Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

No matter how vast the stars in the Milky Way are, darkness is the true dominant color in the universe.

Although the emerging race of human beings claims to be the master of the galaxy, in the final analysis, it still sticks to individual points of light in the boundless darkness.

But this is the charm of civilization, there are always impossible things that can be made possible through hard work;

There are always seemingly unsolvable problems that have been changed with the wisdom and dedication of countless lives.

This is the case for the astropaths, who endured the pain of flesh and blood destined to mutate and made interstellar communication possible;

It is also them who dedicate their souls to maintaining the existence of this ancient and huge empire.

It was they who used their souls to connect the lonely dots into threads and webs, and finally built a young and huge country.

Without the existence of astropaths, communication across galaxies would take a hundred years, making cross-sector communications even more difficult to maintain, and the human empire would lose its basic possibility of existence.

Countless psychic nodes are being activated, delivering their mission to distant Terra;

The wills that penetrate the subspace are fighting one after another. In the subspace, they rely on the power of mortals to cut the waves and transmit the sounds and images to the distance.

The high tower on the moon is flashing, which is the local information distribution tower of Xingyuting in the solar system at work.

At the end of the wasteland on the surface of Titan, which is full of sandstorms and nightmares, a bell rang from the highest point of the black fortress group. It was the wake-up call for Natilik that was two thousand years late.

when! when! when! …………

Nineteen bells tolled, echoing in the sparsely populated halls of the fortress. Except for a few mortals and servitors, most of the Gray Knights were active on various battlefields in the empire at this time.

In the Grand Master's office behind the Titan Auditorium, Walden, who had just returned to Titan for his shift, was sitting behind a marble desk, looking at the documents waiting for approval in front of him, unable to write for a long time.

When the obituary bell rang, he raised his white-haired forehead and looked into the distance.

"Natilik...were you still unable to return after all?"

Walden remembered the time when he received the Titan Sword from the previous Grand Master.

The former Grand Master entrusted him with the sword and the responsibility of the entire Chapter from the battlefield, and told him the tasks that the former had failed to complete:

Find Natilik, bring back the core inheritance of the Third Order, and bring back the Sword of Oath that corresponds to the Titan Sword...

These three tasks are actually the same thing, because finding Natilik is equivalent to finding the core inheritance of the Third Order;

To find the core inheritance, you must use the Sword of Oath, which is twinned with the Titan Sword, as the key to unlock it.

The core inheritance of the Third Order is actually the core secret of the Gray Knights Chapter.

If it hadn't been for Natilik's accident, all the supreme masters in the past should have come from the third order like the original supreme master Janus.

Walden was not surprised by Natilik's death. After all, the fact that the latter had not been heard from for two thousand years was a very dangerous thing.

But the return of the Sword of Oath surprised him, because this sacred object that didn't seem to have a strong presence actually held too many secrets for the Gray Knights that couldn't be told outside.

This sword is as powerful as the Sword of the Titans, and once wielded, it can dispel demons.

It appeared almost at the same time as the Titan Sword, but there are almost no records of killing demons. This is precisely because it is more of a ritual weapon than a sharp sword.

A long-lost core strength of the Gray Knights Chapter - the heritage artifact of the true name.

Yes, the Gray Knight, as the ultimate weapon for humans to fight against demons, has his own real name just like demons, other supernatural creatures.

This kind of real name is similar to that of demons. While it brings powerful power to the Gray Knights, it also has complicated rules and more difficult generation conditions.

And under the witness of the Guardian Shaper Think Tank of the Third Order, the candidate completely forgets his past personality and memory, and makes a solemn oath in front of the Sword of Oath, which is the most core ceremony.

At that moment, they will completely give up their past as mortals, face the Sword of Oath forged by the Emperor himself, and receive one of the 300 true names inherited from the original from the hands of their fallen predecessors before they can become true Gray Knights.

Yes, there were never many real Gray Knights, only 300.

The true names they hold are those of the Daemons of the Warp:

The Daemon's true name comes from 666 evil symbols from the warp; while the Gray Knight's true name comes from the 300 symbols of wisdom and reason of the human race that the Emperor himself has collected since the birth of mankind.

