Chapter 58:

Chapter 58: History requires understanding.



Eldar are not Humans, we do not act the same, we do not feel the same and we do not think the same, and the few points of commonality between us serve to point this issue more than they help provide common ground.

Humans will accept any form of governing provided the individuals in it get to be entertained or can play a wide variety of games to keep their souls happy. They will compete in sports, in art, in contests of skill or political discourse or even popularity contests and anything that could be turned into a game, and as long as humans can freely play as many games as they can and in as many shapes as they can think of then they will gladly live in any single form of government one can think of. It is when they increasingly can't do that, that rebellions start fermenting and the cracks start as people start revolting.

Human society has a near infinite amount of shapes it can take, but once it takes them it becomes rigid, as while peoples' place in it may be able to change what those places can be rarely changes unless a massive shift appears, which rarely happens. Human society is one giant game made out of smaller ones and team games rarely change what positions one must hold in them.

Eldar societies are the exact opposite, healthy ones at least, where there are a few keystones that always remain the same and where the ruler is a prince, a group of lords or very rarely priests and there's rarely change in the upper echelons of power.

If a society is ruled by a lord or several, it will be ruled by another when that one passes or is replaced and things will look largely the same for those in it. The same applies if they are ruled by the priesthood too.

Eldar society has few permutations of how it can be built, but Eldar themselves have a near infinite way they can participate in it, as a single Eldar may change their social position and how it relates to others easily if they put their minds to it. Food producers may disappear entirely or reappear in another shape, warriors may change from fighting with blades to being forbidden from ever touching one and instead fight by other means, merchants may appear and disappear as a class from one day to another as eldar society is highly fluid beyond the keystones that rule it.

This is why Asurman's path system is not fit for the long term as far as Eldar society is concerned, for it follows a logic that Eldar do not find instinctive. It tries to turn the fluid way Eldar build our societies rigid and instead of allowing us the freedom to pick our path through life and how that looks it merely gives an Eldar a lot of paths they can take, but those paths themselves are rigid and unchanging.

Some will take them and stick to them, especially when in danger of having their souls eaten, but cracks will slowly appear over time when the Eldar minds will crack and turn into something like the Exarchs, or they will abandon it for something that gives them the freedom the pursue their lives in a way that they find instinctively correct by either becoming Outcasts or Dark Eldar or perhaps they will join the Exodites in their Quarantine.

The societies created by the Paths of Asurman are lovely to live under should one choose to do so, but they are not meant for the minds of healthy Eldar to be raised in. They are meant for a society at war, one in constant crisis and that needs a structured way to survive it and our civilization was born from our desire to move from such a state.

Allowing this system to remain for too long would turn everyone under it into exarchs which are lost on their paths forever. It is why the healthiest societies in real space post-Fall are either exodites or those that have a loose interpretation of the path system while still following it to protect themselves from Slaanesh.

Dark Eldar society in comparison is highly toxic by all standards, including Eldar ones, as both the most tolerant and intolerant parts of the spectrum of normal Eldar thought find it abhorrent to need to prey on other peoples for our survival, for we are artists and not animals. Dark Eldar society though, is made with the eldar way of thinking in mind, as individuals can change who and what they are with little issue as they forge their own interpretation of themselves and their place in society and are not forced into merely picking a role that has been made for them.

Well… the free Dark Eldar can do so at least, the clones and slaves can't even have that.

We are eldar however, and not animals that are dependent on the existence of other species for survival, for only animals need that. Dark Eldar requiring the existence of other species for survival is downright shameful and obscene by every single standard of our people, and the fact the half-animals continue to pretend to be eldar is insulting to us too.

Eldar are above needing to prey on other species for our existence, but the Dark Eldar will not be, and thus they are half-animals at best and to be mocked relentlessly for their fall from grace they can't even recognize properly as such.

