Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Master Cogito," Eris Morn intoned. "I am relieved to see you here. Although, I suppose I should not be surprised. Ikora did say she was sending our best."

Cogito-4 leaned on his cane lightly, using it for stability on the uneven Egregore-infested ground of the Leviathan as he approached Eris from the transmat pad. The Cabal honour guard around them stepped aside to let him pass and then stepped back together again behind them both. At Eris' feet was a plain black box with a hinge, several blinking lights, and a button.

"I am unused to my expertise being needed in relation to Hive magic, but Ikora did say it was important and, if it is important to Ikora, then it is important to me." Cogito said.

Eris' Soulfire-wreathed Ahamkara bone hovered over her right hand and she inclined her head, tracking the sound of incoming footsteps.

Just as they had when Cogito had entered the room, two Cabal stepped aside as Lord Saladin strode in and closed ranks behind him.

"Eris, Deputy," Saladin addressed them both. "The Empress has need of you both. I trust you have each been briefed on the situation?"

"The Empress has discovered a Hive ritual within the Leviathan and the use of both Hive magic and the Light within it indicates the work of Savathun." Eris' fingertips slipped gently over the top of her orb as she spoke. "We have been asked to determine the nature of the incursion and, if possible, invert it. I was also asked to bring... the hostage." Her left foot lightly kicked the wooden box.

The box lurched in response. "Hey! Can anyone hear me?" Immaru's voice came from the box. "Is anyone out there? You neon nerds better not leave me in here. I have connections! Anyone? Hello?"

"He cannot hear us," Eris explained. "His containment is... insulated, but we can communicate with him if his... insight... is required."

"Hopefully it won't be," Saladin growled. "But it is good to know where he is at all times."

Eris crouched down next to the box and pressed one of the buttons. It made a loud click.

Several of the Cabal surrounding them shuffled their feet nervously.

"What does that do?" Saladin asked.

"It is... a mute button," Eris said. "The containment is a custom device built by an associate of mine. The mute button, in particular, is something I am fond of. It... brings me joy."

Saladin nodded and directed a Psion to carry the now-silent box.

"The Empress has been reclaiming the Leviathan. As you can see it is a long process and nowhere near finished. The Egregore is persistent and the residual effects of the former Emperor's influence persists despite his recent demise." Saladin explained to them as they walked through the corridors of the once-great Cabal ship.

"This is quite the escort," Cogito noted as they walked. "I'm not used to being accompanied by so many allies."

"The Leviathan is still quite dangerous," Saladin said. "And when you see what we're dealing with, you'll understand the reason for the extra reinforcements."

***

Eris hissed as the hallway they were in ended and they approached a very large area. Egregore dangled from the vaulted ceiling. In the centre of the vast room, four ritual circles surrounded a fifth. In the middle of each one was a pool of inky liquid. Blue-white crystals hung suspended above each one and surrounding it all was a glittering translucent dome radiating magic.

"This is a powerful ritual," Eris muttered. "Had it not been found before completion I shudder to think of what would have been manifested here."

"We attempted to destroy the markings on the edges of the pools," Saladin said. "...but have been unable to make any headway."

"Yes," Eris said, dispassionately, walking up to the edge of the glittering spell barrier and holding her hand inches away from it. "The Witch Queen is clever. Any attempts to disrupt the topography of this spell will suck the interoper into the Ascendant plane where only the most strong willed are able to survive for any length of time without being rent asunder."

"How do we destroy it?" Salain asked.

"You cannot," Eris answered. "Not yet. This much power must be wielded. Someone with sufficient force of will could enter and then use the ritual for something other than its intended purpose."

"Sounds like a trap." Cogito said, behind her.

"It most assuredly is," Eris agreed.

"A trap for you, specifically." Cogito added.

"Yes," Eris said, her voice suddenly soft. "She wants a sister so very badly. They both do. But I am not their sister. And I do not act alone."

Eris turned to Cogito. "These crystals," she pointed to them, "...are created from stolen Light. They are vessels, profane but also finite. While the Hive protections carved into being and made manifest through the vile runes around them form an effective barrier from outside interference, the crystals themselves are vulnerable from within. They cannot be forcibly assaulted, but they are created to absorb Light. If they could be pushed beyond the limits of their capacity, I believe they would rupture like a festering boil."

