For Aidios and Sigmar (Trails in the Sky x Total War: Warhammer crossover)

[BattleBrotherOfCalderis]

Liber Ark, S. 1203

Captain Julia Schwarz looked on with sympathy. Leonhardt, the newly-defected Ouroboros enforcer, had just taken his last breath. The warrior had given his life to help neutralize Georg Weissmann, one of the greatest existential threats to Liberl in the kingdom's history. Yet even as Joshua Bright wept, her own sorrow was directed elsewhere. During the battle against the Anguis, he had used his fell powers to seemingly vaporize Princess Klaudia. A million thoughts raced through her mind as she wiped a tear from her eye. She had failed in her duty to protect the princess – heir to the throne of Liberl, beloved by all, and someone she had grown to care and love like a sister.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud crash coming from behind her. Everyone except Joshua turned to look and was greeted by the sight of Weissmann attempting to flee.

And stopped in his tracks by someone who looked just like Princess Klaudia. Yet instead of the soft-spoken young lady clad in regal clothing, this "Klaudia" was clad head-to-toe in intricate plate armour and had a fire blazing in her eyes; a fire that Captain Schwarz had only seen among the most hardened veterans of the Hundred Days' War. And yet the thing that drew her curiosity the most was the symbol of a twin-tailed comet intricately stenciled onto one of her pauldrons.

Any relief Julia might have felt faded as Tita screamed. Estelle gasped as she covered the blonde girl's eyes. The rapier Celestial, treasured heirloom of the Liberlian royal family, had been skewered through Weissmann's midriff, trailing gore and a segment of his intestines.

"Chaos filth!!!" The woman who wore Klaudia's face snarled at Weissmann as she pulled out her rapier with a sickening squelch.

"Wh---what..." Weissmann could only manage those words before this "Klaudia" kicked him to the ground and plunged a dagger into his throat. Weissmann weakly tried to push her off even as she started to saw through his neck, his voice reduced to nothing but pathetic gurgles.

"KLOE?" Estelle screamed as Weissmann's blood sprayed onto "Klaudia's" armour and face. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Hello, Estelle. It has been quite some time." "Klaudia" said without any hint of emotion as she continued her grisly work. "This threat to Liberl has been left alone for far too long, and I am simply neutralizing it."

"You're taking this too far!" Estelle said while everyone stared on at the grisly sight.

"Klaudia" seemed far too practiced at the act of cruel butchery, for she had already finished severing Weissmann's head while Estelle was still speaking. She glared at the head for a few moments before she spat on it.

"Really, Estelle?" the venom in "Klaudia's" voice could not have been clearer as she kicked Weissmann's head into the chasm below. "After the sheer Gehenna he put the Kingdom and all of us through, I'm the one that's taking things too far?"

Everyone present was thrown off their footing by a series of rumbles.

"We have to leave, NOW!" Mueller Vander called out. "We can have this discussion back at the ship!"

After "Klaudia" took a few moments to collect the Aureole, the throng made a hurried retreat from the doomed floating city. When Joshua stumbled and fell, Estelle and "Klaudia" worked together to help him along to safety. Once they were nestled in the safety of the rapidly departing Arseille, the group congregated in the galley. By then, "Klaudia's" countenance had softened considerably. To the shock of the group, the first thing she did was wrapping Julia in a tight embrace – still clad in her gore-soaked armour.

Followed by a heartfelt wail.

"Y-your Highness?" Julia fought back tears of relief. "We thought you dead for those minutes you had disappeared."

"Minutes? Minutes?" Klaudia sobbed. "I have been stuck in a living Gehenna of a realm for years!

I've witnessed horrors you people would not believe...twisted men who willingly give themselves to devilish gods for the sake of power...I watched puppet-like corpses of fallen soldiers rising up to attack their comrades amidst the lands of the living dead. All of it will be seared into my mind for the rest of my life…"

"Kloe…it's okay. You're back here now. We're home now," Estelle joined in on the hug. "Why don't you have a seat and tell us what happened?"

"Oh, Estelle…" Klaudia sniffled. "How do I even start?"

---

2518 – in the reckoning of the Imperial Calendar

The Imperial Palace's bathhouse did little to soothe Emperor Karl Franz's weariness. He had returned from a grueling campaign to put a final end to the vampiric menace that had loomed over Sylvania for far too long. It had been made far more difficult by the sudden departure of the Supreme Patriarch and his troops, leaving him and the rest of the expedition in a less advantaged position than they would have preferred. Yet they had persevered despite Gelt's absence. With the lessons learned from the reclamation of Marienburg fresh in their minds, Karl Franz and his commanders had beaten back all the horrors von Carstein had thrown at them. In the final push for Castle Drakenhof, the creature had been slain by a Huntsman General fresh from Lustria – one that had the recommendation from the Huntsmarshal himself.

That same Huntsman General was now the new Elector Count of the liberated Sylvania.

Yet there were still many more battles to come. Missives coming from the Dwarfs of the Karaz Ankor were growing more dire, King Louen Leonceur's three-way war with Greenskins and the undead was at a standstill, and Tzarina Katarin had only barely begun to rebuild her broken kingdom - leaving Ostland and Ostermark bearing the brunt of Norscan invasions.

Not to mention the steadily growing rumours of a massive horde gathering strength in the Chaos Wastes. Respite seemed remote, if it would ever come.

The Emperor was jostled from his reverie by a commotion coming from the bathhouse's doors. He heard snippets of a hurried conversation between his Reiksguard and a visitor before a servant walked in.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty. The Supreme Patriarch has requested your presence," he said. "It is a highly sensitive matter."

Karl Franz let out a sigh of barely-disguised irritation as he waded out of the bath and dried himself off with a towel. Has he come to offer excuses for his departure from the war effort?

"Very well," he said as he gratefully accepted a set of clean courtly garments from another servant. "Send word to him that I shall arrive posthaste. Begin arrangements for a carriage in the meantime as well."

"There's no need for additional transport, Your Majesty," the servant replied. "The Supreme Patriarch…"

"…will personally see to His Majesty's transportation." Balthasar Gelt's booming voice accompanied the Supreme Patriarch's entry into the bathhouse. Upon meeting the still-changing Emperor, he bowed.

"A thousand apologies for my early departure from the war effort - and for my interruption," Gelt said. "They are rooted in the same problem which requires your urgent attention. Kaslain and Aglim are already waiting for us at the Colleges of Magic."

The last comment caught Karl Franz's attention. The Cult of Sigmar and the Colleges of Magic were cordial rivals on the best of days, and with Volkmar on crusade far in the Southlands, the Arch Lectors were the Cult of Sigmar's provisional leadership. An issue that prompted the two organizations to cooperate must have a truly grave one.

"Fetch my armour and Ghal Maraz."

---

As soon as Emperor and Supreme Patriarch boarded the carriage, it sped off towards the Colleges of Magic. As it rushed through Altdorf's labyrinthine streets, Gelt began recounting the situation with his typical flourish and wild gesticulations. Karl Franz's eyes went wide at the tale, for it was far more bizarre than his wildest expectations.

During the Sylvania campaign, guards patrolling Gelt's Solland estate had discovered what appeared to be a confused young woman with unnaturally coloured hair within his one of his alchemical workshops. Suspecting she was a spy from von Carstein, the guards had detained the woman and enlisted the help of a local Witch Hunter to interrogate her. The only thing that had saved the woman from a summary execution was the Witch Hunter's thorough probing which confirmed she had absolutely no links to the undead.

Yet neither the woman's sudden emergence within a secure area nor her strange appearance were the strangest things about her. Aside from a rapier and courtly clothing, the Witch Hunter had discovered a mysterious clockwork machine and a multitude of bright gems of seven different colours among her possessions. The machine had already been sent for analysis, with a contingency plan of enlisting the help of Dwarf engineers should Imperial experts come up short during their investigation. Due to their resemblance to Warpstone, the gems had been put under warded quarantine with a small sample sent to the foremost expert in the Known World that Gelt could trust – Prince Zhao Ming of Cathay.

