Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

The message relayed by the Astropath matched Nareth's expectations.

He had been the first to reclaim a lost Knight World and successfully bring it under the folds of the Imperium. The Emperor, referred to by Nareth as "Golden Man" was delighted and immediately saw its value for political propaganda.

The Emperor ordered Nareth to return to Terra, where Malcador the Sigillite had already prepared a grand celebration in his honor.

Of course, the Emperor also remembered Nareth's particular interests and promised him another opportunity to enter his personal treasure vault as a reward.

Upon reading the message, Nareth felt something melt within him; his digestion of the "Briber" potion reached a new threshold.

Satisfied, Nareth nodded. His personal conquest of the Daxos Twin Star System had not been in vain. The potion was progressing, and as expected, he was being granted another chance to select a treasure.

He immediately ordered his fleet to head for the nearest Mandeville Point, setting course for the Sol System.

The Chief Apothecary Mikael and the "Harvest Priest" Marlena did not accompany him; instead, they took a separate ship toward the Trekken System.

As for the Shadows of Order, not yet assigned to a specific Chapter or selected for the journey to Terra, they disembarked from the Void Hunter to join their respective forces and continue expanding the Legion's influence.

During the voyage, seated upon his command throne, Nareth inquired of Arsena about his assigned task:

"How is your research on mystical languages progressing?"

The "Reader" was silent for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts before speaking:

"My lord, after discussing with Thomas, we've made some discoveries."

"Across various civilizations, certain words with mysterious power are discovered, sometimes by accident, sometimes inevitably."

"The accident lies in the discovery process. The inevitability lies in how every species, in their quest to understand the cosmos, explores beyond science and turns to the supernatural."

Nareth tapped his fingers lightly, motioning for him to continue.

"I requested aid from all Chapter Masters, and they cooperated fully."

"Together, Thomas and I gathered, sorted, and analyzed language from numerous xenos species and civilizations, searching for these anomalous terms."

"So far, we've identified 51,940 such words across 29 races, and they've already been decoded."

The Reader then shared his next goal:

"I believe this visit to Terra will be productive. Aside from High Gothic, many ancient languages from other cultures are archived there. I hope to extract new terms."

"By the time we return, I may even be able to start constructing full sentences from these fragmented words."

"Good," Nareth encouraged. "Continue on that path."

Meanwhile, under Malcador's orders, all branches of the Imperium were preparing frantically for the Primarch's arrival.

The people of Terra, upon hearing the news of the Primarch's return, erupted in celebration.

The Emperor had ended the Age of Warlords and launched the Great Crusade, reclaiming long-lost human worlds and reestablishing mankind as the galaxy's dominant force.

Many still vividly remembered the glorious return of Horus Lupercal fifteen years earlier, a month-long celebration.

Now, Malcador had declared the reception of the Eleventh Primarch would last one full month as well.

In addition, overworked citizens were overjoyed to hear that they would be granted three days of public holiday upon the Primarch's arrival.

For four straight months, the biggest topic on Terra was the impending return of this new Primarch.

As people shared every rumor they could find about Nareth, the Imperial propaganda machine roared into action, broadcasting his feats across the stars:

"Primarch Nareth unified the entire Vostroya System even before being found by the Emperor. He crushed xeno raiders, built exemplary hive cities, and led his people to prosperity."

"In 813.M30, he discovered the Treken System, drove out vile xenos, and added five lush, resource-rich habitable worlds to the Imperium."

"In 814.M30, he uncovered the lost human colony of the Daxos Twin World Star, personally meeting with House Vextrix. The first Knight World to swear loyalty to the Imperium."

And more.

On Terra's audio-casts, his achievements played in a continuous loop, growing in number by the day.

In parks and taverns, both official performers and opportunistic artists animatedly told tales of the Primarch's exploits.

Each had its own spin. According to incomplete Imperial records, there were already 33,911 different versions of Nareth's duel with the Knight King of Daxos alone.

The people debated endlessly over which story was the "real" one.

"Listen, with one swing of his sword, the Primarch cleaved a ten-meter Knight mech in half!"

"No, he leapt into the air and kicked the Daxos Gloria right in the chest! The whole thing collapsed, flattening an entire mountain!"

"You're all wrong! He didn't even move. He just looked at the Knight King, and the guy couldn't handle the pressure and knelt, swearing fealty to him!"

In the Imperial Administration, Malcador listened to reports with a rare smile on his weathered face, issuing detailed orders with his usual precision:

"Make sure the spaceport has a dedicated berth for the Primarch's ship. The honor guard's music and ceremonial protocol must be flawless."

"The Arbites must keep the road to the Palace clear. The crowd will be immense, preventing trampling or chaos before it starts."

"For the banquet, food and drink must primarily follow Vostroyan cuisine, but include other cultural varieties too."

"..."

As always, Malcador missed no detail, overseeing every aspect of the celebration and issuing individual instructions to each department head.

Time passed swiftly.

In November of 816.M30, Malcador received confirmation that the Void Hunter had exited the Pluto-adjacent Stargate, an artifact known as the Gate of Hades, built during the Golden Age of Technology.

On the 11th day of November, the Void Hunter arrived at Terra's orbital port.

The grand celebration welcoming the Eleventh Primarch to Terra officially began.

.....

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu