The Salamander King opened its gaping maw and gently licked the infant with its tongue.
As the ruler of its kind, it had never produced offspring because there was no individual in the salamander population worthy of it.
Nocturne's extreme environment had driven all native species to develop strong parental instincts. Every creature was fiercely protective of its young; it was essential for the survival of the species.
The Salamander King was no exception.
At this moment, some primal instinct drove it, making it regard the infant as its own, giving rise to a protective impulse.
The infant giggled at the licking, its laughter making it lick even more enthusiastically.
But soon another primal instinct rose to the surface; hunger.
The Salamander King had lived for many centuries. It usually slept deep in its subterranean lair, waking only when the Time of Trial came.
But the infant's arrival disrupted its routine. The intense hunger of waking from its long slumber urgently drove the Salamander King to hunt.
It was hungry, and its child needed nourishment too.
The Salamander King used its fierce snout to push the infant back into the pod. Though they couldn't communicate, the infant seemed to understand its intent and obediently stayed in the hot pod.
Only then did the Salamander King leave the lair, following scents to hunt the creatures it sensed.
Even in Mount Deathfire, the Salamander King was the true overlord.
When its shadow fell upon the land, all creatures instinctively cowered in the shadows.
But no matter how they hid, the Salamander King could find them, bite through their necks with its sharp teeth, and carry them back to the lair.
THUMP!
The Salamander King slammed a salamander heavily onto the ground. Its claws tore through tough scales and hide, revealing tender flesh.
The infant also crawled closer by instinct, clumsily gnawing.
Watching the youngling's performance, a flicker of satisfaction passed through the Salamander King's crimson eye.
It growled lowly, turned, and left the cave, disappearing into the darkness to hunt again.
...
Happy times were always short.
One day, when the Salamander King returned to the lair after hunting, it smelled a strange scent outside.
When it entered the lair, its youngling was being held by a stranger. The stranger was going to eat its youngling!
"ROAR!"
The Salamander King's eye abruptly contracted into thin crimson lines. It dropped the prey from its mouth and unleashed a deafening roar from its throat.
The cave walls trembled from the sound waves. It charged, wrapped in sulfur and the scent of blood, at the invader who dared covet its youngling.
...
The Salamander King's roar shook loose stone from the cave ceiling. Its massive body bore down on Caelan like a crimson mountain.
"Stay put," Caelan shoved the child back into the pod just as the Salamander King's head slammed hard into his psychic shield.
Ripples spread across the pale blue shield like a lake in a rainstorm, but it never broke.
This was the confidence that allowed Caelan to calmly face danger.
Confidence wasn't arrogance. Caelan had always enveloped his body in a tight psychic shield, never relaxing it for a moment.
Boom!
The Salamander King's fierce head repeatedly crashed against the psychic shield. Sharp scales scraped against it, throwing off blinding sparks.
But no matter how violently it rammed, that translucent shield remained motionless, like an insurmountable barrier.
Using this gap, Caelan could observe the behemoth up close.
Its massive body almost filled the entire space. Dark red scales shimmered with a metallic luster like lava.
On its long, narrow draconic head, crimson vertical pupils blazed with raging fire. Sharp horns curved backward.
Wide membrane wings were folded at its sides, edged with sharp bone spurs. Its thick tail lashed uneasily, plowing deep grooves into the ground.
Its image perfectly matched all of Caelan's stereotypes of a Western dragon.
This was probably a female dragon; otherwise, Caelan really would have had to find Vulkan in its excrement.
He was also convinced it was a product of genetic engineering from the Golden Age.
Humanity's technology in that era surpassed anything imaginable in the 30K age, but glimpse still lingered.
"Their world has regressed to a pre-technological state, and if you saw it you would not be surprised why. It is a beautiful, savage place of ice, fire and monsters. A charming experiment in reconstructed mythologies"
This was Neoth's description of Fenris.
So Fenris was possibly a Golden Age myth-park.
In the M3 era, ordinary people also sought excitement outside civilization.
Normal citizens could visit wildlife parks and Disneyland.
Billionaires could go big game hunting on the African savanna, or go skydiving, bungee jumping, and wingsuit flying.
The Golden Age wasn't equal for everyone either. Those truly in power also sought excitement.
Thus, some people began building theme parks related to ancient Terran history or mythology on a planetary scale.
Many death worlds inhabited by humans might have originated this way.
Otherwise, given the technology level at the time, there was no reason to settle on such worlds.
Even if originally death worlds, Golden Age humans could have made them habitable.
Death worlds still existing in 30K could be roughly divided into two types:
First, worlds destroyed by humanity themselves in the civil wars of the Age of Strife, like Baal.
Second, worlds deliberately preserved during the Golden Age for specific purposes, like Fenris, perhaps a Norse mythology theme park.
Nocturne's harsh environment wasn't man-made. And many creatures on Nocturne were dragon-related.
In Nocturne's mythology, there was also an ancient creature called the Ur-Drakes.
