Rite of Ascension Pt. 1 & 2

9:45:21 PM      KTGM  It is the 41st Millennium, on the far distances on the Calixis sector's outer-rim regions, beyond the Halo Stars, sits the Teutonic Realm. The masters of this realm, the Astartes of the Knights Teutonic, have laid claim to this sector-sized territory -known as the Powask Territory to Imperial adepts of the Administratum- for ages stretching far before the Angevin crusade, and the formation of Calixis itself.
9:46:33 PM      KTGM  These Knights have secluded themselves from the Imperium, and dutifully purged and cleansed the Realm they claim, and were as a result of their power, once uniquely important in Scintillan politics.
9:48:05 PM      KTGM  That is, until the Umbaros disaster... since that event in which the controversial Grand Master Heront Klavier, doomed his Order in a chapter-mobilization against a traitor warband, the Chapter has declined significantly. It has only been 75 years since that event, but centuries of the Knights' efforts have been pushed back by this period of decline and disaster.
9:50:48 PM      KTGM  The Chapter's jealous guarding of equipment and closely-guarded gene seed has meant that their numbers are quickly recovering. This does not, however, mean that their ages-old traditions of purifying the Order of any unfit recruits has been made any more tolerable. You are one such recruit, a Page, of the Knights Teutonic. You have seen hundreds of thousands of men much like yourself be mercilessly pushed to their limits, and sent to their deaths. You have received the harsh indoctrination and training the Order gives its candidate-members, and have survived this long.
9:51:01 PM      KTGM  And now, one final test remains....
9:52:18 PM      KTGM  The Thunderhawk howls as it descends through the fearsome winter storm surrounding the Onyr, Prosson's highest mountain.... a desolate place, unforgiving and harsh on any living being.
9:53:46 PM      KTGM  Knight-Brother Johannes: "Once the doors open, and you exit, it will be the last you will ever see of Chapter support. I expect none of you to survive."
9:54:27 PM      KTGM  His voice low, and powerful, like the other Knights you have been in the presence of. They are unforgiving as their home-planet is, and scorn the weak.
9:55:32 PM       Page_Axel inspects the pages around him
9:57:21 PM      KTGM  Knight-Brother Johannes: "You will seek the Lodge of the Cross. If you think you're near... keep climbing. Aim for the peak, and you will find it. If by some miracle the Emperor deems you lot worthy of His mercy, and you find the Lodge, it will be your home for an entire week. Waiting for you, a dose of deadly toxins. You are to intake these upon your arrival. Meditation should follow until I arrive to collect your corpses."
9:59:18 PM      KTGM  Around you, other very tough men... but that's just it. Men. The Knights see you as lesser and unworthy. You've known this for years now. Despite all you've undergone, none of you is anything but a fleck of dust to the Knights. It has always been this way... tales of the white-clad Daemons have haunted you from your childhood. But now... you may just become one of these Legendary Angels of Death.
10:00:28 PM     KTGM  "My Lord," one page dooms himself, "what equipme--"
10:00:37 PM     KTGM  A single round from Johanne's Bolter answers his question.
10:01:21 PM      Page_Axel thinks to himself "Fool"
10:01:37 PM     KTGM  Knight-Brother Johannes: "Survive by whatever means necessary, for as long as you are able... and beware the Rhoc."
10:03:11 PM     KTGM  At that, the Thunderhawk makes its landing. The ramp opens up, and the blizzard instantly rushes into the craft. Knight-Brother Johannes, kicks the Page's carcass outside with a disdainful grunt, and gives you parting words.
10:03:36 PM     KTGM  "Survival is only the beginning."
10:04:23 PM      Page_Axel enters into the blizzard
10:04:45 PM     KTGM  The Pages around you dismount, a few of them stripping the dead recruit's possessions.
10:06:02 PM      Page_Axel begins to make his way towards the summit
10:06:26 PM     KTGM  Two of them begin to brawl over the fur lining around the corpse's neck.
10:08:25 PM      Page_Axel checks around for the other page
10:08:51 PM     KTGM  The other, seeing this as an opportunity, helps himself to the corpse's possessions and rushes to the Onyr's foothill.
10:09:29 PM      Page_Axel makes his way to the foothill, avoiding the other pages
10:10:31 PM     KTGM  The winds are punishing, even with the boulders and rock formations around you shielding you. You can only imagine the savagery of the blizzards at higher altitudes.
10:11:28 PM     KTGM  The more clever of your squires-to-be takes note of the direction of the wind, holding up one of his furs, and makes way towards the side most-shielded from the elements.
10:12:22 PM      Page_Axel follows him at a distance, but keeping him in sight
10:16:41 PM     KTGM  You both begin your ascent on the same face of the Onyr, and while you keep your distance from one another, there are clearly better paths up than others. You eventually close your paths, and are within 10 meters of eachother at any given time. After your first 2 hours of climbing, a very thin underpass is the only way you may continue. You are, however, behind, and your fellow Page reaches the underpass first.