Cogito nodded slowly. Arc energy began to course through him. The Legionaries nearby stepped back respectfully as the Warlock began to levitate off the ground as sparks crackled along his body.

"Be wary," Eris cautioned, inclining her head toward Saladin. "Action of this type will undoubtedly attract notice."

Saladin grunted and made a hand movement. The Cabal around them all shifted their stances. One of the Psions appeared to be relaying a signal of some sort and then nodded to Saladin.

"You may proceed," Saladin said quietly.

Cogito lifted his cane, placing both hands in the middle of it and then pointed the end of it at the nearest crystal. He focused his Light, using it to feed, rather than attack. The magical barrier shimmered but allowed him through.

Jagged lightning stretched out, joining the tip of Cogito's cane with the blue-white crystalline structure. It began to glow brightly to a near-blinding intensity.

With an almost melodic chime the crystal shattered.

Several things happened at once.

From the other side of the room the loud howl of a Lucent Hive Ogre echoed toward them.

Saladin began shouting orders.

Four Cabal Psions clustered around Eris and Cogito, hovering in the air and forming a protective barrier around them and Saladin.

The ground rumbled and shook.

The five pools within the ritual circles began to boil.

The smell of rotting flesh and sulfur began to fill the room as the hissing and scratching of many limbs scrabbling over the marble stone floors of the Leviathan reached their ears.

All Phalanxes in the honour guard pulled out their shields, becoming living bulwarks against the horde of oncoming Thralls.

One of the Psions began relaying information to Saladin.

A high pitched squeaking sounded in their ears. Several Tomb ships began to materialize in the air above them.

"They seek to prevent further interference!" Eris called out to Cogito. "Do not allow them to stop you!"

Cogito nodded as Eris closed her eyes and began to chant, tilting her head up as she clutched her Ahamkara bone tightly in her hands.

"We will clear the way!" Saladin growled to the Warlock as he reached down and lifted up a huge flaming axe.

Seemingly out of nowhere, hundreds of Hive began to swarm down upon them.

With a shout in Ulurant from the Iron Lord, who was also their Valus, the Cabal unit surrounding them opened fire.

Cogito tossed an Arcbolt grenade, calling down a bolt of lightning to fry the cluster of Hive beside the next crystal he planned on rupturing. The crackling energy made a sizzling sound as the chitinous exoskeletons of the Acolytes and Thralls it hit danced briefly and then collapsed.

Saladin pointed his axe in the direction Cogito had tossed the grenade and the Phalanxes all lifted their shields and began to move as one, stepping slowly but methodically toward the goal that had been set for them.

The discipline of Saladin's Cabal was impressive and Cogito sensed the pride the soldiers around them felt in themselves and each other at being able to demonstrate it for himself and Eris. He floated in the centre of the focused regiment as they marched through the hordes of scrabbling Hive now accosting them.

Eris waved her arms with a guttural shout and raised an empty hand, palm open, toward one of the Tomb ships above them. She closed her fist.

The ship began to crumple from the middle as though something were sucking it through the end of a large invisible straw.

Eris cackled menacingly as the Tomb ship imploded into itself.

The former Hive god of Vengeance had contested the will of the Hive piloting it and disproven the ship's right to exist.

A Void-infused serrated chitin shield whirled through the air. Deflected by one of the Imperial Psions, it narrowly missed Eris and bounced away.

"Guardian," Eris turned to Cogito, "Show them what it means to wield the Light." She pointed at the Lucent Knight charging toward them before turning away and crumpling another Tomb Ship as it screeched into, and then out of, existence above them.

Cogito stowed his cane and pulled out Riskrunner, sending a spark from his fingertips into the weapon. The submachine gun lit up and began to crackle with lightning. The Warlock stopped levitating long enough to touch both feet to the ground and jump up, soaring above the battle toward the Hive Lightbearer, firing in the air as he flew.

Several Imperial Cabal watched in awe as they continued to fight while the Warlock in front of them channeled the fury of the storm.

Arc-infused submachine gun bullets flew rapidly at the chitinous Hive Titan in the middle of the gun battle raging all around them. The Titan dodged and rolled to the side, but Cogito had anticipated this maneuver and kept his opponent within Riskrunner's sights.

