In the foundry, a furnace dormant for centuries was meticulously cleaned. Nimrod cleared everyone within a hundred meters and shut down the surveillance room.
He grasped a rubber ladle, beginning the preparation of the potion.
Crafting a potion required no arcane expertise, only the precise sequence of adding auxiliary ingredients before primary ones, following the formula exactly, and stirring thoroughly.
Nimrod poured 1,100 milliliters of black Rasvort into the furnace, igniting the flames beneath.
Next, he cast in a single Thorn Crystal. As the crystal cluster crackled explosively within, he tossed in the unconscious, two-meter-long hive giant rat.
Stirring several times with the rubber ladle, he watched the rat dissolve at a visible rate—not merely the effect of countless crystal shards slicing, but the wondrous reaction of the potion's ingredients.
Nimrod knew that slight variations in auxiliary ingredients mattered little, but primary ingredients demanded exactitude. He had repeatedly measured the Wire Grass's length beforehand.
He added a 1,100-millimeter stalk of Wire Grass. Its corrosive acidic sap splashed, accelerating the reaction, eliciting a gurgling sound as the surrounding light took on a faint black hue.
When he dropped in the Chemical Dog's tongue, the roiling liquid in the furnace had reduced to about half a meter in depth.
The moment the long tongue entered, black mist erupted, shrouding the furnace in haze.
Seconds later, the mist dissipated. Nimrod scooped out a viscous black liquid with the rubber ladle.
The liquid possessed peculiar properties, clinging together inseparably, leaving no trace in the furnace.
Nimrod recognized this as the hallmark of a potion. The "Lawyer" potion was successfully crafted.
Without knowing the formula, blind luck could never produce a potion. The order of ingredients was critical, and quantities had to be precise.
Adding the giant rat before the Thorn Crystal would yield only a stewed rodent mess.
An excess of Wire Grass, even slightly, could drive the imbiber mad at best.
Nimrod poured the black liquid into a bowl. He knew hesitation or fear would diminish absorption. As a Primarch, unafraid of poisoning, he tilted his head back and drank.
Instantly, his mouth filled with a chilling sensation, as if swallowing a scoop of ice cream, sliding down his esophagus into his stomach.
The cold surged into every cell, his vision blurring rapidly, colors intensifying.
The gray furnace grew grayer, the red flames redder…
Hues thickened, like an oil painting.
Simultaneously, a deluge of information flooded his mind.
Having experienced this before, he adapted swiftly.
Gradually, Nimrod's surroundings clarified. Colors stood distinct yet overlapped, black mist swirling.
He "saw" his body below, standing rigid, trembling. His consciousness plunged, merging with his form.
Nimrod felt his head swell, temples throbbing.
He understood this was the potion's power overflowing, uncontrolled.
He needed to visualize a common, simple, familiar object in his mind. He chose his chainsword.
As he focused on the imagined chainsword, the double vision in his eyes slowly aligned, no longer blurred.
Nimrod lifted a prepared mirror, examining his eyes. The entire eyeball, including the white sclera, was pitch black.
He knew this was the potion's power manifesting outwardly. Mastering meditation and restraint would restore his eyes to normal.
He began immediately, stepping behind the furnace, extinguishing the overhead lumen lamp to plunge his surroundings into dimness.
The first step of meditation, as before, was closing his eyes and picturing the chainsword.
Imagining something nonexistent in the galaxy's myriad worlds proved challenging. He struggled to conceive a fitting object.
A spark of inspiration struck. He visualized the emblem of the "Black Emperor" Pathway.
He traced the chaotic black arcs, then the surrounding wings, spikes, and the abstract crown above.
As Nimrod replaced the chainsword with the "Black Emperor" emblem, he merged with the transcendent "self," the infinite "self," the cosmic "self," gaining knowledge only he could comprehend.
In occultism, this was termed the "mystical experience," known among the Thousand Sons as aetheric soaring.
Nimrod emptied his thoughts, his body and soul quieting. Black mist reemerged, his spirituality extending gradually.
Like a stone cast into a lake, his mind flashed with Ancient Terra's *Napoleonic Code*, the Emperor's *Imperial Codex*, human physiology, mechanical constructs, even the biological weaknesses of greenskins and other xenos.
Nimrod realized the former stemmed from his "Lawyer" ascendant identity, the latter from the Emperor's fusion of genetic science and psyker arts, embedded in Primarchs, absorbed during his "mystical experience."
Moments later, his superhuman mind assimilated the knowledge. He resolved to practice the most common occult ability, accessible to most ascendants: aura vision.
Nimrod raised his hands before his eyes, index fingers facing but not touching.
Opening his eyes, he adjusted instantly to the darkness, focusing beyond his hands, slowly moving his fingers.
Once, twice…
Nimrod saw a fiery red hue between his fingers, recognizing it as rudimentary aura vision, revealing his own aura.
Occultism divides the non-physical self into four layers. The core is the "spiritual body," or soul, which, when extended, is called spirituality.
The "spiritual body's" resilience determines resistance to the Warp and various horrors.
The "Lawyer" potion enhanced spirituality, granting ascendants the knack for exploiting rules' loopholes and opponents' weaknesses, striking through order.
While the Emperor endowed him with lethal precision, the "Lawyer" enabled rule-based domination.
Beyond the "spiritual body" lies the "astral body," the conduit to the spirit world and cosmos, an outward expression tied to will and current emotions.
The visions post-potion reflected the "astral body" wandering the spirit world, unbound by material rules, where past, present, and future intertwine.
From his gestation pod knowledge, Nimrod understood the spirit world as another name for the Warp.
The "astral body" was the Thousand Sons' focus—psyche. Magnus devised their psychic discipline, heart-mind, passing it to his sons.
He knew Ahriman and other Thousand Sons detached their "astral body"—called the luminous body—from their physical form, roaming the Warp.
The "Lawyer" potion didn't enhance the "astral body," but Nimrod noted every Primarch's creation involved Warp essence. His first attempt had drawn knowledge from it.
Beyond the "astral body" lies the "mental body," governing intellect.
The "Lawyer" sharpened his logical reasoning.
The outermost layer is the "etheric body," reflecting life energy and physical state.
Different body parts showed distinct colors: his hands red, his head purple…
Aberrant colors signaled bodily issues.
Nimrod inspected each part, finding all healthy, his aura radiating brilliantly, unlike the common white of ordinary folk.
Next, he practiced exiting aura vision, focusing attention, shifting to meditation, closing his eyes, and commanding his spirituality to cease.
Opening his eyes, aura vision ended.
Through repeated practice, Nimrod conditioned his spirituality, establishing a simple trigger.
Tapping his brow twice activated aura vision. The furnace, machinery, and surroundings showed no change, no glimmer.
Most inanimate objects lacked spirituality.
When his gaze fell on the chainsword, a blood-red radiance shimmered.
[Hmm? Vulture's chainsword holds spiritual residue, perhaps even a potion ingredient.]
Nimrod had sensed the weapon's peculiarity. Seeing its spirituality through aura vision was unsurprising.
He tapped his brow twice, deactivating aura vision, planning to later observe others' auras.
Nimrod reflected on the ascendant abilities gained from the "Lawyer" potion.
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A/N: Integrating Warhammer and Lord of Mysteries' non-physical aspects, the two share occult roots, with many similarities, differing only in terminology. For instance, the spirit world, like the Warp, defies physical laws, intertwining past, present, and future. The term "spirit world" was used for the Warp in the official novel Horus Rising.
For readers, subsequent chapters will primarily use Warhammer terminology, except for spirituality.