10:17:30 PM     KTGM  You realize, then, the power he wields, it is a delicate and brittle formation hanging over it. Should he wish it, he could demolish it after making it through, sabotaging you, and quite likely killing you in the process.
10:20:10 PM     KTGM  Contemplating this, you look around for options, and notice the height you've come to... the predatory Rhocs are fiercely territorial beasts, and you know become aware that you've entered their territory. You scan through the blizzard as best you can for a few minutes, and are satisfied that they're not an immediate threat. The skies appear empty around you.
10:20:46 PM     KTGM  As the Page passes through, and clears the underpass, he looks back at you.
10:21:24 PM     KTGM  He looks up again, and continues climbing, leaving behind the stretch of rope he'd secured for himself.
10:22:43 PM      Page_Axel approaches the rope, giving it a tug to test the knot
10:23:11 PM     KTGM  It's as firm as you could wish, gripping to the icy mountainside.
10:24:18 PM      Page_Axel creates a harness of sorts, attempting to make the climb easier
10:26:06 PM     KTGM  The ingenuity pays off, as the harness and rope mechanism you've fashioned gives you added support. The climb is significantly easier from there on out. You even make gains, eventually catching up to your climbing partner.
10:27:17 PM     Page_Axel  "I Appreciate the help." He yells
10:27:39 PM     KTGM  Page: "I like the contraption!" he returns
10:27:58 PM     KTGM  He carefully makes his way closer to you.
10:28:12 PM     KTGM  He holds up his palm, signaling you to stop.
10:28:36 PM      Page_Axel slows to a stop, but remains wary
10:28:44 PM     Page_Axel  "Yes?"
10:29:00 PM     KTGM  He reaches forward to your line, and gives it a tug.
10:29:05 PM     KTGM  "Sturdy!"
10:29:36 PM     KTGM  He looks down and grabs for some of the extra rope he acquired from the silenced Page.
10:29:59 PM     Page_Axel  "I could show you how to make it."
10:30:39 PM     KTGM  He gives you an exaggerated nod, as if he needed to "yell" even with body language.
10:31:10 PM      Page_Axel teaches the other page how to create the harness
10:31:43 PM     KTGM  Studiously observing you, he recreates the design, and soon has his own harness.
10:32:01 PM      Page_Axel continues to climb
10:32:01 PM     KTGM  He gives you a pat on the shoulder, and continues climbing.
10:34:05 PM     KTGM  You both continue your climb for another strenuous 5 hours. Being near the pole, the Onyr doesn't seem to reflect any passing of time, with its Sun simply dancing in the sky, setting once every 5 days.
10:35:31 PM     KTGM  The blizzard's conditions become worse and worse. Every meter is harsher on you than the next, but you both nonetheless make great progress. Below you, the only "ground" is the blanket of rushing ice and snow of the blizzard- the base of the mountain long-gone from view.
10:36:09 PM     KTGM  As you make it to a jagged formation of ice, your companion waves at you, trying to get your attention.
10:36:38 PM      Page_Axel draws near to see what he wants
10:37:02 PM     KTGM  "Cave!" he yells through the howling snow storm.
10:37:13 PM     KTGM  He points up.
10:37:50 PM     Page_Axel  "We should use it as cover, but beware of Rhoc!" He shouts back
10:38:10 PM     KTGM  Sure enough, a sizable opening on the mountainside lies just beyond the jagged ice.
10:38:34 PM     KTGM  He makes signs pointing to his ears - communicating that he hasn't heard anything of worry.
10:39:40 PM      Page_Axel nods and repeats the motion
10:39:48 PM     KTGM  He continues to climb, to a sort of ledge that forms. From there, it is possible to hike up to the mouth of this cave.
10:40:34 PM      Page_Axel follows him
10:40:42 PM     KTGM  Reaching the ledge, he turns to you, and takes a knee, extending his arm to you once you're near.
10:41:00 PM      Page_Axel takes it
10:41:21 PM     KTGM  He pulls you up, and secures his gear, cautiously beginning the short hike to the cave.
10:41:51 PM      Page_Axel draws his dagger and makes his way to the mouth, but remains crouched
10:42:55 PM     KTGM  As you both enter, a low whistle greets you... the cavernous formation seems to hum in meditation as the wind passes through it.
10:43:57 PM      Page_Axel motions to the other man to remain quiet
10:44:05 PM     KTGM  Several meters inside, the snow no longer invades the cave.
10:45:37 PM     KTGM  As you explore, you reach a sheet of thin ice, which gives under your weight. You fall a few meters, into the opening created, your incident loudly echoing throughout the cave formation.
10:46:13 PM      Page_Axel jumps into a crouched positions, knife in hand
10:47:32 PM     KTGM  Seconds later, you can hear the echoing call, "Are you there?! What do you see?!"
10:48:29 PM     Page_Axel  "I'm here, but I can't see anything."
10:49:20 PM     KTGM  "Try to climb back up!" you can now hear the voice more clearly, as he leans over the edge above you.
10:49:27 PM      Page_Axel using his dagger and harness, climbs back up
10:49:50 PM     KTGM  "Welcome back... come, I found something."
