Survival Training

 "The man answered the door, shotgun in hand. His leg itched, so he knew there was trouble. There was no one outside, was it the neighborhood kids messing with him? No, it couldn't be, his leg itched terribly, so it couldn't be them. Or at least not just them. Could it be....?"

"This sounds like we've come in in the middle of the story."

"Shush, it'll all be clear soon."

"It's more practical to start at the beginning."

"It's called in media res, go look it up."

"I know what in media res is."

"Guys, let him continue. I want to know what happens."

"Of course you'd stick up for him."

"We don't always agree on things."

"It's been a long time since you two really fought."

"We're getting side tracked."

"Isn't that usual?" 

"Kind of, but it's also rude."

"Can I continue?" 

"Yes, if everyone's alright with that."

"Could it be the shadow men? The man peered carefully into the dark, but didn't see anything. He carefully reached for the lantern without looking, and tipped it over. The curtain caught, and the man died in the fire."

"Now that sounds like the end of the story, where to we get the beginning?"

"I'm getting to that. The story is meant to be told out of sequence, that's what en media res is all about."

"Oh alright."

"'What a mess,' the investigator said to his partner. 'Why was he standing in the doorway?'

'I don't know,' the partner said. 'Possibly heard something outside? The officers found bits of the guy's shotgun, must've blown when the ammo cooked off. Looks like a peeled banana.'"

"That's not what it would look like!"

"Am I telling this story or not?"

"Go on."

"'No footprints leading up to the door," the investigator said. 'Nothing human.'

'We sure about that?' the partner asked, casting a doubtful look at the ground. 'The firemen did a great job of obliterating everything getting the fire out.'

'They said they didn't see anything,' the investigator said, shaking his head.

'What's this?' the partner asked, pointing to what looked like a piece of paper that had survived the fire.

'It must've fallen out of someone's pocket,' the investigator said. 'There's no way any papers survived the fire.'

'Must be,' the partner agreed. 'The fire crew's still here, we can ask around with them.'

'No, we don't carry paper around in our pockets during active fires,' the captain of the fire team said. 'That would be risky. Maybe it came from the person who reported the fire?'

'It was an anonymous call though,' the investigator said. 'Well, let's see if what it says gives us any clues.'

'It says they'll come when you least expect it,' the partner read. 'Any idea what that could mean?'

'Maybe it's a quote from something?' the investigator suggested. 'Well, we should bag it up, at least keep it clean in case it does come up as belonging to someone other than the vic.'

'Right,' the partner said. He pulled out an evidence bag and put the note inside. 'Kind of creepy don't you think?'

'Yeah, especially since it doesn't look like any other paper survived the fire,' the investigator said. 'We need to make sure that gets to evidence.'

That's not what happened though. The partner kept the paper, the message he had read was stuck in his mind, he couldn't get it out. Who were they? Why would they come? What did they want? 

He laid awake that night, trying to figure it out. The horns signaling shift change at the manufactorums sounded, and he waited to hear the bustle of people fade away from under his window. It meant he could finally sleep, he'd be woken with the calls to morning shift."

"is this going somewhere?"

"Yes, it's just a slightly slower part of the story. We've got to get connected to someone."

"You know, this isn't really in media res."

"You're right, but it is a fun phrase to say."

"Fair enough."

"Go on."

"The investigation went on for several days, and nothing happened to the partner. It was determined that the fire started when the lantern overturned, but it was unclear why the man hadn't run out the open door to safety. There was also the fact that the fire itself had burned far faster and hotter than it should have. Like there had been accelerant, or everything was very dry.

Eventually the trail went cold, colder than the legends of Terran winter. New cases were given to the investigator and the partner. They forgot all about the fire and the man who had died. Then, the partner didn't show up for work one day.

'I'll check in on him,' the investigator said. 

The investigator arrived at the partner's house. Nothing seemed wrong, but the partner wasn't answering either. The investigator used the spare key to unlock the door, and went inside to look. They went to the bedroom and...."

"What are you guys doing in here?"

"Telling ghost stories!" 

"Badly."

"Hey! Take that back!"

"Calm down."

"How can you be the calm one?"

"Because one of us has to be the calm one."

"But the story isn't scary."

"We're Primarchs nothing's scary to us. I thought we were going for who could tell their story the best. This is the best Chemosian story I know."

"You've only gotten to Fulgrim?" 

"No, we're not going in order really, just whoever thinks of their story first."

"Ah."

The Primarchs were sitting in the dark in a large room, Fulgrim was holding a stab light under his face to look sort of scary. it was also the mark of whoever was storyteller. Ferrus had him by one arm, keeping him in place instead of letting him launch himself onto Angron.

"I'd love to see you do better," Fulgrim snarled. "I bet you don't even have a story."

"I've learned real stories of horrible things the high riders have done to the arena slaves," Angron growled. "They'd make even Konrad's hair curl."

"We agreed only ghost stories and urban legends," Horus said. "Not anything that's known to be true. We all know there's a reason you only recruit from the arena slaves on Nuceria, and often take people from other places. The high riders also know that if they step out of line Father will leave you in a room unattended with them."

The atrocities of the Nucerian ruling elite, called the high riders by the arena slaves, had come out not long after Angron's adventures on the Swift Runner. In fact it had come out because of those adventures. The Nucerian lords had said that if the Emperor had allowed them to place the implants, Angron wouldn't have run away. The Emperor took them systematically apart for that particular comment, and gone looking further into the implants. They had swiftly been outlawed, which still rankled with the high riders.

"It's bedtime," Valdor said. He was taking them out on an almost solo survival training exercise. It also meant he had only one back up, which was a first. So far everyone had been behaving quite well.

"Can Fulgrim finish his story?" Ferrus asked.

"I don't want to now," Fulgrim said. He'd gone from being angry to sulking.

"Maybe some other time," Horus said. "Valdor's right, we should go to bed."

"Alright," Ferrus grumbled. He had come up with a possible direction the story was going, and was excited to know if he was right. He wondered if he could get the end of the story after lights out. Valdor paused next to the door and looked at them.

"You know, it would be scarier if you used the red light setting on the stab light."

"There's a red setting?' Horus asked. He'd taken the stab light from Fulgrim, then found a button an pressed it. Holding it like before, he flicked it on, and it came up as a red underlighting. "That's cool!"

"Creepy," Sanguinius said. "It makes it look like your face is covered in blood."

"But that does make it scarier," Konrad said. 

"Alright guys, we shouldn't get too distracted," Roboute suggested. "We're supposed  to reach Pimalia tomorrow."

They were excited as it was an off-world survival training. This was a big change as they normally stayed on Terra when training, but Valdor had finally convinced the Emperor that they needed more experience on other planets. Terra was mostly urban sprawl, with very few exceptions like the rain forests Clade Venenum maintained. 

The Primarchs were looking forward to exploring the new planet. Of course there had been a few times when they had had to survive on other planets, but nothing like what Valdor had planned. He had also mentioned he had a few scenarios/challenges they were going to have to face, but refused to tell them more. He wanted them to be as much of a surprise as possible.

"Good night Primarchs," Valdor called once they were all in bed.

**************************

"Oooh, look at the mountains!" Leman called as they were able to look down on Pimalia for the first time.

"They're way bigger than the Himalazians," Roboute said. "Or the Crown of Hera on Macragge."

"They're like the Aett," Leman said. Just like the Space Wolves didn't call themselves that, they didn't call their fortress monastery on Fenris the Fang like everyone else. They called it the Aett, which basically meant "settlement" in Fenrisian.

"Indeed," Valdor said coming up behind them. "The Tuxsone Mountains are closer to the Fang than the Himalazians of today, but that's in part because your father's been at them."

"Uncle Malcador showed me some picts of the Himalazians before Father built the Palace," Magnus said. "These still seem bigger."

"That's because it's hard to give scale in picts," Valdor said. "Ask him to share a memory of them, and you'll get it. Like when we went to the Alps."

"I guess," Magnus said, looking at the mountains doubtfully. They were impressively large, and were the heart of tourism on Pimalia, some of the tallest, and steepest mountains in the sector. Since the Primarchs lived in the mountains, Valdor wanted to start them off on something that would seem at least a bit like home, but be very different.

"It's time to get ready for drop off," Valdor said. A large part of the survival training he wanted to cover was being out of contact. They were going to be dropped off at a location, and left for the duration. His one companion, Zorovim, was to help with the staged challenges the Primarchs would face. 

It was Zorovim's first trip away from Terra, as he was the newest Custodian. This made him very nervous as he was working directly with the Captain-General. They were all going in the same dropcraft, and he hadn't officially met the Primarchs yet.

"You guys behave for him on the way down," Valdor said as they waited in the hangar for Zorovim. He wasn't late, they'd just got their first because the Primarchs were antsy, and Valdor wanted Zorovim to meet them all at once.

"We will," Horus said. 

"I'm not promising anything," Konrad said.

"Konrad," Valdor said sternly. "He's only seen your picts."

"So I shouldn't prank him if he calls me Corvus?" Konrad asked. 

"Didn't I just ask you all to behave?" Valdor asked, looking around at the others. "Did I misspeak?"

"No," the other Primarchs chorused. Konrad looked at the deck plates, but perked up again when the door onto the hangar opened and Zorovim entered.

"My lords, Captain-General," Zorovim said, giving a stiff salute to Valdor and a bow in the general direction of the Primarchs.

"Zorovim," Valdor said in acknowledgement. "I hope you're ready for this. It'll be just you and me with the Primarchs for a month."

"A month?" Jaghatai asked sharply. They hadn't been told how long the training was going to be.

