Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"If you want to understand the future the Primarch has for us, you only need to understand one word."

"Institutionalization."

"Unified concepts, unified institutions, unified norms, and unified core."

"Everyone performs his duties and is in good order."

"This is our genetic mother's requirements and expectations for the psychic troops."

"This is what I am waiting for in the future and will do it at all costs."

——————

When the [Polar Star] was sent to the most grand space port in Rezatzwei and prepared for a quick and thorough refit, Ahriman was finally taken to one of his most desired destinations on this trip. one.

The palace of contemplation.

Any psionic master in the legion will have heard of this place more or less.

This is the most important area of ​​the battleship [Firebringer]. It was the only choice for the psykers of the Third Fleet to conduct all large-scale meetings and collective meditations in the previous dozens of Terran standard years. After the Second Legion was born from nirvana, it was given a new mission by the Lord of the Legion.

In the past, the Hall of Meditation was, contrary to its name, a noisy place: the psykers of the Second Legion regarded it as the most important public space, where every day there would be new ideas, new Debates, and even the birth of new competitions, extend the Second Legion's exploration of psychic powers in constant collisions.

Now, the Hall of Meditation is still the most important public gathering place for the psykers of the Dawnbreaker Legion, but compared to the previous bustle and constant debates, now it has transformed into a different style of painting.

A style of painting that Ahriman was even a little uncomfortable with.

…

The land of the dead.

When Ahriman stepped into this long-awaited destination for the first time, this appropriate adjective popped up in his mind involuntarily.

Yes, today's contemplation palace is no longer the noisy center where people can speak freely: it has become a place of the dead, a kingdom of incomparable tranquility, lowness and depth.

The dome engraved with various languages ​​​​and knowledge still stands arrogantly at the end of the field of view dozens of meters high, and at the core of these priceless treasures is a beautiful painting: that is a discovery An old man with a white beard, he was wearing a robe, holding a deadly poisonous wine in one hand, and holding a torch in the other. He was surrounded by vicious beasts that were defeated and intimidated by his endless light.

This is the origin of the name of the battleship [Firebringer]: it commemorates a great move that took place in ancient Terra. A sage calmly accepted those who had evil intentions for the sake of his ideals and perseverance. A falsely accused and unfair death.

The think tanks of the Dawnbreaker Legion regard this figure whose name has long been forgotten as a symbol of some kind of ideal. They chat under the paintings in memory of him, tell their own ideas and inspirations, and then argue with each other. Cooperate and jointly explore the infinite future in the field of spiritual energy.

To this day, those wonderful debates and impassioned speeches that have been brewing for decades still linger in the high domes. If you listen carefully, you can still feel the slightest echo, just like those events that happened decades ago. The words are still ringing in my ears.

But now, even these most passionate words have died down silently, because they no longer have the right to disturb the tranquility and depth here.

Because, in this world, nothing has the power to disturb those dead souls.

"Are they all martyrs?"

"Some of them are, but others are different. They did not die on the battlefield or under the enemy's gunfire, but died in another, more bloody... place."

Ahriman stood in the center of this contemplative palace. He tried his best to maintain a quietness that matched the atmosphere here, but his vision was still a little restless: looking for a place that was somewhat similar to the holy place of thought he had heard about. place, even if it’s just a corner.

However, the first company commander of the Thousand Sons Legion was doomed to be disappointed, because no matter how eagerly he looked around, no matter how carefully he searched, all that appeared in his eyes was the silence and silence that even the air had frozen. Profound.

On the walls that used to be lined with bookshelves with papers, wine glasses and free speeches, now there are only pale faces one after another.

It was the face of someone who had passed away.

They were the most serious death masks, covering every corner of every wall. At a glance, there were at least a thousand of them.

Some of them are extremely clear, carved and lifelike statues.

There is something distant and vague, just a picture born from memory.

Others don't even have the simplest picture, just a name, a title, or a vague period of time.

But whether it is a lifelike face, or those vague paintings, or simple fragments of language. The treatment they received was the same.

