Shorts

Lord Savior Hayson stood there, his eyes firmly gazing at the tombstone in front of him. It was the final resting place of Reverend Father Isaiah Carver, one of the greatest heroes of the Kraymir Army of Excellion.

It might just be the last time he would come here.

He knelt in front of the tombstone, his sword firmly planted in the ground in front of him.

He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

“Reverend Father,” he began. “I have come before you to bid you farewell.

“There has been a call for help from the world of Isserand in the nearby Faramir System. An innumerable host of tyranid scum, a tendril of the Hive Fleet Kraken, has invaded the peaceful, verdant world. Their only mission is to feast, nothing more, draining the planet of its life till nothing is left but a barren rock. And if they are not stopped here, then many other shrine worlds will fall in their eternal thirst for all life.

“I have been chosen to lead our glorious forces there – comprising Ninth, Seventeenth, Twenty-Five, Twenty Eight, Thirty-First and Fortieth Regiments; elements of the Champion and Patriarch Fleets, led by my flagship, the Dawn of His Light; and supported by our auxiliary forces from Querom, Nagath and Baryntyr as well as our allies from near and far.

“But, despite the Church’s faith in the success of our crusade with the aid of our allies, I fear this would not be a simple task.

“We have been very fortunate that, in all recorded history, no other shrine world Multiversal wide has ever been invaded by the tyranids. Still, our brethren from our Church and of the others have faced them in battle countless times on many of our crusades, most recently being the Rhymvari Liberation Campaign that yet rages on. And they are indeed unlike our other foes.”

Hayson exhaled sharply.

“The tyranids are faithless,” he continued, “as they are fearless. They are not bound to the beliefs of a deity, a holy figurehead, or even a principle. They are not bound to the mortal emotion that is fear, as they are truly fear incarnate. I would not be surprised if they may be some manifestation of a long forgotten evil from the deepest regions of Hell, or perhaps they originate from the cold miasma of the Void itself. I do not know.

“How can it be that this race can even come into existence? Much like the Necrontyr would see the Multiverse cleansed of all life, the tyranids only exist to consume. And when nothing is left for them to devour, what then? While the necrons would return to their slumber and wait for life to begin anew, where else would the tyranids go if they have to wait millions of years, while planets have all been drained of their resources? Would their purpose end there and then? Would they resort to devouring their own?

“In hindsight, I see that their purpose will only lead them to a dead end.

“I must confess that I fear them. In fact, many of my finest warriors fear them as well. But fear is merely human emotion. Only in the faith we have in the Martyr that we may yet stand strong against this relentless tide of xenos filth.

“They are without number. But even while we number only in the thousands compared to their untold billions, there is still hope that we will emerge the victors. Many times have we proven to be their superior: Galatea, Macragge, Tellari, Khanbrad IV, Lusitania, Belrod. Though they have proven to be a worthy foe, with their adaptability, their willingness to embrace change and their sheer cunning, we can still best them even against all odds.

“The revered Grandmaster of the Holy Synod of His Most Glorious Will, Saint Jermaine Gautet; Lord Champion Bernenstein of Ankor; Lord High Savior Hugh McCraig of Judia; Lord Militant Supreme Kharnassus of Ichnoia and Verdas – these are a few names of great heroes who have triumphed over the tyranid scourge. If they can prove that the tyranid are still mortal beings, then we can do the same.

“Father, I pray that you will guide my sword and gun into the very heart of the battles to come. I pray you give me your wisdom and your fortitude to see through the most tumultuous of times, and I pray you will give the men the courage to face this fear and overcome it despite the odds. Let us prove that Humanity is indeed a superior race even with all our shortcomings. Only in adversity can we change.”

Hayson stood up and pulled his sword out. Sheathing it, he gave a formal salute before he quietly whispered.

“And as I forge through the fires of war, I pray that I may finally avenge your death, Father. I will find the Swarmlord, and I will bring its head back to you or die trying.”

He brought his hand down and strode away, hoping for the day he would meet the Swarmlord face-to-face.

And then he would kill it.

* * *

The War for Isserand saw the Kraymir Army of Excellion joining forces with the 11^th Cadian and 223^rd Death Korp of Krieg; the Dark Angels' Sixth Company; Titans of the Legio Gloriam; DRONOS’ Twentieth and Thirty-Fifth Legions; auxiliary forces from Querom, Nagath and Baryntyr; as well as a detachment of the Imperial Battlefleet Castille.

The war lasted close to twelve years with both sides at a stalemate. Ultimately, thanks to the aid of a unit of Magos Biologis led by Archmagos Vittorin and Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Orland, the tyranid tide was pushed back to the death world of Chalom. The Swarmlord of Hive Fleet Kraken made its appearance there twice: the first in the initial tyranid counterattack on the coalition’s first landing forces; the second in the final push against the tyranids’ final stronghold in what is now known as Scourge Canyon. After the fall of the stronghold, the splinter fleet was split asunder. Unfortunately, the splinter fleet broke into smaller hive fleets that have spread into the nearby systems. Currently, Imperial and DRONOS forces are still heavily involved in removing the tyranid presence within the region.

Lord Savior Donald Hayson was killed in action in the final stages of the Battle of Corralion’s Pass, the final decisive battle on Isserand. He was slain by the Hive Tyrant as he was leading his men into the fray, but his sacrifice brought the beast down and allowed the coalition to break through the tyranid line.

The head of the Swarmlord, unfortunately, was never brought back to Reverend Father Isaiah’s grave. No trace of the Swarmlord’s corpse was found, leading many to hypothesize that the tyranids reused its organic matter in resurrecting fallen Swarmlords.