coldly.
'But von Kessel is mine! He is unsuitable for the position, surely. No, his place is here.'
'He may be your man, but you are the Emperor's man, and here and now, I am the voice of the Emperor. You cannot defy me, count.'
'Reiksmarshal.' said Stefan. All eyes turned to him - most had forgotten he was even there. 'I am honoured by this, but I feel I am not... worthy of this honour.'
'There! Even the boy doesn't think it's a good idea!' proclaimed Gruber.
Trenkenhoff turned his steely gaze towards von Kessel. 'Why do you feel that you are unworthy of this duty the Empire demands of you?'
'Do you not know of my grandfather?'
'I do. What of it?'
'Well, I thought that the dishonour I bear would - ' began Stefan, but the reiksmarshal cut him off.
'I don't give a damn who your grandfather was or what he did. This is not a duty you can decide not to accept. I carry the Emperor's word. I outrank you, count, and I certainly outrank you, captain . If your Emperor demands your service, then you will damn well serve. Or you will hang.'
'Ready your men, captain. We leave at midday tomorrow, marching hard. Make sure they are well provisioned.' And with that, the reiksmarshal had turned on his heel and stormed out of the tent.
Stefan smiled and shook his head as he recalled that strange night. The Reiksmarshal Wolfgange Trenkenhoff had spoken to him as the first light of dawn was seeping over the camp. 'I spoke the truth in that tent.' he had said. 'I do not care what shame you feel you carry. It is of no interest to me. The only thing I care about is you leading your soldiers well. What you displayed in Deep Pass was initiative and self-belief. You knew that the attack on the Chaos encampment was going to work, did you not?' Stefan had nodded. 'You acted quickly and calmly, evaluating the situation and responding boldly. That is a rare thing, von Kessel. A rare thing indeed.'
'The Empire was formed by such bold moves, and its survival rests on them. Had Magnus not taken the bold step of attacking the Chaos forces in the north, but rather done as the electors wished, and waited within our castles and cities like frightened children for the hammer blow to fall, the Empire would, I believe, have been shattered utterly, by now. Had the power of Asavar Kul, curse his soul, not been broken on the plains of Kislev, then he may even now have been storming our capital city, Nuln, and slaughtering our people in their tens of thousands.'
'Always remember that, von Kessel. Act thoughtfully, act intelligently, and act boldly, but always remember to act! For to do something, even if it turns out to be the wrong thing, is much less dangerous than to do nothing.' The reiksmarshal paused for a moment before he spoke again.
'And if I ever hear you publicly doubt yourself again, I will kill you myself.'
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eight circles were marked on the cave floor in red powder, surrounding the kneeling black robed figure. Each of the circles overlapped with its two neighbours, and an offering to the gods lay in the centre of each. One was a small pile of bones, while another held a blood-red stone riddled with purple-red veins that throbbed and pulsed with light. A skull sat in the centre of another of the circles, horns protruding from its brow and its chin elongated, splitting into another pair of bony horns. The thighbone of some massive beast lay in another, its length covered in intricate, swirling scrimshaw.
In the centre of the circle directly in front of the kneeling figure was a heavy brass icon depicting the eight-pointed star of Chaos, and in another was a small white stone, perfectly round. The air shimmered around the white pebble. The last offering was a beating heart, sitting on a golden plate. One circle lay empty.
Little light entered the cave, and the hood of the kneeling figure was pulled down low, obscuring its face. Its arms hung limply at its side, dead-white claw-like hands touching the cold stone floor.
'But von Kessel is mine! He is unsuitable for the position, surely. No, his place is here.'
'He may be your man, but you are the Emperor's man, and here and now, I am the voice of the Emperor. You cannot defy me, count.'
'Reiksmarshal.' said Stefan. All eyes turned to him - most had forgotten he was even there. 'I am honoured by this, but I feel I am not... worthy of this honour.'
'There! Even the boy doesn't think it's a good idea!' proclaimed Gruber.
Trenkenhoff turned his steely gaze towards von Kessel. 'Why do you feel that you are unworthy of this duty the Empire demands of you?'
'Do you not know of my grandfather?'
'I do. What of it?'
'Well, I thought that the dishonour I bear would - ' began Stefan, but the reiksmarshal cut him off.
'I don't give a damn who your grandfather was or what he did. This is not a duty you can decide not to accept. I carry the Emperor's word. I outrank you, count, and I certainly outrank you, captain . If your Emperor demands your service, then you will damn well serve. Or you will hang.'
'Ready your men, captain. We leave at midday tomorrow, marching hard. Make sure they are well provisioned.' And with that, the reiksmarshal had turned on his heel and stormed out of the tent.
Stefan smiled and shook his head as he recalled that strange night. The Reiksmarshal Wolfgange Trenkenhoff had spoken to him as the first light of dawn was seeping over the camp. 'I spoke the truth in that tent.' he had said. 'I do not care what shame you feel you carry. It is of no interest to me. The only thing I care about is you leading your soldiers well. What you displayed in Deep Pass was initiative and self-belief. You knew that the attack on the Chaos encampment was going to work, did you not?' Stefan had nodded. 'You acted quickly and calmly, evaluating the situation and responding boldly. That is a rare thing, von Kessel. A rare thing indeed.'
'The Empire was formed by such bold moves, and its survival rests on them. Had Magnus not taken the bold step of attacking the Chaos forces in the north, but rather done as the electors wished, and waited within our castles and cities like frightened children for the hammer blow to fall, the Empire would, I believe, have been shattered utterly, by now. Had the power of Asavar Kul, curse his soul, not been broken on the plains of Kislev, then he may even now have been storming our capital city, Nuln, and slaughtering our people in their tens of thousands.'
'Always remember that, von Kessel. Act thoughtfully, act intelligently, and act boldly, but always remember to act! For to do something, even if it turns out to be the wrong thing, is much less dangerous than to do nothing.' The reiksmarshal paused for a moment before he spoke again.
'And if I ever hear you publicly doubt yourself again, I will kill you myself.'
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eight circles were marked on the cave floor in red powder, surrounding the kneeling black robed figure. Each of the circles overlapped with its two neighbours, and an offering to the gods lay in the centre of each. One was a small pile of bones, while another held a blood-red stone riddled with purple-red veins that throbbed and pulsed with light. A skull sat in the centre of another of the circles, horns protruding from its brow and its chin elongated, splitting into another pair of bony horns. The thighbone of some massive beast lay in another, its length covered in intricate, swirling scrimshaw.
In the centre of the circle directly in front of the kneeling figure was a heavy brass icon depicting the eight-pointed star of Chaos, and in another was a small white stone, perfectly round. The air shimmered around the white pebble. The last offering was a beating heart, sitting on a golden plate. One circle lay empty.
Little light entered the cave, and the hood of the kneeling figure was pulled down low, obscuring its face. Its arms hung limply at its side, dead-white claw-like hands touching the cold stone floor.
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