The holders of these true names have different strengths and weaknesses at first, but as long as they are given time to grow, each of them is enough to compete head-on with the demon. Each of them is the ultimate weapon for mankind.

The Emperor hid the collected 300 true names in the sword and gave them to the Gray Knights, so there are only 300 real Gray Knights, no more, no less, no increase, no decrease.

Only when the previous holder of the true name dies can the next Gray Knight be born, and then he gives up himself and takes over the ancient name and continues to fight against the devil.

This is the secret of the Gray Knights and the last gift from the Emperor to them.

The true name is given by the Sword of Oath, because the seeds of these three hundred true names are preserved in the inscriptions on its sword.

Therefore, if mortals want to obtain this power, they need the witness and enlightenment of the Sword of Oath.

But everything is unexpected, and so is the real name.

This powerful power is not exclusive to the Gray Knights, other imperial forces also have records of their existence.

There are always those who are born with noble souls, who can inherit or spontaneously condense new true names that are not among these 300 names, and thus gain the favor of the emperor and become the savior of mankind in times of despair.

Such people are extremely rare, but once they appear, they will save the lives of billions of people.

Walden had seen few similar beings other than those who were the darlings of fate and the true living saints of the Ecclesiarchy.

Most of them are precious and difficult to copy, and there are only a few of them in the long history of the empire.

Only the Gray Knight's true name can be stably continued with the help of the Sword of Oath.

And it is this precious wealth that they have lost for two thousand years.

The bell rang again after a pause. Walden put down the pen in his hand, stood up and walked to the window facing Terra, smiling and looking into the distance.

The previous nineteen bells tolled to let everyone on Titan know that an unknown hero was confirmed to have died in battle, and his soul returned to the Emperor's throne.

But only he knew the meaning of the 24 bells that sounded again later. They were the machine spirits of the Titan Fortress, welcoming the return of the Sword of Oath, which was 2000 years late.

The starport on Titan became busy again, with servitors and technical sergeants busy preparing supplies for the warship.

The majestic body of the battleship Supreme Decree stands out in the Titan harbor.

After the Battle of Orpheus and more than ten years of rest, it was finally allowed to set sail again.

The Templars and Purifiers of the Purity Chamber who guarded the Hall of Victory on their home planet Titan gave up their years of seclusion and came out in full force to prepare the ceremony to the highest standards.

Under the orders of Walden, they were led by the Lord of the Hall of Victory, High Templar Gallagher St. Dimas, and met up with two other Gray Knight battleships on their way to the Storm Star Territory. And at the base of Titan II, he took the Holy Sword back from Calvin's hands.

Everything went smoothly on Calvin's side, and there were no more surprises on the way back to Titan II.

Different from the day and night journey when it arrived, the Revenant Redeemer quietly arrived at the starport of its home port of Titan II after traveling peacefully for several weeks.

After waiting for all the mortal troops to disembark and return to their respective stations, Calvin returned to the core fortress of Titan II with the honor guard and the newly added "corn pendants" around him.

In the deepest part of this new home planet fortress of the Gray Knights Chapter, a soul ferryman from Titan was quietly waiting for them.

Passing through the main entrance of Titan 2, the magnificent granite triumphal arch allowed Jin and his colleagues to comment in silence, each mentally comparing the difference between this place and the Royal City of Terra.

The mortal auxiliaries in black robes and gold were on guard duty. They were fully armed at various posts and watched the return of these giants with solemn eyes.

After passing the double door leading to the auditorium in the fortress, Calvin turned around and stopped Jin and others.

he said to King and his colleagues.

"When I first arrived, as a landowner, I should have introduced you to the situation here, but the fallen comrades are still waiting for us to hold a funeral. You don't have to attend. Please forgive me for not being polite. This is our internal ceremony. ”

The Imperial Guards had no objection to this explanation, and this reason deserves respect.

And thinking about it from their perspective, they also do not welcome outsiders to appear in private occasions such as mourning the death of their comrades.

"Please help yourself, and forgive me for accompanying me." Jin nodded in agreement, and then led the mortal auxiliary army to the resting place prepared for them.

