# Birth of the Void Raven(a Dark Eldar story)



## SyNide (Nov 24, 2007)

Well, here is the first part of a the rise to power of Archon Shika'ze(my Kabal's archon). A friend of mine had the idea that i should write about an encounter between Shika'ze as a sybarite, and Force Commander Deckart Ecko as a Veteran Assault Sergeant.

This story will take place in first person narrative, from both Shika'ze's and Ecko's point of views. Blue will be Shika'ze and Ecko will be Red.

Enjoy 

Chapter 1

The hail of splinters came in silent as the night from the left of the squad, cutting down brothers Sicarius and Horthus. I turned to find the xenos sprinting at us, they were running! And at that speed?! By the Emperor, I never saw any foe move so fast. Without thinking, I raised my bolt pistol and fired off a round at the group, my squad followed suit and began shooting…

The Mon-keigh began firing their primitive weapons at us. “Pathetic”, I thought to myself as my squad charged in my wake “we are much too fast for-” Xzag was knocked backwards, spinning through the air, thanks to the sheer force of the projectiles flying at us. “One less schemer to worry about…” i laughed at the irony and sped up as more missiles began to zip past me. Breaking into my final charge, I threw my splinter pistol, now empty, at the mon’keigh…

The weapon spinning through the air struck brother Prothero’s gun arm knocking his aim off. Then, the crash came, painfully audible, as the first xenos launched himself at brother Prothero, before we could react he was already in our lines, swinging his blades in intricate circles and angles. His team arrived a moment later. Quickly, I grabbed one and gored him. My power sword sizzled as the xenos’ blood vaporized on contact, looking up I shot my pistol…

The missile zipped past my head and hit Leriene in the chest…“pity...she gave me some of the best hours of my life” I thought, “Oh well”, spinning my left leg up in an arc, my right arm followed and my blade cleanly decapitated the mon’keigh I had jumped on. “Hah! Perfect execution, father would be proud…if he could see this”. I turned around now, determined to use a Tig’aweil maneuver on the next one…

The xenos were fast, but weak in the face of the emperor’s finest. One swung it’s blades at me wildly, I dodged the first swing, parried the second, then shot it’s head point blank. The blood splattered everywhere, blurring my helmet’s vision partially. I holstered my pistol and grabbed the limp body with one arm, surprisingly light, I swung it at another xenos who was flying through the air at brother Aquinas. The corpse hit him and the xenos tumbled to the side. I turned and began swinging at another…

The mon’keigh never saw it coming…or at least he wouldn’t if I was not unceremoniously knocked out of the air by my comrade. I curled into a ball and tumbled, allowing my momentum to bring me into another stance. I glanced at the interloper who lay motionless on the ground to find that he was dead! I lunged forward dodging the mon’keigh’s close range fire, zigzagging and was now in his guard, I pushed his sword arm aside allowing the blades on my gauntlets to cut into the soft joints of his armour, and severed the arm…

The arc of lightning charged the air as my power sword cut through it and then through a xenos body. I managed to grab one as he came speeding at me, I stomp-kicked his knee and felt his leg snap under my boot. It screamed in pain and I silenced that by sweeping its head off with my blade. I looked around now, as the last of the xenos were being finished off by the 2 brothers left, all was killed, all but one…

The arm came off easily as I grappled and twisted it off. The mon’keigh screamed and I laughed…”Excellent”. Distracted by the pain, I easily cut his neck open. Just in time too, I heard the battlecries of 3 more mon’keigh as they charged me. The mon’keigh’s soul left his body and I absorbed this, slightly refined thanks to the pain I dealt “Ah! Nothing quite like some refreshments in the middle of a fight”, the first of the three came within striking range, and found himself kicked to the side…

The xenos had kicked brother Garret to the side, at this moment I knew he was different, unlike his raving brothers, this one had the poise of someone trained. Brother Rhode reached the xenos, and found himself tripped and fell on top of Garret. In a split second, the xenos was in the air, his arms spread like wings, and came down on Rhode’s belly, triggering Rhode and Garret’s natural reflexes to double over, in a blur of light, both heads were off and the xenos remained crouched on their corpses…

The shiver of satisfaction spread up my spine as the twin souls rose up from below me…”the ecstasy!”. For a moment, I was so enraptured, that I forgot where I was, but was harshly reminded of the reality around me. The sound of the shot brought me back to my senses, and I moved just in time to have the top portion of my helmet blown away. I rose to my feet and stared at the red mon’keigh as he reloaded his gun. I took off my helmet and felt some blood trickle down the side of my face…

