parting slightly.
"Lord Nareth, House Visscher wishes to ally with the Eleventh Legion and place our service under your command."
.....
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