Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

876.M30, end of year

"I, Darkley, record this."

"Finally, after a long journey and almost non-stop subspace jumps, we have arrived at the destination of this trip, the home planet of the Lord of the Second Legion: a remote world named [Avalon] by herself. .”

"This place is located on the edge of the Far Eastern Star Territory. No matter whether it is the bright light of Holy Terra, Mars, Reza or Macragge, it is difficult to shine here. From here, proceed to the southeast, and the next famous landmark is Damok Leith Bay.”

"Before this, the empire's expedition fleets rarely reached such remote corners, but the birth of a primarch will definitely bring glory and glory to these lost countries: in our preliminary estimates, in the Avalon galaxy The vast area radiating irregularly from the center to the surroundings, which has never been explored by the empire before, may contain hundreds of resource-rich galaxies, and will certainly be home to countless thieves who will be annihilated by our cavalry. "

“On our way to the Avalon system alone, we have encountered or detected colonies including but not limited to greenskins, Kroot, Ada pirates, hybrid fleets, and separatist human colonies that wantonly claim sovereignty: Total There have been more than a hundred cases, and there is no doubt that there will be a long and bloody battle born among these stars that are newly exposed to the light of the Empire."

"At the same time, our exploration fleet has also completed a rough star map of the future [Avalon Sector]: this upcoming sector will have 16 star systems of different sizes and approximately 147 worlds. , and around this star area, there are still more unexplored worlds, as well as enemies that have not yet been eliminated."

"..."

[Here, the notes have an obvious mark caused by hesitation. 】

"I don't know if I should write and record these words."

"but……"

"From any angle, the Avalon sector is a very strange place. According to the legion records presented by the Thousand Sons Legion that originally regained this place, their squadron was destroyed after a strange subspace storm. He came to the Avalon galaxy by chance and established the empire's rule here: the Lord of the Second Legion also joined the empire's fleet at that time."

"But after that, when the follow-up troops of the Thousand Sons Legion wanted to find the Avalon system and sent tax collection officials, they could no longer find the system: not only the Avalon system, but also the nearby There seems to be a strange protective force field in many galaxies, which allows them to disappear from the destination of subspace routes according to some unknown rules. This is also one of the reasons why the human empire has not carried out large-scale colonization in this area. .”

"It's like there is some device hiding and protecting these galaxies."

"In the information I have reviewed, when the Mechanicus' exploration ships first explored the surrounding star field, they had already reported this problem. However, because this place is close to the Gulf of Damocles, it is too remote. , there are no major empire worlds within thousands of light years nearby, so no one cares about it.”

"But under the leadership of the Primarch, our fleet reached the Avalon system easily without encountering any strange situations on the way: I have to doubt the authenticity of the records of the Mechanicus and the Thousand Sons Legion."

"..."

"But after I really saw the appearance of Avalon, my previous brief doubts were overturned, and were replaced by a kind of fear and reverence for the profound truth and ancient history."

"Like, so similar."

"Separated by half the Milky Way, thousands of stars and sectors, far beyond the reach of ordinary people, in the east of the Milky Way, in a corner that is so remote that almost no one cares about it, in this On the star system called Avalon."

"I actually saw a trace of Holy Terra's past, a trace of the human home planet, and an arrogant imitation and realistic sculpture of the core of the empire."

"This is by no means a geological creation that can be formed by natural evolution: this remote world called Avalon is almost the same as the pictures of Holy Terra recorded more than ten thousand years ago in the historical albums I collected. It’s exactly the same.”

"Yes, if you look at it at first glance, it seems to be very different from Holy Terra: unlike Terra, Avalon is a very large world, and its size is close to being able to maintain the lush natural environment. edge, and the proportion of land occupied is higher than that of Holy Terra. Among the three interconnected oceans, there are several main continents and several island communities arranged in an orderly manner. Almost every piece of it is on They all have traces of civilization.”

"But if we break away from the deception of vision and look at it from a geological, biological and even astrophysic perspective, we can feel the cold sweat of the truth."

"In the Avalon system, there are eight major planets orbiting a sun in its prime, and Avalon itself is the third closest world to the sun in the system: this may not seem like much, but if compared to the divine If you look at the solar system where Terra is located, you will find that except for the larger ratio of the sun to the planets, this system is almost the same as the solar system."