Legend said Ur-Drakes were larger than continental plates. Beneath Nocturne's entire crust, their knotted bodies coiled like countless sleeping World Serpents, layers upon layers the planet's core.
Nocturnians believed each of their slow movements caused earthquakes. Their long breaths became magma surges deep in the mantle.
In the canonical history, Vulkan had seen them and stated they completely exceeded human comprehension.
So Nocturne was likely a Dungeons & Dragons themed adventure park.
There were many such worlds. For example, the Flesh Tearers' homeworld in the 40K era was a Jurassic Park themed world. Colchis had a creature called the Raptor King, a biological tunnel boring machine.
Also, an Imperial fleet once invaded a world that had devolved to the Stone Age, deploying two Warlord-class Titans.
Their enemies were, group primitive humans wielding spears and stone axes, riding dinosaurs.
These dinosaurs were taller than Warlord Titans, could graze, and used atomic breath.
The result was the Imperial forces were completely annihilated. The fleet issued an Exterminatus because the Mechanicus feared dinosaurs would replace the God-Machines.
Compared to these creatures, the behemoth before Caelan was a gentle kitten.
Many fringe colonies with backward technology weren't necessarily backward due to Age of Strife.
More likely, these colonies were originally meticulously crafted civilization theme parks from the Golden Age.
They were deliberately designed to retain the appearance of specific historical periods: medieval feudal kingdoms, the glorious Roman Empire, or nomadic peoples riding horses but bullied by feudal empires.
These theme colonies from different eras were essentially immersive recreations of specific periods in human civilization, not products of technological devolution.
"ROAR!"
Seeing its attacks futile, the Salamander King arched its back like an angry kitten.
Light suddenly blazed from its throat, and it opened its gaping maw.
BOOM!
A column of fire several meters in diameter erupted like a volcano. A wave of heat capable of melting metal crashed against the psychic shield.
The hot dragonflame churned violently outside the shield. Outside was practically hell; rocks melted into red-hot liquid.
Yet the flames licked at that seemingly thin but translucent barrier, never penetrating a millimeter.
Protected by the psychic power, not even Caelan's hair was stirred by the heat.
Caelan slowly raised his hand, fingers gracefully closing.
CLACK!
The Salamander King's gaping maw was forced shut by an invisible force. Its fangs clashed, throwing off blinding sparks.
Its massive body suddenly stiffened. Its limbs clawed futilely at the air, but it was as if trapped in invisible amber; not a single scale could move.
In the air, translucent psychic wind blades silently coalesced. Thin as cicada wings, yet sharp beyond measure.
They gracefully drifted to the Salamander King's neck, gentle as a lover's caress, yet easily slicing through its hard scales, cutting blood lines into its skin. Hot blood spurted, turning into wisps of crimson steam upon contact with the heat wave.
The Salamander King's crimson vertical pupils suddenly widened.
Rage, frenzy, ferocity, all negative emotions receded like a tide. Its eyes instantly cleared.
The child tumbled out of the pod, stumbling clumsily towards the Salamander King like an awkward young beast, making indistinct sounds.
"mama..."
The Salamander King suddenly let out a low whimper. It wasn't like its previous furious roars, but carried a trembling whimper.
Its vertical pupils contracted slightly, showing a hint of human-like worry. Its huge head gently swayed, as if signaling the child not to come closer.
"You two look like mother and son," Caelan said dryly. "That makes me the villain."
Caelan again grabbed the child by the scruff and held him up, "Be quiet. I won't kill it. Otherwise, it would be dead already."
The child seemed to understand. It actually stopped struggling, just looking with wet eyes, sometimes at the Salamander King, sometimes at Caelan. Its small face was full of confusion and grievance.
From the Salamander King and child's perspective, Caelan really was the villain. Breaking into someone's home for no reason, holding their youngling, and humiliatingly pinning the mother to the ground.
Caelan gazed into the Salamander King's vertical pupils, "I won't kill you, but he must leave with me."
The Salamander King didn't understand human language, but Caelan could use psychic power to translate.
Caelan told the Salamander King he had to take Vulkan. The Primarch needed to grow up in human society.
The Salamander King also showed astounding intelligence. Its huge head suddenly lifted. From deep in its throat came low, almost pleading whimpers.
"My... child..."
Caelan saw the maternal glow in this beast's eyes. He released his psychic restraint, but maintained the psychic shield.
The Salamander King slowly pushed its massive body off the ground. It didn't attack Caelan again, but lowered its fierce head in a nearly humble posture. Low, trembling whimpers came from its throat.
The rage in its crimson vertical pupils had long dissipated, replaced by touching sorrow and earnestness.
Caelan gently placed the child on the ground. The infant clumsily crawled towards the Salamander King.
Finally, he pressed tightly against his mother's huge head. His dark little hands stroked the hard scales, as if comforting this sorrowful behemoth.
The Salamander King also carefully nuzzled the youngling with its snout, stretching out its tongue to gently lick the youngling's face.
From deep in its throat came continuous soft whimpers, as if narrating reluctance and worry.
But even if it begged Caelan, Caelan wouldn't let Vulkan stay. Vulkan's situation was similar to Russ's.
