"......AND LO!!!!!! OUR FATHER , THE IMMORTAL EMPEROR OF MANKIND STOOD FORTH IN HIS RIGHTEOUS FURY AND DID SMITE THAT WHICH WOULD UNMAKE ALL THAT HE HAD WROUGHT , AND IN THIS YOU , THE FLOCK OF OUR SHEPHERD CAN BE AS UNTO HIM , FOR THERE ARE THOSE WHOM WOULD TEAR DOWN ALL THAT IS , THE EMPIRE OF SWEAT AND BLOOD WHICH HAS BEEN CREATED IN HIS NAME FOR OUR SURVIVAL IS CONTAMINATED BY THE UNHOLY STENCH OF THE HERETIC AND THE MUTANT, OH BRETHREN OF THE EMPEROR I ASK YOU TO DISSUADE THE UNCLEAN AND ABOMINABLE IN THEIR ACTS WITH FIRE AND SWORD ! I ASK YOU TO SING A LITANY OF DEATH TO THOSE WHO WOULD DESTROY THE CIVILISATION OF OUR FATHERS AND OF OUR CHILDREN!!! I ASK YOU TO EMBRACE THE SUPERIORITY OF MANKIND'S DIVINE COUNTENANCE , AND ACCOUNT YOURSELF AMONGST THE BLESSED!!!"

Arch-Zealot Korvastus felt the muscles of his larynx spasm painfully as his mind became entranced with the exotic haze of holy zeal , a cloying invigorating blanket of flame which cast aside all dissents of reason and doubt in the path of blind faith .

A violent torrent of saliva flew from his squared lips as shrieked a veritable bounty of just and oft times violent suggestion to the witless populace of Charon V , the dull tedium of their lives in the industrial factories of the Hive world had made their minds as pliable as unbaked bread and Korvastus intended to make a permanent brand upon the collective substance . Yes , his fire would burn in each unenlightened , insignificant soul upon this planet , ensuring him a place beside the immortal Emperor in death .

He wasn’t even aware of the words spewing forth from his honeyed but oh so venomous tongue . Only the fires concerned him now . A perceptible shudder of ice flew through his body , his nails biting deeply into the soft flesh of his palms , a wound drawn in the name of the Emperor .

He could see indeterminate yellow spots of torches flickering amidst the raised banners and bitter countenances , raised in undying devotion , a declaration of their faith in the Emperor , but also of their support in HE , like some sort of pacifying drug his impassioned words gave them a sense of purpose and meaning in an otherwise pointless existence of drudgery and hardship . This revelation brought a brief smile to this serpent's lips as it's forked tongue drank deeply of the sweet raptures of power .

But , like a drug , each dosage had to be carefully measured . Even the most subtle of suggestions could ignite a heretofore undetectable spark of passion in even the most hardened , embittered soul down there , and a repeat of the Great heresy he did not wish for . Even he , in his comparatively lowly position on this backwater little planet at the rear end of the cosmos had heard ushered whispers of the unholy beasts which the Inquisition unleashed upon those who dared defy them . No , subtlety . Gently fanning the flames with suggestion would be far more beneficial in the long run than throwing the Uranium of zeal upon the pyre .

He basked in the adoration of his subjects , each perceptible cry of praise and misplaced gratitude feeding the corpulent cancers which ate at the very fabric of his soul . Turning abruptly , his robes of vermilion billowing like the wings of some vast and distorted raven , he stalked from the parapet and into the solitude of his private apartments .

He dragged his dank hand down his face and started at the heat raging beneath the surface of his skin . The clouds of emotion which had blurred his vision both physically and mentally were beginning to recede , leaving a tangible sense of fatigue in it's wake .

Slumping into one of the hideously ostentatious leather thrones surrounding the central desk like some tasteless battalion surrounding a defeated enemy he collapsed into a boneless heap . The sticky , enveloping womb of the Charon night was drawing in fast . Already shadows of deceptive depth were crawling across the ceiling and skittering amidst the chamber's many recesses , visible tendrils of darkness obliterating the baroque audacity of the decor.

"A little ostentatious for my tastes Korvastus , but then again , you always were an evocative man , weren't you?"