Under each symbol that can represent a lost life, a suitable space is reserved, and their name, military rank, position, approximate time of death, and why they died are carefully engraved.

At a glance, there are more than a thousand faces, more than a thousand names, and more than a thousand records, each symbolizing a unique death.

Ahriman looked at them. Although he could swear that he didn't have even the slightest bit of contempt in his heart, he still didn't quite understand why these think tanks under Morgan discussed for so long and studied over and over again before finally deciding to work with them. How he had a psychic communication session, only to have his head turned away, leading him to this place.

This place is indeed very good and important: a palace where heroic spirits are placed. No Astartes would say "no" to this place, but in any case, this is not the best place to discuss psychic skills and experiences. Bar?

Ahriman blinked. He urged himself to calm down and not show doubts on his face. He followed Zosimos quietly, listening to the psychic master under Morgan speaking one by one. Introducing the most important people among these deceased people.

But as he listened, the descendant of Magnus sensitively discovered that something seemed not quite right.

In his ears, Zosimos's voice continued to come.

"This is Latour. He was originally one of the leaders in the think tank and a famous force field master. However, during an exploration of subspace, he experimented with a spell that had never been experimented before, and He suffered a horrific backlash, and ultimately, we helped him put an end to his suffering."

"This is Frederic. He was once the best fire control master in the legion. He could use his flames and explosions to turn the tide of a war. However, during the battle against Vasul, he was He missed in a confrontation with an alien psyker. Although he still killed his opponent, after the war, his soul was depleted due to the huge trauma left by that war. When he died, his sanity The land that has been eroded is no different than a wild beast.”

"This is Samisga. His death is one of the biggest tragedies in the legion's exploration of psychic powers. He died in a large-scale psychic power discussion meeting. He was the first to propose psychic powers. The use of the spell eventually caused all the participants in the entire hall to collectively fall into a state of rampage and loss of control, and he himself became one of the thirty-six victims."

"And this one..."

The more Zosimus told, the more Ahriman frowned: in the words of this son of Morgan, only two to three percent of the dead were killed in battle, and among those who remained, most Most of them fell on the road of exploring spiritual energy.

Really...

Unbelievable.

Ahriman shook his head secretly. These characters who died tragically during the exploration even awakened some of his memories: some of the tragic memories left before the Thousand Sons Legion encountered Magnus.

……enough!

He will forget that!

Just as he and his Primarch swore!

The heirs of Magnus endured all this patiently, until the two finally walked through one wall and told the tragic songs of exploration and backlash. On the way to the other wall of the dead, Ahriman finally spoke as calmly as possible.

"I think that my understanding of the past history of your legion has reached a stage of satisfaction. Zosimus, maybe we can learn about the stories of these lost heroes of the Second Legion at a certain time in the future. "

"Now, we should get started on something more urgent."

"For example?"

"Perhaps, you should tell me first about the Dawnbreaker Legion's attitude towards psychic powers and what is the core of your research? Only then will I have a better mentality and understanding to understand these great sacrifices."

However, Thousand Sons' words only elicited a strange look from Zosimos that was half puzzled and half aware.

"But I'm telling you right now. Our attitude towards psionics, Ahriman."

"……What did you say?"

"Didn't I make it clear enough?"

Zosimus blinked, caressing a lifelike statue, and whispered softly to his guest.

——————

"Didn't I make it clear enough?"

"Backlash."

"trauma."

"die."

"This is the gift that psionics gives us: yes, the existence of this warp also gives power, but compared to the passing I mentioned, the power it gives is more like a stingy compensation. .”

"Now, then, tell me, Ahriman from the Legion of the Thousand Sons."

“A thing that brings trauma, backlash and death: what do you think of it?”

"think about it."

"The first answer that pops up in your mind, the answer born from the most basic rationality and human instinct: it is our natural attitude."

"You may be confused, you may not be able to accept it, this is all of course. After all, in your eyes, psychic energy and subspace are completely different, just like the shock I suffered in Prospero , I can understand the shock you are in right now.”