The man that will most likely manage to rule over that bunch of craven failures is my apprentice too now, and unlike my two other apprentices Vect is not capable of exceeding my expectations of him. The fool just about meets them, which is why I am making a massive ritual circle to have him, my mercenaries and sworn blades be able to clearly see why he is wrong in his opinion that humans are uncivilized beasts and useless.

"I wish to say I am disappointed in you apprentice, but that would be a lie as I am disappointed in myself for expecting my own expectations to be surpassed like it has happened with my two other apprentices. While you have not failed the lesson I tried to teach you, you did not manage to take it to its logical end." I informed him as the man watched me work.

I was making a massive ritual circle near the forest for all of those that wish to see why Vect was wrong when he thought humans are not worth much. My concubines and their family have decided they do not want to bother with it, and so will just guard us as we dream after they bring them back from their session with the flesh sculptors.

I did promise them physical enhancements after all.

"Humans are weak, clumsy, without you have no tools worth much, and are not even civilized or capable of singing right. They are worthless and I do not understand how you can think otherwise." My current apprentice told me and this time I was actually disappointed in him.

I did not bother hiding it from my face either.

'I might have to end this apprenticeship if he continues to think like that, and just when he started trying to learn well.' I thought with a grimace.

What I wished to teach him requires a certain mindset and constantly looking down on those lesser than you and meaning it is not helpful in the least. Pretending to not acknowledge the threat others might pose is one thing, not being able to do so is another, as one is expected and desirable while the other is not something I know how to fix or can be bothered to try.

I do not care for Reconciliation and while I am willing to help with this plan, I am not willing to teach someone that would make my life more difficult with their prejudices and shortsightedness, nor am I willing to go that far into ensuring it will work. The last thing I need is Vect calling me master while he espouses that nonsense.

"Humans are aliens Asdrubael Vect, and we have confirmed that they are civilized by the legal standards of the Empire, the issue is that they operate under an alien type of civilization that is counter-intuitive to us and that their souls enjoy keeping hidden from others." I informed him.

He seemed contrite at my answer but quickly recovered. Apparently being told the humans have a civilization and can keep it hidden from him managed to piss him off.

"You can't claim they aren't weak or useless." He retorted.

They are weak, yes, but useless? Nobody is truly useless as long as they are willing to put in some effort, you just need to learn how to make use of them. You will find anyone something they can help your plots with if you're willing to bother with them. If it's worth your time bothering with them when you have other options is one thing, but nobody is truly useless.

"Yes, they have fallen quite a lot from where they've been, they've fallen almost as much as this world has fallen from what it could be Vect. I am making this ritual to show you and the others a memory of how their people used to be not even 6000 years ago and make you realize that people being at their lowest does not define their capabilities, potential or talents and that you should still seek to cultivate talent as it can always come in handy." I informed him.

He huffed but did not comment further on it.

Vect originally tried to look at the humans and see if they were to be useful or not, but it quickly became obvious to him that they are not eldar and are thus not useful by the standards he is used to. He did not insult them, which is why he did not fail my assignment, but he decided to focus his efforts on the Cult of Strife and all but ignore the mercenaries.

I have given him his task to show me that he can learn what others are good at and ingratiating himself into social groups, and in doing so at the very least not make himself hated if he does not intend for it. I also had a hidden goal for him, which he failed to see but it is fine, for we have plenty of time for him to notice.

Prioritizing one group over the other is fine, but abandoning one of them was not and so he did not rise up to my hopes for him. It's a shame, but one I can correct and even if I do not, Vect is already in a better position than before he met me, as he is now free and just as set on achieving power and sees the path of priests for what it truly is, a path that is meant to support the story of others, and not one for whom the greatest power is reserved for.

I've already done my duty in less than three months, now it's up to me to fulfill my end of the bargain with Vect for what he's given me and then I can go do something else that's much more relevant to my interests.

"What do you wish to show me precisely? I doubt that any random memory would serve to show me what you wish for me to learn." He asked as I continued making the preparations.

