Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 411 First Meeting, Hathor temporarily becomes the number one person after Magnus.

The Imperial representative boarded the Golden Eagle shuttle and departed from the ship on the Skot orbit.

One hundred and thirty aircraft formed a pattern of eagles in the void.

Subsequently, the formation flew neatly over the airport.

It stopped at the same time, and its tail flames bloomed in the sky above the starport.

The Skyhawk shuttles landed neatly and stopped in the landing area.

Officials dressed in the robes of the Minister of the Interior, accompanied by their entourage, descended from the deck.

Makado's representative, with a smile, said to his entourage:
"Only such a flying machine is the one that we, the representatives of the empire, those deeply trusted by the Seal Holder, should ride in."

"This is not vanity, but what we need to serve the emperor."

The attendant smiled broadly and agreed, saying, "Lord Andrea is wise; that is indeed the case."

"Now, let's go see the Primarch."

Moments later, Andrea saw three Primarchs in the palace, and he crossed his arms in the Eagle Salute.

"Lord Nimrod, Lord Magnus, Lord Peturabo."

"Andrea, Ministry of the Interior, pays homage to the Primarch."

Perturabo's icy blue eyes were unfocused. In his mind, the wings of the Skyhawk shuttle were brought up separately and disassembled into individual parts as they spun around.

Nimrod decided to spend the rest of his time at the Ancestral Shrine on the Forge, communicating with Wotan and acquiring as much technology as possible.

"I have already spoken with Lord Grimnir of the Skot Alliance. The next round of negotiations will be conducted by you on behalf of the Empire. I believe you will reach a suitable agreement."

“I am very interested in the culture of the Skots,” the red-skinned Cyclops said. “I will participate in your negotiations.”

Although Hathor had obtained information about the Skots from Nimrod and had made many unique discoveries, Magnus was very curious about this resilient race whose history was shrouded in mystery, yet whose technology was inextricably linked to the Empire. He wanted to learn about this race firsthand.

Nimrod and the silent Peturabo then left, and Magnus patiently sat down with Andrea and the hastily arrived Mechanicus Sage to learn from them about the demands of the various factions within the Empire.

As time passed, after the effects of the third vial of the personalized stimulant that Andrea had been injected with wore off, he proposed a temporary recess.

Magnus, along with Amon, Hathor, and others, left the hall and returned to their flagship.

He then announced the convening of the first meeting.

The members of the First Council are all personally selected by Magnus and are the high-ranking members of the "Thousand Sons" Legion, responsible for discussing all current affairs of the Legion.

Its membership is fluid, and whether a Thousand Sons can join depends on many factors, one of the most crucial being their reputation within the Legion.

The five major schools are all vying for dominance, coveting the coveted seats next to the Primarch. Everyone knows that basking in Magnus's radiance will grant them invaluable knowledge and immense power.

Even Magnus's former mentor did not have a secure seat in the First Council.

Laxentep of the "Falcon School" fought to secure his position and died not long ago in a war in the D-1519 system.

Hastur replaced Haster in the "Bright Feather School," and Ihoden barely maintained his position in the school and the First Council, but could only remain on the margins.

More than twenty members followed Magnus to the Red Giant's residence.

The palace contained none of the esoteric symbols, strange instruments, or mysterious ritual props that many people might imagine.

The walls were made of bright, clear glass, and the floor was not made of adamantite from the Voidship, but of pure white marble taken from the deep mountains of Prospero.

Black tiles inlaid with gold wire are meticulously laid out in a repeating geometric spiral that extends from the center.

More than twenty people stood on the spiral pattern, but part of the spiral was empty, as the original members had been sent to other legions by Magnus.

Their distance from the center serves as a yardstick for their status and, to some extent, indicates their position in the primary meeting.

Ahriman silently moved along the black spiral, passing one thousand disciples after another, until he reached his position. He was near the front, but there was one person, or perhaps two, closer to the center than him.

One person is confirmed to be Hathor, and the other is uncertain: Amon, the company commander of the Ninth Society.

Amon was in charge of training the Legion's spies, also known as the Senko's reconnaissance force.

Ahriman neither saw nor sensed Amon's presence. Few could discern his whereabouts; among those present, only Magnus knew his location.

Ahriman had no complaints. After the father of genetics returned, he stipulated that company commanders must complete their temporary training, which was the evaluation criterion.

Amon did not stand beside Magnus as usual; he was present at the First Council as the company commander of the Academy, not as a Primarch's attendant.

He stood slightly in front of and to the side of Ahriman, looking at Hathor diagonally opposite him.

Within the "Bright Feather School," several meters behind Hathor was Ihoden, the school's leader from Prospero.

His and Hastur's standing within the school was surpassed by Hathor, and even by Amon himself.

The status of members in the council is not only related to their distance from the spiral, but also to many other aspects, such as the positions of the Thousand Sons beside him, behind him, and opposite him, who is obscured and who is visible, and the curvature of the curve between his position and the sun disc.

Everything revolves around the struggle for core power, with subtle interactions between the members' positions of influence weaving a web of power that only Magnus can see clearly.

Ahriman stood to the side and slightly behind Amon, while Hastur was farther away from Hathor, which clearly indicated that he had been surpassed by Hathor. At least for the moment, Hathor was at the top of the First Council.

Above the central dome of the spiral, directly below the crystal spire, is a magnificent golden disc shaped like a sun, situated at the intersection of white marble and black spiral tiles, precisely at the very center of the entire palace.

Amon saw the crimson Magnus walk above the golden sun and nod to the crowd.

“The Chamber still requires the Sosmes Mark,” Amon announced, his crimson armor blending into the shadows cast by the dome. The others in the First Council could only hear his voice, not see him.

Magnus nodded, took the golden scythe from his waist, and with a gentle flick of his thumb, the hilt smoothly extended, transforming into a long-handled weapon with a low hum.

He struck the sun disc with a sickle, drawing an intricate, twisted pattern on the ground.

Hathor felt the world around him suddenly become very dark, and the entire palace was no longer being spied on by the outside world.

At this moment, no one can use any technological or psychic means to explore what's inside the palace.

He frowned slightly; the sudden disconnection from the warp was unsettling, but he was still a "mind reader," able to peer into the thoughts of others like Apophis.

Hathor looked toward the center, where Magnus's pupils had turned violet during today's meeting, and he was staring at him with a scholarly smile.

Hathor knew that, as the first council member and the first person below the Primarch, he should be the one to formally initiate the secret meeting.

Only in Prospero, where the First Council communicated through ether, were the Thousand Sons forced to switch to a crude language to conduct their dialogue.

“I am Hathor Matt of the Bright Feather School. Who has come to this premier meeting?”

“'The Black Crow School,' Azek Ahriman.”

……

More than twenty people gave their names one after another, and Hathor finally reported to Magnus.

"Carlofis follows Lord Peturabo, while Apophis is on loan to 'Son of the Emperor'."

"Apart from them, we are all gathered together."

“There is no one else here,” Amon confirmed.

Before Magnus spoke, the group exchanged glances.

　PS: Chapter 2 will be scheduled for 23:23.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)