Editing Nobledark Imperium Forces of Chaos (section)

= By the Light of Hell =

Although the event is fifteen thousand years past, you can still see the moment of Slaanesh's birth in real time. All you have to do is stand in the right place. 

Although the creation of the Eye of Terror consumed billions of star systems in a matter of days, if not hours, but after that initial orgy of superluminal expansion the light shock of the event continued to crawl across the cosmos at its ordained speed of one light-year per year. And, although this fossil vision is but a shadow of a shadow of the true fury of the event itself, it still carries its own dangers.

The barrier separating Materium and Immaterium is temporarily weakened as the luminous shockwave passes. Mutation rates spike. Chaotic corruption and daemonic possession become easier. Those foolish enough to spend too long staring at the sky succumb to madness. Any cults around will usually choose this moment to launch their plans, feeling the gaze of the dark gods upon them. In many cases their plots are foiled by the varied forces of the Imperium. On the other hand... many a world has burned under the light of the memory of a god's birth. 

The Imperium does its best to prepare, of course. The progression of the ever- expanding sphere of light can be predicted with near total certainty, obeying as it does the laws of the Materium even as it degrades them. Worlds which will be affected have years of forewarning to muster its defenses. Imperial Guard garrisons are reinforced, Arbites investigators dispatched, and Inquisitors skulk through the shadows with their retinues. Curfews are enacted, cities placed on lockdown. Worlds with heavy orbital industry may go so far as to construct massive shades in deep space, to prevent the light of the Eye from ever reaching their surface.

But the Enemy is never idle either, cults and warbands planning their rituals and assaults so that their climax will come at the moment of maximum vulnerability when the dark god's influence waxes. Each world in the path of the light front becomes a scene of thrust and counterthrust as Inquisitors and cults flock to the world seeking dramatic victories. 

And in deep space, strange cults ride the light wave. Using heretekal drives to keep pace with the racing light, so that they can spend eternity watching the cosmic c-section unfold. Meditating on a single fossilized instant of the birth of the Child Goddess. Mostly Slaaneshi, for obvious reasons. But many Tzeentchian cabals also spend time in study, seeking insight into the deep mysteries of the warp. 

For the most part, the Imperium is content to leave such cults far, far down on the priority list. They are not directly harming any Imperial interests, and scattered throughout the incomprehensible vastness of deep space it would be an act of futility to try and hunt them down. But still, worries persist; what fell knowledge could an ambitious cultist glean from from deep contemplation of the birth of a god?

There are rumors of some radical inquisitors attempting to answer such questions themselves. But surely nobody could be so foolish.