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  “The Areq were Warpmancers. The heathen humans, Squogg and Exanoids are not.”

  “Don’t underestimate them, Kei. Don’t forget that we have fought the humans and Exanoids before. Warpmancy or not, they have tek that surpasses our own.”

  “That sounds awfully close to heresy, father.”

  Zary’thyn laughed. Kei could not help but give a half smile in response.

  Their vehicle slowed as they approached the manor house. Zary’thyn stood and offered his hand to his son. Kei accepted, lifting himself up.

  “Please don’t be bitter, son. 100 years is not so long. And while there is glory in war, there is no glory in death. Attacking when we cannot win easily will mean millions of dead among our ranks. You could be among them. If I did not stop that when I could have, I would never forgive myself.”

  “It would be my sacrifice…”

  “Then consider me selfish,” Zary’thyn smiled, sadly.

  They were interrupted as Kei’s mother, Yue’thyn, appeared to greet them.

  “Beloveds! How went the debates? Kei, I hope your father did not bore everyone too much.”

  “On the contrary, Yue, I think Kei found the debates more entertaining than I did.”

  “What was the result?”

  “We vote tomorrow.”

  Excitement crossed Yue’s face.

  “That soon?”

  “The proctor believes the council to be divided beyond any chance of unification. It is best to get the vote over now. All the councillors have made up their minds.”

  “And our chances?”

  “Good – at least Kei believes it to be.”

  Kei shrugged as his mother looked at him. “The Ulyx are firmly in father’s faction. They find his metaphor of sharpening the sword of peace very convincing.”

  “And the Edal?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Not even a single one?”

  “Do I count?” Zary’thyn intervened.

  “Well, you do. If every Ulyx supports your case, that is half the council. You tip it in favour of delaying expansion,” Yue explained.

  “Then tonight is cause for celebration!”

  “Nothing too loud, please, I have to study for my Warpmancy theory exam,” Kei pleaded.

  Yue rolled her eyes. “Of course, your honour tren Kei’thyn. A small family affair. Just the three of us.”

  “That sounds wonderful, darling,” Zary’thyn smiled, embracing his wife.

  With that, they exited the manor’s transit, Zary’thyn dismissing the pilot for the day. A marble path, flanked by lush grass, led them to the manor – a pure white ancient structure, maintaining the pure ideal of Edal architecture. Imperial banners flanked the pathway. Kei turned around to examine the estate. A magnificent tract of land, ending in a blue lake upon which Kei had played as a child. Beyond that, the city of Grelaz.

  They entered together. Kei excused himself and went up to his room. While enjoyable, the debates had distracted him from more important matters. His Warpmancy exam was tomorrow. Before he could begin proper training, he had to demonstrate his knowledge of the theory.

  He arrived in his room and immediately opened his textbook -

  ‘A Treatise on the Nature of Warpmancy.’

  It was a dry text, but there was no better source of knowledge on his people’s craft. He opened the tome where he had last bookmarked it.

  ‘Awakening Warpmancer ability.’

  Kei winced. He hated this topic.

  It specified two types of Warpmancers – Trained and Natural. Natural Warpmancers held a latent supply of Warp energy and could manipulate it without formal training. They were the most powerful among the ranks of the Warpmancers. Trained Warpmancers did not have the talent, but did have the genes to allow them to formally train to be able to use limited Warpmancy abilities. Much to his chagrin, Kei fell in the latter category. His mother and father were not Naturals and neither had trained in the art. Some of Kei’s ruder Edal mentors had based his father’s un-Edallicness off this fact. Warpmancy was the art of the Edal people, after all. Any that rejected it was not an Edal, in the eyes of many. But Zary’thyn, like with all of the accusations levelled against him, did not care. What mattered to him was not petty traditions of his race, but the essential vision of Imperia.

  Kei read on, absorbing the information and taking down notes. As they would often come to do while studying, Kei’s thoughts began to wander. He looked forward to the celebratory dinner tonight. He wondered what they would be eating. He hoped it would be smoked gailaka with roasted vegetables. Some hethwee to wash it down would also be welcome. He knew his father needed it. As much as he maintained good spirits, he knew that Zary’thyn was taking strain. Losing the support of all his kindred could do that to a man. Kei admired his father’s sacrifice most among his other virtues, and definitely above his eccentricities.

