Gatehammer: A 30K Warhammer story. (discontinued)

The Princess Appears

The ragged remains of the Allied Army scattered across the winds, those few men who stood now retreated with the bodies/bloody remains of their liege, and the wounded King Duran. Many others had fled during the battle, turning to banditry and raiding in the now unsecured lands of both the vassal kingdoms and the frontier towns of the Empire.

Tales of the second slaughter of Alnus Hill, reverberating throughout the entire continent, to the kingdoms of Elbe and Toumaren. To the mage city of Rondel, and the trading hub of Italica. Tales of metal giants, faces like the helmets of knights, glowing with eldritch red light like demons spread. Howling giants, with the faces of handsome men, marred and scarred.

And this leads us to a red headed princess and her order of knights, currently resting upon a highway ale house. A ale house nested on the road to Alnus.

"So it is true then..." They had found a survivor, a archer in the army of Toumaren. He was missing several of his fingers, along with an arm, he was lucky that they had found him when they did. He was on the edge of illness and death.

"Aye..." His voice was hoarse, exhausted by his escape from the bloodshed. His hair was originally blonde now dirtied by blood, dirt, and soot.

"We never even got close or were given a chance to kill them. I saw ten men slaughtered in the same moment by a blood colored giant. His sword cleaved through them like butter. We can't beat them."

The knights were silent, even the Princess was silent. Two of the greatest forces in the continent that had ever been gathered in the last century, was slaughtered by a force of a mere ten thousand.

"What's worse, we saw legionnaires amongst them, somehow even soldiers from the Empire have joined the invaders. We saw them wearing strange red clothes and wielding long rectangular boxes that emitted light that can kill a man instantly."

The Princess looked up from her wondering, surprised by this. She heard of the story of how thousands surrendered and asked to join the invaders when a golden angel had appeared on the side of the metal giants.

"You saw many fled?" A deep voice resounded, coming from one knight, the oldest of them all named Grey Co Aldo.

"Aye, I do not know of there fate however, but considering how poor many are back in Elbe, I wouldn't be surprised if they had turned to banditry."

This was worse news, the roads would be dangerous and likely be crawling with bandits. That's when the Princess spoke.

"We shall head to Italica."

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The mortal was short, even for a mortal. The Primarch estimated her height was about 5'1 to 5'3. She looked human, with blonde hair down to her waist and bright blue eyes. She was afraid, every Astarte there could sense it, especially Guilliman. And though she looked human, there was something extremely off. Her ears, long and pointed.

Aeldari. But though she looked Aeldari, in that sense she looked off as well. Her ears were longer for one, and as stated before she looked human. Almost as if...

Halfbreed.

Guilliman turned his bulk towards his Honor Guard, even without seeing their faces he could sense the enmity seething from their bodies. Xenos, those who once called themselves ally or vassal to Old Humanity. Before the iron war, when humanity was brought to its knees.

Guilliman, for his part thought back to the translations brought forth from those mortals who had joined them after the first battle. Staring at the mortal, he spoke in their tongue.

"Hello High Elf." He mentally growled at the thought of not slaying this strange creature, this probable product of man and Eldar. Though the humans of these lands call these creatures elves and claimed they were in no way related to humans, it was highly debatable due to their shared characteristics.

Though it is the same for Aeldari and Mankind...

The elf was silent, fear emanating from her form even more so. Guilliman extended his arm, the one not bearing the hand of domination.

It was the discipline of the Ultramarines that had stopped them from crying out in objection.

The elf extended her own shaky hand towards the Primarch.

"She comes with us."

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The Primarchs were watching over the new construction of a set of plasteel walls. Walls that were teaming with hundreds of Astartes, techpriests and the new world menials. All constructing a city for the potential colonists and defectors.

It had been prompted by the defection of the legionnaire force that had first tried to take Alnus Hill, which they had discovered was a holy place in the eyes of the natives. That's when the Vox runes upon each of their armored suits lit, signaling a new message for them.

"Large flying beast spotted northeast of HQ, Ultramarines will evac local area and return to HQ."

The beast.... it's silhouette had reminded Sanguinius of the dactyls and Gorladons upon their brother Vulkan's home world.

"Do you think their beasts will be as fierce as our own?" Horus asked, though he already knew the answer.

Sanguinius gave a dry chuckle. "Humanity, I hope so. I haven't had a good challenge."

Horus gave a laugh as well, Dorn was stoic as always, focused too much on the workings of war and his legion for leisure.

Sanguinius gave his brother a smile, before returning to the sight of the new menials. It was too boring.