The Warp’s Influence: A Tale of Space Marines, Inquisition, and Chaos
Part X: The Ascension of the Exorcists
In the unforgiving universe of Warhammer 40,000, the line between hero and villain often blurs, shaped by the warp’s insidious corruption. This is no less true for the Exorcists, a Space Marine chapter, known for their inexplicable decisions and unpredictable mood swings.
In the sweltering heat of the captain’s bridge, Inquisitor Nahl stood, sweat trickling down his brow. His gaze locked with that of Margas, the Word Bearer Chaos Marine, whose eyeless face bore a stone-cold expression. Margas’ voice echoed in the near-suffocating silence, “Go on, don’t stop now. I sense you have more to tell…”
“Yes, I do,” Nahl replied, delving into the tale of the Exorcists’ current Chapter Master, Amir Vason.
Vason, a stoic and respected warrior, had been the first to volunteer for the ascension to a Primaris Space Marine. Even with only theoretical knowledge of the technology created by the legendary Belisarius Cawl, Vason felt it was his duty to lead his comrades into this new era. However, his ascension was not only driven by duty, but also by a tormenting voice from his past. A demonic servant of Nurgle had possessed him for seven terrifying solar days and nights, prophesying a series of harrowing events, many of which had since come to pass.
Now, clad in Mark 10 Gravis power armor and armed with a relic blade, Vason zealously hunts the forces of chaos, particularly the servants of Nurgle, hoping to silence the demon’s haunting voice once and for all.
Nahl then turned his attention to another hero, Captain Silas Alber of the Exorcists’ third company. Alber, a towering figure even among the Space Marines, was admired for his physical strength and extraordinary will. His valor was first tested aboard a plague-ridden starship, the Shattered Star, where he saved an Inquisitor from a demonic infestation. This act of heroism was but the first of many, leading to his promotion to Captain and earning him an honor previously granted only to the Syers, the adjutant of the Lamentation of the Shattered Tower.
Continuing his tale, Inquisitor Nahl recounted the legend of Brother Basiel, an Epistolary of the Exorcists. Basiel, armed with rare psychic abilities, could perceive and attack the souls of his enemies in the warp. His fearless spirit led him to fight alongside the Inquisition on the world of Lucos, where he delivered divine judgement from the heavens. His mission was so successful that, millennia later, Lucos remains one of the most pious shrine worlds of the Imperium.
Basiel’s fate, however, is shrouded in mystery. He vanished on the planet Andronicus Prime, leaving behind only his force staff, now kept at the Watch Fortress Rio in the Jericho Reach.
Margas, losing patience, cut Nahl short. “The more I listen, the more I realize your information is useless,” he said, opening a rift in reality with a skewed swing of his ritual aemy.
Nahl, under Margas’ influence, was unable to aim his bolter at the Word Bearer. “I will find you one day,” he vowed, as Margas disappeared into the ether.
“Stand up and notice that while you were talking, I turned the ship toward the sun,” Margas’ calm voice echoed as the Inquisitor was left alone on the ship, his tale of the Exorcists unresolved, and their fate intertwined with the warp’s corruption.
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