999.M30.
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty.
As the Gloriana-class battleship's captain, second only to Arsena, Diana Pauline's private quarters were located near the Primarch's palace.
Her quarters were a suite, decorated with the simple functionality of a military officer.
Datapads containing all manner of information filled every room, including the bath.
Her hypnosis chamber contained a vast collection of psychology texts, including works by the ancient Terran Master, Freud.
She gazed at the psychic Wyvachs before her, its long tail trailing on the floor.
The "Hypnotist" raised her left hand, channeling spirituality to the wick of a meter-long candle.
Roar!
The Wyvachs's long neck curved, unleashing a piercing psychic scream.
Diana, maintaining the Third Level of the Thelema mindstate, was unaffected. The gyrinx, crouched by the door, leaped to its feet, its dense, ginger fur bristling.
The psychic scream died. The Wyvachs's tense body gradually relaxed in the soothing scent of the candle.
The candle was made from a solidified mixture of ground mandrake.
Mandrake was typically used, by those without Jokaeron Force Field protection, to treat the nightmares and headaches suffered after Warp travel.
Of course, even ordinary crew members, and mid-ranking Solar Auxilia officers, could rarely afford it. Its primary users were Imperial nobles, and the esteemed Navigators and Astropaths.
Mandrake candles were also an excellent tool for hypnosis, especially for psychic creatures.
Though few in the Imperium were so lavish.
But Diana had no such concerns. Her annual benefits included fifty mandrake candles and one hundred bottles of extracted oil.
The "Hypnotist," Diana, spoke softly, calling the Wyvachs.
"Sera."
Through fifteen previous sessions of "Psychological Cue," Diana had successfully lowered the Wyvachs's resistance, and it had accepted the name Sera.
"Let us make a 'Contract,'" she said with a smile.
"I will take you to see the vast stars and walk among many worlds and there will be delicious food. Kraken steaks, Fire Salamander ribs."
Diana, as a full-fledged "Telepathist," scrutinized the Wyvachs.
Its pupils showed no instinctive contraction, no shrinking in fear.
Its neck no longer trembled...
Its mental state was stable, with no obvious shifts in its emotional aura.
Diana knew the time had come. With a steady, practiced motion, she drew a parchment from her drawer.
The Light Lord of the Second Chapter had issued this "Contract" for her.
One side was written in the Dunnic, the other in High Gothic.
[The Contract between Diana Pauline and Sera.] The name field, left blank, had been filled in by Diana.
Her writing lacked the force of an Astartes, but possessed its own crisp, efficient style, the tails of the letters sweeping upward.
[Diana will provide her partner Sera with sufficient food…]
[Sera will use her innate gifts to scout for Diana...]
Diana gently took the Wyvachs's right claw.
Sera's claw trembled, but did not pull away.
She guided its claw to grasp the quill, and wrote [Sera] on both sides of the parchment.
As the last mystical letter was written, Diana and Sera shuddered in unison.
Diana's mind merged with another consciousness. She gained a new, colorful perspective.
A cat-like creature, blazing with light, entered her field of vision.
The gyrinx.
'The Wyvachs's perception of psychic phenomena is sharper than mine. It will complement my own abilities.'
'The most powerful psychic aboard this ship is Lord Nareth.'
'My Lord has commanded me, after contracting the Wyvachs, to see him.'
Suddenly aware, Diana quickly rolled the parchment "Contract" and placed it in a cylinder.
She sealed it with wax and pressed her personal seal.
The Light Lord, Wiltshire, had reminded her to send it back to him after completion, for his personal "Notarization."
Diana assigned the task to her adjutant on her datapad, arranging the transport route through the fleet to the Light Lord.
The Wyvachs beat its wings, alighting on Diana's back, nuzzling her cheek.
Diana walked from the hypnosis chamber, sending a message to Lord Nareth. Receiving his approval, she quickly straightened her black uniform and headed towards the Primarch's office.
As she reached the corridor, stopping to allow the Honour Guard to check her, the Wyvachs on her shoulder stirred, beating its wings. Through their psychic link, Diana's blue-green eyes saw a collapsing black hole.
