Madzero

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

Hagar had some familiarity to the Jade Bastion, as a respite place for his fellow followers of the lord of life. Even so however, few were his chances to see it in person. It was... Magnificent, really. If only the rest of the Dwellers were here to witness its majesty... But he wouldn't want to bother them for such, the curse of action is one he must keep to only himself and whomever would be absolutely necessary in the act and the moment.

"Oh, here already... I didn't expect you all to arrive this early. Or maybe it's me who's late... I wouldn't know now. But, we're here, in the moment."

The towering figure of Hagar stood, towering even above some of their crew's largest. Less due to an actual muscle mass, and moreso because of the mass of wood, plant matter and fungi that has given him both strength and size.

"You'll love the Bastion, I know it. It's... something truly special."

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

Were it up to Hagar, he would have invoked up to seven, the number of the grandfather. But, superstition is often justified, in such a wild and unstable... Place wouldn't be the word, even if it may seem as one.

"The men've earned Nurgle's bliss, who am I to take it away from them for so little ? No, bring only who is absolutely necessary for the mission, no more, no less. For the shuttle..."

Hagar bent a little forward to the Ordinance master as he spoke, out of a habit he previously had, so as to make his requests clearer and more pronounced. They of then die hard.

"I'll need the ritual components. And hear me well on this one, because getting it right is very important : Seven seeds - Not bags of seeds, individual seeds - A patch of dirt that hasn't been planted upon for seven terran years - Months, if we only have that alternative - And finally, I'll need six of our gardners, the most talented ones on board. Get them onboard, we'll be descending soon."

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

For a man of lesser mettle, or less gifted perhaps, such a swathe would have been defeaning to even catch a glimpse of. Yet, Hagar was a child of Nurgle. He could take it, take whatever would it be that daemonic forms could inflict him with, even communion. Together, he and the Glass Knight, should she call herself that, shared this intimacy, and together, came to the demonstrating consensus. She listened, and through the myriad of her colors, more than Hagar of the Materium could even imagine, her work began. Although... One thing weights him. The daemon's words, strange as they were. The Ancient Raven, what was it ? Babbling, a true warning, a metaphor ? Of that, he could make little sense, atleast in this very moment, for even if he could see through the Warp and its inhabitants, their process of thought remains a mystery, one he's not sure he will ever truly pierce.

"..."

"...Aaaaaaaah. Much as I'd like to see through you, I'm afraid I can't. We're not afraid of anything in these here parts, but don't worry. What comes our way, we'll endure through. And if we can't... Maybe there won't be reason to worry anymore."

Hagar's hand lifts off the glass construct, followed by a few, loud backwards steps.

"We've survived much. Whatever comes our way, we will again."

And with those final words, Hagar fully turned the heel, and found his way back to the "insides" of the damaged vessel, tracing his march to the master of Ordinance. The mind is perhaps more worried than what it should be, but... The duty is done, a fact he wastes no time announcing.

"It took a few words, but I settled it properly. For now, I don't think we'll need another intervention."

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

Many would argue that, amongst the stars and the ranks of chaos, one would have to resort to violence or intimidation to assert their point. In a lot of cases, perhaps they would be right. Hagar, however, saw different. One belief he shared with the lord of decay and life, it is that all sorts of life forms are sacred, even daemonic ones.

"Aaaah, yes, I get it... Hold on a moment, I'll have to talk to it."

Even such a beast deserves respect, one as alien as amalgamation of warp and machinery. In a confident yet slow step, The mass of flesh and leaf that was Hagar approached it.

"You're hungry, I can see that in you. You want more, and you want it fast. But, that's not how have to do it, not today."

His empty eyes now gazed forward upon the glyphs that have marked the surface of the monstrosity. He knew these well, familliar with their meanings. One of his fingers, clad in wood and sap in its veins, dares to reach onward and touch the surface.

"You'll have your time later, I promise. For now... You'll have to hear me."

Hagar spoke once again. This time, what he said were merely... words. Words with no apparent meaning behind them, with sounds and tonalities that would be impossible to the common man, a language that only the damned could understand. And with each one of these impossible phrasings, the finger crossed across the surface, gliding upon each and every symbol...

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

"Ah, something more physical, eh ? I get what you mean, those beasts can get capricious."

His figure was one most unusual amidst the rest of the crew he had garnered. Blessed by Nurgle as he was, resiliency was one of his very strong suits. The daemonic, especially, did have tendency to be a bit, to say the least, lashing.

