Segmentum Obscurus, 11-12-35.
William Wood, Chapter Master of the Twelfth Chapter, stared at the xenos before him.
Hundreds of them, their arms like scythes, charged.
Their cracked, tree-trunk-like bodies emitted a strong, musty odor.
They were about half a head taller than him. Barbed wheat ears swayed on their heads.
Their gaping mouths, split to their ears, had no tongues, but he could see swallowed green plants within.
Colorful mushrooms sprouted from the pores of their root-like feet.
His Guard raised their bolt guns, unleashing dense fire.
Amidst the explosive cracks, splinters flew. The tree-like xenos still advanced.
'Tough hide.' A thought flashed through his mind. He raised his hand. Crackling blue lightning leaped.
As a full-fledged "Clown," he flicked his wrist. Claws shot out.
Ten monomolecular blades, forged by Vulkan, flew in different directions, precisely striking different enemies.
A piercing, tearing sound, like sawing wood.
He was astonished to find the monomolecular blades quivering inside the xenos, unable to break free and return.
The "Faceless" swayed lightly, dodging the scything blows.
He leaned forward, puffing his cheeks, exhaling. He aimed at a xenos's mouth and mimicked a 'pop.'
The tree-like body trembled. Its chest was pierced. A monomolecular blade shot out, arcing under magnetic guidance.
He raised his hand. A blade appeared in his empty fist.
His "Air Bullet" ability, gained as a "Magician," had been almost ineffective against Shadows of Order.
But since advancing to "Faceless," "Air Bullet" could now inflict decent damage.
Amidst sounds like breaking wood, his curiosity about the xenos grew.
'My Lord would be interested in them.'
He continuously puffed his cheeks, expelling "Air Bullets," retrieving the monomolecular blades, while memorizing their creaking sounds.
He grasped their subsequent movements, combining this with his psychic foresight.
When he had retrieved all the monomolecular blades, he had a basic understanding of their language.
He ordered loudly on the vox channel. "The xenos are slow. Engage in melee."
He had noticed that though not slow relative to their size, they were much slower than Shadows of Order, especially his Guard, who were mostly "Clowns."
The "Clowns" slung their bolters, activating their disassociation fields.
With a hum, they bent their knees, then spread their arms, leaping.
He was the first to reach a xenos. He pressed his five fingers together, tearing into its tree-like body.
With a crack, its abdomen shattered. His claws pierced its body.
As a full-fledged "Clown's" intuition, quicker than his own "Foresight," detected the scything blades swinging from both sides.
In the gap, he twisted, leaning low to avoid them.
Like a roly-poly toy, he straightened, sliding to the creature's side.
As he moved, his claws swung.
The "Clowns," following their Lord, charged into the xenos formation, using their agility, rolling between their root-like feet, weaving between their bulky bodies.
With creaking sounds, the bulky bodies fell.
After the battle, he found a relatively intact corpse.
He tore off the xenos's head and put it in his mouth, like chewing sugarcane from the Symphony of the Sea.
As he chewed, he digested the information flooding his mind. Combined with the sounds he had recorded, he gained a sufficient understanding of the xenos, who called themselves Harvest Giants.
He removed his claws and placed his hands on the tree-like body.
He stroked it, feeling the texture.
A dozen seconds later, he stepped back. Cracking sounds came from within his body.
His lustrous skin, inherited from the gene-father, grew dry and dull, then withered.
His short, dense black hair became wheat ears, pushing up his helmet.
His lips stretched back, splitting into a wide mouth.
As his mouth opened and closed, it emitted a creaking sound.
One branch of the "Faceless's" "Shapeshift" ability was mimicking target sounds.
If he heard it, he could reproduce it.
Though this mimicry had limits, experiments showed a Shadows of Order's vocal cords could still manage.
Confirming he could "Shapeshift" into a Harvest Giant, he produced a Monarch coin.
His eyes focused, their color deepening. He reviewed his plan, silently intoning in Dunnish:
"The plan to lure the Harvest Giants will succeed..."
After eleven repetitions, he flicked the coin, then extended his gauntlet flat.
Slap! The coin landed, steady in his palm.
Heads up, indicating affirmation.
He then produced a data-slate, displaying a hololith.
He scrolled, then selected a basin with soft soil, according to auspex matrix scans.
His neck cracked. His stiff vocal cords loosened.
He opened the vox channel, ordering the Techmarines and Apothecaries.
"Apothecaries, create a paralytic fluid based on the enemy's body composition."
"Techmarines, bury the fluid at the ambush site, to quickly soften the soil under pressure."
"..."
As the newly promoted "Potion Professor" and "Artisan" teams conducted their research, he removed his armor.
Cracking sounds came from his body. He expanded, reaching the height of the shortest Harvest Giant.
He placed a stack of parchment tarot cards on his person.
Unlike the Emperor's Tarot used by most Imperial diviners, his Shadow Tarot, invented and promoted within the Twelfth Chapter, was completely different.
Based on the Legion's culture, his homeworld Vostroya, his birthplace Gardinaal, the Chapter's recruiting world Tanith, and other worlds he had visited, he had created a unique deck.
The Shadow Tarot's back bore the Legion's emblem. The front had different images on each card.
Replacing the Emperor card as the core was the Monarch card.
It depicted a blurred figure, enthroned.
Ordinary Shadows of Order, unaware of the Black Emperor's existence, or that the Black Emperor and their Father were one, either saw this as an abstract representation or a sign of respect.
Only those who knew of the Black Emperor, who had visited the mysterious realm, recognized the figure as the Black Emperor enthroned.
He had engraved patterns on the edges of both sides with a ritual knife of dual-numbered black gold.
This allowed "Seers," "Clowns," and "Magicians" to use them as a divination focus, like prophecy psykers use the Emperor's Tarot. They also served as a medium for "Clowns" to use "Paper Daggers," and for "Magicians" to advance to "Drawing Paper As Weapons."
"Paper Daggers," as a "Clown," created blades only slightly sharper than throwing rocks.
But "Magician's" "Drawing Paper As Weapons" was a decent alternative when weapons were damaged.
He also placed paper dolls, cut from parchment, and promethium matches, developed by Techmarines specifically for "Magicians," on his person.
"A 'Magician' does not perform without preparation!" He always remembered the Black Emperor's teaching.
It was his preparation that allowed him, during his grand performance on Taxal, to withstand Slaanesh's corruption until his prayer was answered and he was saved by the Black Emperor.
He oriented himself and strode towards the Harvest Giants' gathering.
.....
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