But Sylvia's intelligence was high enough. Fenrisian wolves also had pack instincts. Even if Russ stayed with her, he wouldn't be in danger.
The Salamander King's intelligence wasn't low either. But it only protected Vulkan temporarily due to maternal instinct, and Salamander Kings were solitary.
When Vulkan grew up, his status would change from youngling to a competitor for food resources.
The Salamander King would drive him from the lair, making him establish his own territory elsewhere.
Young salamanders instinctively knew these things.
Eventually the creature would drive him out as a rival predator.
The beast, no child, would not understand.
He would die, resurrect, and kill his "mother," leaving a permanent scar on his soul.
This matter was also recorded in The Horus Heresy.
Vulkan's landing point deviated. This was clearly not a good omen.
The Primarch should have landed in Nocturne's human settlements, but through fate's quirks, fell into the Salamander King's lair.
Caelan's timely intervention not only saved the Salamander King's life, but also spared the Primarch's soul from the shadow of kin-killing.
Caelan stepped forward, gently gathering the child into his arms.
The child curled quietly in Caelan's arms, but his wet eyes kept looking back at the Salamander King.
His small hand unconsciously reached out, fingertips trembling slightly, as if wanting to touch his mother's rough scales again.
Caelan's fingertips shimmered with deep blue psychic light, transmitting calming thoughts into the behemoth's mind, "We must go now. But I promise to bring him to see you often."
The Salamander King's massive body leaned slightly forward. The ferocity in its crimson vertical pupils had long vanished, replaced by sorrow indistinguishable from a human mother's.
"Take... me... away..."
The behemoth carefully retracted its sharp claws, lowered its draconic head, and let out low whimpers from its throat.
Caelan put on a conflicted expression, "We're going back to human cities. You would hurt people."
"Won't... hurt..." It eagerly pawed the ground with its foreclaws, leaving white scratches on the hard basalt.
The child seemed to sense the change in atmosphere. He stretched out his dark little hand, tightly gripping Caelan's collar. He looked up with his young face, calling out in an indistinct voice, "baba..."
Caelan frowned, pretending to struggle internally, as if in intense mental conflict, "Alright. But if you hurt anyone, you must pay the price!"
The Salamander King happily slapped its thick tail, plowing deep grooves into the rock.
Like a dog.
Actually, Caelan had been scheming all along about how to take the Salamander King with him.
Vulkan already saw her as his mother. Forcibly separating mother and child would only plant seeds of resentment in the young Primarch's heart.
But forcibly taking the Salamander King wasn't feasible either. A predator's wild nature was hard to tame. She would only hurt people. She had to actively choose to follow out of maternal instinct.
As for killing the Salamander King, Caelan didn't consider it.
Kill the Primarch's mother and then try to educate him? The first thing Vulkan would do when he grew up was kill Caelan, his mother's murderer.
Outside the lair, the Salamander King slowly unfolded its wings. Dark red scales shimmered with an almost metallic luster in the faint glow of magma.
She lay prone in a submissive posture. Her thick tail curled docilely at her side. Even the sharp-edged bone spurs were carefully tucked away.
When Caelan approached, the Salamander King even proactive lowered her fierce head, inviting Caelan to ride.
A beast's thinking was simple: the weak are prey to the strong. Since she couldn't defeat Caelan despite her best efforts, submission was the only way to continue protecting her youngling.
Caelan lightly leaped onto the Salamander King's scale-covered neck, sitting steadily in the depression near where the skull and spine connected.
Caelan held up the dark infant in his arms, making those wet crimson eyes meet his, "Remember, you are Vulkan, and only Vulkan. You are the Primarch of the Eighteenth Legion, the Guardian of Humanity."
"I'll give you a name too." Caelan's fingers stroked the Salamander King's cut scales.
The Salamander King nodded her head.
Caelan's gaze shifted to the infant in his arms.
Vulkan's name originated from the Roman Twelve Principal Gods. The Roman Twelve Principal Gods corresponded one-to-one with the Olympian Twelve Principal Gods. Many myths were also identical.
The sun god Apollo didn't even change his name, completely shameless.
Vulkan corresponded to Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge.
"Juno Ignis. Juno was the Queen of the Gods in ancient Terran Roman mythology, also Vulkan's mother, goddess of marriage and motherhood. The Romans called her the goddess who leads children to see the light. In ancient Terran language, Ignis means flame. Do you like it?"
Juno understood her name. Juno Ignis. Flame-Mother. Flame-Queen.
This was the child's father's blessing to her!
"Like!" Her thoughts were joyful
"Terra..." Vulkan babbled, repeating the word Caelan kept saying.
Caelan's voice was deep and solemn, "Terra is humanity's homeworld, and yours and mine!"
Juno unfolded her dark red wings, blotting out the sun, flapping them vigorously amidst the sulfurous smoke billowing from the volcano.
Hot air, carrying sparks, spiraled upwards, carrying the three towards the crimson sky, flying towards the towering Cindara Plateau.