Coronid New Zone, Abyss Port, the largest port in the region.
Flamini, Chapter Master of the Sixth, stared grimly at the data stream scrolling across his datapad.
[9296954, Soshyan Passage lost, the green tide has divided the Ramilles-class starfort Casardeg…]
[9959954, Over one hundred thousand Orks have breached the Cyclops Cluster…]
[9979954, Approximately one hundred thousand Orks have laid waste to Claydon Villa…]
[...]
Flamini frowned. The first digit of the Imperial standard date indicated the reliability of the timekeeping.
A '9' represented the least reliable, used mostly for regions that had not previously used the Imperial calendar.
The Coronid New Zone had been Legion territory for over a century; it should use a Level 3 rating.
Level 3 indicated the information source could maintain direct psychic contact with a Level 2 source, but not directly with the Sol System.
Level 2 denoted regions in direct contact with Terra.
Within the Shadows of Order's domain, the Legion's homeworld of Vostonia was Level 2, communicating directly with Terra via astropath.
Flamini glanced at the red notation: 'Astropathic communication throughout the Coronid New Zone is being disrupted by an unknown aetheric fluctuation.'
'All reports submitted to you were received yesterday.'
'The choirs' millennial year estimates, based on fragmentary information, are for reference only and should not be used as the basis for military decisions.'
'That means the reports they send to the Legion are also highly likely to be delayed.'
Flamini's frown deepened. Instead of immediately praying to the Black Emperor, he rose and walked to the crystal divination chamber.
Flamini had provided Santiago Borgkamp, Chapter Master of the Fifth, with support for immigration, civilian and military machinery, and other aid, helping him develop his domain in the Sak'trada Deeps.
In return, the Legion's premier psychic artisan had personally constructed this divination chamber aboard Fortune.
Flamini entered the chamber, drew his spiritual knife, and infused it with his spirituality.
He rapidly tapped out patterns on the geometric design on the floor.
The aetheric tide had fully receded. The "Euclidean Runes" now more perfectly isolated Warp entities than the Blank standing at the door.
Flamini picked up a black crystal pendulum.
This was not natural crystal; it was a divination implement crafted by the Lord of the Forges.
Flamini had provided Rosicky with an entire uninhabited planet for the Techmarines' weapons testing.
Flamini picked up a quill and parchment and quickly scribbled a line in the Dunnic: [I did not foresee the danger. Someone interfered.]
The "Winner" held the even-strand black-gold chain in his left hand, bringing the black crystal pendant close to the parchment, near the event being divined.
He closed his eyes and entered a Thelema mindstate, silently intoning: [I did not foresee the danger. Someone interfered.]
Again and again. After repeating it eleven times, he opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum.
The black crystal pendant swung slowly, its motion spiraling counter-clockwise, pulling the even-strand chain with it.
Clockwise rotation signified affirmation; counter-clockwise signified negation.
'No interference. A normal aetheric tide fluctuation?'
As the "Winner" pondered, he wrote a new query on a fresh piece of parchment:
'Is the disruption to astropathic communication being caused by someone?'
Waiting for the chain to become perfectly still, he divined again.
When the "Winner" opened his eyes again, the motion was still counter-clockwise.
Flamini silently put away the pendulum and deactivated the "Euclidean Runes."
He then went to the altar and prayed to the Black Emperor.
Black mist swallowed Flamini. Upon entering the mystical realm, he bowed to the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, the Orks of the Grail Abyss have broken through the blockade..."
"Of the seven green tides, one is heading for Abyss Port, another has entered the Cyclops Cluster..."
Nareth, high upon his throne, listened to Flamini's report and the results of his divination. He, too, felt a stir of confusion.
He recalled the anomaly when divining the Eye of Night. This artifact could control the Blackstone Fortresses. His thoughts naturally made a connection.
'Besides Abyss Port, six Ork Warlords are descending upon six star systems within the Coronid New Zone.'