The helmet came off and I only had time to see the xenos’ blue eyes replaced by raven black hair as he lunged at me. I r raised my bolt pistol, now freshly loaded, and let it roar to life as the first few rounds exploded outwards. The xenos zigzagged towards me, leading him, I aimed my gun to fire the fourth shot, but as I pulled the trigger, he threw his helmet and struck my face, my vision was blurred further and I quickly took my helmet off to get a clear shot, as I looked up…

The gun was launched out of the mon’keigh’s hand as my flying kick struck his arm. My body flew past him and I let the spikes on my forearm bite into his armour. The force of the kick carried me past him and the spikes in his armour allowed me to swing onto his back. Although, the mon’keigh recovered much faster than I had expected…

I grabbed the xenos by the arm, and snapped the spikes with a flick of my wrist. Twisting his arm and whipping him forward, I brought him into position to take the full force of my power sword. I swung my blade, but then had curled himself into a ball and due to the force of my swing, now crashed into my torso and loosened my grip enough to escape…

I slipped out from his grip, and rolled into a low position on the ground. Launching myself forward, I punched the mon’keigh in the face sending him reeling. Before he could fall backwards, I grabbed his sword arm and twisted the sword out of it. The mon’keigh regained his balance and barreled at me…

Spitting acid at him, he dodged long enough for me to crash into him and get a good grip on him. I punched his face once, repaying the favour and ignited my jump pack. Going full throttle to get as high as I could, i kept pounding at the xenos, bloodying him. The damn thing bled red! As I reached the peak of my ascent, I threw him down…

I felt him let go, and I knew that I had to hold on, so I held on to his hair with one arm and drew my poison blades between my fingers, clenching my fist, the blades stuck out from between the clenched fingers. In spite of my bloodied vision, I punched the armour with all my might, and felt the blades go through and pierce into his flesh…


The blades cut shallow wounds into me and i felt a short moment of pain, followed quickly by a numbness all over my body. My joints locked up, and I thought I was on the ground. In a split second, liquid fire coursed through my veins causing unbearable pain, I tried to scream, but could not even manage that. The world was spinning when suddenly something knocked me further out of control…

The force of the impact threw the mon’keigh out of my hands and stunned me. Feeling the air rushing past my face and a strong arm hold me. Looking down, i saw the ground speeding by. The battlefield was alight with the fires of both mon’keigh tanks and my kabals’ raiders…What I saw next shocked me, “The Broken Eye Kabal!”, our raid had been hijacked! I looked up and saw the grotesque face of a haemonculus. Grinning, he pressed his finger into my chest and I went numb as my nerves were zapped by the electrical shock. The pain lasted for a second or two before i blacked out...the last thing I saw was the red mon’keigh plummeting…

The ground didn’t seem to hurt as much as I thought it would, my body had too much pain as it was. Those blades were poisoned! I lay there motionless and locked in that position for awhile, I heard the sound of explosions around me, fierce fighting. I prayed to the Emperor that I would survive to serve him again. The pain lessened, but just as it did, it increased in intensity and the will to die was stronger in me. As the pain wracked my body, I heard shouting from somewhere around me. “CHECK FOR SURVIVORS! WE LEAVE NO ONE!” I heard the sound of my captain’s voice as he shouted orders. I tried to shout, to let them know I was here but to no avail. An eternity later, I saw the face of my brothers over me. “Sgt. Ecko, is alive! PRIEST!!” My vision darkened and I blacked out…

*Epilogue*

I awoke in the medical quarters, glancing here and there, I was glad to find my movement restored, and that the pain was no longer there. Father Josephus, our Sanguinary High Priest looked at me, checking my vital signs. Looking up at him, i asked “what happened? Did we manage to destroy the scum?”. What Father Josephus told me burned deeply and filled my heart with hatred. The battle was a loss, another force of xenos came out of a portal and attacked not only us, but the other xenos as well! In the end we were forced to retreat. “Such treachery…” I truly knew now why such evils must be purged from the universe…

I awoke to a bright light beaming down on me. Straining my eyes open under the intense light, i surveyed room. It was dark and windowless…I tried to move, but found myself strapped to the table. I knew then where I was. The door slid open as the haemonculus walked in. “Hello Shika’ze…finally awake I see”, I attempted to speak, but could not. “Oh don’t bother replying, lets just cut right to the fun, shall we?”. His cackle filled the cell and soon, my screams filled it too…