  For all his misgivings with his family, he was glad to be in it. Above Imperia, above Martyrs, and dare he think it, above Doctrine.

  As Kei’s thoughts wandered between his studies and his daydreams, the sun began to set, leaving a golden-red hue upon the land.

  Kei was interrupted from his reverie by the sound of shattering crystals.

  “Did a servant break a vase again?” Kei said aloud to himself. He knew his father would overlook it. He always did.

  Kei went back to note taking. Another crash. He hoped his father would be at least a little strict this time. He tried to return to his studies, but as he tried to lift his pen, his entire desktop vibrated away from him.

  He had heard of earthquakes before, on some of the Fringe Worlds, but none had ever been recorded on Grelaz. Then he heard a faint buzz, growing louder. He recognised that.

  Eyes widening, instinct took over and he dropped to the floor. Searing, white-hot energy cut just above his head, disintegrating everything it touched. The heat hurt him, even as it didn’t touch him. Screams echoed from around the estate.

  Kei recognised the weapon. It was an Imperial heat-ray cannon. It was military issued. He had witnessed its use while completing basic training in the Star Horde. His instructor wanted his class to see the immense power of Imperial tek, especially against human and Exanoid materials. Not even the enforcers on colony or Fringe worlds were armed with these heavy weapons. But, somehow, for some inexplicable reason, the Imperial military was attacking House Zary’thyn. Kei hoped he was wrong. Grelaz was a peaceful planet. As such, they had no security – no means to defend themselves.

  Crawling along the ground, Kei made his way out of his room. He heard foot-falls and hastily hid behind a door. Horde troops jogged past, bearing FireLances. A scream followed. A zip, a sizzle. The scream stopped. Kei used the pause to dash towards the atrium. He needed to defend his family, if that was even possible.

  The distance was short, but the journey was long. Fumes and smoke choked him and hiding from Edal warriors slowed his pace. As he approached the end of the hall, just reaching the atrium, he heard his father’s voice.

  “Shotra Gai’nala, you vushla g’shan!”

  Kei had never heard his father speak such harsh words, especially to a captain of the Star Horde.

  “Keep it coming, eraztar. No need to reserve your breath. You won’t need it for long.”

  “Eraztar?! I am a councillor!”

  “You are a filthy traitor to the Martyrs and Doctrine.”

  “I serve the Doctrine more than your filf mind can ever understand. The Martyrs would never order this. They know the Doctrine better than even I.”

  “A Martyr did order this.”

  Stunned, Kei observed his father at a loss for words. The captain continued.

  “Martyr Grexus has returned from his consolidation past the Fringe. He desires a crusade. You and those flat-noses put his plans at risk. As such, you are an eraztar. You are to die.”

  “Why kill me? If the Martyrs desire it, then I would have conceded my point…”

  “The Martyrs don’t
desire it,” Eld’rai interrupted, sauntering through the garden gate.

  The truth dawned on Zary’thyn. “Grexus is the only one who desires a crusade. You have gone behind the backs of the other Martyrs.”

  “Wrong,” Eld’rai smirked, “for there are no more backs to go behind.”

  Kei barely held back a gasp.

  “What…what are you saying?” Zary’thyn stuttered.

  “Martyr Grexus is all who remains. There need only be one holy Martyr. He proved his strength and surpassed them all. They only stood in his way. He is a god who has killed all other gods. And by doing this, he has proven to be the only god we need. We will have glory in our war. No matter if Council, Martyr or Doctrine tries to stop us. Our Martyr Grexus has willed it, and it will be so. You are but a petty obstacle – one that needs to go away.”

  “Please…” Zary’thyn was sobbing, Kei lifted his head from his concealment just enough to see why. Eld’rai held a dagger to his mother’s throat.

  “Please don’t. She did nothing!”

  “Rot spreads, councillor. You can’t just eliminate the source. You must purge the infection.”

