A Bloody Rose Story

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 Oh…puppet of my father… you and I are of the same kind… the same kindred as it where…. And because of that, I feel I must warn you… but first… as my kindred spirit, I know you must thirst for knowledge in the cosmic forces… I know it! Because I did too… once… 

And in that guilt of that sin, I call mine… and with what is left of my sanity… I must warn you… Tzeencth knows of this… and planned it so… As fate is ever present in his eyes… this is no escape… only changing the board… 

But you know this… yet… you still chose to open my book… it appears as if he wants you to live... And that may very be so… but note… if he so wills it... Then only pain awaits you in your future... I pray that you are strong enough to see it through to the end, whether you join us or stand tall with my former father… 

Having said all that, here is the knowledge you seek, but note its power is insignificant in the long run, do not mistake its power for something more… it is but a simple tool... A weak tool that might make you arrogant with its gift… and should that happen… I judge you unworthy of the true worth of this book… 

Whether you master this book's secrets or not, or whether you change the fate of yours and others… I only ask... That you do not repeat the same sin of my guilt… or in the end… you will be nothing more than a pawn of Tzeencth like me! Cursed to live by his whims in the hope that he will show mercy on my chapter… my legion… my brothers… 

Sister…no!... daughter of my father… may you change the imperium fate for a brighter one…. 

→Excerpt by Magnus the Red← 

With cosmic swirls of purples and reds, the words of Magnus the Red flew into Layla's mind like living symbols of ancient text! The world was in pause, the tyranid gnates, frozen in their place, while burning blue words taught Layla their secrets! 

With her mind trapped in euphoria, Layla's mind was opened to new knowledge of the warp, a dangerous prospect that would have seen her head flying if any legionary had seen her… but her mind wall as her soul… was bright and sturdy as the emperor wall that surrounds holy Terra! 

And in that euphoria, she witnessed the world of Magnus as he pursued after knowledge, Oh! How grand the scene played in her mind! The world was filled with library pyramids that housed generations of labor and love… all for the pursuit of holding back their curse… the curse of mutation! Oh! How they longed to be like their cousin… to be… closer to humans… and not moronic freaks that suffered from scorn… 

But then... As her mind… dug deeper… deeper into that mystic energy… she saw the fall of their world! As a red giant with one eye signed away his children to a heresy! There Layla saw the face of true Heresy… the face of Horus himself! Clad in black, with eyes of red, Horus stretched out his hand to Magnus, as the vision changed to the image of the space wolfs! 

A space marine chapter, whom cousin to Magnus, laid waste to his home world of Prospero! Under an order by the emperor, the wolves devoured every pyramid to fire, to the fangs of axes they slaughtered all in their path! From dust, their knowledge came… and to dust it returned… 

And to dust… his children's souls became like sands locked in armor…. While others become like beasts with feathers! A chaotic mess of swirling visions that kept swapping to different fights and pleasures… Layla's mind tried to keep up... To make sense of the ever-changing scenes, and in the end, as she fell to her knees… 

The vision stopped… on a figure clad in gold and red… with one eye and horns… with two beautiful violet wings… the man taller than any imperium knight…. Looked right at Layla, holding twin fires in each hand… and said: 

[Remember sister… 'there is no sin but ignorance'! And that… without the chaotic light… the universe would stagnate and die… it is only through the eternal struggle that any advancement can change!] 

With those words that burned like fire in her mind, Layla awoke with changed eyes as her hand burned a chilly blue fire! And thus, with one simple wave, she burned away the rippers!

With a fire so hot they couldn't even scream! While others tried to run, they only spread it to each other! As the fire was a living fire! And like a snake and a curse, it slithers through the army of rippers like a plague that would make Nurgle proud! 

As the guardsmen locked behind their screens and doors, watched the scene of a witch burning the insects, they looked at each other in worry as one said: 

[Dylan! She's a witch! You didn't tell me she was a witch!] yelled Steve in hasty anger, while pulling on Dylan's chest armor. 