"Whether it is a sun, eight major planets, nearly 500 satellites, and 1.2 million asteroids, or more detailed orbital periods, orbital diameters, counterclockwise rotation, or the distance between each celestial unit, all It is a unified, proportionally enlarged, absolute replica of the solar system.”

"Avalon itself is like a trace of the past memories of Holy Terra: whether it is the rainforests and deserts near the equator, the ice sheets in the polar regions, or the direction of the monsoons and ocean currents that are vaguely visible, and the The accurate rotation and revolution speed are some kind of show off, some kind of silent telling and warning."

"If we really want to say that it is different from Holy Terra, then the only difference may be that in its orbit, there are five moons that rotate on their own without disturbing each other. Their sizes are larger than those next to Holy Terra. Luna is slightly smaller, and there are no traces of civilization on it."

"..."

"Faced with this situation, what else can we speculate?"

"Either we convince ourselves that this is a unique spectacle in the Milky Way, a mirror image caused by nature, and a great miracle in probability brought about by the huge total number of hundreds of billions of galaxies."

"Either we have to face an ancient and funny past: when the first empire of mankind has not yet declined, when crazy fantasies and vast power are still in the hands of our ambitious ancestors, One of them may be a big shot with a leisurely temperament, or a sociological observer with endless ambitions, who created this home planet to commemorate mankind, or may be conducting the greatest sociological experiment. Artificial Eden, and turned the huge surrounding star field into a protective wall to allow his little works to grow up safely."

"Considering the brilliance and madness our ancestors created thousands of years ago, I have to consider the second conjecture as a temporary explanation for everything before me."

"Perhaps, only the divine Lord of Humanity can explain what we are seeing now."

"But in a sense, we don't actually need any explanation: no matter why this world was born, and what kind of past and history it has, at this moment, all traces have already been lost to us successors. It’s meaningless.”

"Its master and founder has disappeared into the chaos of the Age of Strife. Avalon and everything about it now undoubtedly belongs to the Lord of the Second Legion, the Emperor's Daughter, who has come to rule this world. , the genetic queen of the Dawnbreaker Legion: Morgan.”

"And centered on this world, hundreds of galaxies that have not yet been recovered, explored, and colonized by the empire will also face their fate from this moment on: becoming loyal subjects of the empire, or being wiped out."

"They will face this multiple-choice question over the next dozen or so Terran Standard Years."

"And based on this premise, we will only get a happy trouble: there are countless treasures and wealth in remote corners that have not been touched by the empire. The Rogue Traders responsible for exploring have contacted no less than ten people who are willing to ask the emperor The loyal human colonies have all experienced unimaginable torture and pain in the era of strife, and are always looking forward to salvation and gospel from the human home planet."

"At the same time, we have also encountered numerous alien worlds, those separatists who are unwilling to surrender, and even the bad ones who are colluding with those alien scum. Which one of them should be treated first? It is already in the Astartes A discussion started among the big shots."

"On the other side, those Reza Mechanicus people are also having a... somewhat intense academic discussion. The number of mineral-rich worlds we have encountered and recorded along the way has reached double digits. Among them, There are some crazy high-quality mineral deposits, and the mechanical monks in orange-red robes regarded their colleagues as sworn opponents the first moment they saw those mineral deposits."

"This is just the wealth brought by the Avalon Sector. If our Primarch is like... the one from Ultramar, if she wants to expand her kingdom, I won't do anything else. I can guarantee that the Dawnbreaker Legion will definitely become one of the richest imperial armies."

"In short, even if evaluated by the most demanding imperial standards, the world of Avalon, and even a considerable part of the world in the entire Avalon sector, is definitely worthy of the two words."

"Heaven."

——Dawnbreaker Legion Narrator: Darkley

[Note: Within half a Terra standard hour after the itinerary was completely written down, it was levied by the Legion Internal Affairs Department (one of the organizations spun off from the original Fourth Fleet). Darkley himself was not affected, but in I lost all memory of this narrative in the future]

——————

After Maeve, the queen of the Ashbernian kingdom, woke up, she did three things in sequence.

The first is to take care of your appearance and makeup, and personally complete the most important first step in the exquisite decoration of a queen. Although her maid is right outside the door, these things involve her neck and behind her ears. She couldn't trust anyone about anything.