=END=

So, How do you guys like it? :grin:


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## cerrakoth (Nov 7, 2007)

Yeah nice, love the way you did the two different guys' speaking in different colors. You should consider writing another epic adventure=P keep it up


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## SyNide (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks man...actually, this is just the beginning...Here is Chapter 2, please enjoy :grin:

*Chapter 2*

The pain brought me back to consciousness, my body felt like it had been turned inside out. I savoured the pain for several minutes, but as it began to fade, I turned my attention to the immediate surroundings. The floor was cold featureless metal, and when I looked up,i saw that the walls and ceilings were the same. Only the wall to my left had a door. After the pain fully subsided, I caught my breath, and began thinking of how to get out. 


For awhile I looked around the room, studying every nook and cranny. Getting up, i walked to the door, running my fingers along the edges, trying to feel for any imperfections. There were none. I then turned my attention to the only other possible weak spot, the ceiling light. Too high to reach, I tried doing a wall walk to reach it, but when I got there, found that it was too tough to break. No glass weapons here. Sitting down, frustrated, I began to look at my other tools. Being naked, I had none…or so I thought. I then remembered something my father once told me. The mind is your greatest weapon.


My father was a powerful Overlord, but unlike others, he had risen to power not through political guile or pure physical prowess, No No, he was too good for that. Instead, he went up the ranks thanks to the power of his mind. His psyker mind to be exact. But like all other psykers of the True Kin, we were not particularly good. He was however strong enough to sway others to do his bidding. Being the _caring_ father he was, he taught me how to harness and activate the latent psychic powers I had within myself. After his death however, I realized that psyker powers alone would not guarantee my power. But Today, I would need it.


I double-checked to make sure that I was not missing any physical feature that I could exploit. When I was satisfied that nothing out here could be used, I sat down and emptied my mind. It had been a long time since I’ve touched the warp, longer still since I tapped it for its power. I closed my eyes and began to take full control of my warp presence. I saw the swirling red of the warp, my mind’s representation of it, and saw around me numerous other lights. These lights represented other warp presences. Other souls…


I looked at the one closest to me. On my right, probably in another cell was a mon’keigh presence, dull as any mon’keigh soul. Moving to it, I then witnessed misty visions of the physical world, it was a female, lovely thing, her features were very eldar-like, but she was fat, a fresh slave, i thought. I continued on, now developing my shadow self further, I walked through the cell doors and saw a long misty(due to the warp) corridor. Moving further along, I took one step before I suddenly felt an overwhelming presence. My soul began to thirst, more so than before. Had I awakened she-who-thirsts? “Argh!” I fell to my spectral knees, and knew then that I must return to my physical body or die. I ran into my cell and entered my body. I opened my eyes, my forehead wet with the perspiration of strain, and felt that ancient pain…the thirst.


The thirst pulled at me, as it always had, but i had to resist it's pull. I was getting hungry. Looking around, in a vain attempt to find some form of sustenance. I found nothing. Then a thought occurred to me…
“Perhaps she might feed me”
"But what about that bitch?"
"She-who-thirsts? What about her?"
"She could be waiting for us to touch the warp again"
The thirst tugged again...
"Well, we might as well..."

I knocked on the right wall, calling to her in the crude mon’keigh tongue my father taught me. “Come closer, I can help you escape” I yelled as loud as I could, “If you can hear me, bang the wall.” BANG! She heard me. “Stay there, I’ll get you out in a second”. I closed my eyes and projected myself once again into my shadow form.


I saw her presence, a glowing light, not as faint as before, for now it was coloured with hope. I moved to her, and touched her soul. Holding it in my two hands, i began pulling. Pulling her soul out of her body. I could hear her _screams_, yes, her presence grew brighter now…Yes, more pain…but her soul would not come to me! It was tied to her shell! I touched her mind the way my father touched others. I would attempt to sway her.

I whispered to her, “Do It…Do It…Do It…” 
Slowly, she started banging her skull against the wall, softly at first, but the force she put into it gradually grew... 

“Harder.....Harder…HARDER!”. I suggested, coaxing her on, she started moaning in pain and surprise.

The Banging grew steadily louder and louder as she started to scream in pain. 
It reached a crescendo, and suddenly,

Stopped. 

