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THE TALE OF ASTELAN

PART THREE

The roo into a vortex of grey above the slab He had lost all concept of d periods of pain and emptiness In some way, he had come to dread the interludes of isolationeverything he had done, turning Astelan’s oords into knives to stab him with, it made it easier for hi of the Interrogator-Chaplain, Astelan could concentrate on defending hi to get the Dark Angels to understand why he had done the things they were calling ’criet thee he could hold on to, a tangible goal to strive for

But when they left him, for what seeht Points that had seemed so clear when he had explained them to Boreas became swathed in doubt

The Chaplain’s questions were etched into Astelan’shis resolve What if he had lost his way? What if he had gone insane, and every­thing he had done had been nothing but the vile acts of a tortured hts, because to pay any attention to theless And if that was true, then the greatest moment of his life, the tiless And if that were rave sin

But he had not sinned, Astelan was adaather his thoughts His interrogators had not been there; they did not knohat it had been like Noas the opportu­nity for them to discover that uncharted part of their history, the event that so obviously marked their souls Astelan could teach them what he knew, lead them back to the true path of the Emperor He would cast aside their suspicions and their doctrines, and turn the interrogation to his benefit There was els would hear it

And yet he had also to contest with the psyker, the war­lock Sahts and feelings, left Astelan feeling violated This,with the alien, the psychic reatest threat to mankind The Eers of possession and corruption Had he not censured the Thousand Sons for their dabbling in ic? And now, ten thousand years of anisations dedicated to their recruit the Emperor had wanted to achieve The Adeptus Astra Telepathica with their soul-binding ritual to leech away the Enificence for the psykers into the ence of allowing humanity’s inner enemy to thrive, to be nurtured at otten the perils, or did they choose si the future of the Imperium and humanity as a whole?

And the pinnacle of folly, they had allowed psykers to beco euphemism so that they did not have to think too deeply of the consequences It was a mask, a smokescreen, so that those in power could pretend that there was purpose in allowing these aborown from the calamity of the Horus Heresy, and he feared for alaxy deteruish it

But what could he do? As a Chapter commander he had been at the forefront of the battle to protect norance and hate for what he represented

But what did he truly represent? Again, Boreas’s ques­tions teased at the edges of his thoughts, unravelling the arguments he had used to justify his actions Was he truly any different from the primarchs, who had subverted the Emperor’s cause to their own? Who was he, a warrior born, to judge the fate of ht battles and command men, not to set the course of huance that had driven him to forsake Lion El’Jonson; did he really know the mind of the Emperor as well as he clai on your life,’ said Boreas Astelan was panicked for a ator-Chaplain enter How long had he been unaware of Boreas’s presence, his attention locked inside his own head?

’I a warlock’s voice out ofto wipe away the filth he felt on his face, but the chains were too tight and his hands waved ht they were Saain, to delve into the recesses of hishis head, Astelan focussed on the cell and Boreas

’You are doing well, Astelan,’ the Chaplain told hi out the impurity and lies, and I hear your shouts as you cry out for forgiveness’

’Never!’ Astelan’s resolve returned instantly, his ain He would never ad It would be a condeht, and would condone the travesty that now passed for the I forhis drealorious as, I am here for information,’ Boreas snapped

’Ask what you will, I will only tell you the truth,’ Aste­lan replied ’Whether you welco I doubt in my heart’

We shall see about that,’ Boreas said, taking up his cus­tomary position, arms crossed, at the head of the slab ’You claim you travelled to Tharsis on a ship, and there were other Fallen with you Tell me how you came by this vessel and these companions’

’First, I must tell you what befell me after the battles on Caliban,’ Astelan told hireat confusion and pain For an eternity it felt as if I was shapeless,power I was at the centre of a storm, and part of the maelstrom itself I had only an infinitely small aware­ness of myself, of who and what I was And then I awoke, as if fro, the fire froinary memory at first’

’Where? Where did you find yourself?’ Boreas asked

’That wasof all,’ Astelan said with a frown He still felt dizzy and sick fro of Samiel, and he closed his eyes to aid his concentration ’I was on a rock-strewn slope, a barren, lifeless wasteland stretching out before me Gone were the thick forests of Caliban, the sky was yellow overhead and a bulging star hung above the hori­zon At first I thought that perhaps I had not awakened, that I was still drea The impossibility of it baffled me, made me doubt ht sky filled with stars I did not recog­nise, I realised that it was real Unco of how I arrived, I determined to discover whattime before I discovered the truth’

’And the truth was?’ asked Boreas

’I was far, far fro rose, I decided to walk eastwards There was no real purpose behind it, but part of o towards the sun I hoped I would find a settle­ that at least some indication as to where I was I reat dor’

’How did you survive?’

’The planet was not as lifeless as I first thought There were scattered copses of spindly trees and thorny bushes Here, I discovered, if you dug deep enough you could find trickling streah the rock, small pools under the surface There were rodents, serpents and insects all feeding upon each other, and they were not difficult to catch In this manner I sustained myself I fear that if it had not been for this wondrous body the Eiven me, I would have perished Had not my stomach, my muscles and my bones been so efficient, I would have starved or been cursed with disease from infected water But ere created to survive, e not? The Emperor moulded us so that we could eke life out of death and continue the fight’

’But what of the ship, how did you come by it?’ Boreas asked impatiently