"However, no matter how unbelievable you are now, Ahriman, I hope you will not refute immediately or engage in any unnecessary debate with me."

"Please be quiet."

"Please be quiet, and then look, listen, feel, remember and think about my words and your experiences. If you still can't understand them, then you can talk to me or any of the Dawnbreakers again. It is not too late for think tanks to have a thorough debate.”

"I know that with your wisdom, you will definitely know the benefits of doing this. Please consider the attitude of the Dawnbreaker Legion towards psychic energy as a kind of unknown knowledge. You always need to take a look first and listen. Just listen to it.”

"Now, then, listen."

"Our Attitude Toward Psychics."

——————

"That's a curse from God."

"That was a stroke of luck."

"Not all think tanks desire this power, but when they appear in our hands, we have no choice. We are no longer the masters of ourselves."

"We can only embark on this road. This road seems safe to you, but for us, this road is full of the blood and mud of our predecessors, full of our own fears and Tears."

"What do we think of psychic powers?"

"That's how it's looked at."

"We have to walk on a path called psionics."

"Treat."

"Walking on thin ice."

"The rock is dense."

"Bloody."

——————

"Shock, tremble, fear, caution, awareness, sacrifice, remember, remember."

"This is the attitude of the Dawnbreakers towards psychic energy."

——————

"That's why when our genetic mother proposed her reforms, no one thought it was a bad thing: we needed one a long time ago."

"And Lady Morgan, our Legion Master and Gene Queen, used her wisdom to bring us what we really need: institutionalization, formalization, and standardization."

"After several Terran standard months of change, reorganization, and adaptation, we finally followed our mother's footsteps, and under her guidance and infinite wisdom, found a true way to get along with psychic energy."

"The existence of these subspaces is no longer a vague force that requires us to explore with endless blood and sacrifice. It has become a clearly visible existence, a pale and powerless mantis arm in front of a tight and meticulous organization. .”

"First, she conducted point-to-point assessments and observations of all think tanks and psychics, a total of 946 people, and finally selected those she thought were suitable and incorporated them into a special organization."

"From now on, the think tank of the Dawnbreaker Legion has been composed of two parts."

"One part is the [Sword Singers], which can also be called [Sword Singers]. These people are combat troops. They are divided into armies based on their own combat habits and relevant experience."

“The other part is the [Painters], who are responsible for serving as the advisors and followers of the Primarch. Under the personal leadership and guidance of Lord Morgan, they carefully explore the unknown areas of subspace and compile [textbooks]. "

"The division of labor between [Sword Singers] and [Scroll Painters] is very clear, but they are not completely separated from each other. [Sword Singers] are expressly prohibited from privately studying unknown psychic spells, and are only allowed to study and use [Teaching Materials] Anyone who dares to conduct private research will be severely punished."

"But things are not absolute: if a [Swordsinger] has a good idea, or has some insights in actual combat, he can write down his ideas and submit them, and these ideas will be placed on the Primarch After approval and screening, we will extract those with value and feasibility for research."

"In this process, the [Sword Singer] who proposed the plan can participate. If the plan is proven to be feasible, then this [Sword Singer] will be rewarded, or even directly promoted to [Scroll Painter], and The plan itself will be compiled into a suitable song and recorded in the [textbook]."

"The [Scroll Painters] are different. Their main job is to constantly sort out and study the opinions of the [Swordsingers], and to explore and inspect the subspace under the personal leadership of the Primarch: Any private exploration of subspace will be punished by the most severe torture, even the most experienced [Scroll Painter] will be without exception, and may even lose the favor of the Primarch."

"And when the [Scroll Painters] have compiled or updated the new [Teaching Material], the original body will check it personally, and then the [Swordsingers] will conduct experiments on the contents of the [Teaching Material] during actual combat exercises. and feedback, and if everything is passed, the [textbook] will be implemented.”

"This is the basic operating curve of the psychic force: [Scroll Painter] is responsible for organizing and writing, while [Swordsinger] is responsible for execution and feedback. Although innovative activities are allowed, they must be under the close supervision of the Primarch. .”