The Lucent Lightbearer tossed its second Void-infused shield.

Cogito willed his levitation to cease and he dropped rapidly through the air. The whirling chitinous serrations on the shield whistled in the air as it passed by harmlessly.

The Warlock landed lightly in front of the Lightbearer, sidestepping a punch and letting go of his machine gun. The gun dangled by its strap as Cogito placed both hands, palms flat, against the Lucent Titan.

When performing this particular attack, Cogito could not help but be reminded of an old Earth medical procedure for intervening during a heart attack. It worked on a similar principle. The patient would be electrocuted by a charge built up between two flat panels in order to jolt their heart into a regular rhythm.

Hive had no hearts and Lucent Hive no longer needed to feed the worms within themselves with tithes from the Sword Logic. But they still had worms positioned roughly where a human heart might be located. Cogito placed his palms on either side of the Hive Lightbearer's chest and released the energy within himself. He felt the worm inside jerk and twist as it seized, shuddered and burst. The Lucent Titan, too, jerked, twisted, seized, shuddered, and then collapsed at Cogito's feet, oozing ichor and smoke from between its chitinous plating.

A cheer arose from the Phalanxes and Legionaries surrounding Saladin and Eris as the Hive Lightbearer went down.

The Titan's ghost materialized above it, spinning its spiky shell.

"Guardian!" Eris called out.

Cogito looked over his shoulder.

Eris held out the box containing Immaru. "We have a containment device. Quickly now!"

She opened it, reached in, and pulled out Immaru. He struggled in her fist and sputtered. "Put me down you wanna be half-Hive!" Then he gasped at the firefight going on around him. "What the hell?"

Cogito grabbed the Hive ghost, jumped, and landed next to Eris, thrusting the Lucent Knight's ghost into the box. Eris added Immaru.

"Hey! You can't just-"

She snapped the box lid shut and clicked the mute button with a vicious smile.

"Quickly now!" Eris urged Cogito. "The other crystals! Go! Fill them with your light!"

An Ogre's eye beam began to fire at them. It was cut down by a Cabal Incndior who fired a Magma Launcher straight into its brain.

A Gladiator with two Cabal Severi chopped through two Hive Knights nearby.

An Acolyte shooting at them was bounced into the air by one of the Psions next to Saladin. It landed with a wet splat, its chitin crunching under it in what looked like a very uncomfortable configuration.

Cogito took another running leap and sailed through the air above a clash between about a dozen Thralls and about half as many spike-covered War Beasts snarling and biting at their legs. He landed next to another blue-white crystal and stretched out his hands.

The chime from the shattering crystal resonated through the battlefield, emboldening the Cabal forces and driving the Hive into even more frenetic attack patterns.

"Do you feel it, as I do, Cogito?" Eris called out. "The ritual is shifting! Do not falter! You must persist! Drive them back!"

Another Tomb ship in the air above them crumpled out of existence.

Cogito looked at the mess of Thralls and Acolytes between himself and the next crystal and jumped once more. The shockwave from his Stormtrance erupted down and outward from him as chain lightning spurted from his fingers, vaporizing every Hive he came across as he floated toward his goal.

The third and fourth crystals burst as musically as the first two through the fighting going on around Cogito. Soon there was only the final, central ritual crystal remaining.

As the Warlock approached it, the boiling pools of black ichor which had been lying under the first four crystals all overflowed. Four Hive wizards rose, dripping, from their depths.

A frozen-over orb whipped through the air. It hit the first wizard, bounced off of it diagonally to another, pinged off of that one to the third and then bounced off of the fourth. Each wizard froze solid in mid-air. The orb returned to Eris' hand.

"Now!" she shouted.

Cogito opened fire. Riskrunner spat electrified bullets, lightning arcing from them to jolt and shatter the frozen wizards as though they had been made of glass.

Shards of the Hive wizards fell, splashing when they fell into the liquid in the pools and tinkling softly when they fell on the ground between them.

Before they had finished hitting the ground, Cogito reached out and with one last burst of Arc energy, he overloaded the central crystal. The tone it made as it burst reverberated through everything in a wave of sound.