  Eld’rai sliced. Blood pooled across Yue’s neck as she fell to the ground.

  Zary’thyn let out a primal scream. He tried to struggle, but the Star Horde warriors’ grips were too strong. Kei watched, helplessly, holding his hand over his mouth. Fire surrounded them all.

  “It was a pleasure debating you, councillor. I regret that we will not be able to joust again. Even if you were not an eraztar, there will soon be no council in which to debate. Martyr Grexus is bringing true purity to this empire. Soon, we will only exist in the name of war.”

  Eld’rai held his dagger point first to Zary’thyn’s forehead, holding the back of his head to steady it. Kei’s father squinted at the blade with blood-shot, crazed eyes. Tears streamed down from angry eyes.

  “Goodbye, House Zary’thyn.”

  Kei ran before he could watch the dagger pierce his father’s skull. He barrelled past soldiers, who missed their shots as he sprinted out of the house. So surprising was the display, that no one at the perimeter of the manor noticed his escape.

  Soon, he reached the city. Soldiers and enforcers were armed and patrolling the streets. The streets Kei had once loved so much. Smooth, usually pristine white paving, was caked in blood and bodies. Smoke rose, infecting the pure, fresh air with acrid stench. Ulyx councillors were being brought onto the streets and executed. This city and planet that Kei had loved so much was burning alongside his home and family.

  Kei dodged patrols, his tears stopped by adrenaline. Sweat stung his eyes. He was tiring. His legs couldn’t take anymore. He collapsed at a transit platform, where he had diverted to dodge an enforcer who had seen him.

  A craft landed near him, opening to reveal a smartly dressed Ulyx. The Ulyx frowned, curiously, at the wretched display but then looked surprised.

  He helped Kei, who could not resist, into the craft, which then flew away.

  “Who…are you? Why?” Kei panted and stuttered.

  “I’m Roryx. And you are Kei’thyn, son of Zary’thyn. My father is a street vendor.”

  Kei nodded. His disdain of his father’s eccentricities all melted, among other things. He had told himself he would embrace the higher duties of Imperia and Martyr over family. Now that he had no kin to serve, this should have been easy. But he knew now that he could never owe a duty to those who had killed his family.

  “Revenge is the highest desire we can have. No matter how seemingly impractical, we will sacrifice everything to right the wrongs committed against us.” – Xai’ren, Edal Warrior-Philosopher

  Chapter 2. Hatred

  Kei awoke with the rising of the sun reflecting off the crystal light at the centre of his room. The sunlight barely pierced his window, but as it hit the strategically placed crystal, the light spread and flooded his room with a blue-tinge. This was how he had usually awoken for the past few months. For the first few, he had struggled to sleep at all. Every single time he closed his eyes, he felt the heat, saw the flames and the blood splatter on blue skin. His heart would beat too fast for comfort. Sometimes, he would vomit. More often, he would lie awake, too tired to sleep. His only respite from this torment was exhaustion, and the deep sleep that didn’t bring dreams.

  Roryx, a young Ulyx bureaucrat, had saved him from external danger, but the real threat to Kei’s wellbeing came from within. Kei’s life had been duty. Duty to family. Duty to empire. Duty to Martyr. Now, his family was dead – and it was empire and Martyr that had killed them. He served nothing now, and in the vacuum that ensued, he could do nothing but persist in living an empty life. Roryx tried to console him, but he didn’t understand – couldn’t understand. How could another understand Kei when he didn’t understand himself?

  While Kei revealed little to Roryx, who knew much about him already, the Ulyx revealed much about himself. He was a mild mannered, subtly friendly and secretly attentive young man. He served as an apprentice to a banker. While Imperial society did not possess any sort of enterprise large enough to necessitate commercial bankers, these individuals were experts in the logistics of empire. They planned the financial well-being of Imperial society. Roryx dreamed of being among their ranks. Kei could not think of anything drearier. But Kei could not find anything he’d rather do. His dreams of being a Star Horde soldier had burnt with his family home. He had no dreams now.

  Kei instinctively exited his bedroom, as he did every morning. Roryx smiled at his approach, looking up from some papers.

  “L’eron?”

  “Hethwee.”