The strange matter truly required Gelt's personal supervision, and the Solland State Army had been redeployed in order to deal with any further incursions which thankfully never materialized. As for the woman herself, she had been spirited away and held in a warded cell within the Colleges of Magic for ongoing interrogation.

Karl Franz pondered the implications of this event, the least of which was the favours he'd have to arrange to secure Zhao Ming's full cooperation. Was the woman connected to Chaos? Had the Ruinous Powers found a way to covertly insert their agents into even the most secure places of the Empire and her allies? Even if the investigation had been inconclusive so far, any new advantages on Chaos' part cannot be ignored.

Soon, they arrived at the Colleges, and the Arch-Lectors were already waiting for them. With Gelt leading, the group of dignitaries proceeded towards a secure wing where the mysterious individual was held. The Emperor opened his mouth, but Gelt shook his head before Karl Franz could probe the Arch-Lectors for further details.

Not yet. Karl Franz understood the hint. The matter was far too sensitive to discuss in the public wings of the Colleges. The group proceeded the hallways in silence, past lecture halls, offices, and the occasional mage who stopped to bow to the Emperor before they moved on. Soon, they passed through a set of heavily warded and armoured doors. Gelt led the group towards the observation cell before making a detour to a door guarded by two Greatswords. Inside was a long table on which rested a tome, a large plate of pastries, a steaming Kislevite samovar, and enough cutlery for the four of them.

This will take quite some time. Karl Franz understood the ramifications behind the setup.

---

Even with (or because of) Gelt and the Arch-Lectors being available to further explain the contents of the report, Karl Franz could not help but feel the onset of a headache. Overall, there were some major points outside of what Gelt had already told him:

1. The subject spoke a strange dialect of Reikspiel. She also vehemently denied that the language was called Reikspiel and insisted it was instead known as "Zemurian Common".
2. The subject – naming herself one "Klaudia von Auslese" - claimed to be the crown princess of an unknown kingdom called "Liberl" and experienced a great deal of confusion as to the identity of the Witch Hunters, Warrior Priests, and Wizards that had taken turns interrogating her. She had misidentified them at first as agents of an unknown power called "Erebonia" and demanded diplomatic representation.
3. The subject claimed to worship a foreign goddess known as Aidios, who was not known among the existing pantheon. Furthermore, she appeared to be completely ignorant of any of the gods that were known to the Old World.
4. She claimed to have fought in a gruelling battle against what sounded suspiciously like a Chaos Sorcerer prior to her arrival in Gelt's estate.

"I can see the potential ramifications of the language issue, but what of the efforts to locate this 'Kingdom of Liberl'?" the Emperor asked.

"Our immediate neighbours have no knowledge of this land, Your Majesty," replied Gelt. "There have been no replies yet from our outlying colonies nor more distant powers such as Ulthuan and Cathay. However, we are expecting similar results."

"Your Majesty, this individual must be a Chaos spy!" Kaslain demanded. "I recommend she be immediately put to the torch!"

"I advise moderation and further questioning, Your Majesty," Aglim said. "Proof of Chaos corruption, if it exists, may surface given enough time and patience."

"The cunning of Tzeentch cannot be underestimated," Kaslain restored. "Furthermore, her mutations are well within plain sight!"

"Are you speaking of her violet hair?" Gelt interjected. "That is hardly proof of corruption. None of my wizards have detected the taint of Chaos upon her."

"Our Witch Hunters and Warrior Priests have already wasted enough time on this wench!" Kaslain then turned to Gelt. "Surely you can agree as well with regards to your own wizards, Supreme Patriarch!"

"I'm afraid not, Arch Lector. This interrogation has proven to be a fruitful challenge to my subordinates," Gelt leaned forward. "My hypothesis is that we are dealing with the aftermath of an unprecedented phenomenon involving the Winds of Magic, where an individual has been spirited away from another world. Not the Realm of Chaos, mind you, but an entirely different plane of existence unknown even to Sigmar himself."