Suddenly everything, the battle, the fighting, the weapons firing, the screaming, all fell silent. The Hive withdrew, disappearing or dying. Everything became still.

A low chortling laugh came from the central pool.

Eris stepped next to where Cogito was hovering and growled low in the back of her throat, pulling out her Night Terror sword.

"Eris, you overachiever," Savathun's voice emanated from within the central pool. "You never do cease to impress." The liquid shuddered with each syllable, its waves making patterns to match the vocalizations coming from it.

"And you?" The black liquid swirled up into the shape of a clawed hand and pointed at Cogito. "Oh I like you. I'm going to remember you. You're going to be so much fun later. I can't wait."

Eris walked up to the liquid-formed hand and sliced it off at the wrist with her sword. It fell back into the pool with a wet splash.

"Your incursion is done here," Eris pronounced.

"Oh fine, fine. You can keep that rotten husk of a ship. I didn't really want it anyway," Savathun's voice crooned from within the pool. "And watching you all scurry around to deal with this lovely reminder of my affection really was entertaining. I missed you, dear sister. Do give Xivu my love when she shows up later, I know how much fun you'll have when you do."

The black ichor formed into another clawed hand that waved and then disappeared before Eris could chop it off.

The pools were still. Nothing further attacked. The Lucent Hive, previously so numerous, were all gone.

Saladin stood next to Eris and Cogito and surveyed the area.

"I will inform the Empress and dispatch a unit to clean up anything else still here. These pools will be drained and their contents incinerated."

"Yes," Eris said firmly. "This is good." She looked at the Warlock. "Thank you again, Master Cogito. Your assistance here, as always, has been invaluable. Please inform Ikora that I shall be submitting my report as soon as I have had time to interrogate our new prisoner."

She took the box from the Psion carrying it, then muttered briefly and created a Hive portal in front of herself.

Eris paused for a moment, holding the box in her hands as she stood in front of the portal. Her three eyes from behind her bandage regarded first Saladin and then Cogito.

She clicked the mute button. Then she shook the box twice, vigorously.

"Ow! Ow! What the hell is your problem you-" She clicked the mute button again.

Eris' mouth quirked into a small smile before she turned away from them both and walked through the portal, box in hand. The malachite-coloured oval disappeared behind her.

Saladin sighed and turned to face Cogito. "My thanks as well, Deputy. The Empress will hear of your work today."

***

Two days later, Cogito-4 received a message regarding packages waiting at the Tower post box.

"Package for Cogito-4, happy Dawning!" Kadi 55-30 handed him a medium-sized box with Cabal Imperial insignia emblazoned on all six sides, as well as a smaller one wrapped in brown cloth with red velvet string and a small metal sigil bearing Eris' symbol.

"Checking... checking... one moment!" Kadi said as Cogito started to move away.

He paused, his arms full, waiting.

Kadi turned away from the counter and then returned. "Package for Cogito-4, happy Dawning!" A third box, completely black without any identifying markings, was added to the stack in Cogito's arms. For some reason it reminded Cogito a bit of the box Eris had used to contain Immaru and the other Hive ghost. He looked down at it in confusion but carried all three away with him.

The Cabal box contained a lush and expensive set of Warlock robes in the Empress' Imperial colours with a formal invitation in gold foil on fine parchment to attend dinner with Caiatl and her retinue. An additional typewritten note on plain paper from Saladin was included detailing some specifics regarding what to expect from an Imperial dinner and some tips on how to avoid making any Cabal-specific social blunders.

The box from Eris contained several burnt, lumpy, and completely unappetizing cookies. A note was within it, in spidery, difficult to read penmanship:

Master Cogito,
Thank you again.
Happy Dawning.
E

Within the unmarked black box a small card lay on top of black tissue paper. It had neat printing in block letters. It was unaddressed and unsigned but it read:

Did you know Cabal War Beasts are actually big fans of burnt Ascendant Oatmeal Raisin cookies? The more hard and burnt the better. They'll eat them right out of your hand and be your friend forever. And those spiky puppies are often hanging out under the table at the Empress' shindigs, just in case you didn't know.

Anywho, thanks for helping Eris.

Happy Dawning.

Under the tissue paper was a very nice selection of perfectly baked Dawning cookies. They looked delicious.