Although it was just foundation, she treated it as the most important thing. She almost put her beautiful eyelashes on the expensive silver-rimmed round mirror: after walking out of this door, she must always maintain Best Queen behavior until you come back again.

After all, with the help of World Empress Semiramis, she had just eliminated her dead father and six equally noble sisters, and ascended the oak throne of Aisibernia. She knew very well that her subordinates The dukes and lords were watching her every move, and the loyalty of the royal guards directly under the king was also questionable: at least until she tested every infantry and cavalry commander of the guards on her bed. , she will never trust their ability and loyalty.

As for the World Empress Semiramis? If the supreme ruler of all Avalon discovers that Maeve cannot even maintain the balance of the court in Elsibernia, her first reaction will definitely be to let another more capable and obedient guy sit on the oak throne, and Not giving Maeve any help.

Thinking of this, the [Queen of Purity] with a better face snorted softly. She stroked the delicate face in the mirror that did not need any decoration, and blew a smiling kiss to herself as the first step in her daily routine. end.

The finger fell, the clock rang, and the right knock on the door reached Maeve's ears on time. She responded, and six maids and two guards were ushered in. Everyone was surprised by the mess and chaos in the room. Turning a blind eye to the spring scenery, the maids began to take care of Maeve's decorations, while the guard put his hand on the handle of the knife and glanced at the sleeping janitor officer on the bed, waiting for the queen's order.

Maeve waved her hand casually, and the guards retreated: the loyalty, tools and skills of the person on the bed were all personally tested by the queen last night, and he received a very good evaluation. He is enough to become a member of the queen's court. part of the network.

It seems that today, the roses cultivated by Queen Maeve will be hungry.

Maeve stood there, letting the maids take care of everything, and the female officers also poured in one after another, reporting today's itinerary, memories and various tasks: but they all had to be ranked after one thing.

The Queen of Aisibernia took care of herself as quickly as possible. After completing the second step of her daily plan, she was about to proceed with the third and most important step of the day.

Leading a group of carefully selected guards and ladies, Queen Maeve left the palace prepared for herself at an elegant pace that was closest to a trot, walked through the empty courtyard, and headed towards the towering castle on the cliff. Go.

The Empress of the World is there.

Semiramis, waiting for Maeve’s visit and gift.

——————

About twenty years ago, after the arrival of those huge fleets that called themselves the "Empire of Man", Maximilian, who was already the emperor of the most powerful country in the world and the overlord of the Majorian Continent, surrendered without hesitation. With the help of these powerful visitors from beyond the stars, Maximilian established a short-lived but real hegemony and became the world emperor of the entire Avalon.

In fact, long before those powerful visitors actually arrived, relying on his extremely powerful daughter [Morgan], Maximilian had actually established a world hegemony, but the path of this talented and strategic lord came to an abrupt end: As the fleet of the Human Empire left this world, Morgan, the daughter of the World Emperor, followed quietly, leaving her adoptive father and home planet.

Not long after she left, a plague took the emperor's life. The Argau family where the emperor belonged immediately launched a bloody and crazy succession war, and the hegemony was wiped out: but as everyone thought When everything was about to return to square one, a female emperor who claimed to be the daughter of Maximilian and the sister of Morgan became the winner of the war.

She is the world empress of Avalon: Semiramis. Her invincible psychic power has once again established the unshakable hegemony of the Argau family, and the worship and legend of [Morgan] are also here. It gradually became established and popular over the past twenty years. From the palace of Semiramis, fanatical warriors and preachers emerged one after another, completely establishing Maximilian's floating world hegemony, and also Invisibly, Morgan's name was brought into the memory of a new generation.

Thinking of this, Maeve couldn't help but blink her eyes. She thought of the stories she had heard since she was a child: One day, a great person named Morgan will return from the stars, and she will bring supreme gifts and opportunities. , she will restart the sacred lakes and springs, allowing the most heroic warriors to rush to the stars, and gain eternity amidst monstrous wars and great sacrifices.

Avalon itself is a world full of heroic feelings and romanticism: knights and princesses, rangers and maidens, the eternal Hall of Valor and the legends of the Kingdom of Shadows, which have been taught on all continents. Sung for thousands of years, and driven by the Semiramis regime at all costs, Morgan's name began to appear and occupy these epics, becoming the figure in the hearts of a new generation of blood, the figure destined to lead them on the road to heroism.

