In the Warp, a Blood Angels strike cruiser was undergoing Warp travel.
Inside the enclosed bridge, Mephisto, the Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels, was discussing their current mission with Chapter Chaplain Lemartes.
(Mephisto)
(Lemartes)
"Brother Lemartes, how are our brothers in the Death Company doing?" Mephisto's handsome face held a hint of melancholy, seemingly worried about the Death Company onboard, and also about the success of their journey.
As the most powerful Librarian in the history of the Blood Angels, and potentially the most powerful Psyker in the Imperium of Man currently, Mephisto's power was undoubtedly immense.
Even within the Warp, he could use his power to protect the warship from Chaos corruption, and even act as a navigator to guide the starship.
For such a powerful Psyker, foretelling the future was not difficult.
Precisely because of this, he, like Librarians of other Chapters, would perform a divination before an operation to determine if it would be successful.
While not entirely reliant on a Librarian's prophecy for action, like the Dark Angels, they would at least first determine if any dangers or obstacles would be encountered, so as to adjust strategy in time for a better outcome.
However, this time, no matter how Mephisto used his abilities or various methods of divination, he could not see any relevant information about their journey.
The only thing he could see was a golden glow.
This situation worried Mephisto; he didn't understand what it portended.
Ever since that Inquisitor brought a bottle of wine, claimed to be blessed by the Emperor, to Baal, the trajectory of fate had changed.
Chapter Master Dante had overcome the Blood Thirst by drinking the sanctus wine, and he himself had gained enlightenment after drinking the sanctus wine: it could awaken Sanguinius's sons who had fallen into the Black Rage.
Yes, this wine could not only suppress the Blood Thirst but also awaken Sanguinius's sons who had fallen into the Black Rage.
Although this didn't truly resolve the Black Rage and Blood Thirst, Sanguinius's sons could, through this, no longer feel an uncontrollable craving for blood, nor would they fall into an inescapable delusion due to rage, constantly reliving the memory of their Primarch's death.
Even though it couldn't free Sanguinius's sons from the Black Rage and Blood Thirst, whether it was a short-term suppression or a temporary awakening, for Sanguinius's sons, it was the salvation they had yearned for over the past ten millennia.
Precisely because of this, Chapter Master Dante personally ordered Mephisto and Lemartes to take a squad of Death Company warriors, who had fallen into the Black Rage, aboard the strike cruiser they were on, and head to Rostov II.
While acquiring more sanctus wine, they also hoped that this wine could awaken this squad of Death Company warriors who had fallen into the Black Rage.
"They've taken a sedative mixed with a bit of sanctus wine. Although they haven't woken from the Black Rage like they did at Angel Keep, at least they can remain calm now," Lemartes reported to Mephisto. Although the Chaplain's helmet obscured his face, his tone seemed to be full of hope.
As the individual within the Blood Angels Chapter responsible for guiding battle-brothers who had fallen into the Black Rage towards their final honorable charge, the Chapter Chaplain's heart was perhaps the most tormented in the entire Chapter.
Because he had to watch one glorious son of Sanguinius after another fall on the battlefield in the worst possible way.
(Old Death Company)
(Old Jump Pack Death Company)
(New Death Company doesn't even get shoulder pads)
If they managed to return alive, the Chaplain would then have to find a way to put them into a deep sleep or confine them, lest their perpetually enraged souls harm others.
The cruel experience of personally sending off one battle-brother after another made the Blood Angels Chapter Chaplain the person in the entire Chapter who most hoped these brothers could find salvation.
"Lemartes, you are the Chapter's finest Chaplain, and the only one who can communicate with and guide our brothers who have fallen into the Black Rage. I want to know your thoughts on the sanctus wine," Mephisto gazed at the Chaplain before him, asking his most serious and sincere question: "Do you truly believe this wine can save Sanguinius's sons?"
Mephisto always harbored doubts. For the Blood Angels, they had endured too much suffering in the ten millennia since their Primarch's departure.
They had not been without attempts to resolve the Black Rage and Blood Thirst, but despite all efforts, the Blood Angels had never succeeded in resolving these two genetic curses, instead causing many severe consequences.
Some successor Chapters had embraced these two curses, crossing that insurmountable line, and were thus branded as traitors by the Imperium.
This was an extremely heartbreaking matter, but neither Mephisto nor Chapter Master Dante could do anything about it, because they had indeed overstepped the boundaries set by their Primarch for Sanguinius's sons.
But precisely because of this, Sanguinius's sons all yearned for a way to resolve these two curses; even a temporary suppression was still worth Sanguinius's sons craving.
"I hope it can, but from the current situation, it cannot redeem Sanguinius's sons. It merely frees us from the constraints of the Black Rage and Blood Thirst." Lemartes seemed to see things more clearly than Mephisto, but even so, he remained optimistic: "Whether it's suppressing the Blood Thirst or awakening from the Black Rage, the effect of the sanctus wine is temporary.
More accurately, it suppresses Sanguinius's sons' Blood Thirst and Black Rage to their lowest point, rather than completely resolving them.
After drinking the sanctus wine, both Blood Thirst and Black Rage are still states that a normal son of Sanguinius must face."
"So it's useless?" Mephisto frowned slightly. This was one of the reasons why some within the Chapter believed it wasn't worth such a great upheaval.
"No, quite the opposite, it's very useful!" Lemartes shook his head.
He took the bottle of sanctus wine, which was originally a gift for Chapter Master Dante, from his waist. Because it could suppress the Black Rage, Dante had given it to Lemartes.
"Its effect is most suitable for Sanguinius's sons," Lemartes explained to Mephisto: "I think you should also know that in many successor Chapters, they view the Blood Thirst and Black Rage as symbols of Sanguinius's sons.
In their view, losing the Blood Thirst and Black Rage is even a betrayal of their Primarch.
So, rather than a complete resolution, it's better to have a way to suppress it, after all, in a sense, the Blood Thirst and Black Rage are more like a cursed legacy left to us by our Primarch."
As the two were talking, the communications officer on the bridge suddenly shouted, "Arrived in the Rostov System, requesting to surface and exit the Warp!"
"Permission granted to surface, exit the Warp." Mephisto stopped talking with Lemartes and turned to give the order.
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