10:50:04 PM      Page_Axel nods and follows him
10:51:59 PM     KTGM  He leads you into a side-opening which opens up into a surprisingly well-lit area. The ice formation inside even looks like a Temple, with an almost perfectly flat platform rising above the ground on the far end.
10:53:11 PM     Page_Axel  "Could this be created by the chapter?"
10:53:37 PM     KTGM  "Someone has definitely been here..." he says, distractedly.
10:53:57 PM     KTGM  You realize that on the platform, he stares at  what appear to be human remains.
10:55:02 PM     KTGM  He is right, however in saying "someone"... the bodies are carefully placed side by side.
10:55:22 PM     KTGM  They appear to lean on the wall, joined at their shoulder and skull.
10:55:51 PM     KTGM  Above them, a dagger driven into the icy wall.
10:56:29 PM      Page_Axel walks forward, looking for more clues
10:57:01 PM     KTGM  Their skulls, you notice... are cracked, as if bashed together at the point of contact.
10:57:19 PM     KTGM  "By the Emperor... it's true..."
10:57:48 PM     Page_Axel  "What is true?"
10:58:34 PM     KTGM  "Klavier... this is his Path of Ascension. The stories are true..." he says, amazed... approaching the bodies and kneeling by them.
10:59:32 PM     KTGM  "He killed the Pages who were with him, breaking their skulls..." his fingers feeling the bashed skulls as if to confirm.
11:00:48 PM     KTGM  "He meditated here, for days. Praying to the Emperor to give him strength."
11:01:32 PM      Page_Axel listens intently
11:01:50 PM     KTGM  "He was granted such strength, and he continued his Ascension without equipment to aid him..." he stands looking closely at the dagger.
11:02:02 PM     KTGM  He looks to you. "This is Klavier's dagger."
11:02:30 PM      Page_Axel walks fowards and removes the dagger from the ice
11:03:22 PM     Page_Axel  "This should be taken to the chapter."
11:03:30 PM     KTGM  It is, quite simply, an underwhelming design. Time has been unkind to it, and even yours is more useful. But you realize you are holding the tool that the controversial Grand Master once himself held... and discarded in zeal to the Emperor.
11:04:08 PM     KTGM  "The Council of Masters would never accept it..." he shakes his head.
11:04:33 PM      Page_Axel nods, then places the dagger back into its resting place
11:04:47 PM     KTGM  "No one dares speak of him anymore... this would only make wounds more painful."
11:05:34 PM     Page_Axel  "We should remember him and all his glory, not turn away from his legacy."
11:06:36 PM     KTGM  "Mind your words... while no one would question his might as a warrior, his hubris and conceit were his undoing."
11:06:53 PM     KTGM  "He may have brought the Chapter to its peak, but he also brought it it's doom."
11:07:26 PM      Page_Axel nods, chastised
11:08:14 PM     Page_Axel  "Shall we make camp here and rest? Or continue?"
11:09:17 PM     KTGM  "We should rest... and meditate, as he did. The Emperor would be infinitely kind to grant us even a portion of Klavier's strength"
11:10:15 PM      Page_Axel drives his dagger into the ice next to Klavier's, then begins to meditate
11:10:51 PM     KTGM  Your companion falls to his knees, his dagger held flat in front of him, and begins his meditation.
11:13:15 PM     KTGM  Time doesn't pass you by in any noticeable way as you meditate, except... as you come back to your senses, you realize Onyr is in darkness. You must have meditated for at least 12 hours, and are in for a night of five days.
11:13:52 PM      Page_Axel checks on his companion
11:14:06 PM     KTGM  And yet, your senses are keen, sharp... you are able to see around the cavern. The little moonlight that Kleistus gives off through the storm appears amplified inside the icy caver.
11:14:47 PM     KTGM  Your companion is awake, now knelt in front of the corpses, looking up at the dagger.
11:15:16 PM     KTGM  "Were that we had his courage..." he says, not moving, staring up at it.
11:15:51 PM     Page_Axel  "We must have our own courage, we should begin climbing."
11:16:16 PM     KTGM  He rises, eye-level to the daggers.
11:16:21 PM     KTGM  "Will you leave it?"
11:17:15 PM     Page_Axel  "I will."
11:17:43 PM     KTGM  "You are a fool..."
11:18:05 PM     KTGM  ",,,and yet, so was Klavier... Come, let's go."
11:18:55 PM      Page_Axel waits for his companion to leave and returns to grab the knife
11:19:51 PM      Page_Axel exits the cave and begins climbing, using the same harness system
11:20:01 PM     KTGM  As you exit the cave, the blanket of falling snow shines a bright white, Kleistus' light piercing through... you look up, and can barely make out its halo.
11:21:37 PM     Page_Axel  "Now we climb at night."
11:22:24 PM     KTGM  The Chapter Monastery is ancient... older than the Calixis Sector itself... it covers Prosson's moon in its entirety. The proud Knights' seat of power, and a beautiful sight on this long dark journey... you can almost /feel/ the Order looking down on you, judging your every move.