A shard of electric ice played across Korvastus's spine as he leaped with visible shock from the security of his indentation in the plush , sour smelling leather . He felt his neck jar painfully as the pedantic marbles of his deep set eyes flicked from recess to recess , scrutinising the ever lengthening shadows for the tell tale curvature of a forehead , the crook of an arm , anything to which he can assign that penetrating and infuriatingly coherent voice .

Banner like curtains emblazoned with the golden symbol of the Imperial eagle fluttered in the delicate , sweet scented breeze as he stood erect , tense and motionless in his own private hell of impotent fear .

His assaulted senses were beyond measuring exactly how long he stood , the gentle winds whipping and playing amidst the folds of his robe before he sank once more into the comforting womb of his sweat laden chair , resolved by the hushed sighing of the wind and his own fatigue . Surely the daily pressures that the Emperor himself had bestowed upon this , his most pious of savants were taking their toll? Of Course! had he not only but an hour ago been cogitating the horrific nature of the Inquisition's Angel's Of Death? Surely , he had let the fables play upon his mind .

"Well , I suppose that's one way you could try to justify it , then again , doesn’t it taste a little trite to you , Father?"

Korvastus felt his eyes widen painfully as his gaunt fingers dug tenaciously into the stiff leather arms of his gilded perch . He slid deeper into the chair's awesome recesses , his kness jammed painfully under his chin as he adopted a defensive fetal position against the barrage of instability which accosted his rational thought .

"Oh , come now! Stop being so melodramatic . Of course , after that nauseating display on the balcony I'd expect nothing less from "The Arch-Zealot" ."

The resonating bass tones of the disembodied voice echoed with pristine diction and eloquence around the small chamber , and yet Korvastus (in his panic he later assumed) could not locate a specific point of radiation , the sound seemed to echo from no discernable point in the room but rather strutted from every feasible angle , propelled by it's own innate arrogance into Korvastus's perceptions like a worm tearing through the waxy outer skin of a corrupt apple .

"No Korvastus , I am most certainly not a figment of your imagination , no by-symptom of indigestion , no alcohol induced phantasm , no "gust of wind" . There is no justification for my existence here Korvastus . Let me over emphasize upon this point ."

Korvastus's wild eyes bulged yet further from their fleshy sockets as he witnessed the dark miracle unfurling before him . The recesses of oily darkness which lay like splashes of tar amidst the less obtrusive areas of the small quarters began to shift and run like melting wax , running to a central point before converging into a greater whole , an ever growing gulf of impenetrable , infallible blackness.

A high pitched wailing , like the keen of an electrical monitor amplified into an intolerable knell fell upon Korvastus's ears and a concentrated rivulet of pain coursed through his forehead and into the hollow behind his eyes . he instinctively raised the palms of his hands to his ears in a vain effort to shield them from the psionic battery , his eyes jammed so tightly shut that even the itch inducing sting of the icy sweat conglomerating in their recesses had abated .

The wailing grew in frequency and pitch , it's banshee wail threatening to re-decorate the plush carpets with the minister's own blessed ichor . A pathetic whimper of fear and incomprehension escaped the minister’s charred lips and the noise abruptly dissipated , leaving in it’s wake a palpable sense of potential , a hideous pregnancy of dark energies held beyond the tissue thin membrane of his own sanity .

"Oh most Holy and Blessed Emperor , protect me your faithful servant in his hour of need , shield me from the machinations of the Heretic , lend me your undying light."

"Oh PLEASE! Do you honestly believe , Korvastus within that black , shriveled husk that is your soul that the Immortal Emperor has any time for weaklings such as you ? Ha! You do not even have faith in that detritus spewing from your corrupted throat . You are so deliciously empty , a fitting feast for my masters . Do you still not comprehend my nature?"

Korvastus raised his head from the small pool of saliva conglomerating in the thick recesses of the carpet and beheld a figure , draped across the adjacent chair , apparently luxuriating in the finery of his abode . Although terrifyingly apparent , the figure was indistinct; Korvastus had an abiding impression of disheveled black robes from which protruded two gaunt hands adorned with a number of rings and ornaments .