And now, the legend has come true.

The fleet of the Human Empire once again appeared in the sky of Avalon, and the leader of this fleet was named Morgan.

When this news came, the bell towers of every continent, every kingdom, and every city rang day and night, and the cheers and celebrations burned day and night, and all the passionate people who had faith in their own strength and courage People packed their bags one after another and boarded the ship to the Majorian Continent: it was not only Morgan’s former country, but also the continent where the legendary Eternal Peak where the gods came to the world was located. If Morgan was going to choose his own warriors, then Will definitely be there.

And long before these reckless heroes were ecstatic, the kings and grand dukes had actually received the highest-level notification from the World Empress. They had prepared the best young warriors in their country in awe and fear. , and at this moment I am very grateful for my foresight.

Queen Maeve is also one of these people who are overjoyed. She is even more exaggerated: because she relied on the reputation of the Queen of the World to ascend the throne, she packed almost all the people of the right age in the country into the Eternal Peak. ship.

Now, she just wanted to praise herself for her decision: she could walk up to Semiramis with her head held high, sit down with her gentle greetings, enjoy breakfast and talk with him.

"Do you know what the total population of Avalon is? Maeve?"

Semiramis's breakfast table was placed on the edge of the railing of the palace terrace, so that she could see the sun gradually escaping from the majestic mountains in the distance anytime and anywhere. She held her fork and gently played with the cake in front of her. , allowing the jam to leak out from the cracks, staining the snow-white plate with sticky stains.

Opposite her, Queen Maeve tried her best to search for knowledge in her mind in silence, but in the end, she just shook her head and said that she did not know the number.

"Of course you don't know."

Semiramis laughed, but her smile did not make Maeve feel relaxed at all. The queen of Aisibernia was very aware of the ruthless methods of the black-haired empress of the world in front of her: Semiramis once In one day, 60,000 rebels were executed in one go. From the lofty king to the famous sage, they were no different from the most humble bloodline. They were hanged alive in the way of civilian punishment. Both sides of the avenue in front of the Palace of the Empress of the World.

After this bloody execution, she used her invincible psychic power to easily suppress a joint rebellion that swept across three continents.

After witnessing that moment with her own eyes, Queen Maeve knew that the biggest secret to spending her life safely and happily was to crouch under the empress of this world and always become a person useful to her.

In other words, someone useful to the person behind her.

Yes, to her cronies and obedient figures like Maeve, Semiramis made almost no secret: she was just a subordinate of a greater will, a person who was commanded by a great man named Morgan. The puppet she manipulated, and the power she showed that was enough to make the entire Avalon surrender was not just a trace of relaxation and dissatisfaction displayed by Morgan in his spare time.

This story sounds very absurd and ridiculous, but all the characters who think it is ridiculous are now floating on both sides of the avenue in front of the palace of Semiramis.

Therefore, Maeve regarded it as the most credible truth, and everything before her eyes proved that Semiramis did not panic with her.

The Queen of Elsibernia raised her head slightly and saw only those huge shadows that were enough to cover the entire sky of Avalon.

That was a fleet, a huge fleet that seemed to dominate the sky over Avalon in the blink of an eye. It was Morgan's fleet.

"The number is 1.2 billion."

In front of Queen Maeve, Semiramis was chatting. She didn't seem to be interested in eating the cake. She was just raising her fork and stabbing it one by one.

"The entire Avalon has a total population of 1.2 billion. This is the answer I got in a census three years ago. And a global conscription, even by our most stringent standards, can recruit several There are hundreds of thousands of new soldiers: but among them, only 20% may actually meet the standards. Or it may be a slightly higher number."

"And among these people who meet the standards, those who can actually undergo transformation surgery and be absorbed by the huge fleet above our heads may be reduced by more than half: that is, after the first round of recruitment. If I can Sending 10,000 men to the fleet above us would be considered a great success."

Maeve blinked.

"...Is it that exaggerated, Your Highness?"

"exaggerate?"

Semiramis laughed.

"To conquer a village, I need warriors, to conquer a city, I need generals, and to conquer a kingdom, I need military geniuses."

"But now, what I need to provide, what I need to offer to those fleets, is someone who can conquer the world, someone who can conquer worlds one after another, like Avalon."