11:23:10 PM     KTGM  "Not a moment to lose..." the page continues his climb.
11:24:58 PM     KTGM  It is a dangerous climb, in these heights. Very little rock is encountered... a thick sheeting of ice on every inch of the mountain's surface.
11:26:59 PM     KTGM  You both climb, occasionally aiding one-another, and brave through the unforgiving weather for several hours... your hands are almost completely numb, your face not far behind in the effect. Leaving your eyes open for longer than a few seconds is painful, and you can feel the tears on the corner of your eyes freezing away.
11:28:59 PM     KTGM  The climb while harsh, does eventually give way to a more even, though still sloped, horizontal outgrowth of ice which you are able to carefully navigate on foot.
11:29:12 PM     KTGM  "Shit..."
11:29:16 PM     KTGM  the Page signals you to stop.
11:29:25 PM      Page_Axel stops
11:29:52 PM     KTGM  He points to the way up ahead.
11:31:20 PM     KTGM  On a slight depression, you see it... large petrified splinters of wood, some half your height, stones, and even broken off ice, forms the oval-like shape...
11:32:04 PM     Page_Axel  "Is that a nest?"
11:32:07 PM     KTGM  inside, eggs twice the size of a man's head.
11:32:31 PM     KTGM  "Rhoc..."
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7:17:49 PM      KTGM  It is the 41st Millennium,
7:17:49 PM      KTGM  The Chapter Monastery on Kleistus illuminates your surroundings, the spirit of the ancient Order scrutinizing your every move.
7:21:00 PM      KTGM  You and your companion have made a valiant effort to reach the Lodge of the Cross. The path you have taken, you discovered, is the same path chosen by that most-controversial of figures in the Chapter, Grand Master Heront Klavier. Whether inspirational, or disconcerting, you follow in the steps of a once very powerful Astartes, one who shaped the politics of the Calixis sector for centuries.
7:23:13 PM      KTGM  Adding to the challenge of standing on the shadow of a legendary figure, is your more recent discovery... you are meters away from a Rhoc nest.
7:26:59 PM      Page_Axel  "We could avoid it."
7:27:10 PM      KTGM  The blizzard makes things even more hazardous, as the predatory beasts could no-doubt detect you, without you having a line of sight beyond 10 or so meters.
7:27:56 PM      KTGM  Your companion whispers back, "I don't think we'll survive this..."
7:29:08 PM      Page_Axel  "Don't lose your nerve, we must remain strong."
7:29:56 PM      KTGM  "They can snap an Astartes in half! We must turn back.... find another way... far from... /this/!"
7:31:47 PM       Page_Axel turns to him and looks him dead in the eyes "You may show your weakness and back down if you wish, but i'm continuing forward.We can get through this if we stay together and be careful."
7:32:33 PM      KTGM  The Page looks at you, and then at the nest... and back at you again, giving you a nod.
7:35:42 PM      Page_Axel  "I think we should risk the ledge. I'd rather not disturb the eggs."
7:36:01 PM      Page_Axel  "Or their parent."
7:37:03 PM      KTGM  "We don't even know how much of that is just loose snow..."
7:38:00 PM      Page_Axel  "Would you rather go through the nest?"
7:38:29 PM      KTGM  "Whatever we do, we don't have much time. The nest won't be left unattended for long."
7:39:12 PM      Page_Axel  "I'd rather be eaten than fall, the nest it is."
7:39:28 PM      KTGM  "Emperor protect us..."
7:39:31 PM       Page_Axel begins to makes his way stealthily towards the nest
7:40:09 PM      KTGM  You are followed by the cautious figure of the page.
7:40:55 PM       Page_Axel prays to the Emperor silently for strength
7:42:20 PM      KTGM  As you approach, you see them. Three eggs. The arrangement of bark, stone, and ice is impressively well-built, with the stronger, more sturdy materials at the base, and the more insular bark on the top.
7:45:42 PM      Page_Axel  "Stick to the outside." He whispers to the other page
7:46:02 PM       Page_Axel enters the nest and begins to cross, tensed and ready
7:47:10 PM      KTGM  You both slowly make your way across the nest, doing your best not to alert the parent Rhocs of your presence.
7:47:26 PM      KTGM  Suddenly, you hear a low thump.
7:48:05 PM      KTGM  "It moved!" your terrified companion whispers sharply at you
7:48:31 PM      Page_Axel  "A egg?"
7:49:11 PM      KTGM  {AN EGG}
7:50:57 PM      KTGM  "Yes" he hisses back, quickly making his way to you.
7:51:23 PM      Page_Axel  "Hurry then, we don't want it to hatch while we are here."
7:53:44 PM      KTGM  You both make your way across, and once you find sturdy footing, you leave the nest on the other side.
7:54:22 PM       Page_Axel hurries away from the nest, trying to put as much distance as possible
7:55:55 PM      KTGM  You reach a large stone formation, it looks almost as if it were a foundation to an old tower.
7:56:53 PM      KTGM  At this moment, you hear a screech.
7:57:13 PM      KTGM  Then another joins in.