He stood in his black robes made to inform all that he is my apprentice. They were blank to ensure nobody thought he was an actual priest, but otherwise looked like my clothes except the accessories and armor.

"A memory of one of the battles between Eldar and Humans. Your performance and comments made me realize you don't understand the fact you have lived in trash and among vermin for most of your life and you need to understand the fact that this world, despite its age, is not worth much and the way you described humans is the way the Empire would describe you." I explained.

Getting the crystals properly aligned is incredibly annoying and time consuming but I should be done in an hour.

"What do you think of my concubines and their family?" I asked as I tried to get the arrangement of crystals just right.

Something kept them from aligning properly. I noticed one moved when I was not looking by less than a tenth of a millimeter.

"Also, cease your sabotage." I ordered absentmindedly.

He tried to find a way to get out of my order, but his attempts ended up with a sigh.

The crystals stopped misalligning now.

"Lovely women, a bit too open and touchy but they do like me it seems. Probably because of my sister which they adopted." He answered.

"Do you not care for her?" I asked.

It would be better for everyone if he did not, but it is still something I needed to make certain of.

"Why should I? She certainly never liked me and I haven't known her for long enough to bother caring for her." He responded with feigned annoyance.

Yes, unfilial daughters do tend do elicit this sort of response, but I doubt Vect is terribly annoyed by it either. He didn't exactly have the chance to even try to care for her much and unless I missed my mark on his personality, he did not wish to even bother either.

"Fair enough, you are also mistaken about them, as they dislike you to a significant degree and they are just trying to play a prank on you in a way I don't quite understand. The fact that they are actually trying to interact with you positively tells me that while they do not like you, they do see you as a member of their community that they wish to engage with. Do not hold it against them, for they hate that you came from a pretender priest temple and dislike you for being the son of pretender priests and they've started to hate them to an irrational degree since I healed them and they realized what the priests have actually done to them and this world." I informed him softly.

'Done, that should do it.' I thought as I looked at the ritual circle.

I pulled out the memory crystal from my bag and put it in the center of the ritual circle where it was surrounded by twenty one crystals to each side.

The ritual circles was made out of wraithbone, special crystal dust and various large crystals. It was also quite large and had three reserved areas. One to my left for humans, one to the right for the Eldar viewers and one in the center for me to serve as the bridge between the two experience as we all stood and dreamed of the memory my siblings had prepared for me.

I also pretended to not notice that Vect stole some of the crystals in my bag, which is fine as he did not forget to replace them with fakes that look like they were broken by mistake as they are very fragile.

I have copies and they were meant for him anyway, so him being so interested in them actually helps his own education.

One should always swindle their masters for every scrap of knowledge they hold after all. If they don't then they are not trying hard enough to learn and I am glad Vect is taking his education so seriously as to try and cheat. My other apprentices had to either be tricked into it or had such monstrous talent they did not need it.

Normally one trained in the memory dream arts would not need this ritual circle for what I am attempting, but unfortunately I do not have formal training in most of the things I know to do.

I have a great width of techniques, but my actual knowledge in their arts is shallow, like in most of the things I know. Mastery in things such as bonesinging, rituals, weapons design, healing and so on can take decades if not centuries to learn and even then, Mastery is just the beginning of the road, not the end or even an important milestone and I am not even there yet.

"Is there any way I could have actually succeeded in that task?" He asked tiredly.

'Have you been starting to see my apprentice?' I thought as I looked at him.

He has little reason to be tired if he did not start Seeing what I wished for him to See.

"Yes you could have and did do well, you did excellently with the new family of your sister as I knew of their dislike for you and from their song you actually impressed them with your charisma and the way you slithered into conversations and songs. It is when you dealt with the humans that you did not manage to do as well as you could have, but you did not fail as you managed to avoid making enemies you did not have to."

"What was my actual task then? It wasn't to try and gather support or put myself in a position where it seems I have authority over them when I don't have it and can't claim as such, so how does it relate to deceit?" He asked me after a few minutes of contemplation.