"A month, out of contact with everyone," Valdor confirmed. "Except of course ourselves."

"That's a long time," Jaghatai said. They were rarely away from the Emperor for that long, the most recent separation for even close to that length of time had been Galactic Horizons. "Won't Father check in on us?"

"No," Valdor said. "It's part of the exercise."

"That must have taken some convincing," Sanguinius said quietly.

"Malcador helped," Valdor said. "But you won't stay children forever. You'll soon lead others, and you'll have to know how to survive if something adverse happens."

"What if we want to stay as children?" Fulgrim asked.

"I don't think we get a choice in that," Ferrus said.

"Let's go," Valdor said, pointedly moving to the copilot's seat. This was to leave Zorovim in the back with the Primarchs. He swept a stern glance across the Primarchs, silently reminding them to be at least decent for the new Custodian.

Zorovim for his part, waited stiffly at the embarkation ramp for the Primarchs to board and take their seats. He was left with the large seat, and sat only once all the Primarchs were secure in their webbing, stiff as a statue.

"Relax, Zorovim," Horus said. "Nothing's going to happen here, Valdor's personally checked the Thunderhawk and the servitor pilot twice."

"There could still be something unforeseen, Lord Luprecal," Zorovim said.

Konrad made a show of checking his visions of the future. This consisted of dramatically settling himself into something that almost looked like meditation, then waiting a minute. 

"Nope," he said, turning suddenly to look at Zorovim. "Just your standard turbulence caused by atmospheric entry."

The other Primarchs chuckled as the Thunderhawk departed the landing bay.

**************************

"Is this a good place for a camp?" Valdor asked, the Thunderhawk had just faded out of sight on its way back to the ship.

"No," Roboute said after the Primarchs had surveilled the area a bit.

"Why not?" Zorovim asked. 

"It's too open," Rogal said. "There's no shelter here."

"Can't you build some?" Valdor asked. 

"Not here," Perturabo answered. "There's nothing to build with, we're above the tree line."

"Which means it'll get cold at night," Lorgar said. Colchis was primarily desert, and he had made several serious studies of them to better understand the planet and the people who came from it. It was a very rough translation to mountains, but the lack of vegetation was a key principle in the loss of heat at night. 

"True," Sanguinius agreed. Baal Secundus was also largely desert, and the two had studied together. "It also looks like it might storm."

"That'll be lower though," Jaghatai said. He was by far the expert on storms among the Primarchs. "Though it'll be windy up here."

"So we've ruled this out as a camp," Valdor prompted, getting the Primarchs back on task. 

"We'll want to stay close to here if possible," Roboute said. "It makes a great landing field."

"True," Horus agreed. "But below the tree line I think."

"Yes," Rogal said firmly, and they headed off. 

**************************

"These trees are hardy," the Lion said. "They'll be hard to fell."

"But that means their logs will be good," Rogal countered.

"Lion's right," Leman said, also investigating the trees. "But maybe deadfall?"

"Branches maybe," the Lion said. "But not whole trunks, those will remain standing."

"But easier to fell," Leman asserted.

"Possibly," the Lion said. "We don't know what their root systems are like. Do you remember Malcador telling us about Russian olive trees?"

"They're the ones with the crazy large root systems, right?" Mortarion asked. 

"Yeah," the Lion said. "It made them very hard to kill, and hard to remove when you did. They spread pretty far, which caused competition issues when introduced to other places, like Merica."

"There's still natural tree death," Mortarion said. "Everything dies eventually."

"Guys! A cave!" Konrad said, pointing to the opening in the side of the mountain. "We can use that, at least for tonight, while Lion gets a better feel for the trees."

"Of course you'd find a cave," Fulgrim muttered. Ferrus elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Hunters, check it out," Horus called taking some control of the Primarchs. The Lion, Jaghtai, Leman, and Vulkan all went to check out the cave. 

"All clear!" Jaghatai called a few minutes later. "It's actually a pretty nice cave, might be good for a camp."

"Oh, this is nice," Fulgrim said, taking back his presumptions. It was a large spacious cave. In fact, Zorovim had pointed it out to Valdor as a potential camp, and had several staging areas selected in the region. The two Custodians shared a look and nodded.

"We could make it like a hobbit hole," Magnus suggested. 

"I don't think we'll be here long enough for that," Perturabo said. "Though this would be a good basis for one."

"Besides, a hobbit hole means comfort," Roboute said. "Though there's worse out there."

"Can we at least do something like beds?" Fulgrim asked. He hated sleeping on the ground, and tried to avoid it when possible. 

"That shouldn't be too hard," Sanguinius said. "We can work on them together."

"I think it'll have to wait until tomorrow, though," Ferrus said. It was getting late.

**************************

They spent the first few days establishing their camp in the cave. Fulgrim found a spring while exploring the deeper parts of the cave with Ferrus, and Vulkan found a creek that broadened out a bit further down the mountain from the cave. Thus they had drinking water and bathing water from different places.

It was during this time that Valdor gave them the first of their challenges. They had to find a way to alert the ship that there were "survivors" in the area that needed rescuing. He and Zorovim of course had their vox beads, but that was only to signal if the Primarchs failed to come up with their own way.

"We can make a clearly man-made structure," Rogal said. "It wouldn't have been there the last time so it would trigger a search."

"That's a good idea," Perturabo said. "We can work on it together."

"We'll have to search for good places to get supplies from," Rogal said. "Maybe Zorovim has suggestions."

Zorovim had been going through the area, mostly looking for places to set his challenges for the Primarchs. This mostly included finding dangerous animals in the area and encouraging them to be where the Primarchs were. This was quickly making him one of the Lion's favorites.

"Where is Zorovim?" Corvus asked. 

"Hopefully finding something fun to fight," the Lion said.

"Someone else should take first shot at the next one," Horus said. "You can't have all the kills."

"Darn," the Lion grumbled jokingly. "Wait, Leman killed the ursid. That counts, right?"

"It half counts," Mortarion said. "Zorovim didn't get the ursid over here, that was a completely un-staged incident."

"And you let me get the killing blow in," Leman said. 

"I just helped you track it," the Lion said. "I had nothing to do with that fight."

No one had anticipated the ursid making off with a kill Leman had hung from a tree to drain of blood. He, along with the Lion and Vulkan, had quickly gone off in pursuit. Leman got that kill.

"True," Leman conceded. 

"None of this answers where Zorovim is," Vulkan pointed out.

"He'll get back when he gets back," Valdor said. He stayed at the camp to keep things in order, or as close to order as he could get.

Zorovim arrived several hours later, just as it was turning to full dark. He was carrying what looked like a chicken with him, both Custodian and chicken looked confused. 

"Where did that come from?" Angron asked.

"I found it, lord," Zorovim said. "It was just wandering around. I was unaware of any settlements in this region of the mountains."

"There aren't any," Valdor said. "Which makes this more confusing, that's a domestic chicken, not something wild."

"Maybe we aren't alone out here," Konrad said, quickly hopping on the spooky train.

"There was the report of the missing ship, my lord," Zorovim stated. He had been doing all the research the Primarchs would have done, if Valdor hadn't blocked their cogitator access. It had been well done since Perturabo and Ferrus weren't able to get past the lock out.

"We'll have to see," Valdor said. He had heard of the missing ship, but auspex and warp scanning hadn't revealed any signs of a recent passage. That of course didn't mean that the chicken didn't somehow come from that ship. It was a colony supply vessel, and had chickens. "It's just odd that it's only one if it were from the missing ship."

"True," Roboute said. "That doesn't seem very practical, unless there were others."

"No, I was trying to find more of them, my lords" Zorovim said. He wasn't too aware of the specifics of chickens, but knowing that it was possibly from a supply ship meant it was wildly unlikely that it was the only one on board.

Geri chose that moment to remind everyone of his presence by whimpering. Valdor had initially tried to discourage Leman from bringing the wolves, but Leman asserted that he travels with Freki and Geri more frequently than he doesn't. There was also the fact that they may come in useful. 

Valdor had been pleasantly surprised when the wolves were so well behaved he had forgotten they were on the trip. Leman grabbed Geri by the scruff of the neck to keep him away from Zorovim and the mystery chicken.

"Geri, not food," Leman said. The wolf looked back at him with pleading eyes. "Not food."

"What are we going to do with the chicken?" Omegon asked.

"I think we should keep it," Fulgrim said. "If we can keep Freki and Geri away from it."

"What if we name the chicken?" Roboute suggested. "That way they know that one isn't food."

"What would we name it?" Leman asked.

"Bob," Mortarion said without hesitation.

"Bob?" Angron asked.

"Isn't that a boy's name?" Fulgrim asked.

"I don't think the chicken cares either way," Magnus said. 

"I mean, look how it bobs its head," Mortarion said. "Bob works great."

"I guess," Angron said, not fully convinced.

"It's something," Horus said. 

"Where's Freki?" Ferrus asked.

"Asking a question of the bushes," Vulkan said. The white wolf came out of the bushes a few minutes later. 

Leman came over to Zorovim and took Bob from the Custodian. He then held the chicken while telling the wolves that Bob wasn't food. After looking at the wolves for a long moment, he set the chicken down. Freki and Geri both came forward to sniff the chicken, who quickly bee-lined it to Zorovim and hid behind his legs.

"Well, that wasn't the intention," Leman giggled as he called the wolves back to him. Zorovim picked up Bob, looking a little confused.

"We'll have to keep Bob safe from more than just Freki and Geri," Valdor mused. 

"There's that side room in the back of the cave," Fulgrim suggested. He was the most interested in keeping Bob, who was a hen. This meant an easy source of eggs, and feathers that they could use for things like bedding, or possibly arrows as some of the others had expressed interest in trying to make bows to hunt bigger prey.