She tasted copper in her throat. A stabbing pain in her head.
She raised her hand to stroke Sera, releasing a calming spirituality, using the "Psychologist's" "Placate" to calm the Wyvachs.
She repeated the "Placate" as she reached the door.
She walked quickly past Etrich and entered the Primarch's office.
Bang!
The Wyvachs went limp, collapsing on Diana's shoulder.
She stroked Sera, feeling a great weight pressing down upon her.
The "Hypnotist" bit her lip, performing a "Psychological Suggestion" on herself.
'I am accustomed to Lord Nareth's transcendent pressure!'
'I must not embarrass myself by collapsing before him. My Lord does not need a lapdog!
'...'
In her repeated "Psychological Suggestions," her mind and body struggled.
Suddenly, a familiar, calm voice spoke.
"Excellent. You have signed the 'Contract' with the Wyvachs."
"Now, take a scale from it."
"By Your will." Diana obeyed the authoritative voice instinctively, without thinking.
Her right arm rippled with ethereal scales as she gripped Sera's neck, pulling a scale free with a sharp tug.
The Wyvachs was motionless, staring blankly at the terrifying psychic storm.
It was the most terrifying being it had ever encountered.
"Sit." Through the psychic link, Diana, dazed, moved to the sofa beside the desk and sat.
"Drink this."
Her mind still clouded, she picked up the vial. It was only when she saw the grey-white liquid, dotted with pale lights, that she snapped to attention.
"I thank my Lord for this gift!" she said, a surge of joy in her voice.
Filled with elation, she gripped the Wyvachs's scale in her right hand and raised the vial to her lips.
As the potion entered her mouth, a grey-white mist rose, filling the room.
Her tense nerves and body relaxed. Her eyelids grew heavy. She slumped.
Whoosh!
As she fell onto the sofa, Diana sank into a deep sleep.
Her surroundings faded. Her black uniform transformed into an older one, its golden buttons suddenly bearing three gleaming medals of honor.
"Regicide or Go?"
Nareth's voice seemed to come from a great distance.
Diana frowned, looking at the two boards before her. The words were familiar.
"I've heard this before," she said, confused.
As Diana fell into her dream, the Wyvachs, bereft of its "Placate," sat uneasily on her.
It looked up at the giant in the chair, then recoiled, as if burned by the sun.
It dared not make a sound, shrinking into its mistress's embrace, its body cold and trembling.
Diana, meanwhile, gripped the scale tightly. She did not let go, even as she fell into the dream.
Her grip grew tighter, the contact growing warmer.
A chill, like an ice-lance, pierced her dream, clashing with the heat.
Boom!
Diana shot up, awake, startled.
A flicker of surprise passed through her blue-green eyes. She rose somewhat flustered.
"My lord, please forgive my rudeness."
"It is of no consequence," Nareth said calmly.
"A natural reaction to gaining power. Make good use of the power of dreams."
At the new "Dreamwalker's" words, a flood of information, hidden within her dreams, surfaced in her mind.
Dozens of seconds later, having processed the information and gathered her scattered spirituality, Diana was no longer dazed. Her speech was as crisp as ever.
"My lord, I will not disappoint You."
Diana left, passing Arsena as he entered the office.
They exchanged nods. Arsena approached the desk.
"My Lord, the Emperor and Lord Horus have arrived at the Ullanor system."
"Will we be joining the battle?"
"Not Ullanor." Nareth shook his head slightly.
"Set course for Aghoru. I need to find Magnus."
The Arsena paused, thinking for a few seconds. He recalled that Magnus had discovered Aghoru two months prior and had quickly brought it into compliance.
The War Council's records listed it under its official designation, 28-16.
But Magnus had not continued the Great Crusade. He had lingered on that world.
Arsena, with his "Detective" perspective, reviewed the backup reports from the War Council. The more he read, the stranger it seemed.
"It's very strange. What usually attracts Lord Magnus are brilliant civilizations and vast stores of knowledge. But Aghoru is a Feral World. The natives don't even have a concept of geography."
"What is so special about Aghoru?"
"An unprecedented discovery," Nareth said, his gaze deep.
"A discovery that will change Magnus's fate."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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