07/07/2021
+++ Praise be the Omnisiah +++
++ Boltgun Ancient - Umbra Pattern ++
+++ ITEM RECEIVED :: REASON :: SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE AFFIX +++
://UsER.mAdp//&$SD& :: ID_10112021: Armorer Hakor IV..deathwatch-inq.
://ITEM:CLASSIFICACION: BOLTER :: PATTERN :: UMBRA.
++ REBOOTING ITEM INTERNAL COMPUTING SYSTEMS :: [0%]-[14%]-[100%] ++
+ OPSYS_19MK20S :: (EFFICIENCY_OPERATIONAL) :: 932/1243 +
++ MEK.ASSI-S54e:proxy :: FINISHED (NON_APPLYABLE) :: 663/675. ++
LIVE AUDIO FEED RELAY :: [Y] :: COMMENCING PLAYBACK ::
H – I don’t understand the purpose of your presence here, Aurilus, this impromptu scheduling has been a waste of my time, I have ran multiple tests and checks on this weapon, and none have come back with a different result. There is absolutely nothing which requires my immediate attention that you cannot do on your own.
A – Forgemaster Hakor, I asked this because I know something is wrong. I have weld that same weapon you hold in your mechanical tendrils as an extension of myself for a hundred years. I know there is something wrong.
H – I will not throw away more time! I need to tend thousands of more important things than the unfiltered doubts of a novice. The Ohmnisiah as my guide and his teachings ingrained in my cortex like hard-burned codeka, I scrounged every bit of this weapon, is in a superb condition.
A – Forgive me, Forgemaster, I did not intent to disrespect you, but something is, wrong…
H – Sit, Aurilus. There’s nothing more than I could do that will show you what you want to see, this bolter is a masterpiece of work, forged on a bygone forge in the fringes of the stars, it has endured the passage of time, it was passed down through countless warriors and now sits on your lap as your reward.
A – I do not know if I deserve it.
H - I see now. Is that the true reason behind all; is it faults you sought for? Is it something that would explain a grievance of your own?
A – …
H – So it is. I am not the one for you can talk this to, my memories of how regular human, or artastes emotions work are faded through layers of mechanical creed and rows of code. However, what I will do tell you is that we are humanity’s carrions of hope, you and me are for them, we fight for him and all he stood for, if you cannot stand as he stood then you must learn to do so…
A – I saw him, Forgemaster, in my dreams where I was ravaged by memories of war and death, I saw him.
H – Who?
A – The brightest star, my liege and my father, he who remade me. I saw him, as he flew through clouds of smoke and debris and seas of dead bodies.
H – Brother Aurilus, I see that you are confused and doubtful. I am not the one for this; go see your Chaplain as he has a better judgement than I do.
A – Just, hear me Forgemaster. Lend your time, just the time we have left on your tight schedule. I saw him but I could not reach him, he was so close to me but yet so far. I screamed for his blessing, a selfish act for sure. He directed his gaze at me and I was stabbed by feelings of disappointment at me. He left and I was plundered into a sea of the blackest blood, putrid and foul, and soon, rage clouded my dream. A month has passed since. That had to mean something. I know what you are thinking and I am aware of the condition of my kin. That is what is wrong. I am sorry I doubted you but I just wanted to know, if it was just my obfuscated reasoning or something more tangible.
H – Aurilus, you are young. Yes, I know what dwells in the gene-seed of your chapter but that will not defy you, you are a not a stagnated orphan bound to die in the streets of Baal anymore, you are an Astartes, your mere presence in the halls of the tower are symbolic of your own bravery and determination.
A – Forgemaster, you haven’t seen the horrors that reside within my chapter. What those, men have become. What I will become. What if I fail to keep the urge at bay, will I launch at my own brothers? Or the ones I swore to protect? What if…
H - Everyone has their path set in stone only by the grace of the Emperor and your Primarch, like yours I have heard hundreds stories, boys turned men and then something else plunged into war. The reasonable thing is that they will start to roam in dark corners, and for that you must learn to steer you spear to where it has to go.
A – How I am supposed to know, what is the right path?
H - Go talk to your Chaplain. That is not my duty, only he will answer that question. Let me continue with my own, but I want you to remember something Aurilus, what runs through your blood, is a gift. A very selective one, one that only the brave and wanted receive. You were chosen for something that you are yet to know.
A – Thank you, Forgemaster. I will not bother you anymore.
H – A long millennia awaits you.