7:57:31 PM      KTGM  The nest is now a much more active place than you left it.
7:58:00 PM      KTGM  The hatching Rhocs call out for their parents.
7:58:21 PM      KTGM  "Shit... shit, shit."
7:58:46 PM      Page_Axel  "Keep moving, we aren't clear yet."
7:59:38 PM      KTGM  Then, somewhere off to your side... opposite the mountainside, you hear the panicked screaming of a man.
8:00:14 PM      Page_Axel  "Look like another page is having difficulties."
8:00:27 PM      KTGM  You can't see a thing, but the source of the screaming seems to change position.
8:01:26 PM      KTGM  Your companion page picks up the pace, coming to a jog ahead of you.
8:04:34 PM       Page_Axel follows his lead
8:05:37 PM      KTGM  You make good advances, and the page once feeling safe, slows down a bit, and comes to a stop.
8:05:50 PM      KTGM  He looks around and overhead, to be sure.
8:06:18 PM      Page_Axel  "That went better than I expected."
8:06:59 PM      KTGM  Then, the yelling again... but only for a few seconds.
8:07:35 PM      KTGM  The Page looks behind you, wide-eyed, and falls on his back, just as the screaming stops... with a loud thump behind you.
8:08:03 PM       Page_Axel quickly turns around
8:08:29 PM      KTGM  A body lies on the snowy ground, motionless.
8:08:58 PM      Page_Axel  "Get up and get ready!" He says urgently
8:09:24 PM      KTGM  With an unnerving silence, above it, an enormous dark figure begins to appear behind the blizzard's snowy blanket.
8:09:28 PM       Page_Axel brings out his dagger and looks for the culprit
8:10:29 PM      KTGM  It descends without a sound, wings spread far open, fighting the wind pushing against it, and lands with a talon on the corpse.
8:10:54 PM      KTGM  It takes one single bite, as if to ensure the prey's death.
8:11:17 PM      KTGM  Then, it slowly raises its head, and stares directly at you.
8:12:35 PM      KTGM  Sheer terror travels down your spine, as you realize that you have come to take a significantly lower position on the foodchain.
8:13:04 PM      KTGM  You feel the hair on the back of your head and neck stand straight up.
8:13:42 PM      KTGM  Still looking right at you, the animal lets out its deafening screech.
8:14:15 PM      KTGM  With the corpse still on its talon, it walks in your direction.
8:14:35 PM      KTGM  It is truly enormous in size... dwarfing an Astartes in full power armor.
8:15:39 PM      Page_Axel  "Still here?" he asks quietly
8:16:03 PM      KTGM  "I've soiled myself."
8:17:15 PM      KTGM  It opens its wings, in a display of power, as it approaches you.
8:17:50 PM      Page_Axel  "Any ideas?"
8:17:59 PM      KTGM  "Charge it?"
8:18:11 PM      Page_Axel  "Brilliant."
8:18:25 PM       Page_Axel backs up to the other page.
8:19:23 PM      KTGM  The animal stops, and appears to stretch out, its tail fanned, head raised high, and wings open as far open as it can, wingtips raised.
8:19:49 PM       Page_Axel gets into a defensive position
8:20:03 PM      KTGM  The blizzard's strong winds now slowly begin to pick it up, the animal gracefully rising up along with the current.
8:21:03 PM      KTGM  As the wings catch the wind, it ascends faster, and further... now 20 meters off the ground, it looks back down at you before turning and flying away.
8:21:16 PM      Page_Axel  "Go."
8:21:39 PM       Page_Axel begins to run in the other direction as fast as his feet can carry him
8:23:15 PM      KTGM  You are followed by the terrified page.
8:23:59 PM      KTGM  You both finally reach the end of any easily navigable surface. You shall have to climb vertically once more.
8:24:52 PM      Page_Axel  "Lets get this over with, the stress is getting to me."
8:25:22 PM      KTGM  "Damned... birds..." he says to himself as he straps on the rope harness.
8:25:47 PM       Page_Axel readies his harness and begins to climb
8:27:28 PM      KTGM  You make your best effort, no one could deny it, but you struggle to cover any significant ground... and now the effects of being isolated and exposed to the elements become dire.
8:28:06 PM      KTGM  Your body requires nourishment, threatening to give out with the occasional cramping of your muscles... something that could prove deadly whilst climbing up at these heights.
8:30:19 PM      Page_Axel  "I don't know how much longer we can go without food."
8:31:02 PM      KTGM  "There isn't much on these mountains... not at this altitude..."
8:31:31 PM      Page_Axel  "Any idea how far we are from the peak?"
8:33:33 PM      KTGM  "Impossible to know, with the winds still doing... this"
8:34:18 PM      Page_Axel  "Well, nothing we can do but keep going."
8:34:54 PM      KTGM  "Do you... do you smell that?"
8:35:55 PM      KTGM  You close your eyes, and focus your senses... you do smell it.
8:36:00 PM      KTGM  Burning wood.
8:36:04 PM      Page_Axel  "Seems like you incident has begun to make itself known."