I saw her soul begin to float away. Gathering it in my arms, I brought it to my body and absorbing it, I felt rejuvenated, “Ah! Simply wonderful”. I lay down now, sated. Closed my eyes and went to sleep.


I had very odd dreams. I kept seeing myself in a crowd of mon’keigh, pushing up against me, and bringing me with them, aboard a black craft. 

_Terrified, I yelled out some gibberish in the mon’keigh tongue, tinged with fear and despair. I kept trying to touch the warp, trying to harness the energy to bring lightning against the herders. But I could not. Every time I tried, I saw not the blue of the warp, but a dark emptiness. A void that emanated from certain guards, wearing black cowled robes. I tried to reach out to them, to the presence that all humans had, but what chilled me to the bone was the lack of any, it was as if they had no souls. I then remember the doors of the ship closing, and the darkness that ensued. I remember being afraid and hearing the cries of anguish and despair around me, I too began to cry. 


I recall silently praying to the Emperor, for surely he knew i was a loyal servant! Never once had i blasphemed his holy name, nor turned to any other in times of need. Wasn't this my blessing? Wasn't this gift the Emperor's to me? Why were his servants now gathering me with criminals? If i was born this way as my parents always told me, was it not the Emperor's will? How could he betr-.  I remembered her anger and guilt...Perhaps.

Oh forgive me my Lord, forgive my haste and my irrationality. I prayed to the Emperor, thanking him for the opportunity to serve him and be closer to him. I resigned myself to my fate, but i felt fearful nonetheless. This was not me, i've always been so strong, so true and yet, here i am, so unsure of myself...So afraid...Was i truly resenting my Emperor? Was that the fear i felt? It was then i remembered the Black Robed ones...My hairs stood on end thinking of them. This probably was the source of my fear and my doubt, these abominations...Or were they?_ 


_
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire outside the ship startled me to attention. An explosion rocked the vessel, and I feared for my life. Others around me started panicking, many crying out to the Emperor for deliverance. I heard the guards cocking their weapons and shouting at us to remain quiet. For a time the fighting raged on outside, but as mysteriously as it came, it vanished. The ships movement could be felt, and the quiet provided me some relief. After what felt like an eternity, the ship came to a halt, and the doors opened. What I saw next shocked me. 


Tall aliens holding weapons had seized the guards and were aiming their weapons at us. One by one, the others were escorted off the ship in chains. When my turn came I walked out, but as soon as I did, a strong hand grabbed me by the arm. I turned to see who had yanked me to the side. It was a scarred alien, his face stretched in a grotesque grin, he instructed others uglier and more disfigured than him to bring me to one side. There I was put next to a few others like me, and several black robed men. I silently prayed to the Emperor, hoping that he would hear me in what could only be Hell…_


I awoke with a start, my body drenched with sweat. Looking around, reorientated myself, reminding myself where I was, and who I was. The dream put me in the position of that mon'keigh girl. I rubbed my eyes in an effort to wake myself up. When I was more lucid, I recalled the dream and dissected it, examining every piece. One thing that perplexed me were the black robed ones…“Could it be? A Mon'keigh without a soul?!” I asked myself. “Whats the point then!?” I thought to myself in disgust and disbelief. I set that aside and once again put myself to the task of escape.The thirst came, and again I did the same, this time the prisoner on the left. And so I passed my time, taking more and more prisoners over time. Becoming more proficient, now able to extend my shadow self while remaining in the material realm, harvesting became much easier. I knew then how I would affect my escape and conserved my strength, ever watchful for when the scarred one would walk down my corridor and through my door.


After approximately 2 weeks passing time, perfecting my plan (escape routes, etcetera), and constant monitoring of the corridor, I saw the haemonculus and two grotesques walking my way.

“I’m going to enjoy this” I thought to myself. After what felt like a century, well a century felt longer, but nonetheless. The door slid open, and I leapt forward in a classical flying kick which took the first grotesque down. Before it could react, I kicked the next grotesque’s knee, unbalancing it and pushed it over. As I turned to face the Haemonculus, I launched my shadow self at him before launching the rest of myself at him. What happened next shocked me.


The haemonculus pushed me, not just physically, but psychically he pushed my shadow self back! Faster than I could react, he struck me across the face and threw me to the floor. I recovered quickly and tried again to send my shadow at him. This time he hit me with a psychic attack of his own and sent me sprawling. 