I looked at him as I considered him. He stopped whining at my lessons and is actually trying to learn, so I can't claim he's questioning my teachings, not when he's actually trying to learn and do better. A pity I can't answer his question properly yet, as it is a very intelligent one.

"What is your guess as to what the fourth stage of deceit is meant to be? If you managedto realize it I doubt you'll need me to answer it, and if you didn't I'll explain later." I asked him.

Maybe he managed to figure it out and I won't need to actually answer it, or maybe I'll have to answer his question in the partial truth I keep answering his questions with out of necessity. I can't just tell him the answer, for he has to realize it then have me confirm it. Otherwise I can't be certain he understood what I wished for him to know.

I put myself near the ritual circle and gestured for him to come stay near me. He obeyed without words as he thought of what I asked him.

"The first stage is the providing of false statements to lead someone to the wrong conclusions, the second is providing a mix of true and false statements to create confusion, the third is the usage of true statements to lead someone to the wrong conclusions. The fourth stage is… is the usage of false statements to lead someone to the correct conclusions?" He answered me.

I laughed heartily at it and Vect and even my new blades looked uncomfortable at my laugh even as it lasted less than a minute.

My apprentices truly impress me when they are allowed to think.

"Close Vect, incredibly close but not quite, it can be considered the usage of false statements to fool someone into the correct conclusions but that is a small part of it. The true definition is the crafting of a lie so pleasant, so attractive that the one that hears it wishes to make it a reality. You could lead someone to the truth through false statements, but you could also deceive someone so well of what is truth and what is a lie that they will work to turn falsehoods into reality." I sang to him and made sure none but us could hear it.

He managed to get halfway through his final lesson, now it is up to me to complete it. I could see it in his eyes, that he now saw it, he saw the sky and saw that it was no longer empty.

I wonder what color it is, as I have never seen the sky of this world. All I could see besides whether it was night or day was the Dance of the Divine and it is the only thing I could see since leaving my birth world.

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I looked up and I saw the Divine look down upon me, both old and new.

Ever since I had first seen Bessar Agail and he started teaching me his nonsense, I could feel more and more that things aren't as they should be. There are things outside my vision, things that do not fit and that yet I can only perceive that I am meant to perceive them and yet I can't do so.

When he first spoke to me, and the temple died in orbital fire I saw it, I saw the image of an old man in white robes interpose itself on the body of the man dressed in black robes for not even a heartbeat, and it's voice was that of wisdom spoken in apocalypses.

During each of his lessons I could see glimpses of something I did not perceive but could remember that I needed to and yet others did not see it even as they experienced it themselves.

"You see it, my apprentice, the grand deceit that our people have been operating under, the reason why our people instinctively look up when there's nothing there and why you have been feeling more and more disjointed in your mind as something begins and there always feels as if something happened in-between the actions you took." The madman sang.

I could see the cosmic dance of Mortals and Divine as they danced for one another and I could see the fraying at the edges, as Hoec obscured that which erred from the rest of the Divine, I could see the New Divine too as it prepared to be born and a dagger made of darkness was slowly pressed into its chest.

"What is that?" I asked in wonder.

As I learned to parse through Bessar Agail's nonsensical lessons the feelings he spoke of intensified, no it did not intensify I had just become more aware of it as it happened.

"Your final lesson, To See Behind the Veil of Deceit we have spun around ourselves. I have been teaching you and your soul to see deceit, to perceive it and learn to spot the signs of it. If you would have talked with the humans more, and not the Cult of Strife, you would have noticed that they did not experience feeling disjointed when they looked at the sky while the Cult of Strife did whenever they looked at the sky." He explained.

I took it in and remembered, then all the other lessons as realization struck.

"You have been teaching me two things at the same time." I sang in wonder.