8:36:19 PM      Page_Axel  [Redacted]
8:37:25 PM      Page_Axel  "How can you even manage a fire up here?"
8:37:52 PM      KTGM  "Impossible... you would need to shelter a fire from these winds..."
8:38:29 PM      Page_Axel  "We shall see I assume."
8:42:39 PM      KTGM  You carry on, not without complications... along the way you nearly break a leg, and damage your knee, and your companion loses his canteen and dagger, trying to free himself from a miscalculated tight-fit between two icy pillars. Your muscles struggle to cooperate with you, your eyes are in pain, sight impaired on one of them, and you begin to loose feeling in your extremities, the hunger had started to consume you, but now even that has turned to numbness.
8:42:52 PM      KTGM  You fear your body has begun to shut itself down.
8:44:23 PM      KTGM  In an attempt to keep himself from drifting away, your companion has started to make conversation,
8:44:28 PM      KTGM  "What is your name, anyway..."
8:45:10 PM      Page_Axel  "Axel, and your?" He responds weakly
8:45:35 PM      KTGM  "I.. I'm Sigmund.." he replies.
8:46:00 PM      KTGM  "Axel... Knight-Brother Axel, they will say one day," he says, with a labored chuckle.
8:47:03 PM      Page_Axel  "We will complete this, and both earn our names."
8:47:49 PM      KTGM  As you climb further, Kleistus no longer appears to be the sole source of light... in fact, a yellow glow begins to take over the further up you go.
8:48:29 PM      KTGM  "Ah, how cruel... my senses... they fool me with promises of relief."
8:48:29 PM      Page_Axel  "We are close to...whatever is creating the fire..."
8:49:15 PM      Page_Axel  "Just keep going...we'll make it."
8:49:35 PM      KTGM  You continue climbing, your hands gripping to each subsequent possible bit of ice... rock...
8:49:42 PM      KTGM  ...stone.
8:50:14 PM      KTGM  Your hand grips the unmistakable surface of masoned stone.
8:51:48 PM      Page_Axel  "Have we.. have we made it?"
8:51:50 PM      KTGM  Along the side of the mountain, the wild rock and ice is overtaken by a humble stone structure, neatly rested into the mountain.
8:52:34 PM      KTGM  You are able to stand on the surface, something your companion eagerly does, panting heavily as he does.
8:53:21 PM      KTGM  You walk on this surface, towards the side of the structure.
8:54:38 PM      KTGM  You see on it, the Cross of the Knight-Order, aged and weathered, but unmistakably, that icon which has granted the Emperor's protection to countless worlds.
8:55:43 PM      KTGM  Just underneath it, large double-doors, closed, shielding the inside from the elements.
8:56:04 PM       Page_Axel tries to open the doors
8:56:40 PM      KTGM  You push, but they don't give. Furthermore, as you push, you hear the rattling of heavy chain on the inside.
8:57:12 PM      Page_Axel  "I think it's barred from the inside..."
8:57:26 PM      KTGM  Sigmund falls to his knees.
8:58:36 PM      Page_Axel  "Are you alright?" he quickly goes to his comrades side
8:58:49 PM      KTGM  The Onyr is cruel. This, you have always known. But to be so close from shelter, and yet be denied it, is a demoralizing thing indeed, and it has had its toll on Sigmund.
8:59:55 PM      KTGM  You hadn't realized it before, as you climbed up, but looking closely now, with the new source of light, you realize he is in a pitiful state.
9:01:54 PM      KTGM  Cruelty, however, is the wrong word.
9:01:57 PM      KTGM  Uncaring.
9:02:21 PM      KTGM  Uncaring, for the mountain is just another feature on the actually rather beautiful world of Prosson.
9:02:41 PM      KTGM  A world that despite your suffering prospers even as the Teuton Realm around it collapses.
9:02:47 PM      KTGM  Uncaring...
9:03:03 PM      KTGM  as the screech of the Rhoc, calls out to you once more.
9:03:19 PM      KTGM  Sigmund doesn't react. His is the form of a man defeated.
9:03:45 PM       Brother-Sergeant_Volker joined the channel.
9:03:55 PM      Page_Axel  "You have to get up...we must continue."
9:05:32 PM      KTGM  The predator circles around you, you can see it above. It knows you are there, and you are aware of it, too.
9:06:13 PM      KTGM  Sigmund: "We are finished. He said it himself, Axel... none of us would succeed. He collects corpses, he doesn't round up successful Pages."
9:06:14 PM       Page_Axel takes a guarding stance over his fallen comrade, dagger at the ready
9:06:46 PM      KTGM  From inside the structure, you hear... chanting.
9:06:55 PM      KTGM  It echoes within its walls.
9:07:19 PM      Page_Axel  "All the more reason to show him that we survived..." He says, then turns to look at the building
9:08:23 PM      KTGM  "OPEN THE DOORS, WORTHLESS MORTAL!"  a roaring command interrupts the chanting inside.