As I picked myself up, I heard him whisper in my ear “Surprised?”, I took a swing at where i heard him, but hit nothing. I looked up and saw him where he originally was. Getting up to run, i recalled my psychic explorations of the dungeon determining my escape route. A few quick strides and I was suddenly floored by an immense shockwave. I lay on my face for a moment, bruised and stunned by the sheer force of the blow. 


Before I could get up, more grotesques had picked me up and were carrying me to the haemonculus. “I knew some psyker had to be killing all the others, and now, I’ve found you” he said, I stared at him silently as he whispered in my mind “I have another surprise for you”. I was brought to his work chamber where I found two tables next to each other, one was empty and the other had a mon'keigh strapped in. He had several tubes stuck into his flesh. Something about this one was familiar…


It was not his warp signature, but rather, the lack of one. This creature scared me…How could something exist without a soul? Unbeknown to me, I was about to find out…The closer I got to this creature, the more my soul began to recoil in fear. I was strapped to the table next to him and hooked up to several devices. Soon, the machines were turned on…Something was happening. Pain wracked my body and my mind until for a short time my world became only that, the pain, as I felt my soul ripped to shreds. Seconds passed as eons, and at the end of it, I was left gasping for air.


It was strange. As I lay on the table, I looked to the mon'keigh beside me and saw his head hanging limply to the side. He was, as I assumed, dead. The haemonculus approached me, looking at me in fascination. 
“Feel any different?” he asked eagerly. “Particularly, can you feel your....soul?” 
I looked at him and tried to channel a psychic attack, but somehow I could not…It was then that something began to change, my vision sharpened and i could see warp presences, souls in this realm as if i travelled the warp! I saw the haemonculus glowing brightly, much brighter than anything I’ve ever seen. I looked past him and saw 2 more presences outside the room, these were the grotesques that he kept as bodyguards. I then looked at my body, and saw no such shine, I saw nothing…
Why was I different? Had I indeed lost my soul?


“What are you thinking? Why can’t I hear you?!” I sensed the tension in his voice, and saw a sudden change in his warp signature. He was feeling a very different emotion from before, something I think he must have long forgotten…Fear.


I looked at him, and asked “What have you done? What am i?”
I struggled with the straps, now feeling claustrophobic in their tight embrace. Slowly, I felt them loosening as I continued to struggle more vigorously. The haemonculus started towards me in an effort to keep me restrained.


“GET IN HERE YOU FOOLS!” he yelled to his guards outside.


I began to feel slightly weary, when suddenly my vision became shaper still and I could see, with greater clarity, the warp signatures of the haemonculus in front of me, and the grotesques coming in to assist their master. I stopped struggling, transfixed for a moment by the sight that lay before me...Looking at their glowing forms, I tried looking at myself again, trying to find that glow that I must have. However, all I saw was absolute darkness, a void, where my souls should have been. I continued staring in disbelief, trying to find my soul, and finally spotted it. A pin prick of light.


Was this my soul? So greatly diminished that I could barely see it? Why do I not feel the thirst with my soul this small? Then, an idea occurred to me…I reached out with my mind, and touched the first grotesque’s soul, it trembled and shook as i touched it...without thinking, I yanked it out. There it floated in my spectral hands, and I took it within me, absorbing it. My soul grew brighter, and I felt the same satisfaction I had always felt drinking a well-refined soul. 


I took the next grotesque’s soul and did the same, feeling the same satisfaction. Suddenly my view lit up as the haemonculus’ warp signature exploded with activity, brighter than it had been now that he touched the warp. Without thinking, I pulled his soul out, and took it into myself. The last two were good, but his soul was pure ecstasy. My body healed its wounds, I felt stronger and faster than I had ever felt before. I easily slipped out of the loosened straps of the table. 


Taking the dark brown and blue robes of the lifeless haemonculi, I covered my self as best as I could. Looking around for weapons, i picked up two razor sharp knives, recalled my intended path route of escape, and proceeded to move stealthily through the dim corridors of the facility. My newfound sight was invaluable in the evasion of guards. Crawling through ducts and wall-climbing wherever I could, I managed to reach the intended sky light. I cut a hole in the glass and climbed onto the roof of the building. I looked out at the beautiful crimson sky, and looked down at the vast metropolis that was the dark city. 

