Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes.

Chapter 229 The Ritual of Audience, and the Beginning of Governance

A low-key but not simple audience ceremony was held in the atrium auditorium of the Wraith Redeemer.

Every Orpheus nobleman who was lucky enough to participate will never forget the scenes he saw at that time.

Under the bridge of the Revenant Redeemer, the location that was originally used as a library of forbidden knowledge was transformed into a huge palace and auditorium.

Passing through two huge porches with a height of more than [-] meters carved with the emblem of the imperial double-headed eagle, a decagonal hall composed of nine high walls and ten pillars appeared in front of everyone.

The nine high walls are all made of platinum metal, nearly 300 meters wide and nearly [-] meters high;

The eight high walls among them are engraved with the stories of Calvin and the former gray knight masters beheading demons.

On the high wall of the front porch, a golden imperial double-headed eagle is engraved in flight, and the two-headed eagle's two sharp claws are firmly grasping a rising silver sun.

That implied that Calvin's rights were granted by the Emperor.

And in the middle of the silver sun is the mark of a sharp sword inserted in the middle of the scripture.

This is the former mark of the Gray Knights, and with the addition of the silver blazing sun on the periphery, it happens to be the logo of the Gray Knights today.

On the positions on both sides of it, there are two slightly smaller emblems carved:

The famous Roman numeral "I" mark with a skull in the Inquisition Chamber is composed of blood red and imperial gold as the main color, and it does not forget to declare its human purity when it demonstrates its authority;
On the other side, the unknown lion and thorn gears only have a low-key and simple brass, which is the exclusive emblem of the more secretive Order of Omen.

Trinity, granted by the emperor (god), the content of the heraldry array is complicated and precise.

It not only clearly expresses the sanctity of the source of Calvin's power, but also clearly shows the composition of the power in his hands.

And this complexity itself is another symbol of power.

If a scholar who is proficient in imperial heraldry and theology is present, he does not need to identify the specific meanings of those heraldry one by one, he can clearly know it only from its specifications:

This complicated specification and level has exceeded the specifications that a high lord of the empire should have as the top of a mortal;
This level of emblem, other than the emperor himself, was only owned by the leader of the legion who was on the side of the empire in the era of the great expedition, who killed and killed thousands of people in the imperial world, and who had the power.

And for these leaders, there is another familiar name in the empire-the Primarch.

This is not all of this emblem, countless halberds and broken swords have replaced the position of the angel of the state religion in the emblem of this level. (Or, this position should not have been owned by the State Church?)

Their two huge wings made of steel and sharp blades spread out around the emblem of the legion and extended downward, extending towards the throne below in a lifting gesture.

The sacred runes engraved on each of these weapons represent the existence of the gray knights who died in silence in the past ten thousand years.

At the end of the downward extension of the wings is the huge metal throne standing on the nine-step platform.

On this throne made of fine gold, with countless thick cables extending backward from the base, a giant was already sitting on it. (In fact, it is the Psionic Titan's release hall. The throne they saw is the driver's seat of the transformed Psionic Titan.)
A scepter-like scepter-like hammer made entirely of psionic crystals was shining with dazzling aura, and was placed beside the throne by its owner.

His sacred face was blocked by the haze of psionic energy, and he could only see the laurel wreath carved from azure psionic crystals on the head of short silver hair. There are different faces in the eyes.

Platinum giants stood on both sides of the throne, and stood beside the throne with the mechanical priests from the Order of Ominous Order.

The ice-blue bladed halberd is held tightly in the hand, and the book and sword emblem on the armor is the same as the relief on the high wall;
The Power Axe and Power Scepter engraved with the lion gear emblem of the Order of Ominous Order also echo the lion emblem on the wall, guarding their monarch with their allies.

Further down are the figures of more giants, forming a crowd of two wings watching the ceremony:
Hundreds of veterans from the four Astartes Chapters, clad in Terminator power armor, stood silently behind their banners, once again coloring the wings of the Throne;
Farther away, the judges of the Imperial Inquisition wore red robes of different shades of their respective orders, quietly facing the generals of the Tindalos Legion in black and gold uniforms on the other side.

What a sacred scene that was!
What a cruel beginning!
Juan and the few nobles who were lucky enough to have an audience looked at this mythical scene, and their hands and feet were numb with horror.

Every part of this hall is so sacred and cold, and every detail of them is exquisite and full of meaning beyond the imagination of these indigenous nobles;
And the educated nobles can clearly understand that in such a huge and sacred space, there is not an inch of space reserved for weak mortals like them!
But in a sense, this is the cruelest truth of the universe towards human beings:
The Emperor and his Empire faced such a powerful and unique enemy.

Countless aliens and demons constitute the sepsis and sores on the decaying body of the empire;

Countless conspiracies and the malicious gaze of the gods make the empire the master of the galaxy, but it is always on the verge of being broken and struggling.

The enemies of the Imperium were so powerful that the Emperor tried his best to forge a human blade.

