Personal Journal of Essiala Ariathia Sorjiik den Morgenstern ban Vor'cle, Navigatrix Primaris
Encryption Sigil: Vor'cle-HEXAMATIS-7197.terpsichore
Vessel: Gloriosa Lux Misericordiae Imperialis, rogue-trader of Dynasty Void-ghast
Location: Damaris System, Koronus Expanse, halo-Segmentus Obscurus
Date: 3.364.816.M41
Thought for the day: In faith lies strength, in knowledge lies power.
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As I venture to transcribe my experiences upon Damaris, I find myself compelled to offer my sincerest apologies to the reader for the lacuna that once again impede the continuation of this narrative. I will not delay your reading any further and will explain in greater detail in an appendix below.
Lord Kapak’s gala was finely appointed as any I have encountered so far from the light of civilisation. It was an earnest attempt at opulence and distraction from the Ork horde drawing ever closer, filled with what I must assume to be extravagant examples of local decor arranged to compensate for the limitations of such a provincial world. Amidst the adornments, the delicate and fragrant frost-flowers particularly caught my eye, though I do not think many groundlings could appreciate the complexities of ultraviolet patterning across their petals. The orchestral-servitors, meticulously arranged, was the most exquisite that I have yet encountered in any world in the expanse.
While our Lord-Captain dallied in a youthful affectation of fashionable tardiness , my companions – Helm-Mistress Petriam and Master-at-Arms Katsuhiro – endeavoured to acquaint ourselves with the people and mores that constituted the thin veneer of Damaris’ upper echelons. Although the invitation to the gala extended to the entirety of Gloriosa Lux’s command council, the absence of other officers and functionaries from the ship was conspicuous. Though I would have preferred to join them in remaining shipboard, away from the scrabbling politics of groundlings, I am a child of Vor’cle and the demands of propriety insisted upon my presence to represent the House in this farflung bastion of the Imperium.
And it is rare indeed is the occasion for me to wear one of my finest gowns. Clad in resplendent crimson shimmersilk interwoven with ebony lace brocade, adorned with an nox-argentum halo-shawl and concealed microsuspensors, I sought to elevate the soirée with the grace befitting my station. If the crushing grasp of terrestrial gravity must bind me, let it be in the embrace of elegance and comfort.
My companions embarked upon the task of engaging with the luminaries of Damaris, the better to weld them into a unified front against the ork horde. I have included full details of discussions in an adjunct mnemo-vault, but they can be sumarised thusly.
Mistress Petriam spoke at length with Lady-Captain Orleans and gathered that the captain of the Starweaver has some degree of disagreement with the ecclesiarchal dominance of affairs on Damaris. That is understandable when the planetary governor has descended so far into excess that he cannot command his own world’s defence, and something that must be remedied if the planet is to survive beyond this present danger.
Master Katsuhiro engaged with General Dante regarding his intentions and plans for the defence for the world. While the general is proud of his troops and is evidently capable, that capacity is tempered by his station and upbringing. A planetary general who has crushed menial insurgencies and fought raiders is not an officer of the Astra Militarum, forged in the fires of Schola and war into the iron that will be needed to save Damaris. More concerning are the general’s obvious desire to take the governorship for himself, his seditious opinions of Imperial institutions and his past encounters with Drukhari, with whom he shows a disquieting familiarity. A Damaris under the rule of General Dante would fall swiftly from His Light into the depths of apostasy and perfidy, and need to be aggressively brought into Compliance once the Expanse is fully claimed.
I endeavoured to make the acquaintance of Lord-Captain Locke of the Imperial Cruiser Aegis. She is a Captain both skilled and heroic, who should by now in her career be commanding a squadron or even entering the lower eschelons of admiralty, but that rise is blunted by a willingness to bend orders to save the lives of Imperial citizens, even if it may lead to the loss of her own ship. This iconoclasty is an ill-fit for the iron-clad strictures of the Battlefleet but heroes have their uses. If she lives through the fires of Ork invasion I think she would be a fine asset to be cultivated by the House or our good friends.
Eventually our noble young Lord-Captain made his arrival with fervour, pomp, and an unfeasible number of hats. He seized the attention of the whole gala and made a marvelous speech that laid open claim on his right to command the defence of the world. He is young and inexperienced but there are signs of fire and steel under the silk of his past. I think that, in time, he may yet become an excellent leader of men, for his exuberance and forthrightness swiftly won the hearts of the listeners. I suspect many were glad that someone else was willing to take responsibility, while others are willing to acquiesce to the magna fortis of a Rogue Trader whose warship sits in orbit above their heads. Even Lady Orleans was willing to accede to Lord-Captain Voidasghast after a discussion over their intentions for Damaris after the invasion was repelled.
As the gala waned into the nocturnal hours, an unexpected arrival from Quinn Claritatem, our Choir-Master Telepathica, necessitated our premature departure. Whilst communing with the Machine Spirit of Gloriosa Lux, our Enginseer Prime had recieved a message relayed from the ship herself, warning that our quest to defend Damaris was futile and remaining in the system would lead to our doom. The unusual nature of this message and the dire portent it demanded immediate attention, so we returned with haste to Gloriosa Lux to discuss this matter with Enginseer Prime Sin Logarithmica.
This discussion lead to our presence in the primary enginarium when Enginseer Prime Logarithmica attempted to commune once more with Gloriosa Lux in an effort to gain further information. It was an auspicious honour to be present in the heart of such a venerable craft as Gloriosa Lux, but one that became strange and uncertain as an event occured that I do not have the full vocabulary and knowledge to describe. It was akin to the experience of integration with the ship via a Navigation Helm, yet without wire or impulse-link or the protective balms of unguent of ritual. We all experienced a raw and intense sensation of traveling through the void, in combat and under great threat as something vast and unseen that presently lurked behind the Ork horde instead assailed us directly. It was a harrowing experience, one I do not wish to repeat and which will leave deep scars on the psyche of those untrained in maintaining a barrier about the self.
Addendum Entry House Vor'cle eyes only Second-Order Encryption Sigil: Vor'cle-NONATRIX-8124.katalepsis Date: 3.365.816.M41
I was not as unaffected by the vision in the enginarium as I initially assumed. The experience appears to have hetrodyned with my gene-gifts and stirred a secondary awakening earlier than I anticipated. Examination by House-bonded medicae-adepts reveals osseous carcincrementum on all primary digits. Analgesics are minimising my discomfort and the process should be complete within 2-3 sleep cycles, but I will not be able to use my quill or other instrument without difficulty until the growth is complete and I can retrain myself in their use. I am forced to resort to an amanuensis-servitor until then.
I have also begun to experience changes in my True vision, wherein slivers of the immaterium are visible even in realspace. I believe these are the skeins that Morthandus den Eisenstein wrote about in his M35 treatise, though I am unsure if the perceptions I am experiencing are spatial, temporal, or immaterial. I will report more fully once my gifts stabilise.