After Calvin watched them leave, he took his own bodyguard members to carry the coffins of his three comrades and continued walking inside.

The Soul Ferryman had already been waiting in the deep cave that had been built underground. After seeing the team of Calvin and others, he didn't ask anything. He just led the way with the pale ever-burning lantern in his hand.

The spiral corridor is ten people wide, and the newly built catacombs are obviously wider than those on Titan's home planet;

The sculptures on the armrests on both sides are the same as those on the home planet. The heroic postures and faces of the ancestors fighting are the same except that they are updated.

Calvin was in no mood to talk on this occasion, and the Gray Knight behind him was also not performing this mission for the first time.

The twelve members were carried by four people, and they were divided into three teams.

The temporary wooden coffin was replaced by a sarcophagus made by technical sergeants in the hall on the underground floor. The armor of the three monks was removed here, their bodies were cleaned, and they were sealed into the coffin together with their weapons during their lifetimes.

The Gray Knights watched the ceremony in silence throughout, and then after this session was over, they lifted the sarcophagus again and placed it deeper into the tomb under the guidance of the ferryman.

Everything was done, and the funeral here came to an end with everyone's low-pitched carols and prayers.

Calvin, who was supposed to turn around and leave, said to the unfamiliar Soul Ferryman in front of him:

"Please wait a moment, there is another person here who needs a funeral of his own."

As he spoke, Calvin took off the Terminator Cross he was wearing from his armor, and he said to the gravekeeper belonging to the Gray Knight in front of him:

"Please give him the honor he deserves."

"Is the body unable to be retrieved?" the soul ferryman asked.

"It's a pity that he died a thousand years ago." Calvin shook his head and said.

"Are your belongings still there? For example, clothes or armor." The Soul Ferryman asked again.

"No more..." Calvin replied.

"In this way..." The ferryman paused for a moment and then spoke again:

"There's always a name, right?"

"Natilik Saint Ramakdan." Calvin recalled his memory and said with some uncertainty.

"Oh, is it him?"

Unexpectedly, the ferryman, who could not tell how old he was, actually had an impression of Natilik.

Seemingly aware of Calvin's doubts, his hoarse voice struggled to speak again:

"I used to be a member of you. It's just that when I served on the front line of the battle group, this respected great mentor was still alive..."

He turned around and walked towards the top of the ground. As he walked, he said to Calvin and others:

"Please come with me, this is not the place to bury him."

After passing through the circular corridor and walking down the sunken stairs, the Soul Ferryman said to the swords on the surrounding weapon display racks:

"Anyone who has weapons or armor in life is here."

Calvin touched the Sword of Oath at his waist. He vaguely felt the power contained in this sword, and he did not believe that the Gray Knights were so generous as to use this sword as a burial gift.

After walking up until there was a floor between the Lost Dagger Hall where the remains were resting, the Soul Ferryman stopped. Then he gently took out his dagger and carved the first line of words on a pillar with a blank carving:

"Natilik, a member of the Gray Knights Chapter, the twenty-sixth Grand Master of the Guardian Shapers of the Third Order - Cause of Death: Death in battle - Relics - None."

After confirming with Calvin's eyes, the ferryman used the sacrificial knife he carried with him to carve Natilik's name into scratches...

Calvin instantly understood the meaning of these pillars, and he quickly scanned the entire place. The nearly several hundred meters of hall was obviously new enough, and except for Natilik, there were almost only the coats of arms of ordinary Gray Knights.

"Everything is done, please don't send me far away."

After saluting Calvin again, the veteran walked silently deeper into the earth with steps that had begun to falter.

After watching this man go away, Calvin took his comrades back to the surface.

The war never stops, the war continues.

After a short period of sadness, Calvin still had to cheer up and face the next journey of life.

He didn't have much time to remember. As the castle master, he had too many responsibilities to bear. Not to mention it was far away, but he still had a mission on the top floor of Titan II's church. 7th Company Commander Yule, who was about to leave immediately after a brief greeting, was waiting for him...

2-in-1, updated. Asking for votes.