9:09:06 PM       Page_Axel walks to the door and tries to open it
9:10:14 PM      KTGM  The rattling of heavy chain begins... and the doors slowly open. In front of you, an imposing figure. A Knight in full armor, wielding a Thunderhammer, on his wings of steel.
9:10:41 PM       Page_Axel takes a knee
9:11:27 PM      KTGM  He has large horns protruding from his helmet, the sight is unnerving. He doesn't acknowledge your existence for a second, instead leaping into the skies, with the Rhoc as his prey.
9:12:30 PM      KTGM  He strikes the beast in mid-air, and the two fall beyond your line of sight down the mountainside.
9:12:45 PM      KTGM  Sigmund: "This... is it..." he stares inside.
9:13:09 PM       Page_Axel stands there in awe of what just happened
9:13:18 PM      KTGM  Chapter serfs, and priests of the Ecclesiarchy go about their business inside.
9:13:30 PM      KTGM  One of them takes notice of you, and is surprised by your presence.
9:13:48 PM      KTGM  "Come children... come inside." he says, quickly approaching you.
9:15:30 PM       Page_Axel nods and enters the building
9:16:10 PM      KTGM  "You are with the group of Pages?"
9:16:38 PM      Page_Axel  "Yes...but there isn't much of a group left."
9:17:05 PM      KTGM  "We weren't expecting you so soon... truth be told, it wasn't projected any of you would survive."
9:17:45 PM      Page_Axel  "To be honest I didn't think I would either."
9:18:01 PM       Page_Axel turns back to look at the other page
9:18:57 PM      KTGM  "I'm afraid I have nothing to offer you... nothing but the meditation quarters, and... I'm sorry to say, the Purging Toxins."
9:19:32 PM       Page_Axel sighs and bows his head
9:19:37 PM      KTGM  Sigmund is in a terrible state, but nods and follows the priest to the room.
9:19:44 PM      Page_Axel  "Best get to it then."
9:20:11 PM       Page_Axel follows behind Sigmund
9:20:41 PM      KTGM  Inside the room, a central bowl of flowing liquid. Around it, at its base, smaller bowls in gold trim.
9:22:02 PM      KTGM  "For 12 hours we will await the arrival of the others. If they do not arrive, you will be presumed the sole survivors. I will lock you in this room for one week, and call on the Chapter to take you to Kleistus. Emperor be with you."
9:22:14 PM      KTGM  With that, he closes the door, and has it barred behind you.
9:23:20 PM      KTGM  Sigmund picks up a bowl and fills it with the fountain's contents.
9:23:33 PM       Page_Axel grabs one of the smaller bowls and fills it at the center bowl
9:23:45 PM      Page_Axel  "May the Emperor be with you."
9:24:11 PM      KTGM  He kneels, in a meditative position, takes a deep breath, "And with you, Axel," and ingests the fowl substance.
9:24:28 PM       Page_Axel follows his example
9:24:42 PM      KTGM  He lays the bowl in front of him and closes his eyes, commencing his meditation as the toxins work their way through his body.
9:25:48 PM      KTGM  As with Klavier's place of meditation before, you find an inner peace which seems to blur time around you.
9:26:28 PM      KTGM  Before you know it, the doors are opened, and you are made to come out of your meditative state.
9:26:49 PM      KTGM  A familiar voice commands, "Rise!"
9:27:30 PM      KTGM  Knight-Brother Johannes stands by the doors.
9:27:39 PM       Page_Axel carefully stands
9:27:46 PM      KTGM  Sigmund rises.
9:28:26 PM      KTGM  Johannes: "Survival is just the beginning" he reminds you.
9:30:10 PM      KTGM  "Follow."
9:30:23 PM       Page_Axel follows the Knight
9:30:36 PM      KTGM  He turns around, and makes for the large double-doors which had been your salvation just a week ago.
9:30:57 PM      KTGM  Outside, a chapter Thunderhawk awaits, the ramp open. You can make out the figure of another Knight waiting inside.
9:31:39 PM      KTGM  Johannes climbs on board.
9:32:15 PM       Brother-Sergeant_Volker Volker turns silently to the two Page about to board. He descends the ramp and blocks their way.
9:32:59 PM      KTGM  Knight-Brother Johannes: ""This is Brother-Sergeant Volker. His duty is to skull-fuck you into the fucking ground. He is a Protector to the Knight-Order, shielding it from the weak and the pathetic."
9:34:39 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "IF YOU ARE ALL THAT IS LEFT OF THE SORRY LOT THAT WAS PUT OUT TO DIE, THEN THIS SHALL BE A SHORT SKULL-FUCKING!"
9:35:00 PM      KTGM  "The Council of Masters, and therefore the Knight-Order itself, trust Brother Volkner with this task... and one he is very good at. Should he find you wanting, you will be purged. For the Order may not be made weak by the weakness of one individual."
9:35:35 PM      KTGM  "The Emperor grants me a Mercy, now, in relieving me of you pair of unworthy scum. Brother Volkner, I thank you."
9:36:15 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "Indeed, Brother, now I must, as my duty allows, push further to see how worthless these wretches truly are."