"Yeah," Ferrus said. "it would need just a little tweaking to be able to keep her in there."

"That's where she'll go then," Zorovim said. He was perfectly happy to put the chicken down.

"That was a distraction," Perturabo said. "Zorovim, have you seen any good places where we might be able to get stone, or other building materials?"

"There's a place that looks like it would make a decent quarry, Lord Perturabo," Zorovim said. "I'll draw out a map for you once we've secured 'Bob'."

**************************

"This is perfect, my lord" Zorovim said to Valdor later that night after the Primarchs were asleep. "The quarry site I saw is a few ridges over, and has a perfect place to trigger an avalanche. It's be a great challenge for them."

"Indeed," Valdor said. "We've naturally discussed avalanches, and they've seen the aftermath, but we've never actually triggered one. It's not a wise idea to do in the Himalazians."

"What about other mountain ranges, my lord?" Zorozim asked. He was still very formal, which was something Valdor was trying to break him out of.

"This is the first time that we've done any kind of mountain training outside of the Himalazians," Valdor answered. "Our lord has always been insistent that it was the most extreme range. Part of why this was agreed to was that it's also an exo-planet training. Not everywhere will be like those mountains."

"I see, my lord," Zorovim said, though he didn't look like he did.

"No, you don't Zorovim," Valdor said. "And you can call me Valdor."

Zorovim frowned at this, then nodded. "Why did you select me for this mission, my... Valdor?"

"It's a test of how well you've absorbed your training," Valdor said. "Our lord calls it a shake-down. You get a relatively easy mission, assist with survival training in the Tuxsone mountains for a month, and I come along to make sure you have back up if something happens."

"And to lead survival training," Zorovim said.

"Indeed," Valdor said. "And speaking of that, let's plan this avalanche."

**************************

"It's good stone," Rogal said. "But we'll need tools to quarry it."

"Metal tools if possible," Perturabo agreed.

"But we don't have any ore," Roboute said.

"We also don't have a smelting set up if we did have ore," Vulkan said. "Or a smithy if we had metal."

"We can make a smithy," Ferrus said. "That won't be a problem at all. Still need access to ore."

"Unless we can get it from another source," Omegon said.

"Another source?" Horus asked.

"Oh!" Fulgrim said. "Zorovim, is it far to where you found Bob?"

They were standing in the area that Zorovim had said would likely make a good quarry. It was on a higher ridge than the landing area and the cave, but wasn't so far that they would have transportation issues. The Custodian thought about it for a minute.

"No, not too far," he said. "This way."

"Why are we going there?" Angron asked. Then it dawned on him. "We're looking for wreckage?"

"Well, Bob didn't fall out of the sky on her own," Fulgrim said. "Right? Can chickens fly?"

"Only for short distances," Roboute and Magnus answered at the same time.

"Jinx!" Roboute said. Magnus groaned.

"Good one!" Angron said. He was usually the victim of jinx. Whoever got jinxed couldn't speak until the other person said their name. Magnus was usually really good at getting it, and then holding out as long as possible before saying the other's name.

"This is where I found Bob," Zorovim said after a moment. "She came up to me from that direction."

"I see you went back along her trail for a ways," the Lion said. The Custodian's path was almost painfully obvious to him.

"Indeed," Zorovim said. "It continued further than I went, but it was getting late, and I needed to know what we were going to do with Bob."

"Well, we don't have Bob with us this time," Leman said. "Let's see if we can find where she came from."

They went along the trail that Zorovim had forged the day before, then the narrower trail that Bob had made on her own. At one point Sanguinius took to the air to scout ahead. 

"There's breakage up here," he called down. "Something came in hard from above, probably the saviour pod that Bob was in."

That encouraged the Primarchs, and they quickly slipped ahead of Zorovim, who had a harder time fighting through the underbrush. When he caught up, it was because they had all stopped on the edge of the crash site, and he could easily see why.

The saviour pod had entered the atmosphere at a bad angle, and the crash had been pretty horrific. It was amazing that anything had survived it, let alone without any obvious injury like Bob had.

"Father protects," Lorgar whispered to himself. Zorovim noted it, but decided against calling the Primarch out for it. 

"How did Bob survive that?" Angron asked. 

"In that cage, would be my guess," Omegon said, indicating a cage that looked to have been ejected from the pod. A tree branch was next to it, having taken out the side. "That could have come from the storm we saw the first night."

"Most likely," the Lion said. "There's a decent amount of tracks around here before she took off to be found by Zorovim."

"Like she was going in circles?" Fulgrim asked.

"Probably searching for food," Roboute said. "Then got lost, and picked up by Zorovim. What do you think, Magnus?"

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to say my name until we got to camp," Magnus said. "And yes, probably looking for food before getting lost."

"Let's salvage what we can," Zorovim said, trying to get them back on task. "We'll want to be back before dark."

The Primarchs went forward, some more hesitantly than others, and began to scavenge about. It confused Zorovim, it had been their idea to come here for metal, but they also seemed disturbed by the crash. Angron being one of the most hesitant made him concerned there was something he had missed.

"It's not something you missed," Magnus said, surprising Zorovim. "Angron isn't a fan of taking from the dead, and it's hard to tell if there was actually anyone alive on the saviour pod, or if it was an unmanned launch to try and save some of the supplies, like Bob."

"Is that why Lord Russ is apologizing?" Zorovim asked.

"He's not really apologizing," Magnus said. "In Fenrisian culture it's rude to use another's belongings without at least acknowledging them. Since we don't know the people, it's harder."

"I see," Zorovim said. "And why are you over here?" 

"Your worry was distracting," Magnus said, then trotted off to help Jaghatai who had found a promising piece.

The wind began to pick up, so Zorovim called for the Primarchs to gather what they could carry so they could head out. He grabbed a few heavy pieces to assist. Dark gray storm clouds gathered in fast above them, and everyone kept checking to see if the snow had started.

"What do you think, Leman?" Jaghatai asked. While he was the expert on most storms, everyone but Rogal bowed to Leman's snow sense.

"It's going to snow," Leman said. "Hard."

"Like be stuck in the cave hard?" Angron asked.

"Yeah," Leman said. "Probably go through the night and into tomorrow at least."

Angron groaned at that, and turned pleading eyes on Rogal. 

"Leman's right," Rogal said, studying the sky.

"At least I finished the chimney the other day," Perturabo said.

"And Zorovim found Bob yesterday," Fulgrim said.

"Vulkan and I will have time to work out a forge set up," Ferrus said, trying to look for what Malcador called the "silver lining". 

"And Valdor was stockpiling firewood," Lorgar said. 

"Indeed," Mortarion said. 

"There's camp," Jaghatai said. The Primarchs all found a fresh burst of speed to get out of the biting wind.

"Welcome back," Valdor said after doing a head count and helping Zorovim set the wooden door in place. "Looks like we'll be here a bit."

**************************

The storm lasted the whole night, and finally blew itself out late the following afternoon. It took Valdor and Zorovim most of the morning after the storm ended to get the door open again. Once open, they found themselves facing a snow drift that covered all but the very top of the cave opening.

"What a mess," Corvus noted once they had finally cleared away the snow from the cave mouth. 

"We'll have to cut a trail to the quarry site," Rogal said. "Something that lets us carry the stones."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Perturabo said. "The snow may actually help us, we can plane it using some of the larger fallen branches, or maybe saplings if any fell."

"True," Rogal said. "Then we can use sledges to carry the stones."

"And we were able to forge something that works for mining tools," Vulkan said. He and Ferrus were both quite proud of their makeshift tools.

"We're going to need to start with a path out of this clearing," Valdor said. "And you guys should make the sledges before going out there."

Zorovim volunteered to break a trail out towards the quarry site, stating that his weight would make it easier. It also gave him a chance to set up the tremor charges he intended to use to set off the avalanche. The additional snow from the blizzard would be helpful. 

He returned just after dark, stating that he had made part of a trail, but they'd have to finish. He had also taken the time to make new land marks since some of the ones they had originally chosen were no longer visible. The Primarchs had made a good start at clearing out the area just in front of the cave, which Leman referred to as their yard, and had taken time to make sledges.

"You guys can go on your own tomorrow," Valdor said. "Zorovim will stay back and help me with some of the heavy lifting."

"Really?" Horus asked. 

"Really," Valdor said. "Just stay on the path Zorovim sets out."

"Awesome!" the Primarchs chorused. It was the first time they'd get to go so far from the camp without one of the Custodians in escort.

"You know they're not going to sleep now, right, lord?" Zorovim asked.

"We can always chase them out in the snow," Valdor chuckled. "That'll tire them out."

"We can hear you," Mortarion said.

"We do want to go to bed early," Rogal said. "It'll be slow getting out there, even with a trail head."

"True," Horus said. "An early start will be necessary."

**************************

They left with the break of day. Valdor confirming that Magnus would be able to reach him if anything went wrong. Zorovim confirmed the landmarks again with Jaghatai and Rogal, who would both be leading. Leman had agreed to be towards the back.

The sun was peeking up, and it was turning into a nice morning as they came up to where Zorovim had planted the tremor charges set, their trigger sensors buried next to the trail he had indicated the Primarchs should go on. It had been a bit of a gamble on his part, but he had been able to set it up and remote activate the sensors so they wouldn't trigger on him. 

There was a loud crack that suddenly sounded around them, and they looked up the mountainside. 

"What is that?" Angron asked, voice cracking just a bit. 

"Avalanche!" Leman called from the back.

"We've been told how to handle an avalanche," Magnus said. "We can do this."