'The Coronid New Zone is the future Gothic Sector. There are six Blackstone Fortresses there.
'Is this a coincidence?'
Nareth couldn't be certain if his speculation was close to the truth. Although he knew the names of the systems where the six Blackstone Fortresses were located, for example, Blackstone I is in the Fularis system, he did not know their exact positions, nor could he confirm if they aligned with the Orks' raiding directions.
The only certainty was that Blackstone IV was in the Cyclops Cluster, which was the target of the largest Ork force.
"Immediately retrieve the black crystal pendulum and pray to me again."
Nareth then returned Flamini to the real world. As he waited, he considered deploying Legions to quell the green tide.
Moments later, he heard a murmuring whisper. He immediately extended his spirituality and pulled Flamini back into the Kingdom of Disorder.
"Divine."
Flamini didn't know why the Black Emperor commanded him to divine again, but he immediately obeyed.
When the "Winner" opened his eyes, his obsidian pupils suddenly dilated.
The black crystal pendant hung motionless, neither swinging clockwise nor counter-clockwise.
"Continue the divination."
Nareth watched Flamini divine twice more. Both times, the pendulum hung still, yielding no result.
The Kingdom of Disorder held no dominion over divination; it could not enhance a "Winner's" ability.
When he himself had used the Dice of Prophecy, he had to leverage the Kingdom of Disorder to somewhat bypass interference from Concealment and Fate.
Now, with the "Winner's" divination, the same principle applied. He was not being misled, but he could not complete the divination.
But the lack of a result was, in a way, a result. Nareth spoke, his voice deep: "Your divination is being interfered with."
The "Winner" jolted with realization, his body shuddering.
'Only within my Lord's divine realm did I avoid receiving an erroneous divination.'
'If I had acted on a false result, I might have made a catastrophic decision.'
'Praise be to my Lord's great power!'
Nareth considered briefly but did not have the "Winner" divine who the interferer was.
The anomaly with the Sequence 4-level Dice of Prophecy during the divination for the Eye of Night indicated that this power far exceeded the capacity of a Sequence 5.
'The interferer is likely targeting the Blackstone Fortresses.'
'Abaddon would have used them to destroy Cadia, tear open the galaxy, creating the Great Rift... meaning the one most impacted would be the Chaos faction.'
'Who could detect a change in fate and, unseen, influence the Orks of the Grail Abyss? Could it be the Fate Weaver, Tzeentch, pulling strings behind the scenes?'
At this thought, Nareth became even more determined to swiftly extinguish the green tides in the Coronid New Zone.
Although the Blackstone Fortresses were within his domain and the artifacts to control them were in his hands, they couldn't be spirited away.
But if the green tide spread, the Orks, breeding from spores across countless worlds, would become a persistent and significant nuisance.
'If my guess is correct and Tzeentch is indeed involved, and he has indeed directed six Ork Warlords to the star systems holding the Blackstone Fortresses, then his goal is likely to slow my progress with this Ork infestation.'
"You will defend Abyss Port. After defeating the incoming Ork force, sweep the area for scattered Ork vessels."
Current Abyss Port, while lacking the defensive density of the Gothic Sector's largest naval base as it would be built millennia later, as the largest port in Nareth's most expansive domain, the Coronid New Zone, it possessed a defensive perimeter of five Ramilles-class starforts.
Its defenses were exceeded only by Vostroya, the Shadow of Order's main fleet hub, the Kalium Gate, and the Legion's largest naval base, Cypra Mundi.
A single asteroid fortress would pose no threat. Even nine would be destroyed.
Not even an Ork Attack Moon or a Rangdan War-Moon would threaten the Abyss Port.
Nareth then extended his spirituality, touching the orbs of the Chapter Masters of the First, Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Chapters, dispatching them to the Coronid New Zone to quell the five green tides.
He would personally go to the Cyclops Cluster to cleanse the largest Ork force.