"Soldiers, generals, military geniuses, no, no, no, not enough."

"What I need is: a hero."

"Then tell me, Maeve, where on Avalon can heroes be produced?"

"That's too much, Your Highness."

"As we all know, the land that you personally rule, Majorian: is full of fertile fields and pastures, supporting farmers and villages that are too numerous to count, so it naturally has a large number of people that can sweep the entire world. knight."

"Those heirs of nobles who wrap themselves in iron armor and travel with war horses have listened to the legends of countless heroes since they were young. When they grow up and can pick up a spear and a sword, they will become adventurers. Knights, go and achieve your own merits and fame. I think those who are qualified enough to return to their castles and inherit the title can be called heroes."

"anything else?"

"Also in Arcadia and Ethiopia, these twin continents, between the kingdom I rule and the dotted city-states across the sea, there have been countless legends of heroes since ancient times. Among them, When many people were very young, their hands were already stained with blood, and their feet stepped on the remains of countless beasts, monsters and bandits."

"Since I was a child, I have listened to how the prince of Thebes killed twelve monsters and finally became a god. His imitators have emerged in endlessly in the following thousands of years, each of them possessing royal blood. His descendants are all walking on the Twin Continents, hunting monsters and bandits in the wilderness, and they are enough to be called heroes."

"Indeed. How do you say that? The heroes of Arcadia are bloodthirsty and passionate, and the heroes of Aisibernia are passionate and bloodthirsty. What do you think of this sentence?"

"To be biased, the heroes of Elsibernia are much more bloodthirsty and sentimental than those of Arcadia."

Both queens laughed at the same time.

"What about other places, Maeve? Do you think so-called heroes will be born among people from other continents or islands? For example, those sailors and captains from the Veneto Islands."

"With all due respect, it's difficult. Those Veneto people who are enveloped by the so-called money and science and technology are all big-bellied and pay more attention to their brains than their arms and legs. There is no way to dare to challenge people in that kind of place. Self-hero.”

"As for those sailors? There are a few men in fine clothes among them. I can personally guarantee this."

"Um……"

"How about Miska? I remember that the Kingdom of Arkham stood on that land, a land that was always gloomy and strange, advocating mysticism and archeology. From the king to the traffickers, they all wanted to explore the Leng Plain to their north. happy."

Leng Yuan...

Maeve shuddered.

"With all due respect, Your Highness."

"Except for those madmen from the Arkham Kingdom, no one dares to explore Leng Yuan. Sooner or later, the people of the Miska Continent will be ruined by their exploration and suicidal visit to the Far North. Those who are the most likely to be mad are madmen. Secondly, The most numerous are occult scholars, and the third most numerous are heritage witnesses.”

"It seems like I can only hope that they will provide me with good enough soldiers before they destroy themselves."

"Speaking of this issue, I remembered it, Maeve. In the report you submitted to me, there seems to be a soldier that you keep mentioning."

"Yes, his name is Curran. He comes from Ulster County under my command. He is a typical Ulster ugly hound. In the previous war in Ulster County against my rule, he killed many of my subordinates. warrior."

"But you still recommended him?"

"He is only fourteen years old and fully meets the recruitment criteria."

"I can assure you, Your Highness, that his strength and martial arts will definitely leave a deep impression on you. If you are not frightened by his ugly appearance in battle, he is a warrior who will definitely satisfy you. "

"Maeve, your smile tells me that your recommendation is actually not innocent."

"That's right, Your Highness."

Maeve admitted it openly.

"For me, this is a very good deal because as much as I hate Curran, I can't deny that he definitely meets the standards of an Astartes warrior and his departure will also allow the Ulster County Worship at my feet more submissively."

"As for what kind of life, experiences and wars he will go through after becoming an Astartes warrior, I don't care at all."

"You are not afraid that after he becomes an Astartes warrior, he will recall and complain about his deep hatred against you. I remember that the relationship between you and him has never improved."

"Don't worry, Your Highness."

Maeve laughed, a confident smile on her face.

"If Kuran cannot suppress his ugly temper, even if he becomes a true Astartes warrior..."

"He will definitely die a bad death."

Ah, painful but necessary setting chapters. I am wondering whether to skip these things and not write about how Morgan regained his home planet in one go, but to start chopping and farming happily, everyone. What do you think?