[well… of course I didn't tell you… I mean... How could I? When I didn't know either!] 

[Buttt… but you made me say all that stuff to her! What... what if she recognizes my voice when she gets in here!] 

[meh! So, what... Just apologize to her and that should be the end of it… it's not like she is in a situation where she can afford to kill the, only few survivors that can help her escape this shit hole!] 

[That is not the point! You promised me that she wouldn't even survive! You said 'She is bug food now' She doesn't look like bug food to me! Dylan what if she finds out!] 

[Oh, shut up Steve! And get a hold of yourself! You're sounding like Oliver!] replied Dylan as he slapped Steve across the face suddenly to the backdrop of Oliver's crazed crackling. 

As they argued amongst themselves, the fire of Layla's flames dulled, as did the rippers scurried out for freedom. With deep breaths she fell to one knee, and with each exhausted breath… Miss A asked her: 

[Are you alright?] 

Hearing her words, Layla paused for a moment as she looked at her hands that withheld an outline of blue… with a gentle warmth she placed them on her head, as a roaring headache jumbled her mind for a moment and said: 

{I'm… sigh… I'm fine… it's just that.... my head feels like it was slammed by a rock…} 

 With that humble reply, Miss A nodded metaphorically as she continued the conversation: 

[I'm not surprised, after all, you suddenly let out a huge amount of energy, and had I not acted as your controller… your brain would have fried! That was dangerous Layla… next time warn me before you do something like that!] 

{sorry… it was a spur-of-the-moment type of thing… I didn't mean for it... To be…. In any case, did anything weird enter my soul or body, when I was in that state… it felt... Like for a brief moment… I was possessed by something…} 

[you were possessed? I guess that would explain the sudden change and outburst… but I didn't notice anything different… maybe it's just a psyker thing? Well to be safe, I'll do a once over for you…] 

{oh! Since when were you this nice… Miss A} 

[I've all always been this nice… Hehe… but if you want a reason… well… let's just say…I can't stand the thought of having to share my meal ticket with someone else!] replied Miss A with a smirk 

With jokes aside and everything appearing normal, Miss A couldn't help but ask: 

[so, Layla... Are you going to tell me what happened when you connected your mind with the book?] 

{ha! I don't even know where to start… but hold on… didn't you see it?} 

[Unfortunately, no… I was too busy protecting you from the influx of power, resulting from you connecting your mind with the book… I was worried this Tzeentch would try something... Strangely though... He didn't even try… how… contrive of him…] 

{I see… well thank you for that… I really don't want to be a bird!} 

[why not? Birds have the nicest wings…Hehe] replied Miss A in a joking fashion 

{yeah… no! I'd rather be a rose! And a bloody one at that! I don't need wings… only thorns…} 

[yeah…. And a sweet scent….] whispered Miss A to herself as she drooled in Layla's subconscious mind. 

{what was that? Miss A, I didn't catch that.} 

[nothing, anyway back on topic! So, what did you see…] 

{I saw… Magnus… and he…} said Layla but stopped shortly afterward as she was interrupted by the metal door at her back, abruptly opening! 

As the metal moaned, and the sparks sizzled with the burning smell of fresh meat, two guardsmen stood out from the light of the door and greeted Layla with fancy apologetic words, that sounded fake and insincere, vile even… but as for the third guardsmen: 

[battle sister… I won't apologize for my previous words… as an esteemed member such as yourself, should understand our position… we just couldn't open the door and take the risk….] 

Annoyed by the man's clear unsympathetic words, Layla wanted to kill the man, as his action had forced her to take a risk, she felt she wasn't ready for, she understood his reasons, but even understanding them, didn't quench the anger she felt. 

With that seething anger, she gripped the handle of her blade, and like a fire wick, it didn't so much as burst into flames, but had a calm demeanor of a light invisible flame just on its mirror surface, just waiting for the moment. 