They weren't as ready as they might have hoped. The wall of snow slammed into them, knocking most of them down. The sledges were ripped away from those pulling them, and slammed into others. Rolling, tumbling, the Primarchs got separated from each other, and buried before everything finally slowed down.

**************************

Magnus was the first to come back to his senses after they finally stopped moving. His head hurt as if he had hit it against something hard. There was also a piercing pain in his side, and he was completely buried in snow. 

+Jaghatai?+ he asked psychically. 

Nothing.

+Sanguinius? Horus? Perturabo? Anyone?+ Magnus called. 

+Magnus?+ Roboute finally answered. +That was not a fun ride.+

+I can agree to that,+ Magnus said. 

+What about the others?+ 

+I haven't been able to reach anyone else.+

+Can you reach out to Valdor?+

+I wanted to check in on everyone else first.+

+I... I can help with that,+ Mortarion said, surprising the other two. He wasn't the biggest fan of psykers, or the use of psychic powers, but he was capable.

+I'll try to make it quick,+ Magnus said, withdrawing from his two brothers. +Valdor?+

+Magnus? Is something wrong?+ Valdor asked.

+There was an avalanche,+ Magnus said. +We're pretty far off the trail, and buried. At least I am.+

+Are any of you injured?+ Valdor asked. Back at the camp site he shot a sharp look at Zorovim, quickly signaling that something was wrong.

+I'm hurt, but not too bad,+ Magnus answered. +But I haven't made contact with all of the others, just Roboute and Mortarion so far.+

+Check on the others, then report back to me,+ Valdor said. +Zorovim and I are on our way.+

+I will,+ Magnus said, then switched back to his brothers. +Anyone else?+

+No,+ Mortarion reported. +I was about to try Angron.+

+Angron?+ Magnus called, taking the lead. It was always dangerous to try and touch Angron's mind if he wasn't ready.

+Ngh,+ came Angron's response. There was a pause, then a sensation of panic. 

+Angron, calm down,+ Roboute said. Sometimes Angron suffered from taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive.

This of course did nothing to calm Angron down, and he began to frantically dig, trying to get himself out of the snow.

+Angron, STOP!+ the Lion shouted, suddenly joining in. +You're digging down.+

+How would you know?+ Angron's psychic voice did a spectacular job of growling.

+Because I dug to the surface before reaching out to Magnus,+ the Lion said. +You're moving away from me.+

Angron grumbled, but worked on turning himself around. 

+How far are we from the trail?+ Magnus asked.

+It's hard to tell,+ the Lion said after a moment. +All of the landmarks are gone, even the new ones.+

+That's not good,+ Magnus said. +Hopefully Valdor can find us.+

+He should be able to,+ the Lion said. +It's--+

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the ground shifting under his feet. Angron's shifting had dislodged some snow, causing the Lion to slide. It also caused a half-awake Sanguinius to sink further in the snow, and come fully awake in a panic from his own taphophobia.

"+AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!+" Sanguinius screamed, both psychically and aloud.

+Sanguinius!+ Magnus called. Everyone was awake now. Angron had stopped thrashing when he heard Sanguinius scream, but was still panicking himself. 

+Brother!+ Roboute and Mortarion called together.

+Sang!+ the Lion called. +I'm coming. It'll be alright.+ With that he made a jumping dive into the snow. If Malcador or the Emperor had seen it they would have remarked how fox-like the move was.

It felt like an eternity, but only a few minutes had actually passed before the Lion broke into where Sanguinius was, still screaming.

"Sang, it's alright," the Lion said. Finally he grabbed Sanguinius by the head, and forced his brother to look him in the eyes. "It's alright. We're fine."

"Speak for your self," Angron nearly howled, proving he was close enough to hear. The Lion let go of Sanguinius, and opened a hole to let Angron over into the small space around Sanguinius.

"Better?" the Lion asked Angron, who nodded. Sanguinius had fallen into an eerie silence. "Alright, I tried to dig systematically so the tunnel can be used to get us out."

He didn't need to tell Angron twice, the other was already on his feet and climbing. Sanguinius remained where he was, one wing hanging limply, staring at his feet. 

"Sanguinius?" the Lion asked tentatively. "Are you alright? I see your wing's injured, are you hurt anywhere else?"

Sanguinius shrugged slightly.

"That's not an answer," the Lion grumbled. "Do you think you can climb the tunnel?"

Sanguinius nodded.

"Good," the Lion said. "I'll be right behind you in case something happens. Then I'll get Morti and he can look you over."

Sanguinius nodded again.

"Let's go, we don't want to leave Angron alone up there for too long," the Lion said. He was trying to cheer Sanguinius up, but was also concerned about Angron. Magnus still had everyone psychically connected, so he could feel the other's panic.

+I think I can find my own way up,+ Mortarion said. +I can hear Angron stomping around up there.+

+I'm not stomping,+ Angron said quickly. +At least I'm not trying to.+

+It's vibrations,+ Magnus said.

+And the cold,+ Rogal added.

+Who should I get next?+ the Lion asked.

+Me?+ Horus suggested. 

+I can do that,+ the Lion said.

Sanguinius moved slowly, woodenly up the hand holds that Angron had made on his much faster ascent. The Lion stayed behind him, as close as he felt he could get without getting in the way of Sanguinius' wings.

+We should all be moving to the surface if we can,+ Leman said. +Even Primarchs can get hypothermia.+

+Or frostbite,+ Rogal agreed. 

"Here we are," the Lion said as he came out of the tunnel after Sanguinius. "I'm going to go get Horus now. He's in pretty deep, so it'll be a bit. Are you going to be alright with Angron and Morti?"

Sanguinius nodded, still not saying anything. The Lion, a bit flummoxed by this, awkwardly patted Sanguinius on the shoulder before moving over to where he sensed Horus.

"Sang?" Mortarion asked coming towards the winged Primarch. "Is it more than the wing?"

Sanguinius didn't answer, but glanced over as Vulkan popped out, Corvus coming up behind him. It took the other Primarchs on the surface a moment to realize that it was actually Corvus pushing Vulkan up ahead of him. The dark-skinned Primarch was only semi-conscious.

"I can help, Cor," Leman said. Angron was also helping to pull people out of the snow, pulling first Magnus, then Konrad out. It took several minutes for the Lion to come up with Horus. By then everyone else was out. A fierce wind was blowing, and the Primarchs huddled together in a pile, just trying to keep themselves warm. Finally, Leman and Rogal complaining about needing to stay awake to not die, they all fell into various levels of semi-conscious. The last thing Corvus saw before his vision grayed out completely was something that glinted slightly.

**************************

Valdor stopped, looking out to the right of the trail. He saw something out there, but wasn't sure, so he gestured to Zorovim to drop the yoke bar for the large sledge they had been pulling. Walking to the back, he pulled out Freki and Geri.

"Find Leman," he told the wolves, who quickly bounded down toward the dark mass he had spotted on the snow.

The two Custodians followed behind, pulling the sledge with them. It had been meant as a surprise for the Primarchs, something to help them transport larger slabs of stone than the sledges they had made the previous day. Now it was going to be used to bring them back. The wind has shifted, bringing more clouds.

"Primarchs," Valdor hissed, careful to not be too loud and risk setting off another avalanche. Freki and Geri were following Valdor's request, even he couldn't really term it an order, to the very letter. This meant they were trying to worm their way amongst the Primarchs to where Leman was. 

They quickly loaded the Primarchs into the sledge, putting Freki and Geri in on either side of Leman, with Vulkan on one side and Lorgar on the other. It was much harder to pull the sledge back up the slope to the trail, but they made it, then went as fast as they could towards the cave.

"Start a fire," Valdor ordered as soon as they arrived. 

Zorovim nodded acknowledgement, and Valdor promptly tuned him out. He carefully unloaded the Primarchs and began to remove the furs they had been wearing over their thermal body gloves. They were frozen and caked with snow, Valdor tossed them aside. He'd worry about hanging them to try later. He assessed each Primarch's injuries and addressed them the best he could. Ever since their abduction Valdor had been learning more about the Primarchs unique physiology and how to treat their injuries.

Despite all of that, Sanguinius was a challenge. His left wing was broken at the wrist, and it took some manipulation to get everything aligned. Sanguinius flinched, but didn't rouse from the stupor he was in. 

"I'm sorry, Sanguinius," Valdor said quietly. "It needs to be done." with that he wrenched the wing into alignment and bound it carefully. Once done he set about carefully wrapping Sanguinius into his sleeping fur and placing him near the fire. He reached for the next Primarch, and found Zorovim picking up Magnus.

"I'll take him, you take Jaghatai," Valdor said. "Magnus needs special attention."

"Yes, lord," Zorovim said. 

Silence reigned as they assessed the rest of the Primarchs. Angron looked like he'd gone a few too many rounds in the dueling pits. Valdor was certain he'd either hit something, or been hit by a flying rock. Ferrus and Roboute both had thin, dotted looking lines across their throats. Zorovim, who was taking care of Roboute, found a few needles from the coniferoid trees.

Finally, all the Primarchs were tended to, wrapped, and placed near the fire. The two Custodians sat back a moment. Valdor watching the Primarchs, and Zorovim watching him, noting the look that his Captain-General had while watching the sleeping Primarchs. After a moment, he looked at their food supplies, and rose.

"Where are you going?" Valdor asked.

"We're going to need more food," Zorovim said. "The storm ate into our supplies, and even at posthuman healing rates the Lord Primarchs won't be able to hunt themselves today or tomorrow. One of us needs to hunt, and the other should stay with the Lord Primarchs."

