This post was deleted for the following reasons:
- Unapproved in three days -
Artist's commentary
The Shackled Son and the Tau'vatar
Commission from Artorian-Runaan who also wrote this companion piece.
Deep within the bowels of the sept-colony of Sho'aun, a gaia-world freshly scarred by the burbling plagues of rot weaponized by grotesque Gue'ron'sha, survivors of the 4th Expansion fleet inspect the interior of an ancient complex of unknown origin. Shadowsun herself leads the investigation, for the doubts in her heart at the miracle she witnessed yet hours ago have dug their talons deep within her breast.
Initial scans of the complex indicate it is similar in composition to the blackened stone and silvery metals used by an implacable race of robotic xenos, but there are enough key differences in its structure that its origins remain yet a mystery. Unlike forays into such compelxes maintained by that race, this one hums softly with the sounds of life, of chittering servitors who chatter to themselves even as they maintain its immense functionality.
The trouble began soon after the cadre entered the complex. The exhausted auxiliaries, chief of which were a gue'vesa contingent and a kroot herd, began to suffer intense visions that would send them sprawling, or even worse, into a comatose state. Chief amongst them, the gue'vesa'o, suffered a near total mental-breakdown as his mind was overwhelmed However, he refused to return to the surface, even when gently coaxed by the cadre's accompanying Ethereal. Remembering the strange insanity that has so often plagued the species the Tau call helpers, Shadowrun was inclined to force his removal, but the veteran commander's morbid curiosity got the better of her.
Finally, after more than a day of travel, the investigation cadre reached the base of the complex. Here, through the cracks in the monolithic glyph-strewn walls that lay before them, shimmered rays of tranquil greenish-blue light. Even as they began to build a base camp from which they could study the structure, a deep tension had settled into the hearts of the Tau that formed the core of the team. Even the fiercely loyal Shadowrun felt something... uncomfortable before such a feat of xenos engineering. But the auxiliaries? They were overjoyed. To the consternation of their superiors, the gue'vesa'o, the chief shaper, and several key leaders amongst the lesser auxiliaries approached the monumental containment walls with haste. There, they kneeled, offering praise and... worship?. Indeed, it was worship. Before they could be chastised, something happened that none present would ever forget.
The gue'vesa'o, guided by his visions, staggered towards the wall, placing his hands on a particular glyph. Murmuring that he must set them free, he presses it. In an instant generators crackled to life, energies hummed, and walls shuddered. Internal mechanisms ground into action. The chittering servitors which had followed the investigation cadre grew silent. The lights dimmed, and all was dark for a time.
When the rumbling ceased, a light returned to the chamber. Immediately ordering her cadre to assume defensive positions around the Earth Caste survey team and the Ethereal, Shadowsun and a hand-picked La'rui approached the retaining wall. The gue'vesa'o and the other chiefs of the auxiliaries had vanished, never to be seen again. In their place, was a doorway that shimmered with otherworldly light...
What Shadowsun and her La'rui saw that day within the containment chamber is not well understood, let alone even known by anyone but the highest ranked officials in the combined 4th and 5th expansion fleet. What is known however, is that she did not emerge without change. Her brow, held so stern thanks to merciless nature had softened ever so slightly. A touch of true youth returned to her frame of middling age. But most of all, she showed a change of heart towards her mission. It was as if her loyalty to the Tau'va had been reinvigorated, reconstituted, and even repaired.
Though the men and women that accompanied her into the complex were issued strict gag orders, nevertheless, word soon leaked out to the citizenry of Sho'aun that a installation manned by an expansive force of Earth caste and several Ethereals have taken up permanent residence within the ancient city and its depths. Private speculation abounds, but so far, none of them have even begun to guess the truth, not of the monolithic city, and certainly not of the otherworldly miracle that saved the Nem'yar Atoll from destruction at the hands of the Death Guard.
Nor, most certainly, the truth of the entities that lurked within the heart of the ancient city. Of the wasted, masculine entity bonded by chains meant to hold true stellar gods, nor, of the many-limbed feminine entity that manifested itself before the expedition with arms held wide open in a loving welcome.
In a way, it was as if the expedition had come home, albeit to one never knew they had.
TWITTER: twitter.com/Blazbaros
PATREON: www.patreon.com/blazbaros
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/blazbaros/