=END=

Alot slower than the last chapter, but i hope you enjoyed this...More to come, i promise you


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## CATzeentch (Dec 25, 2007)

holy crap that was good


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## PAw (Dec 20, 2007)

Nice work SyNide i want to see the next chapter ^_^
i hope our anti-hero becomes a badass more so then he is now!


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## SyNide (Nov 24, 2007)

Ye ask, and Ye shall receive! i've actually written this story up to chapter 6, when i had writer's block and now i'm posting this to motivate myself to continue. Hopefully i'll get to it soon  In the mean time, please enjoy, and as always, comments and criticism is welcome.

*Chapter 3*

The climb down was long and strangely calming. The cool air whipped at the robes I wore and for a moment I felt like letting go, perhaps I could fly. Climbing down, I contemplated the nature of what I had become.

I was not completely soulless as the mon’keigh abomination. I still had my soul, no matter how minute. It was then that I remembered the thirst. I wondered what would happen when She-who-thirsts came for my soul. Probably die outright and have my soul taken. “Not very enticing” I thought to myself, however, one question burned in my mind at this moment. Why hadn’t she? As I navigated the criss-cross of architecture of the facilities walls, I tried explaining this.

Could she not want my soul? Impossible, the bitch thirsts! She hungers! “It’s all she ever seems to do” I said, chuckling to myself. My enhanced eyesight told me that there was no one around, so compacting myself, I sprang from the wall.

“Maybe she can’t see me?” I ventured, the air rushing past my ears. Landing nimbly on a lower spire, I caught my breath. “Maybe she *can’t* see me, seeing as I couldn’t see myself…” I thought aloud. Looking up at the heights from which I had jumped, not bad, I’ll have to try farther distances next time. Then I looked down and was shocked by what I saw. It was not that the ground was more distant than I had initially thought, but as I looked down, I saw my chest glowing! 

“Is that my soul?! How did it-?!” then the thought hit me. I had feasted before on those grotesques and the haemonculus, they must have replenished my sou. However, the expansion didn’t seem full...my soul was still surrounded by the void darkness. Perhaps the more I absorbed, I’d get my soul to its original size. But why would I want to do that? Only just realizing I had stopped, I continued my descent…Definitely a lot longer than I initially thought.

“What do I need a soul for anyway?” I asked myself as I reached a parapet.
“Well, just about everything…Without your soul, how are you going to feel all the great things you feel?” replied I, continuing down the tall tower.
“True true…And without my soul I wouldn’t get to use my psyker powers right?” I said in agreement. But this brought up even more questions, namely, can I still use my psyker powers? The chance to find out would come a lot sooner than expected.

In my contemplation, I had completely failed to notice a trio of hellions flying my way until the very last minute. The lead came zooming in, he flipped counter-clockwise as he came in, bringing his dual-bladed glaive straight at me. Sparks flew as the blade slashed against the wall instead of my head. Out of my periphery I saw the second hellion coming in, this time slightly lower. I quickly leapt off to the wall, hoping to reach a ledge some distance down as the hellions zipped by overhead. 

I fell, allowing the robes to catch the wind, i glided towards the targeted ledge, preparing to maneuver to reach it when the wind was suddenly knocked out of my lungs. I saw the third hellion’s face and realized he had intercepted my fall. I held on tight, controlling his hands with my own and keeping them locked on his weapon. He suddenly changed course and flew directly upwards, accelerating rapidly. I spat on his visor to blur his vision and kicked his right knee, causing the skyboard to bank right and I jumped off. Flying once again, I pulled out the 2 knives and wielded them blade-down. The wall came in fast, 

“Now to test their strength” I thought to myself, I began counting down as the wall closed in…
3…
2…
1!

I stabbed them into the wall, the metal ringing out as they, to my surprise, stuck! For a moment I forgot my adversaries and was overjoyed! 
Swooning, I cried out “I love these knives!” Snapping me back to attention splinters flew at me, one grazed my right cheek and another hit my right arm, i winced in pain and pushed myself to hold on, knowing i had only a few seconds to react before the poison numbed my right arm. Cackling, the trio came zooming at me in a tight formation, one after the other.

Regaining my balance, I pulled one of the knives out and gripped it between my teeth. With both hands I held the second knife handle and kicked off the wall, pulling it with me. The first hellion flying at me was caught off guard by my maneuver. Twisting in the air as we flew to meet each other, my elbow to his face. Contact! The sound of the hit was simply satisfying! He spun head over heels backwards, his glaive falling out of his hands. Just as he hit the wall, I kicked off, using his body as a launch pad, to reach the 2nd hellion. 