"And why have you determined that you should be the hunter?" Valdor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I see the concern in your face," Zorovim said quietly. "And they know you better than me. It'll be better for all involved if I hunt and you are there when they wake."

"That's if they wake before you get back," Valdor said. "Good hunting."

**************************

The Primarchs woke to the smell of cooking meat. Zorovim had brought back a creature that had the features of a boar, but was the size of a grox. Valdor was boiling some of the meat in a cauldron of melted snow. Most of the Primarchs wiggled out of their sleeping furs and sat up. Sanguinius remained laying on the floor, a despondent look on his face.

"Lord Sanguinius?" Zorovim asked cautiously. "We have a seat you can use."

Sanguinius nodded vaguely, and Zorovim assisted him to his feet. When sitting on the floor Sanguinius typically pulled his wings around him, but with the one injured and bound he couldn't do that. The "seat" was a small boulder.

"Are you alright, Sang?" Horus asked. It was unusual for Sanguinius to be so quiet.

Sanguinius shrugged, but Angron shifted a bit awkwardly.

"I think it's my fault," he said.

"How could it be your fault?" Zorovim asked.

"I was disoriented after the avalanche," Angron started slowly. "I panicked because I'm... scared of being buried alive. I started digging to try and get out. Lion told me I was going the wrong way, and when I tried to turn around I hit the wall of the tunnel I was making. I heard and sensed something heavy slipping down in the snow, and that's when Sanguinius started screaming."

"It's not your fault," Sanguinius said, breaking his silence. "You were the catalyst, but my silence wasn't your doing. It was my own embarrassment."

"Oh," Angron said.

"I was falling, and couldn't see," Sanguinius said, and it seemed like now that he had started, he couldn't stop. "I couldn't fly, my wing was just a pained barb... It was horrible."

"Screaming is a natural part of the fear response," Konrad said. "It's something everyone does. Even Sisters of Silence will scream if hurt or scared enough."

"It's still embarrassing," Sanguinius said. "We're not supposed to let fear control us."

"I don't think anyone, even Father, can blame you for that lapse," Magnus said. "I think we all panicked to some extent. I think I would have screamed if I was suddenly falling, in pain, and couldn't see."

"We probably all would have," Lorgar said.

"Maybe we should do something else?" Omegon suggested.

"Oh! I know," Ferrus said. "We have a proper campfire, why don't we tell ghost stories again? Fulgrim can finish his."

"That's a great idea," Horus said.

"First, you should eat," Valdor said. "Then Fulgrim can finish his story."

Ferrus sagged at that, but accepted the bowl of soup that was handed to him. The Primarchs ate in silence, but clearly trying to rush. Even Angron seemed interested in hearing the rest of Fulgrim's ghost story. Horus hoped that meant he wouldn't interrupt all the time. Roboute shared a similar thought, but was more open to being disappointed.

"I should probably recap for the Custodians," Fulgrim said once everyone was done eating. 

"No!" several Primarchs chorused.

"Isn't it supposed to be told out of order?" Angron asked. "They can pick it up as we go along."

"That's not fair to Zorovim," Roboute said.

"But it's fair to me?" Valdor asked. "Start where you left off, Fulgrim."

"Alright," Fulgrim said. "The investigator went into the bedroom, and found the desiccated body of their partner. To their utter shock, the mummy was facing them, and appeared to be trying to say something. The investigator went to the partner's side and leaned in close.

'They....come...when...you...least....expect,' the partner wheezed out.

'Who? Why? What do they want?' the investigator asked, but realized that those were the last words their partner would ever speak.

The investigator backed away, unsure what had happened. It looked like all the water had been sucked out of their partner, who had somehow clung to life long enough to give that message. The investigator quickly called the precinct and got a team out to take the body.

'Did they say anything?' the lieutenant asked.

'Only that they come when you least expect. No idea what that means,' the investigator said.

'Wasn't that what was written on that paper you guys found at the fire a few months ago?'

'Yeah, it was,' the investigator said, pondering. 'It was such a weird thing finding that paper. Isn't it in evidence?'

'It is now,' the lieutenant said. 'Your partner had it at their place. Any idea why?'

'No, I told them to put it in evidence when we first picked it up,' the investigator said. 'No signs of forced entry.'

'You aren't working this case,' the lieutenant said. 'You're way to close to it to be subjective.'

'But I need to know,' the investigator said. 'It's a mystery, I just can't let that go.'

'I'll keep you informed,' the lieutenant said. 'But you need to stay away from the crime scene.'

'I will,' the investigator said. 'I'll stay out of the way.'

'Good,' the lieutenant said.

'I would ask for one favor though,' the investigator said. 'I want to clean out their desk.'

'Alright,' the lieutenant said. 'Just let the boys know if you find anything that might have bearing on the case.'

'Of course,' the investigator said.

They want and emptied out the partner's desk, finding almost nothing of note. Mostly just stuff from their own cases. Then, deep in the cogitator search history was a hit for sprites, marid, and vampires. Odd stuff since the investigator knew their partner wasn't into mumbo-jumbo. They let the other investigators know about it, but everyone agreed that it was probably nothing.

Days turned into weeks, and the investigation into what happened to the partner went as cold as the old man from the fire. Eventually, it fell by the wayside as well. Once it fell by the wayside, the investigator decided to try and figure out what was up with the faerie tales the partner had been looking into. At this point, they couldn't be seen as interfering with an active investigation. 

Finally, one night, the investigator heard a noise in their hab. Just a rustle of something outside, something wanting to get in. They opened a window, and a shadow flowed in. It didn't look like much, but it was what the investigator had been fearing. It was the night of the new moon, the most powerful time for such things.

The window shut again, and the shadowy puddle that was the intruder straightened, turning towards the window. The investigator was there, an empty bottle in one hand, and a lit candle in the other. 

'You only thought I wasn't expecting you,' the investigator growled. 'You'll suffer for what you did to my partner.'

The creature, a horrible half-breed between a marid and a vampire made a startled noise. The investigator snarled, a horribly ugly sound, then swung the candle. Trying to dodge, the water vampire sloshed towards the bottle. It evaded the bottle, but found itself in a basin. The investigator threw aside the bottle and grabbed the lid for the basin, sealing the vampire inside by latching the lid in place.

'And now I will purify you!' the investigator said.

He lifted the basin, and took it over to a fire he already had set in his fireplace. Setting it on the hook, he left it to boil the water vampire away."

"That was cool," Alpharius said. 

"I knew it was some kind of water vampire!" Ferrus cried. 

"I guess it was kind of obvious, wasn't it?" Fulgrim said.

"Are they really just called water vampires on Chemos?" Magnus asked.

"No, I was translating the word out," Fulgrim said. "They're called fulpyres."

"Who's next?" Konrad asked eagerly.

Leman replied with a massive yawn, that was immediately copied by Freki, Geri, the Lion, Rogal, Sanguinius, and Vulkan.

"I think it's bedtime," Valdor said as the next waves of yawns started.

**************************

Konrad had resisted going to bed the hardest, wanting to hear more ghost stories. This ended when he yawned so widely that Mortarion accused him of unhinging his jaw. Once Konrad's resistance ended, the Primarchs were asleep in moments, their bodies still needing the rest to heal.

"I wish to apologize," Zorovim said to Valdor after they were sure the Primarchs were asleep.

"For what?" Valdor asked.

"It was my idea to set off an avalanche," Zorovim said. "And because of it the Lord Primarchs were injured."

"Was it your idea?" Valdor asked. "Where did those tremor charges come from?"

"The..." Zorovim trailed off. "The supplies you requisitioned and had brought down to the surface with us. That means you had the idea."

"Indeed," Valdor said. "I let you choose the when and where, but this was a challenge I wanted to do with them."

"But they failed," Zorovim said. 

"Our lord says there was a saying," Valdor mused. "That it isn't about falling off the horse, it's about whether you get back on."

"They weren't riding horses," Zorovim said, turning his head in confusion.

"No," Valdor agreed. "But the idea is if you fall off a horse by riding it, you aren't learning anything if you don't get on it again."

"I see," Zorovim said. "There is something to learn from trying again?"

"Yes," Valdor said. "And sometimes you learn more from failure."

"Ah," Zorovim said. "I have a question, about the Lord Primarchs."

"Oh?" Valdor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Earlier, Lord Luprecal called Lord Sanguinius 'Sang'," Zorovim said. "I've never heard them do that."

"It's not a very common event," Valdor said. "They do it sometimes though. Our lord says it's normal for siblings to have nick names for each other."

"So, Lord Sanguinius would be 'Sang', as a shortened version of his name?" Zorovim asked. "They all have them?"

"Or attempted ones," Valdor chuckled. "Perturabo took a lot of convincing before accepting Bo as a nick name. Alpharius refuses all attempts to shorten his name. Though I don't think Leman helped by suggesting 'Phari'."

Zorovim had to stifle a laugh at that. "I can understand his reasonings for rejecting that one. But no others?" 

"No," Valdor said. "He says they aren't his name, and if he'd wanted one of those names he would have picked them when they named themselves."

"I guess that's fair," Zorovim said. "Though some have short names to start with. How does that work?"

"Lion gets called Cub sometimes," Valdor said. "Though that usually ends in a fight because he hates it. Interestingly he did let Surlaz use it when we were on Teramyn. But then, I think that name originated with Surlaz, so it's possible he gets a pass."

"I can see why he might not like that one," Zorovim said, still smiling. 

"It's a bit of an honor to hear them use their nicknames," Valdor said after a moment. "It's a very rare thing for them to do."

"Why?" Zorovim asked. 

"I don't know," Valdor said. "I think for some of them at least it's a maturity thing. The nicknames make them feel like children."