{Alright 'guardsman'} said Layla in distaste before continuing 

{care to explain to me the status of this fortress?} 

[understood mam, but first… please come inside… we don't know when those things will return!] replied Dylan in all haste, as he nodded suspiciously to his two compatriots. 

Hearing the man's urgent pleas, Layla went along with the men as the door closed behind her, however, the way the men positioned themselves behind her did not go unnoticed by Miss A, as she whispered something into Layla's ears. 

As the metal door slammed closed, squishing gnates and discarded metals, the man in front of her, introduced himself and spoke: 

[sigh, were to begin…] 

{from the beginning but summarize as I need to hurry back to my sisters.} replied Layla interruptingly, as she noticed that these men assumed she was a full-fledged battle sister and not a sister in training.

However, that was only a theory, because how can these men not know the difference? It could be that they simply call her a 'battle sister' out of respect, despite the fact she has yet to fully earn her medal. 

But despite these thoughts, the man known as Dylan continued with his explanations with a hand gesture to a computer screen. 

[oh! There are other sisters here!] exclaimed Dylan with fake surprise followed by his men behind him, while he continued to gesture to the screen. 

{yes, now continue!} demanded Layla with squinted eyes 

[my apology sister, it started about a week ago, here you can watch the logs as I give a quick rundown.] replied Dylan with a Lasgun pistol behind his back. 

As Layla watched through a static screen, Dylan began his narration: 

Day 1, The Monolith Garrison 

The sun was bright, but the clouds were an eerie dark gray, and the sound of the plain rocks was as quiet as the night… a foreboding sign that no one noticed… as the mutation grew out of control! A sudden spurt of wildlife that went mad! 

Day 2 

The tech priest couldn't make it, make sense… birds, cows, didn't matter! All were rapidly changing as were the men! Some grew horns, others tusks, some even had their whole body become something… adhuman! 

By Day 3 

Bullets were exchanged as the Inquisition had a field day! Never explaining in detail just quarantine and kill! As madness ran the fortress, the beast tribes threw their bodies at our walls! It was chaos! As our walls soaked the blood… while empty casings and dead men ran out to the trenches to hold off a new contender! 

Day 4 

By this time the techies learned that the beast tribes weren't trying to actually take the fortress… no… they didn't come to conquer… but to run! They were running! From a foe long since buried… the tyranids! 

By Day 5 and 6 

A series of explosions rang, as the sun and moon turned to blood! Our hornet's planes, or whatever you like to call them, rain hell onto the fields! As the iron artillery made quick waste of anything left… the firebombing never ceased…until an explosion of psyker energy burst from the jungle to the east… the beastmen had played their last card… 

By the morning of Day 7 

The iron gate still held… but the dead were beyond count… trapped in iron walls as ammo and food became short, the corpses drew them in… the rippers! Like a wave in an ocean, they came in untold numbers! They made quick work on the dead… but when the food ran out… they turned to our walls! 

It was then… at the dusk of day 8… it came… a monstrosity that even the inquisition didn't know what to call it… but its psyker energy was off the charts! A floating head-type tyranid creature, where bullets and bombs could not reach… and our flying planes met their end…its psychic barrier was just too great… and with horror, we watched, as the alien shot a beam of pure energy through our walls! 

We then… all heard in our minds a psychic laugh, as the rocks tumbled down onto our heads! Those that had died by those rocks, were the lucky ones… And with that haunting laughter, the way was open for the rippers! They flooded in like starving wolves! The men didn't stand a chance… 

All that talk about Cadia stands this… Cadia stand that… ha! They didn't stand but for a single second if that! It wasn't until some weird bird men in blue appeared out of thin air, that we even had a second of respite… if it wasn't for that 'adhuman' even us three would be dead right now! But we haven't heard or seen him since that moment…and we've been trapped here ever since. 

[there… you're all caught up now, battle sister…but here's the thing… I don't understand… how can you use the same fire as that adhuman?] said Dylan, as he gripped tightly the gun he hid behind his back!