9:36:53 PM      KTGM  "The Knight-Order expects nothing less" with that, he bangs on the side of the thunderhawk, and the engines begin whirring into life.
9:37:08 PM       Brother-Sergeant_Volker points an armored finger at the mortal Sigmund. "You look UNFIT! HOW YOU ARE HERE STANDING NOW IS A MIRACLE IN AND OF ITSELF."
9:37:40 PM      KTGM  Sigmund looks up, pathetically, at the Brother-Sergeant.
9:37:44 PM      KTGM  He doesn't say a word.
9:38:41 PM      KTGM  Johannes gives a low, growling laugh.
9:38:50 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  Volker strides towards him and looks down.
9:39:02 PM      KTGM  Sigmund falls to his knees.
9:39:40 PM       Brother-Sergeant_Volker simply backhands him, light enough to only bruise the poor mortal.
9:40:04 PM      KTGM  Sigmund remains silent.
9:40:05 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "Is THIS what they are sending me now? Pathetic."
9:41:00 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "You are about to enter a hell not even Daemons would see fit to live in." With that he turns and boards the thunderhawk.
9:41:13 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  see fit not to live in*
9:41:18 PM      KTGM  Sigmund slowly rises to his feet, and boards the craft.
9:41:43 PM       Page_Axel boards the craft after Sigmund
9:43:11 PM      KTGM  The journey up to Kleistus is uncomfortable, to say the least... the two Knight-Brothers staring at you, sizing you up, scrutinizing you for every possible sign of weakness. Not a word is spoken, but much is said with the glances the two intermittently share.
9:45:23 PM      KTGM  You arrive, and Knight-Brother Johannes hands you off, officially, to the Brother-Sergeant and the Monastery where you are to be tested for fitness, to see if the gene-seed mutation has grown in you making you weak after exposure to toxins.
9:46:12 PM      KTGM  The Monastery is impressive... the structures are ancient, but sturdy... powerful. From these halls the Knight-Order has operated for thousands of years.
9:47:10 PM      KTGM  Where you are placed, however, is a very simplistic room. Large, and empty, with one corner set aside for Page quarters... cramped and barely adequate.
9:48:03 PM      KTGM  Chapter serfs show you to the quarters, and take care of your immediate needs, preparing you for the Brother-Sergeant as he readies himself in another room.
9:51:03 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  After donning a simple rob with the Chapter emblem emblazoned on the right breast and some boots he enters the large room where the current "Pages" are kept.
9:52:40 PM      KTGM  Chapter serfs bow as he enters, and take places along the room where they may be made useful.
9:53:28 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  He walks over to one of the weapon racks with training weapons of all shapes and sizes and selects to simple wooden rods, about sword-length. He then walks over to the Pages and throws them each one.
9:53:43 PM       Page_Axel takes the rod
9:54:17 PM      KTGM  Sigmund takes his.
9:54:17 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "TO BEGIN, I SHALL SEE HOW USELESS YOU TRULY ARE, EVEN WHEN ARMED. YOU ARE TO ATTACK EACH OTHER UNTIL I SAY TO STOP."
9:54:32 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "Try not to die too quickly. BEGIN!"
9:54:34 PM      KTGM  Sigmund looks to Axel.
9:54:37 PM       Page_Axel turns to Sigmund
9:55:05 PM      KTGM  Sigmund bows.
9:55:28 PM       Page_Axel bows and enters a defensive stance
9:55:32 PM      KTGM  He fiercely charges you, with sword in hand.
9:58:29 PM      KTGM  He lands a blow on your left arm.
9:59:40 PM       Page_Axel grunts as the blow marks his arm, then quickly tries to retaliate
9:59:46 PM      Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "HIT HARDER! THE OLDEST SERF COULD HIT HARDER THAN THAT!"
10:01:01 PM      Page_Axel shaken from the blow, quickly lashes out and misses
10:01:26 PM     KTGM  Sigmund returns with the backswing.
10:01:57 PM     KTGM  His arc is too wide, swinging too high.
10:02:01 PM     Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S MORE PATHETIC, THE FACT THAT THE WRETCH HIT YOU, OR THE FACT THAT YOU COULDN'T EVEN HIT BACK!" Volker puts his arms behind his back as he continues to watch.
10:03:02 PM      Page_Axel seizing the moment, swings at the other page
10:03:45 PM      Page_Axel fails miserably
10:04:03 PM     Brother-Sergeant_Volker  Volker moves swiftly and backhands both of the Pages before they can continue.
10:04:30 PM     Brother-Sergeant_Volker  "YOU TWO ARE THE SORRIEST EXCUSES FOR HUMANKIND THAT I HAVE EVER HAD TO LAY MY EYES ON!"
10:05:11 PM     KTGM  Sigmund begins to feel anger... and uses it to strike at you.k
10:06:01 PM     KTGM  He is overzealous, swinging hard, and innacurately.
10:06:16 PM      Page_Axel quickly retaliates with his own blow
10:07:22 PM      Page_Axel mages to catch him hard on the leg
10:07:29 PM     KTGM  Sigmund grunts in pain.