The figure’s face was concealed within the abyss like recesses of his hood , although the indistinct impressions of a sharp , aquiline nose and a defiant chin protruded from the sightless mass like barren islands from an ocean of tar . Two small points of white light followed every perceptible flicker of movement , like the gimlet eyes of a predatory hawk.

The figure steepled it’s bony digits beneath it’s chin in a thoughtful gesture . "Time for some introductions I believe . Oh stop whimpering , if I so wished I could have had your eyes burst in their sockets before now ."

Korvastus fumbled with insane determination within the recesses of his robes of office , the overwhelming imperative of his actions to silence the voice , the voice which drove it’s talons of ice through his soul , the voice which was so confident in it’s own abilities to crush him utterly . The voice of lies . It spoke poisons into his mind , making him doubt , spawning blasphemies which threatened the integrity of his very soul . He felt the metallic roughness of the bolter’s haft brush against his palm and the fears which plagued his tortured psyche dissipated . Despite his visitor’s supreme confidence he doubted very much that he could retain the façade with a bolter round in his chest .

With deceptive swiftness the Arch-Zealot swung the small armament from his robes and brought it’s promising muzzle to bare upon the daemonic stranger , an inane giggle of relief and confidence escaping from his dry throat . He felt the muscles in the left side of his jaw tighten and slacken spasmodically as his face twitched like the death throes of a dying bird . His dark eyes had regained their luster and a reflective , musty sheen glazed their surface belying the roiling cogitation within as he desperately sought for justification in his actions .

"Go on Father , fire . Murder one of your flock. Send me to the Emperor’s slaughter houses . Oh , how absent minded of me , we’ve already played that game haven’t we ?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Korvastus felt the last shreds of his sentient thought slipping away like a melting block of ice under the pyrotechnic onslaught of the stranger’s infuriating voice. With a half broken cry of despair he pulled back hard upon the bolter’s trigger , sending sporadic rounds into the darkness of the foul creature’s visage . The figure jarred and twisted as the rounds tore shred after shred of it’s long robe away leaving the scent of burnt cloth and the cloying taste of fear upon his tongue . He felt the Bolter jumping and twisting in his grip as it spewed it’s volatile ammunition into the surrounding furniture , the leather of the plush chairs cracking and burning as the heat of the shell’s motion cooked the beaten hide .

Once more the holy spittle flew from his mouth as he roared his contempt , the omnipresent sense of his own impotence burning like acid in his gut . The bolter’s spasms ceased only to be replaced by the inane clicking of it’s empty chambers , the weapon’s new born worthlessness mirroring his own . His breath came in sharp , splintered gusts as he dropped the smoking remains of his weapon to the ground . Tears poured down his face , stinging his eyes and paving visible paths down his flesh .

He clutched his charred hands to his face as he sobbed in uncontrollable bursts . His stomach contracted in a violent spasm as he wretched it’s contents onto the intricate pattern of the carpet . His strange guest still sat motionless upon the chair , a thin mist adorning his slack structure .

He rose from his mire and strode purposefully towards his comatose victim . A sickening shudder ran up his spine and terminated behind his eyes , causing visible explosions of white light to burst before his vision . He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply , the musty hint of smoke still heavy in the air .

"Well , that was interesting . Pitiful , but interesting non the less."

Korvastus's breath caught in his throat as the be-hooded face rose to meet his own , it's features still hidden amidst the rich blackness contained within , save of course those two penetrating eyes which shone with renewed vigour .

A sinewy hand snaked forth and wrapped it's spider leg digits around Korvastus's neck . Sickening , hot pain flushed across his tortured pallette as cruelly sharp digits dug deep rifts in his flesh .

"You really do have no idea do you ? What do you believe me to be , my eschewed little vermin? A "heretic" ? One of those malcontented , insignificant fools to which you administer your poisons? I think not . Allow me to enlighten you."

The cold lights within the hood's innate blackness flared in a violent nova of conflagration . The blackness seemed to melt and run like wax , a physical essence complete with purpose .

"See , Korvastus . See the result of your handiwork and in doing so , take your first unremmitting steps towards damnation."