"Watch your tongue, Supreme Patriarch, for you tread dangerously towards heresy," Kaslain snarled. "Sigmar…"

"…may be a supremely powerful warrior and our divine protector, but none of our scriptures have made any mention of him being omniscient to the point of knowing everything there is to know about all the realms," Aglim said. "If so, how could he devote his attention to the Empire?"

"Before you continue with your position-mandated tirade, let me be clear that - as a fellow heir of Sigmar - I am not ignorant as to the inner workings of the church," Gelt said. "Given the Grand Theogonist's absence, someone in my position can only be…interrogated for heresy via a unanimous decision among the Arch Lectors. It appears your counterpart is hardly swayed towards that course of action."

Karl Franz had watched the argument impartially. It was the duty of the Arch Lectors to offer opposing opinions so that the Grand Theogonist or the Emperor can account for all contingencies that a body in unanimous agreement may have neglected. Yet he saw that Kaslain's fiery demeanor was nothing but a façade which hid his true opinions.

"This argument has gone on for long enough," Karl Franz said flatly as he stood up, turning his gaze to Kaslain. "Arch Lector Kaslain, I believe now is a prudent time to dispense with the theatrics. Tell me, what is your honest opinion on this matter?"

Kaslain nodded and his posture relaxed considerably.

"Your Majesty, I believe there may be some truth to the Supreme Patriarch's theory. None of our interrogators have found traces of corruption on her, and we are unanimous in our discernment that it may not exist. She has proven to be quite cooperative, especially after we moved to a softer approach involving Warrior Priests as opposed to Witch Hunters," Kaslain explained. "The resistance she initially displayed can be entirely attributed to confusion and distress, the latter of which she has continued to exhibit and with greater frequency."

"She has also experienced a great deal of naivety and ignorance – especially towards the Ruinous Powers - during interrogation," Aglim spoke up. "We judge it to be genuine and do not believe she is trying to deceive us. If she is indeed from another world, it has not been marked by Chaos."

"Can we send her back?" Karl Franz asked. "It appears she is nothing but a distraction that we should dispense with as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid we have no means to do so at this moment," Gelt replied. "Given the fact that her arrival in our world went entirely unobserved, replicating the exact fluctuations in the Winds of Magic that could guarantee her return will take quite some time."

"How long?" Karl Franz asked.

"Years. Possibly decades. Even if we could eventually manipulate the Winds of Magic to return her to her own realm, there is a major concern I have," Gelt said. "Tell me…are any of you aware of some recent discoveries made by the Cult of Shallya?"

"Are you speaking of their method to deliberately infect the citizenry?" Kaslain asked. "Which the Grand Theogonist somehow granted his blessing to?"

"It is a gross oversimplification, but yes. The art of 'inoculation', as they call it, has proven to be quite successful in combatting Nurgle's grip on our lands. Think of a plane of existence as one being, with Chaos as the disease. The peoples who do battle with Chaos such as us and our allies have developed a resistance to Chaos within our souls over successive generations," Gelt nodded. "However, the home realm of our subject does not appear to share that blessing. If we send her back prematurely, we may inadvertently sentence her entire world to damnation and thereby feed the Dark Gods. Even if she does not realize it herself, the corruption of her soul may have begun the moment she was sent here.

Before any of you ask, this is not a proposal to execute her," Gelt continued. "No, I offer two courses of action so that she may develop a resistance to Chaos and bring that blessing back to her world once the time comes…"

---

Royal Airship Arseille, Liberlian Airspace S. 1203

Kevin Graham's had deliberately settled in the very back of the room while Princess Klaudia began her tale. Nobody needed to see his jaw wide agape as she recounted the start of her ordeals beyond Zemuria's bounds.

He had no ill-will towards the princess for killing Weissmann instead of him. If anything, she had made the Church's job much easier by recovering the Aureole. Discussions with Her Majesty over future plans for safe storage will come. In the meantime, he pondered what he should do with the princess. She had been flung into The Beyond and came out heavily altered by the experience. There would have to be investigations and possibly a quarantine – all disguised in such a way as to not make the heir to Liberl's throne feel like she's some kind of criminal.

In the meantime, he had a thorny report to write…