"They are children," Zorovim said. "At least sort of."

"Mostly, yes," Valdor said. "And that's part of why it's such an honor. Our lord says it's a thing that siblings do."

"They don't often act like children, do they?" Zorovim asked.

"No," Valdor said. "Though sometimes that part of their nature slips through."

"A coping mechanism perhaps?" Zorovim asked.

"Potentially," Valdor agreed. "Though I don't think we're the best people to assess that."

"Probably not," Zorovim said.

**************************

The next morning, Perturabo and Rogal were pushing to try and go out to the quarry site. It got to the point that Zorovim agreed to take them and any Primarchs that felt like they were up to helping. Though he stated clearly that their goal of the day was just to make a safe path from the cave to the quarry site. Eventually everyone except Sanguinius, Lorgar, Vulkan, Corvus, and Omegon agreed to go. The five remaining had some of the more severe injuries from the events of the previous day.

"Go on," Valdor said. "Just try and be back by nightfall. Rogal's right, we do need to work on the structure."

"You think I can handle thirteen of the Lord Primarchs?" Zorovim asked quietly. 

"Not with that attitude," Leman said, indicating he heard the comment.

"Leman," Valdor said warningly. "Behave. And for the record, yes I think you can handle them, Zorovim."

Zorovim stared at Valdor a moment. "Don't let them see your doubt," Valdor counselled. "It's how they tend to irritate the others."

"Right," Zorovim said. "Let's go, Lord Primarchs, you heard Lord Valdor, we need to be back before nightfall."

"What are we going to do, Valdor?" Corvus asked. The worst of his injuries weren't actually from the avalanche itself, but from carrying Vulkan out.

"I think you could each do with some one on one training," Valdor said with a bit of a mischievous look in his eyes. "Lorgar, you're up first, and we're going hunting. Everyone else, stay here."

"Why do I have to be the one to hunt?" Lorgar whined.

"Because it's one of your weakest areas," Valdor said. "You can't improve if you don't do it."

"But I don't like hunting," Lorgar said.

"I know," Valdor said. "But it is something that needs to be done from time to time. Including now."

"Alright," Lorgar groaned. "Can we try for one of the giant deer?"

"I think that can be arranged," Valdor said. "Sanguinius, you're in charge."

"Alright," Sanguinius said quietly. 

**************************

Lorgar and Valdor returned a few hours later, one of the giant deer in tow. Lorgar was very proud of himself. Next, Valdor took Corvus to try and find roots or plants that could be used for seasoning, and to increase the value of the food. It was well known that Corvus wasn't the biggest fan of bold flavors. 

Sanguinius was taken to chop wood, not something he was necessarily bad at, but as a way to get out his frustrations at not being able to fly while his wing healed. He seemed the most eager to go. Vulkan's was actually something that was sort of the other way around. He was taken out to work on tanning the hides of the animals they had been hunting. It was something he was really good at, and Valdor wanted to see how well he knew it, by getting Vulkan to teach him.

"What are we going to do, Valdor?" Omegon asked as the two headed away from the cave. Sanguinius was in charge again, Lorgar had been in charge when Sanguinius was out. 

"Hmm," Valdor said, waiting until he knew the other Primarchs wouldn't be able to hear him. "What do you think you need the most work on, Omegon?"

Omegon froze at the sound of his own name, instead of Alpharius. "How did you know? I thought only Father and Malcador could tell us apart."

"Your father told me," Valdor said. "Though I have been waiting for a good opportunity to use that information."

"Why?" Omegon asked. "Why would he tell you?"

"He didn't provide too much clarity on that," Valdor admitted. "Possibly because it's off-world training. I've been made to understand that you and Alpharius alternate for survival training."

"We do," Omegon said. "Though I guess us being off-world this time does change things a bit. Not sure I can tell Fulgrim's ghost story with quite the same flair."

"Possibly not," Valdor chuckled. "Do you tell the other exactly what happened, verbally?"

"Sometimes we use our omophagea," Omegon said. "But we often talk it out. It's fun to tell him about the adventures I go on. And fun to hear the ones Alpha's been on."

"Oh ho!" Valdor said. "You do have nick names. Or at least Alpharius does."

Omegon looked mortified. "Only we get to use those names. He's Alpha, I'm Omega."

"I can see why you guys don't take nick names from the others," Valdor mused. "Isn't it confusing to be called by something other than you name? How often does anyone call you by your name?"

"Father does, every time I say I'll be out for the day," Omegon said. "Otherwise not often. Even when it's just me and Alpharius we don't say each other's name terribly often. Who else would we be addressing?"

"That is a fair point," Valdor said. "However, we have strayed far from the question I initially asked."

"Did you plot this specifically so we could have this conversation?" Omegon asked.

"No," Valdor said. "I just took advantage of the situation I was given."

"That feels like cheating," Omegon said. "But to answer your question, I don't know."

"How about Alpharius?" Valdor asked. "Anything you feel he should work on?"

"Tool crafting," Omegon said. "I was the one who went when you covered that. We don't need to be as good as the Great Crafters, but that could probably be better."

"The Great Crafters?" Valdor asked. "I don't think I've heard that name, there's the Tech Trio, and the Hunters. I believe Vulkan belongs to both groups."

"He does," Omegon chuckled. "It's the Tech Trio, Fulgrim, Sanguinius, and Corvus."

"Corvus?" Valdor asked, truly surprised that time. "I doubt he'd agree with you on that."

"It's part of why he's one of the Great Crafters," Omegon said. "His stuff is subtle, but exquisite."

"Interesting," Valdor said. "I'll have to pay more attention to that."

"I also think Vulkan likes having Corvus in a group he's in," Omegon said. "Same for Ferrus with Fulgrim."

"If they weren't so far apart in number order I would have thought they were conjoined twins," Valdor said. "They are very close."

"That's because they balance each other out so well," Omegon said. "Like Vulkan and Corvus do. There's other duos of course, Jags and Magnus, Sang and Horus. I personally think Bo and Rogal's hate for each other is a front."

"I have seen Rogal almost take a bullet for Perturabo," Valdor said. "So I'm in your camp on that one."

"Sidetracked again," Omegon giggled.

"Indeed," Valdor said. "Well, at least we have a cover. I suggest using the omophagea for tools if you didn't the first time."

"We didn't," Omegon admitted. "That's probably a good idea though."

"Well, we'd better get started," Valdor said. They stopped in a clearing. "Can you make me an axe from the materials to hand? Size it for your brothers and yourself. Sanguinius really dulled the edge on the one we have."

**************************

Valdor and Omegon made it back just before Zorovim and the others came back. Perturabo and Rogal looked very pleased with themselves. Zorovim looked exhausted, and Konrad looked as proud of himself as Perturabo and Rogal.

"Konrad," Valdor said. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Konrad said evasively.

"Konrad," Valdor repeated, his voice hardening. "I know you did something. There's no way Zorovim would look that exhausted while the rest of you look rested."

"If you don't spill, I will," the Lion said quietly. Konrad ducked his head.

"I may... Alright, alright, stop glaring at me Lion," Konrad said. "I did start a snowball fight. Zorovim was in the middle of the field of fire."

"I believe the last snowball fight was ended by your father covering you all in snow," Valdor mused. "And you thought things would go differently without him here?"

"Yes," Konrad whispered. It was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Well, on some level, you are right," Valdor said. "It didn't end with everyone in a snowbank. But you are still in trouble. I most certainly hope no one was trying to hit Zorovim?"

"Lord Angron did," Zorovim said. "We already had a discussion about it though."

"I promise, it was just snow," Angron said sullenly. "I didn't even tightly compact it."

"That doesn't really make it better, Angron," Valdor said. "I told you all to behave for Zorovim. Konrad and Angron, you'll have to stay behind tomorrow. Everyone else can still go."

"Yes, Valdor," the two Primarchs chorused. 

"Now," Valdor said, turning to Perturabo and Rogal. "Other than the snow ball fight, how did things go?"

"We made a lot of progress," Rogal said, and quickly dived into the details of how they were making the trail. 

"I'm hungry," Leman interrupted.

"Good thing I decided to cook," Sanguinius said. "Dinner's almost ready. Corvus picked out the seasonings."

Fulgrim suppressed a groan, but couldn't quite hide the shudder at that announcement. Ferrus elbowed him, trying to get him to behave. 

Unfortunately for Fulgrim, Vulkan had seen it too. He decided to hold off, watching Fulgrim to see if he'd actually complain. Ferrus was typically really good about heading Fulgrim off "at the pass" as Malcador and the Emperor both said. They'd all been through an ordeal, but Corvus didn't need to be picked on for his taste preferences.

"That was very nice of you, Lord Sanguinius," Zorovim said. 

They went inside, Rogal started going again about their progress, with Roboute joining in. Vulkan helped Corvus pass food out to everyone. It took them both together to get the Custodians' their portions.

"You don't have to lords," Zorovim said. 

"But we do," Vulkan said. "It's a gesture of gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Zorovim asked. "I was only doing my duty."

"Loyalty is it's own reward," the Lion chimed in. "But it can be weakened if not appreciated."

"That is a good point," Zorovim said. "For a moment I thought you two were trying to make up for Lord Curze and Lord Angron."

"No," Corvus said. "They're the ones who messed with you, they have to make it right."

**************************

They settled into a routine over the next few days. Sanguinius had taken off for a flight as soon as Valdor had unbound his wing. Zorovim watched hesitantly as the winged Primarch disappeared.

"Is it wise to let him out of sight?" he asked Valdor.