These tempered arms and souls, even after going through all kinds of hardships and dangers, are just for a chance to stand in front of the enemies of the empire and fight fairly.

Mortal Soldiers, Astartes, Custodians, Primarchs;
Astral Army, Imperial Navy, Inquisition, Mechanicus, Omen Order;
All of these represent the revenge and roar of the empire for thousands of years.

In these sequences representing human armed forces, except for the Astral Army represented by the Tindalos Legion, there has never been a position that truly belongs to civilians.

"Wait, why are you here?"

The solemn voice descended from a high place, making these mortals who have been entangled in their interests all their lives frightened and at a loss as to what to do.

Yes, why did they come?

For the cause of empire?

Or is it for the fate of the citizens of the empire in the star sector?

Or is it for hatred of heretics and aliens?
Do they dare to say that?
In the face of such an existence that can penetrate their dirty bodies and look directly at their decayed souls, do they dare?

Well, what can I say?

Said they came for rights?

It is said that they have been captured by power, and now only the instinct of lower animals for food is left, attracted by the aura of power?

They, dare?
The nobles murmured their plump lips and wanted to say something, but the last instinct left by reason tightly strangled their vocal cords, trying to prevent their self-destruction.

Under the gaze of many saints, they fell into a strange but understandable silence.

The suffocating silence continued, while the divine on high lost patience and waited.

Juan knelt on one knee beside these nobles, his lowered head was tense, and he could no longer care about sympathy or ridicule for these miserable people.

Before he himself could break away from the shock of the scene he saw, he heard the inquiry from a high place:

"And you? Admiral Juan, the eagle rider in the sky of the empire. Why are you here?"

"I..." Juan raised his head, his eyes extended to that dazzling existence, and then he lowered nervously.

Thinking of my previous situation, I saw the epic scene in this auditorium.

As a high-ranking general of the empire, this middle-aged man who had barely stepped into the real ruling class did not dare to hesitate any longer, and simply told the person in front of him everything:
"I... came here for the responsibilities entrusted to me by the empire! I came here to better fulfill my mission and deliver this precious power to a more meaningful place!"

"you are wrong."

The person who stood tall and above the clouds denied his remarks, making his heart feel like falling into an abyss.

But in the next second, his heart was lifted up to the sky with that person's words:

"The mission entrusted to you by the empire can only be undertaken by you! The fate given to you by the emperor is up to you to decide! I know your loyalty, step down!"

As if being pardoned, Juan's whole body lightened, and he suddenly felt sore all over;

Among the gray knights who had already stood on both sides, two of them stepped forward, pulled him up and placed him on the right side of the crowd, only slightly lower than the Tindalos army.

And those nobles were dragged away by the other gray knights as if they were dead. They were completely immersed in fear, and even in the subsequent execution ground, they couldn't even utter a single excuse for themselves...

This small-scale but far-reaching audience was still going on, and many members of the local court entered the auditorium afterwards;
Waiting behind them are the officers of the Star Militia Army scattered throughout the star area.

The final direction of the audience ceremony is unknown, but only judging from the declassified materials of later generations, the political ecology and principles of the entire Orpheus for thousands of years are being rewritten at this moment, at this moment.

It was at this meeting that Calvin gave a clear order to those local forces squatting in the wilderness of Orpheus:
A century-long absolution and purification will be carried out on the entire star area.

The rain of judgment from the stars falls on the skies of Amara.

Squads composed of Gray Knights, members of the Inquisition and the Legion of Tindalos appeared in various functional units of the Empire here almost at the same time.

They pulled from their posts bureaucrats who had already been labeled moths and apostates.

In the nearest place where the sun can shine, the decree signed by Calvin was simply read, and the ensuing execution was carried out on the spot.

The few people who were shot and the majority were burned directly by the promethium flamethrower greatly shocked the onlookers.

They were as deeply impressed by Calvin and his messengers with the death notice as the people of Leac who gradually recovered in the following hundreds of years.

And this large-scale internal cleansing, along with people's word of mouth, eventually became the most important classic scene written in the history of Orpheus, known in history-the rain of ashes.

After the audience ceremony was over, Admiral Juan returned to the front line of the Hassan sector with peace of mind;
And with him, he marched separately to hundreds of planetary worlds in the entire star area, led by officials at all levels of the three major orders of the Inquisition, various Astartes squads and law enforcement teams of the Tindalos Legion.

Under the order of Calvin, the large-scale purge was carried out in the entire star region. The hidden dangers that could not be dealt with due to various reasons before were smoothly carried out under the leadership of the local forces in the star region.

The cults and other traitors hidden in various parts of the star region were dug out one by one by the three major religious orders of the Inquisition Chamber.

The thousands of Astartes warriors who shuttled through the entire star area not only aroused countless horrors, but also used their power beyond mortals to bring precious stability to the entire star area.

Calvin was on his way to the surface of Amara at this time.

The call from the great mentor Aidan made him put down the battle reports and heavy command tasks from all over the star area.