"If you'll need me, so be it. Lead the way, I'll make sure to take care of these."

If the regular crew cannot take care of such hungry things, then he'll do it personally. Readying the mag-boots of his armor, Hagar makes certain of their good functioning one last time. Certain of it now, he is ready to depart.

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

So these mines are what the crew fears ? Hm, it's conceivable. They fear destruction and death still, as it may. Deep down, perhaps he did too, it is such a conflicting array of emotions. He is, however, capable of understanding one thing of grander importance : They can't get through this field, then their route stops dead in its tracks. A tempting proposition, but one that cannot possibly suit the crew's needs and desires. So be it, he'll have to give his word on the matter.

"There's still minefields around these parts, even now ? Fine, we'll have to take care of these manually." Spoke he, with not much of a worry in his guttural voice.

With no shield to protect the hull of the ship, direct contact with these would be potentially devastating. As such, they have two options. Carefully navigate through, which would be arduous, or rely upon their ammunition to destroy these from afar before they can become a problem. And of these two solutions, the latter seemed the safer one.

"Ordinator, we've still got our lower calibers, right ? Prepare these, and give the order to aim for the mines, the less we'll have to expand, the better. For the navigators, I'll warn tell them to keep the hull at bay, as far as they can, limits the damage."

The vaccum of space provides a good advantage : Shockwaves don't propagate nearly as well. As such, their safe distance should be quick and easy to attain.

"Aim for the clusters in the way first, especially the further ones. Understood ?"

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

On one hand, to simply stay idle and take the matter so casually would mean to simply let those taken by surprise perish. On the other... Why should he worry ? A single man won't make the difference, would it ? Why run towards the inevitable ?

At the crossroads of ideology and need, both are to be weighted. To rush to the source of danger, or to simply let things take the course they will. What to think, what to do here...

A moment is given to consideration and thought, then, a decision is made : he'll walk. Worrisome is the situaton of course, but in the end, perhaps just a trifle, one he will fix with those who will accompany him.

"Hmmmmmmmm... Coming."

Accompanied by the creeking sound of wood and the slight rustling of leaves, hagar finds way to his feet, and, with a stride simillar to morning walker, follows suit with the rest of the hurried, terrified crew. He is equipped well enough, he believes himself to be. The rest, they can have what they may want.

What is it that could threaten their vessel however, what would dare ? Pirates ? An Imperial vessel, perhaps ? The question will answer himself soon enough.

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

"...Huh."

That was the first time during that game that Hagar showed an ounce of something that wasn't just a complacent flow in the game. Despite the obvious fury that Other blue had indicated to him, his eyes instead went towards the metaphorical sky, thinking of what he could be answering to her, to them.

"That's a good question ya got here. Honestly, I'm... Not really sure I can answer it, though."

What answer could he give, that didn't contradict one of his values ? To follow Nurgle would be to agree in this complacency, and yet, deep inside his own whims, it's something he quite struggles to accept. He seeks to think, to find an answer, anything that could be suitable, and yet...

"...I think we'll get there when we get there."

Black Crusade: Fires In The Garden

Would it honestly matter if he won or lost here ? No, not quite. For despite the perceived importance one might accord to the game, it is, at the end of the day, just that : A game. Cards of little value thrown upon their excuse of a table. Who will remember that game, a week later ? A month, a solar year ? No one, most likely. But... There was something to it. The presence that each of them are occupying here, around their fair position. Some are laughing, some seem exasperated, others are simply too deeply focussed. The occasional word comes up, lamenting after one's play or congratulating themselves. Ephemerial as it is... It somehow brings joy.

Hagar himself ? He had little care for how he played the game, for what mattered was the moment. His plays were made with neither reason nor strategy, simply throwing card upon card, not affording any care to whether or not he would be victorious. Of course, that method gave him a lamentable track record. Never, not once, has he earned victory onto his hands. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I think I got a Lion here. That good ?"

Haphazardly, Hagar throws one of his cards onto the seat of their game, revealing upon it one of the primarchs, Lion 'El Jonson. Quite an impressive man he was, from what Hagar's heard. Instrumental he used to be to the Emperor's success, and one of the greatest duelists of his siblings, should we believe the legend. A legend it was, alas : For it is likely that Hagar will never get to lay eyes upon such a legendary figure. And if he ever did... Oh, well, father Nurgle's embrace would only come much sooner.