"At the same time, in order to ensure that the [Scroll Painters] do not lose touch with reality, the original body also needs to regularly participate in frontline battles and personally test the songs they have written. Moreover, every once in a while, [Scroll Painters] and [Sword Painters] will Singers] will carry out some personnel exchanges to ensure the flow of fresh blood. At the same time, they will also select some elites to conduct centralized education and training for the new blood of the think tank."

"And of course all of this is inseparable from the [Textbook]. It is a gift given to us by the Primarch and is the source and model of all behaviors and methods."

"Privately, we will also call it the "Psychic Scripture"."

"[Textbooks] is the general name for a series of written works. They are either written by the Primarch or have been reviewed by her, ensuring absolute safety. At the same time, she is constantly updating them to ensure that they will not be lost to the times. Abandoned by the footsteps of others.”

"[Textbook] records all the knowledge needed by psykers. It is mainly composed of six main textbooks and an unlimited number of electives. The six main books are: one on self-cultivation and ethics of psykers, and four on Combat techniques and spells in different states, as well as a summary of the history of the legion’s think tank.”

"In addition, there are different elective contents for different types of psykers and enemy types. These are all written by the Primarch himself and are constantly updated. As for those written by [Sword Song] We even wrote a compulsory elective textbook based on the ideas provided by the authors.”

"Moreover, every once in a while, the Primarch will hold a psychic lecture in the conference hall to answer our doubts, explain the difficulties in the teaching materials, and listen to some of the feedback we provide: This lecture is spontaneous It’s sexual, you can go or not if you want, but generally no one will be absent.”

"Okay, that's all we have."

"A giant with the Primarch as its heart, her psychic scripture as its blood, and its two major tissues as its muscles, moves forward cautiously, always walking on a safe road, and always moving forward slowly and carefully."

"Perhaps, in your eyes, our order prohibiting self-exploration by most psykers is absurd, but in fact, when the Primarch gave it: no one refuted it."

“We are willing to do this, to walk in the shadow of our mother: there is nothing wrong with that.”

"Her wisdom will continuously flow into our minds through books, just like those female beasts spitting out minced meat that has been chewed by themselves. We cubs gobble it up and enjoy the safest nutrition."

"You know, [Textbook] is the most sacred. Although it occasionally fails to predict unprecedented situations, it only needs a surprise and a price, and it will be updated in a timely manner accordingly: Moreover, the mother of our genes is also I have said that in the most special circumstances, you can violate the [teaching materials] and deal with special cases."

"But despite this, this does not prevent us from supporting her books just like we support her herself. We even hold regular assessments and real-life exams to measure our understanding and application of [textbooks]."

"To this end, we even prepared a special room to supervise each assessment room and corridor to ensure that no dissatisfied person will try to undermine the mother's good intentions."

"Follow me. That room is on the side of the Hall of Meditation. I'll show you."

"Just open this door."

…

"Look, Ahriman, in this surveillance, we can see the entire situation of the real-life assessment room No. 1, ensuring that no one will make small moves in the blind spot of the invigilator's perspective."

"And here is a storage room that can supervise the latest [teaching materials] to ensure the safety of these mothers' gifts."

"And this: This camera points directly to the corridor at the front of the Hall of Contemplation. Although there is no need for monitoring there, we still installed one. You can see..."

"Um?"

"Why are there so many people? What are those from other fleets doing here in the Meditation Hall?"

"Who's the leader? Bayar?"

"What is he here for?"

"Forget it, let's go out and greet them, Ahriman... Ahriman? Ahriman!"

"Where are you?"

I recommend a book here, which should be regarded as a seedling, but a good seedling.

The book is titled "The Emperor's Children: The Purple Phoenix of Nirvana"

Yes, it is written about Fulgen, and it is a Byzantine-style Fulgen! Comnenus goes better with purple~

It’s already 100,000 words long, and the author’s starting point is very interesting and quite... philosophical!