In Aidan's letter, there were some strange things about the star district governor Harold Ondan, which aroused his great attention.

In the palace on the top floor of the hive, the gray knights who drove out all the mortals led Calvin to the governor's bedroom.

He is the final trump card of the Inquisition Chamber.

Governor Harold, who had completely lost his mind, was imprisoned there, and more than a month had passed before he knew it.

During this period, the Tribunal and the Order of the Holy Hammer inspected him many times, but they still failed to find the reason for his murder.

Passing through the palace barriers and gate walls, Calvin finally met this mortal who had a relationship with Calvin when he was the head of the Star District Council.

Now he is beyond recognition, his haggard body and distorted face show his fear, and the words whispered in his mouth are ambiguous, but this is most likely the only clue.

"What is he saying?"

Calvin carefully examined the figure of the other party, and was disappointed to find no trace of psionic energy on him.

"He said... he won't eat this?"

Dulles, the senior judge of the Alien Tribunal, said hesitantly.

They have been analyzing this sentence for a long time, and none of the chefs of the governor's mansion who followed this clue escaped, and all of them were taken into the prison of the trial court.

"Hmm..." Calvin shook his head in disappointment at Aidan to express his abandonment, and then planned to return to orbit and continue to deal with the complicated official duties at hand.

But he didn't go far away, when he suddenly thought of something, he suddenly stopped, turned around suddenly, and walked towards Harold's bed again.

This time, he didn't dwell on Harold's illogical words, but focused on searching for some traces on his body.

Finally, Calvin's eyes fixed on Harold's pale hands after looking up and down for several rounds.

On those hands that had been tightly fixed by silk to prevent him from harming himself, there was a faint silver-green light flashing through the seams of the thin bird-claw-like fingers.

If Calvin hadn't seen this kind of thing himself, he really couldn't confirm his inference.

The strangeness of his abnormal return naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. Facing Aidan's inquiring eyes, Calvin fell into the memory of the past.

After a while, Calvin, who had confirmed something from his memory, dipped his fingers into the drinking water on the table in the bedroom, and then drew a strange symbol on the stone table according to his memory.

"This is it!"

Calvin looked at this strange text and said to the people around him;
The memory of this kind of text comes from the engraving on the building he encountered in the twin stars.

And the subtle energy fluctuations on Harold's body and the abnormalities in the bones after being affected by this energy are exactly in line with Calvin's taste for the energy movement in the remains of that unknown civilization!
"Check!" Aidan simply gave the order.

The members of the trial court around gestured to each other, and then stepped forward in turn to write down the words with their own devices, then turned and walked towards the residences of the three major religious orders.

"You don't think his situation is something that can be manipulated by spiritual powers, right?"

In the room where there were only three people left, Aidan looked at Harold who was still in a mad state, and asked Calvin.

"Yes, the gene can be determined, it is the unique energy fluctuation of this civilization!"

"It's true that misfortunes never come singly..."

Aidan's brows were deeply frowned, and together with the nasolabial folds on his cheeks, he was silently telling his old age.

And Calvin was also silent in his thoughts:
The current incident is by no means accidental, but as the two of them thought, the scope behind this strange incident will far exceed everyone's initial expectations!

That means that Orpheus, the war-torn star region, will face the threat of a brand new and unknown alien civilization soon after it has just escaped from the two-way battle with the orcs and chaos. !
"Has there been a reply from Nicholas?"

Aidan thought of something and asked Calvin.

The Custodian and his comrades lingered near the remains of the twin stars for years after Calvin's initial disappearance.

But the mission on them is equally heavy. Under the repeated orders of the throne court, these aggrieved imperial guards finally left Orpheus with full of regrets, and went to other places that needed them under the order of the throne court. battlefield.

It has been more than a month since Calvin officially appeared in Orpheus since his return, and nearly a day and night have passed since he initiated the communication to the King's Seat Chamber through the internal channel of the Trial Chamber.

Calvin also understood Aidan's thoughts. After all, the alliance of the warbands existed away from the sight of the empire, and the pressure on the four captains also made it difficult for them to stay here for a long time.

The authority of the high lord is not without boundaries. At least now that he is the representative of the three major abbeys, he has to consider the smooth operation of other abbeys in the empire.

Other high lords must receive basic respect, which is the basic condition for the parliament to function.

And this kind of respect is specific in reality, the most important one is that he must curb the endless expansion of force in his hands.

Otherwise, it is not enough to secure the hearts of allies; otherwise, it is not enough to maintain basic strategic mutual trust.

Calvin knew clearly that as long as he did not return to Terra for a day, he still lacked a righteous name if he did not meet the Emperor.

Without the power brought by this title, he would have no reason to keep the soldiers of these battle groups openly.

In the eyes of the two of them, Orpheus at this time was like a microcosm of the empire. The precarious star region had just emerged from the shadow of defeat in the war, and fell into a new crisis in an instant.

"It's difficult..." The two looked at each other, and then sighed in unison.

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(End of this chapter)