Editing Luthor Huss (section)

==An encounter with an angel==
What Volkmar knew none could say but one undeniable fact everyone knew was that no-one, not even Luthor Huss, could run away from their past forever. In Luthor's case, it finally caught up with him in the lands encompassing the Drakwald. During his time there, the lone warrior-priest followed a trail of destruction wrought by a horde of zombies that had recently arisen from the dead. In one such location, upon the ruins of a town called Helgag, the lone warrior-priest stumbled upon a lone survivor, a bruised yet beautiful girl known simply as Mila. When the hordes had dispersed, the lone warrior-priest pressed onward but was unexpectedly followed by the young girl. The girl reminded Luthor too much of the sick girl from his youth many years ago, and he could not bear to relive the experience again. And so Luthor tried to leave her behind, traveling several miles ahead of her before he stopped and realized that she was still continuing to follow him.

In a rare act of kindness, the Warrior Priest went back for her, comforted her, and brought her along on his journey towards the town of Eisenbach. From there, he rallied the townsfolk to the town's defense, rousing the downtrodden into religious fanatics capable of beating back the dark tide. When the Undead Hordes came, the Warrior Priest and his fanatics fought them down to the last. But despite the danger of the battle, the foolish Mila still followed him and Luthor fought all the harder to keep her safe. She soon became precious to him, as if her presence alone gave him hope and happiness that he never felt before. Fearful of the pain he would feel if she lost her life Luthor decided that the only way to keep her safe was to sneak off and so the following dawn after the battle Luthor did just that.

Traveling alone Luthor Huss dove deeper and deeper into the dark heart of the Drakwald forest, facing horrors beyond counting as he did so. Finally, the Priest came upon an abandoned stone temple, and there he fought a bitter last stand against a warband of Beastmen. But just as hope seemed lost out of the thickets, a small Imperial Army led by Witch Hunter Lukas Eichmann crested over a hilltop and fell upon the Beastmen hordes with a fury. Eichmann fought his way through the horde to the temple and found Luthor badly wounded, but alive. But even as the witch hunter dragged him outside, Huss...saw Mila. She rode amid a small group of cavalry, flanked by swordsmen, her blonde hair looking silver in the starlight. She was shouting something, waving her sword around in that clumsy way of hers, just as she had done that night in Helgag. He smiled at that, unconsciously, just as he’d always smiled when she came close to him. Amid all the filth and fear and violence, she was a rare jewel of purity. This time it was she that had come back for him.

He was still smiling when one of the beastmen shot out from the shadows, hidden by the curving line of boulders near the water’s edge. Mila saw it coming, but the creature was far too strong and far too quick. She managed to get her sword up to block the first of the axes, but the second buried itself deep in her chest. Huss started forward at the sight, shaking the hands of the witch hunter from his arms, suddenly choked with horror. Luthor roared Mila's name, and as he tried to run down the hill, his legs failed him and he crashed himself upon the dirt. As tears ran unchecked down the priest's cheeks, Mila gave one last glance and an outstretched hand towards Luthor before her soul left this world. Huss tried to crawl towards her but fell on his face. He dragged himself a yard or two further before he felt hands gripping his armor, hauling him up again. Huss looked up one last time, catching a glimpse of the bloodied tangle of blonde hair in the distance, discarded amid the gore and mud. Then darkness took him.

When he woke up once more, he wasn't the same. He barely spoke, even when the Witch Hunter interrogated him. He never looked up as he walked alongside the army even as they made their wear to the very heart of this dark wilderness; the Gallowsberg...wherein lay a huge horde of Beastmen itching for a fight. The Imperials prepared to clash with the Beastmen but Huss meanwhile was distracted for despite the impending danger he felt something...familiar in this place. Even as the sounds of battle and bloodshed began to echo all around him, Luthor Huss found himself grimly marching towards what he knew what was both the source of this horde...and one of his oldest nightmares. A Bray-Shaman awaited him, but it was no random Beastmen, but rather the same acolyte Luthor hated most of all in his childhood, acolyte Hirsch, the one that lead the group that always beat Huss, hated him, and who had once tried to kill him. And here he was now a Bray-Shaman leading the beastman horde...which is actually really weird to read since humans turned Beastmen are normally considered the lowliest creatures in the Beastmen hierarchy...but then again maybe the whole Hirsch having magic angle got the other Beastmen to listen to him *shrugs*.

As Luthor Huss became ensnared into an unholy ritual circle, his body convulsing in pain, the creature that was once known as Acolyte Hirsch gave Luthor a choice. Join the darkness, abandon the weakness of Humanity and lead the strong against the Empire of Man or die. Even as pain of a seemingly inevitable death seared through his body, even as Luthor felt doubt like he never had before, through the pain and smoke the Priest uttered one reply; No.

Then everything stopped. Luthor was bathed in golden light and he could not see. An angelic voice spoke to him, telling him that he had chosen one of two destinies and that he has passed the test. Luthor said that even if he did he still felt doubt, but the angel reassured him that all men doubt and that he is only human. Then, upon the ground he found a sword lying before him, the one once wielded by the same girl that followed him for so long. The priest suspecting but not daring to believe asked who it was who spoke to him, and all the angelic voice replied was;

''"Why did I come back for you, Luthor Huss? Because once, in another world, you came back for me".''

In an instant, a flash of golden light burst forth and Luthor found himself once more in the forest. Now with eyes glowing with golden fire, Luthor attacked the Bray-Shaman. In one hand Luthor held Mila's time-worn sword while in the other hand he held his mighty war hammer, now shining with golden light. The shaman's staff burst, and the creature was demolished by waves of hammer blows. In that instant, against all hope, the horrors of the Forest were destroyed by Luthor's wrath and the Imperials were victorious. After leading the ravaged army out of the wilderness Huss went on his own way, his last words being to the Witch hunter (who was now thoroughly convinced of Huss' piety):

''"He said that nothing had changed. He said that seeking witches was easy, but that seeking saints was hard, and that his task in that respect was not yet over. I knew then that he wouldn’t come back with us, and could sense his desire to return to the wilderness once his strength had returned. The last thing he said to me was that I should remember where the soul of holiness lay – not in the deeds of noble men spoiled by learning, but in the lives of the simple, the ones for whom the Lord Sigmar had cared when alive. If the Empire was destined for salvation, he told me, then it would come from them."''

And with those last words said, Luthor would continue on his solo journey righting wrongs and smiting chaos wherever he went...