"I'm not going to stop him," Valdor said. "Besides, he's already gone. Sanguinius hates being grounded. He'll be back. Magnus can find him if he gets lost."

"Has that ever happened?" Zorovim asked in alarm.

"Not in a very long time," Valdor said. "Even off Terra he's good about having landmarks."

Konrad and Angron became weapon bearers for Valdor and Zorovim respectively. They watched carefully as the two Primarchs cleaned their guardian spears. Konrad was very careful as he knew who had made the Apollonian Spear. Angron was careful out of respect for Zorovim, or fear of Valdor's next punishment. Zorovim wasn't sure yet.

It was Angron's idea to remove the branches from some of the older trees so that the everyone could still train on them. Valdor encouraged Zorovim to take advantage of them too. He knew Angron would be happy to sharpen the spear's blade if it got dull.

Every day they made progress on what the Lion had dubbed "the hut". It wasn't terribly impressive, and despite it being his idea, Rogal hated it. Perturabo had offered to take over the designing of the hut and let Rogal work on the engineering part. This had helped a bit, but Rogal found that it lacked something.

"What could it possibly need?" Perturabo asked. "It's not like we're at home where we have all the building materials we'd ever need."

"Defenses," Rogal said after a moment.

"It's for survival, not defense," Roboute pointed out. "After the ursid event we haven't really had to deal with anything dangerous, and that wasn't really a threat to us."

"I guess," Rogal said. "But it's also some of the worst construction I've ever worked on."

"We're kind of short on materials here," Omegon said. "Isn't having to make do with what we have available part of the challenge?"

"Alpharius has a point," Roboute said. "Though maybe we could leave some of our worn out tools?" 

"To indicate someone's been around recently?" Fulgrim asked. "That's not a bad idea."

"It also gives more for the sensors to work with," Corvus said. 

"Oh! We could possibly use more scrap from the ship Bob came in to make an arrow, pointing towards the cave," Angron suggested. "That way if we aren't there, any landing parties know what direction to look in."

"That's actually a really good idea," Perturabo said. 

"See, I have good ideas too," Angron said smugly. 

**************************

Days turned into weeks, and before they knew it, it was nearly time for pick up. The Primarchs were all excited the final night, and Valdor made them run around for a while before bed to try and tire them out. 

"What are we going to do about Bob?" Fulgrim asked. He had come to like the chicken. 

"Well, she can't stay here," Leman said. "She'll get eaten by something once it's clear Freki and Geri have moved out."

"She'll come with us," Zorovim said. "If that's alright, lord?"

"I don't see why not," Valdor mused. "But that does... What is that phrase?"

"What phrase?" Magnus asked.

"It's one of Malcador's old sayings," Valdor said. "About delaying things."

"Cross that bridge when we get there?" the Lion suggested.

"Not that one," Valdor said. "Ah, 'kicking the can down the road'."

"Oh," the Lion said. "I think that one does work better here."

"Who's coming to get us?" Jaghatai asked. He wanted to work on his stealth by sneaking up to the landing site.

"Quellen, Fellnor, and Bryth," Valdor answered. 

"Do they think you'll be that tired of us?" Ferrus asked.

"Never," Valdor said instinctively.

"Maybe," Zorovim said at the same moment.

"That's mixed signals," Rogal said. 

"Agreed," Perturabo said. 

"I fear we've left a bit of a bad impression on Zorovim," Sanguinius said. "And hopefully we can brighten it in time."

"Not really a bad impression," Zorovim said, suddenly feeling bad about what he had said. "But...."

"Go on," Fulgrim said. "We won't be offended, you wouldn't be the first Custodian to have a low opinion of us. Even Valdor took convincing."

"That's not really true," Valdor protested. "At least the part about me needing convincing. I know there's Custodians who don't like you. But they do try and keep it to themselves."

"It can be... exhausting, sometimes," Zorovim said quietly. "Though I can tell you are at least intending to be good for me."

"It's because we get distracted," Horus said. "It's something we should work on, but there's so much stuff to do and learn."

"I can see that," Zorovim said. 

"Alright, it's time to sleep, Primarchs," Valdor said. 

A bit later, after the Primarchs had fallen asleep, Zorovim approached Valdor. It reminded Valdor of the night of the avalanche, the younger Custodian was very nervous.

"What is it?" Valdor asked quietly. 

"I assume we will need to report to our king how things went," Zorovim said.

"Indeed," Valdor said. "I've already been working on my report."

"What of the avalanche?" Zorovim asked. 

"What of it?" Valdor asked.

"I set it," Zorovim said. "It was our idea, and the Lord Primarchs were injured."

"But they learned," Valdor said. "And that is the important part of the exercise."

"As you say," Zorovim said. He didn't sound fully convinced. Valdor decided to let it slide. The Emperor would set him straight when they returned to Terra. Then Zorovim's expression changed. "What are they going to think about Bob?"

"The Pecs, the Abs, and the Biceps?" Valdor asked. "No idea. It disturbs me sometimes how unpredictable they can be outside of combat."

"Who will take care of her on the ship?" Zorovim asked.

"Good question," Valdor mused. "I think the Primarchs should be responsible on the ship, but she'll be your responsibility when we get home."

"That makes sense," Zorovim said. Something about the idea appealed to him. "I was the one who brought her here."

**************************

The next morning dawned cold and clear. Jaghatai awoke, and carefully began to slip out of the cave. This was his own personal challenge, and he was determined not to wake up either Konrad or Corvus. Valdor noted him on the way out, but Jaghatai knew that was going to happen. It was one thing to slip past his brothers, even if they are light sleepers, but he didn't think Valdor had actually gone to sleep at all. The two simply shared a look, and Valdor nodded.

It was a bit colder in the predawn than Jaghatai had anticipated. He hurried to the hideout he had made when he could slip away from working on the hut. At one point he had considered using the hut as his hideout, but decided against it. That would be the first place any landing/search party would look. 

"Magnus, how did you do this?" Jaghatai murmured to himself as he slipped inside his outcropping hideout. Sitting there was all the preparations for a fire that Jaghatai hadn't thought he'd need. A piece of flint pinned a piece of bark that Jaghatai quickly realized was a note. 

Nice hideout, Jags, but I think you forgot something -- Vulkan

"Now how did he find this?" Jaghatai asked shaking his head. "And how did he know it was me?"

Setting that mystery aside, he went about starting the fire. His hideout was a cleft across the landing site from the hut, and had airflow that would hide the smoke from the fire. A line of boulders kept the entrance hidden and would prevent the light being seen.

Fire going, food was the next thing. He hadn't forgotten about that, he tended towards being one of the hungriest in the mornings. Moving to the back of the cleft, he pulled out breakfast. He was hoping it wouldn't be too long before the "search party" came down to get them as he hadn't been able to get a lot of food.

There was more food than he had left there, and another note.

Always better to have more than less when it comes to food-- Fulgrim

"Alright, apparently this was a really bad hideout," Jaghatai muttered. "Has everyone found it?" 

He grabbed what he wanted for breakfast, and set it near the fire to warm up. Water was next on his list. There weren't any springs around, but he had a small pail they'd made and was going to gather snow. He groaned when he found another note in the pail.

Remember to avoid the yellow snow! :) -- Leman

"I know that, Leman," Jaghatai grumbled as he tossed the note aside. There was another underneath it.

But if you find some, I wouldn't mind-- Mortarion

"That is disgusting," Jaghatai giggled. "But very Morti."

After getting some snow to melt, that he made very sure wasn't yellow, he went back by the food stores that Fulgrim had expanded. There was something there that he had missed, a single egg, and under it a note.

Bob's contribution, Lord Khan-- Zorovim

"Wait, someone had to have put that here for him," Jaghatai said. "There's no way a Custodian fit in here, or succeeded in getting an egg in without breaking it." 

He found other things had been added along with notes. An extra fur with a note from the Lion was found hidden next to the food. Something that would work like magnoculars with an apology for the lack of hazard stripes from Perturabo. Jaghatai started to wonder, first why they had added things. Other than Vulkan's fire set up, that was just pure Vulkan. The second thing, was how they knew he was planning to hide out here to spy on the "search party". 

"Magnus," Jaghatai grumbled. Magnus was the only one he had told about it. Probably brought the Primarchs on a tour as well. A third thing struck him. He was certain a few of these things had arrived after he had checked the area. Both the egg and the extra fur were in places he had looked at already. 

"Corvus?" Jaghatai called, trying to catch out his infiltrator. "Konrad?" 

Nothing.

"Magnus?" he asked. "I guess he could be making himself invisible. I know it's something he's been wanting to work on. Or possibly teleporting stuff to me? Or neither of the Eels are in here right now."

Determined to find out who it was leaving him "presents" he sat down and resolved to stay perfectly still. This wasn't the easiest thing for him as he preferred to be moving and doing things when possible. However, he didn't have to wait long before he heard something. To his surprise, it was coming from underneath him. 

A trap door opened, and Omegon popped out of it. That wasn't who Jaghatai was expecting at all, and it must have shown on his face.

"We've been taking turns if that helps," Omegon said. "Not the Custodians obviously."

"And what brings you here?" Jaghatai asked.

"Update from Valdor," Omegon said, handing over the note.

They probably won't be here until afternoon-- Valdor

"Thanks," Jaghatai said. "So it's a tunnel that goes all the way back, or do you each have your own way?"

"Tunnel," Omegon said. "Bo and Rogal have been working on it since the hut was finished and Magnus told us about your plans for this place."

"Ah," Jaghatai said. "But why?" 

"Something to do," Omegon said. "Or at least that was Rogal's answer when I asked."

"That makes sense," Jaghatai said with a giggle. "Well, now I know where things are coming from. Takes the mystery away."