Making use of others, serving purposes beyond the obvious and even using tools that seem useless at first glance and making them useful when nobody is looking, it is art, it is theater and it is one mortals play for the Divine and that which the Divine plays for mortals

"Yes my apprentice, I did, you now see the sky as I do and if you are lucky will be able to see the normal sky and the dance of Mortal and Divine as you wished. I perceive the fourth stage of deceit as storytelling and I see up there the story of the Divine as they dance for us. We are separated by the Veil that prevents us from interacting with each other outside of specific circumstances, but that is a lie we told ourselves and deceived ourselves into making it a reality during the last of Khaine's cullings, albeit better said we were deceived into."

I stopped looking at the Divine which danced for me and turned to the man who taught me how to see it.

"What do you mean we were deceived?" I asked.

"The wasting disease my apprentice, it has been with us for a long time, and we have attempted for a long time to deal with it, for it is an attack on us by Aliens that wish us harm and the New Divine was born out of this attack on us. We have been attempting to kill it, and this Deceit was just one of the many plans we've made to deal with it.

Look closer Vect, you can see how the dancers tire, how they stop moving and cease even caring, but the new ones do not feel it as the Gods dance ever harder and with greater joy." He told me and I looked up again.

I saw it, I saw Isha dance with joy as healthy children were born, I saw the souls awaiting on Vaul's anvil as they burned in the Flames of Khaine and Asuryan and were reforged by it. I saw her, the New Divine and I saw her cry in joy and fear as she was to be born.

I saw Khaine sharpen his swords as Asuryan's flames danced in joy in a million shapes, each an ideal for the Eldar to follow and I saw as all of them slowly started to turn to me and they were Hungry and I met their Hungry Gaze with my Defiant One.

"You are having your final lesson my apprentice, the Gods are not allowed to see it, none are but the two of us!" Bessar Agail sang savagely as his soul cut and thundered against the Heavens.

He did not look up as he spoke, I could not see him but I somehow knew this.

The Gods wished for War, they wished to be made Whole and to Sing and Dance to the end of reality and beyond it as they cut down all they saw and even now the blades hungered for more as they danced and cut and sharpened each other. Their whispers beckoned me to move, to join them to be so much more, but the words of my master made themselves felt across time and space and it all ceased. The gods no longer hungered for my soul.

The Gaze of the Divine abated and they returned to their dances.

"Avert your Gaze from the Divine apprentice, you can do so, it is easy to do so and you must do so, for the longer you stare at the Divine then the longer they will stare at you, and they hunger for War and the more you look at them the more you will desire it." He ordered softly.

"How?" I asked as I stared in Defiance at the Divine.

My soul is my own and I will not cower in front of them, for such is not my Path. I am to walk the Path of Princes, and princes do not cower in front of Mortal or Divine.

"The same way you avert your eyes from the sky, so can you avert your Gaze from the Divine. Do not think apprentice, you must act and Seize the day as is the right of all that walk the Path of Princes." He ordered.

I did so and in a heartbeat the dance of the Divine was no longer in the sky instead it was the blue noon sky I have seen tens of thousands of times before.

I exhaled as the worst of the nonsense has passed.

"So does that mean I am a master now?" I asked cockily.

Being able to choose to see through spiritual and Divine Deceit and know of the plays other perform around me was worth the months of dealing with his nonsense.

Just knowing the Divine dance for my entertainment was enough.

Bessar Agail laughed at my question.

"Yes, you can leave if you want Asdrubael Vect, as I have taught you what you need to know, but I am still hosting this dream session and it would be useful for you to learn what you will see here." He spoke.

I considered it. I do not like any of those my former master insisted I have to interact with, and it is unlikely that I will ever see them again, but if what I learn here is also as useful as what I have learned so far then it will be worth wasting a day or two dreaming.

"I will stay and see what makes you think humans have any value, you've earned this much consideration from me." I replied imperiously.

"Excellent, my mercenaries are on the way back and they will return shortly to learn of that which their people has forgotten."

I could hardly wait.