In a second, I collided with the hellion. Grabbing one shoulder with my left hand, I stabbed his arm and he let go of his weapon. Yanking his glaive loose, I twisted his body, and kicked his knee, causing him to lose control of the board. In the next second we slammed into the wall, he lost his board, and we fell out of the sky. As I punched at him, my right arm went numb and I had to quickly maneuver him to be under me. I saw the roof of a low building coming up as we plummeted. I held him with my legs and continued punching him and before we knew it, we hit the roof.

The fall hurt a lot more than I thought it would, considering I had something soft to land on. My legs were broken, but I was in a much better state then the corpse below me. His soul leaked out and I voraciously absorbed it. In a minute, my wounds were healed and I felt refreshed. I lay down beside the corpse, trying to catch my breath. As I looked up, I saw a glowing light speeding down at me. It was the last one coming to kill me, or loot his comrade’s body…”Probably both” I remarked, as I picked up my knives and got to my feet.

He flew straight at me. I braced myself with both knives in my left hand. The hellion zoomed at me, he came in at an angle, meaning to lob my head off I assume. As he closed in, I rolled to the side and tossed the pair at him as he flew by. I couldn’t see whether or not I hit, but his scream told me that I got him. But he was still flying! 

“Damn it! My knives!” I cursed.

I knew he was coming around for another try. Thinking quickly, I cycled through my options,

_Jump at him?
Not possible
Run?
But the knives…
Psyker powers?
I thought I couldn’t?
Have you tried?
Nope
Well you never know until you try right?
Good Point…_

My mind thus made up, I spotted him coming in, this time spiraling downwards through the air. I readied myself, as he spiraled down; I locked onto him and psychically pushed. 

He suddenly jerked as if hit in the chest, and his skyboard flew out from under his feet and crashed somewhere out of sight. I let him go and he came crashing down. He smashed onto the floor close to me.

I walked to his corpse, and fed on his soul, something was strange about this one though. As I absorbed the last of it, I felt an ecstasy that much deeper than any I had felt before. I closed my eyes for several moments and savored it. This was…Orgasmic, perhaps even beyond that! I was practically paralyzed with pleasure! I looked at myself, and saw that I was glowing! My soul had returned to its original size! I was just delighted to see myself back to normal. This was wonderful! Excellent! Absolutely delicious! I felt better than ever! i felt...

Suddenly, the thirst return, and much stronger than before.

“No!” I cried before gasping “Argh!”

Falling to my knees, I held my body, but knew that this was not physical. The thirst grew stronger and stronger every second. This was pure torture, waves of pain swept over my body as I felt my soul being drained. Just as I thought I was dead, the thirst disappeared. As quickly as it came, it left, leaving me gasping for air and feeling pain all over my body. Looking at myself, I was not glowing anymore. My soul had once again been reduced to that tiny, nigh invisible, speck of light. The depth of my sorrow was beyond what any eldar should ever feel, i lay there, crying for my loss. Before i dozed off, exhausted from the strain.

I woke up later. Picking myself up, I first got my knives, one was in the corpse’s left shoulder, and the other in the left arm. “At least I haven’t lost you” I sighed, and wiped the blood off. Digging through their belongings, I picked up: A belt; a pair of pants; a pair of soft boots _Finally! Some Shoes!_ ; a pair of bladed gloves; 3 plasma grenades; and a pair of holstered splinter pistols. I did not particularly like the glaives, so ugly and just not my style.

I went to the wall, and continued my descent. For a moment, I had my soul entirely there…but what happened? I analysed the event, and came to the conclusion that i must have angered she-who-thirsts but she could not kill me because of this void that I was. For some reason, she could not get through the void to my soul. However, souls still do replenish me and taste wonderful, but if I take too much, she-who-thirsts would get to me and perhaps even kill me next time. I must watch my consumption. “The irony, a true kin who needs to drink less” I thought, as I swung from pole to pole on my descent. About 20 minutes later I was low enough, to jump down without hurting myself.

As my feet touched the ground, I thought about my powers. Being able to see any living being was an interesting ability. Having the ability to rip people’s souls out was interesting, but only served to remind me of the restraint I must exercise. But what else could I do with this aspect…this void? I resolved to figure it out, I had after all, all the time in the world.

=END=


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