"You could  always try to guess which of us is coming up through the tunnel," Omegon said.

"That's a great idea, Alpharius," Jaghatai said. "I'll try that."

**************************

Valdor was right about Quellen, Fellnor, and Bryth's arrival time. In fact, it was almost evening before they brought the Thunderhawk in to land next to the hut. Jaghatai, spotting it, was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't hear anyone in the tunnel just then to let the others know. Wait, what am I thinking? I can use the tunnel to tell them.

The trapdoor was a bit harder to open from inside the hideout. It was meant to be kept open when someone was dropping things off. However, Jaghatai was able to get it open and down into the tunnel itself before any of the party had found the place. 

**************************

"That's weird," Bryth said, eyeing his auspex. 

"What?" Fellnor asked.

"I thought I picked up a posthuman reading," Bryth said. "But it just vanished out of range."

"Interesting," Quellen said. "It might be the mineral deposits playing havoc with the auspex."

"Possibly," Bryth agreed. 

"Besides, I don't think we'll need it at full capacity," Fellnor said. "They've left us a pretty big arrow."

"Over here," Quellen said suddenly. "Looks like someone was here recently."

"A lookout post?" Fellnor asked as he came over to look.

"Very likely," Quellen said. "Though not for our lord, or the pup."

"We'll ask when we find them," Bryth said.

The three spread out, heading in the direction of the arrow. It wasn't long before they found the trail the Primarchs had been using to get back to the cave. Fellnor was happy, it made the going easier, as they fell into single file.

"Is that a cave with a door?" Quellen asked suddenly.

"Looks like it," Bryth said, scanning with his auspex. "I'm picking up posthuman lifesigns. It's got to be them."

"Lord Valdor!" Fellnor called out. 

The door opened and the Primarchs poured out. Fulgrim stood out, holding something clucking above his head.

"Is that.... a..." Fellnor started.

"Chicken?" Quellen finished.

"That's what it looks like," Bryth said. "The auspex agrees."

"Where did it come from?" Quellen asked.

"We'll ask the pup," Fellnor said.

"I'm more impressed that Freki and Geri didn't eat it," Bryth said.

"That is an impressive feat," Quellen said. "We'll have to congratulate Lord Russ on that."

Valdor and Zorovim came out after the flood of Primarchs, watching as they ran towards the other three Custodians. Suddenly, Zorovim stiffened.

"Lord Curze!" he yelled. "Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't going to do anything!" Konrad called over his shoulder, but straightened himself up. 

"Good catch," Valdor said. "Don't let him trip you up. He was going to go for it."

"How was your training?" Fellnor asked.

"it was fun!" Perturabo said. "We got to build a hut so you guys knew where to look!"

"The arrow was my idea!" Angron called.

"It was appreciated," Quellen said. "Helped us find your trail."

Angron beamed with pride at the praise. The other Primarchs flowed around the Custodian trio. Once everyone was together they headed back to the landing area. 

"Where did the chicken come from, Zorovim?" Bryth asked.

"Bob is the only survivor of a saviour pod from the lost colony supply ship," Zorovim said.

"Bob?" the trio asked in unison.

"That's what I named her," Mortarion said proudly.

"Fulgrim, make sure you have a good grip on her," Zorovim said. "She might panic when we take off."

"Right," Fulgrim said, making sure to carefully but firmly hold Bob in his lap.

Zorovim was right, and Bob did panic on take off, and continued to panic all the way to the ship. In fact, she panicked so much that she escaped Fulgrim's grip and was loose in the troop hold for a moment before Zorovim caught her. He returned her to Fulgrim once they were aboard. 

"Builders, we should probably come up with some kind of holding situation for Bob," Horus said. 

"Agreed," Perturabo said. "Rogal?" 

"I think the closest training hall to our quarters is the best place," Rogal said. "It's a small one so having it out of commission as a training area won't be a problem, and give her some room to run around."

"And we can rig security on the door," Ferrus said. "That way she can't trigger it and escape."

"Good plan," Valdor approved. "But I'll rig the security if that's alright."

"Yes, Valdor," Ferrus said with a sigh. Valdor was very particular about the Primarchs accessing the cogitator systems on Custodian ships. Ferrus had been hoping that this would let him get a toe in for him and Perturabo to exploit later.

**************************

"And that was the night of the living chicken heart!" 

"Why would you tell us that story in front of Bob?"

"Made for great ambiance. The clucking was great."

"But what if she thinks we're going to do that to her?"

"I don't think she understands Gothic."

"She knows her name."

"That doesn't mean she really understands. It fact, she more likely just associates the tonal sound of us saying 'Bob' instead of the word. Like Freki and Geri."

"Hey! They understand at least some Gothic, though possibly not enough to understand a story."

"Wait, you're not going to try and say they have human intelligence?"

"They don't, even if i think it would be cool. They are very smart for Fenrisian wolves, but they are still wolves. There's no reason to believe that they understand stories, they're just hanging out in the corner right now. No concept of having heard a scary story."

"That's... actually...."

"Actually what? Well reasoned?"

"Yes."

"It's alright, I intentionally play up some of the superstitious seeming aspects of Fenrisian culture. It's my version of misdirection, like Malcador does."

"I like it."

"More ghost stories?" Zorovim asked, activating the lights in the small training hall the Primarchs were keeping Bob in. 

"Yeah! Rogal just told us one about someone vivisecting a chicken," Perturabo said.

"Ah, a good choice of venue then," Zorovim said. Bob clucked a bit, moving over to the towering Custodian.

"There's your proof that she doesn't understand what's going on," Konrad said. "Unless chickens don't feel fear."

"They probably do," Magnus said. "But Bob knows Zorovim isn't going to hurt her, so she likes him."

"It's still a little weird," Zorovim said. "I think it's a compliment?"

"Something like that," Leman chuckled. 

**************************

The Triad sat in a debriefing session. Valdor had just given his report of the survival training, after going over Zorovim's report. They had dismissed the other Custodian, and were now discussing him. 

"Overall, he did quite well," Valdor said. "The 'training wheels' can come off now."

"That's good to know," the Emperor said. There was a moment of silence.

"Suggestions?" the Emperor asked.

"I have one," Valdor said, and then gave it.

Malcador started to giggle. "What makes you suggest that?"

"He'll get it."

**************************

Zorovim wasn't sure what he felt. He had been summoned to the Throneroom for an audience with the Emperor. It was unclear what the purpose of this audience was, and if any others would be present.

"Enter," Tolax said as Zorovim approached the Silver Door. Gerryn, on the other side of the doorway simply nodded. 

"Ah, you're here," Malcador said as Zorovim entered. He joined Zorovim as they walked down the approach to the Throne. A sudden question came to the Custodian, and he found himself asking before he could stop it.

"What is that scuff mark?" he indicated a slightly worn part of the floor. No one beyond a transhuman would have noticed it.

"That's where my throne goes," Malcador answered. "When I need to act as Regent. It would be wholly inappropriate of me to sit on the Throne."

"Naturally, lord," Zorovim said quickly, trying to hide what he felt was a misstep.

"It doesn't come out terribly often," Malcador said. "Normally we are together, and I sit next to the Throne."

"I see," Zorovim said quietly.

"You have nothing to be concerned about," Malcador said. "You are a Custodian, and deserve answers to your questions."

"Zorovim," Valdor called out. "When the Sigillite releases you come up here."

"Go on," Malcador said. "Don't keep them waiting."

Zorovim stopped himself from asking who Malcador meant by them, realizing who the other person was.

"My king," Zorovim said as he arrived and bowed. 

"Zorovim," the Emperor said. 

"Relax," Valdor added quickly, the Emperor chuckled.

"May I ask why I am here, my king?" Zorovim asked, trying to find the right way to be at ease.

"You may," the Emperor said. "And as you have, the answer is to receive your new name."

"Lord?" Zorovim asked, startled by this. It was Valdor's turn to chuckle. 

"I thought this was covered?" the Emperor asked, turning to look at Valdor.

"It was," Valdor said. "I thought the purpose of this audience had been clear in your directives?"

"My directives were to come here," Zorovim said. "I was given no other pertinent details."

"Hmmm," Valdor said. "Who relayed the directives?"

"Fellnor," Zorovim said.

"Ah," Valdor said. "I'll have to discuss with him then."

"Getting back to the matter at hand," the Emperor said gently.

"Indeed, my king," Zorovim said, straightening again. He had of course been told of the tradition of giving Custodians names for achievements. Many early names were also signifiers for various things including where they had come from, what their parents had been, and notable events from their training. He had expected more ceremony though.

"Your new name will be... Bobanius," the Emperor announced.

"Bobanius?" Zorovim asked.

"It was my suggestion," Valdor said. Zorovim noted that his Captain-General had a mischievous gleam in his eye, eerily like the one that Konrad had had just before starting the snowball fight.

"It is... gratefully received," Zorovim said. 

The Emperor dismissed him with a nod. Valdor reminded him to take his plastron to the artificiers to have his new name added. Arriving at the bottom of the steps, he found Malcador waiting for him. 

"What do you think?" Malcador asked.

"The Captain-General suggested I be named after a chicken," Zorovim said, still trying to process the exchange.

"Oh ho!" Malcador chuckled. "Neither of you mentioned the chicken having a name."

"It wasn't necessary," Zorovim said.

"Who named it?" Malcador asked.

"Lord Mortarion," Zorovim said.

"Ah," Malcador said. "In a way, you've been given a name by Mortarion. This is a high honor."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Zorovim said. "I appreciate the change of reference, my lord."

"Always happy to help," Malcador said as Zorovim headed out.