Rae van Daleon – The Roots of the Storm
by Lea von Löwenstein
Chapter 63: Warp’s Awakening
The forest erupted into organised chaos as Kael’s storm troopers engaged the attackers. Professional las-fire cut through the morning air, precise and lethal. But something was wrong. The atmosphere began to shift, growing heavy with an unnatural presence.
“Medicae team, this way!” Rae shouted, her voice cracking as she knelt beside Alric’s pale form. Marcus’s hands were slick with blood, but he refused to let go of his friend’s wounds.
The First Horror
A storm trooper’s scream cut through the battlefield—not one of pain, but of pure terror. Through the trees, Rae saw him rise into the air, his armour creaking as invisible forces twisted his limbs at impossible angles. Blood erupted from his joints, forming crimson patterns in the air that seemed to glow with unholy light.
“Emperor protect us,” one of the medicae whispered as they reached Alric. “Psyker!”
The air grew thick with an oily sensation that made breathing difficult. The temperature plummeted, frost forming on leaves despite the morning sun.
Corruption Manifests
“Get him stabilised,” Kael’s voice cut through the madness as she strode forward, her bolt pistol raised. “The rest of you, defensive positions. We’re dealing with Warp corruption.”
Another storm trooper fell, his scream cut short as his armour imploded, crushing him into a grotesque shape. The blood from both fallen soldiers began to move with purpose, forming symbols that burned the eyes to look upon.
A figure emerged from the shadows, their hood thrown back to reveal eyes that glowed with unnatural power. Their voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
“The Prescriptor’s will cannot be denied,” they said, their words causing reality to ripple. “Let the weak be purged.”
The Horror Escalates
Three more storm troopers were caught in a wave of Warp energy. Their armour melted into their flesh as they were twisted into impossible shapes, their screams becoming a chorus of agony that seemed to please the psyker.
“For the Emperor!” Kael roared, firing her bolt pistol. The psyker deflected the shots with a gesture, turning them into writhing serpents of energy that attacked their own source.
Meanwhile, the medicae team worked frantically on Alric, their hands steady despite the horrors around them. “Multiple organ trauma,” one reported. “We need to stabilise him now!”
The Warp’s Touch
The forest itself began to change. Trees bled sap that moved against gravity. The ground pulsed like a living thing. Reality was thinning, the barrier between materium and immaterium weakening with each display of the psyker’s power.
Two more storm troopers died as their own shadows came alive, tearing them apart from within. Their blood joined the growing patterns in the air, symbols of corruption that burned themselves into the minds of all who saw them.
“Stay with us, Alric,” Rae pleaded, holding his hand as the medicae worked. His pulse was thready but present—a tiny spark of hope in the growing darkness.
Kael’s Fury
Inquisitor Kael stood her ground, her presence a beacon of Imperial authority against the tide of corruption. “In the Emperor’s name,” she intoned, drawing a small, ornate box from her coat, “I condemn you.”
The psyker laughed, the sound causing nearby trees to wither and die. “Your faith means nothing to the Warp’s power.”
But Kael was already moving, the box in her hand beginning to glow with a pure, white light that seemed to push back the corruption. The psyker’s confidence faltered for the first time.
Hope in Darkness
“Stabilised,” the lead medicae announced, their hands bloody but sure. “But we need to move him now.”
Rae squeezed Alric’s hand, feeling a weak squeeze in return. He was alive. They hadn’t lost him.
But around them, the battle had become something from a nightmare. The remaining storm troopers fought not just against human enemies, but against reality itself as the psyker’s power warped everything it touched.
The air filled with the sounds of battle, screams, and the indescribable noises of the Warp bleeding into reality. Through it all, Kael advanced on the psyker, her mysterious box glowing brighter with each step.
The forest had become a battlefield between order and chaos, faith and corruption, reality and nightmare. And somewhere in the madness, a young boy clung to life while his friends watched horror unfold around them.
The war for the Scola had become something far darker than any of them had imagined.