  “Not this early,” Roryx frowned.

  Kei grumbled.

  Roryx’s frown deepened. Kei only recognised it as a frown due to his father’s work with Ulyx councillors. Edal and Ulyx expressions differed dramatically. It took a trained eye to read an Ulyx’s emotions.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine…”

  “Don’t lie.”

  That stunned Kei. This was unlike past months. Roryx continued.

  “Your family is dead. I gathered that much. You almost died. You aren’t fine. No matter how many months. You need to talk about this.”

  Kei was silent and then whispered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Finally!”

  Kei looked at him quizzically.

  “Some emotion! An expression of something. I was worried they’d crushed you completely.”

  Had they? Kei hadn’t felt anything. Did he feel something now? A bit. Maybe. There was still void. Kei didn’t know if he felt anything.

  “This reverie,” Roryx continued, “is natural, but it needs to end. I want to help you, Kei. I owe your father that much.”

  “My father is dead.”

  “Duty surpasses death.”

  Stunned, Kei looked at the Ulyx. Roryx looked a bit shocked at the sudden action. He then squinted, gazing into Kei’s eyes.

  “I don’t see the void anymore,” Roryx commented. “There’s a fire there now.”

  Kei looked down. “Fire? Maybe. But what is the use? So, I owe a duty to my family. I owe duty to empire, to the Martyrs. They killed my family. The Martyr killed the other Martyrs. What do I pick? Do I avenge my family but forsake my duty to my last surviving lord?”

  “You do what is right. You don’t owe any duty to empire or Martyr.”

  “Heresy?”

  “Truth. Your father was inspirational in the teaching of this point. Were you not lectured on this?”

  “I had other mentors. I wanted to join the Star Horde.”

  Roryx frowned. “I hope not anymore.”

  Kei grunted. Roryx continued.

  “Anyway, your father’s most controversial argument was the we don’t owe a duty to empire and Martyr. We owe a duty to the Doctrine and the values it purports. Empire and Martyr are but tools for the greater ideal of the Doctrine.”

  “Did he lecture you?”


  “I did not have such a privilege. I read his books.”

  Roryx stood, leaving his papers upon the table-top. He indicated for Kei to follow.

  Roryx led him down the hallway and into an expansive room lined with books ranging from worn tomes to freshly printed text-books. It was a large room, but not as large as the Zary’thyn library had been. ‘Had’ risked upsetting Kei, so he fought the memory down. Instead, he focused on titles as they walked:

  “Wealth of the Galaxy, An Analysis of Fringe Freighting, The End of the Millennium…”

  And many more. Many were in languages that Kei did not recognise. He did recognise, however, that they were illegal. A small part of him took mental notes to report Roryx, but an even larger part crushed that small part. Roryx was…well, a friend? Kei didn’t know. But he owed a duty to Roryx, much more than empire.

  Roryx stopped at a shelf and scanned the titles. He took out a book and handed it to Kei.

  “The Imperial Doctrine by Zary’thyn.”

  Kei held the book and then looked at the Ulyx. Roryx looked him in the eyes with a piercing reptilian stare.

  “It is time you learn what your father truly stood for.”

  Peace, order, purity.

  They stood as the goals of empire. Empire itself was not the goal, and the Martyr definitely was not either. The Doctrine stood as the goals and the values of what the Imperial Council was meant to protect. Empire and Martyr was meant to work towards it. As Roryx had said, they were tools.

  Kei had never delved deep into his father’s works before now. He wished he had before… The arguments were much more convincing than those of his mentors. So many holes were revealed in the logic of the conventional wisdom. Some of it was so simple that Kei was ashamed he had not figured it out himself.

  How did war achieve peace?

  It could not. One could not defend by attacking the innocent. And the heathens were innocent. Unenlightened, maybe, but then they needed to be coddled, not killed. Slaying non-believers was no way to reach the goals of the Imperial Doctrine.

  Kei saw that now. It was as if his father was speaking to him. Every sentence, while wordless, seemed to hold his father’s calm, playful tone. Even with the serious subject matter, his father had managed to insert much of his humour and good nature into this book.