The ravaging wind of the passed storm, once powerful and destructive, now nothing but an impotent force, blew upon my face as my transport returned to its base. I passed through the towers, through the power plants into the very ground itself. I pulled my robe, now nothing but tattered cloth promising empty riches, around me as the bitter tunnel-wind bit into my face. The promise of defeat, the honour of victory, all behind me now on the fields of Arkanor. I am Artorius Caliburn, Master of the Templars, Lord of Arkadia. The forces of Chaos have been turned from our shores, so in the Emperor's name why am I feeling sick to my gut? Why am I so devastated?

It was three weeks ago, guided by the Divine Light, that we came to the planet Arkasin, an agri-world on the outskirts of the Arka system. The demonic warp storm that had engulfed it had moved on. We arrived, fearful of the worst. And it was. The warp storm had brought with it the ravaging forces of Chaos, combined. The demons had left their mark, however. The dying people, rotting from a thousand sores, lay screaming in the dark. We duly dispatched them to our lord, and moved on.

We saw the rended corpses of a thousand guardsmen, the blood from their wounds staining the crops. We offered them a prayer and moved on.

We saw the broken bodies of a thousand sisters, their faces a picture of agony. We swore vengeance on the Emperor's name for them, and moved on.

We saw the utter destruction that the power of sorcery had visited upon the landscape, the very mountains levelled by the forces of Chaos. We wept, and moved on.

The planet was now untenable. The earth itself poisoned by Chaos. We fusion bombed the entire surface, at the request of Inquisitor Vervain, and quarantined the planet by Imperial Law.

We returned to Arkadia, sickened by what we had seen. I had heard nothing from the Council of Seven regarding any more chaotic attacks. Only now it was six. Each planet has its lord, usually an established veteran captain of the Adeptus Astartes (Templar), and I felt that I must find these chaotic demons before they strike. I had set up an early warning system of battle barges positioned at strategic points around this system. Sure enough it paid off. The Imperial vessel Vectorgrad detected the forming of a warp storm near Arkanor, a well-established agri-world. If this planet were to fall, the supply for the system would begin to dry up. Damn, I thought, there is no way we are going like that!

I formed my detachment from the 1st, 3rd, and 7th companies of the Templars, and my newly formed Lightbringer Terminator squadron, and set course for Arkanor.

We arrived too late to save the main settlement, but we detected a large enemy force heading for the fields. We mounted into our drop-pods, and made planetfall a short way ahead. As we landed, the shock of impact drew me into my battle frenzy, my weapons drawn, my armour functioning to it's maximum. The servitors had done their job well, and I thought to commend their master when we got home. As the power field energised around me, my second, Veteran Brother Valerius turned to me and said "Master, our destiny is Victory!" and exited the pod to face the evil. I engaged the disruption field around my sword, and stepped out.

The forces of chaos were gathered upon the field, their unholy banners visible from our position. I looked around at my men, the Crusaders, and screamed to the wind that which is our battle cry.

"Brothers! Our destiny is victory!"

"Aye, Aye, Victory is our destiny!" came the answered shout, and the barrage began....

The Dreadnought Sareptes opened up with a full barrage of lascannon fire, and the Devastators of the 4th poured their fire into the heart of the enemy as we began the charge. The scream of jets from above told me that the Death's Head was making their charge. I saw that evil heresy of the Obliterators on the ridge, their bodies contorting to form new and evil war tools. They opened, with the Havocs on the other side of the field, on the first wave of the charge. The evil sorcerer in the centre concentrated on Sareptes and the demonic fire screamed overhead and hit the Dreadnought full in the centre. We saw his massive form falter and fall as the Death's head lost one man to the evil Obliterators, his form lost as he was engulfed in flame, and he hit the ground and disintegrated. The assault marines never faltered, as they charged full into the Berzerkers attempting to flank us. My command sensed a disturbance in the immaterium, and the terrifying form of a Greater Demon of Khorne emerged from the ripped body of a Berzerker. My concentration was elsewhere, as out of nowhere, a squad of raptors swooped out of the sky to land a few feet ahead of me. My command, as one, opened fire on these unholy monstrosities, felling two of them, and we charged, screaming curses at the heretics. My sword, humming with power immediately felled three of the beasts while my command felled four more, the cleaved bodies of the Raptors falling to the dirt. As they fell, their vile weapons tore into Valerius, ripping his armour and body into a thousand pieces, and struck me as well, causing little harm. The remaining three ran, cursing the dark gods and the Emperor for their loss. The Teleporting Lightbringers soon brought an end to their cursing, as we ripped them apart with our crossfire. The sergeant of the Lightbringers came over my intercom "Master, may the Emperor bless our victory!" before turning his attention on the greater threat of the Berzerkers and the Greater Demon.

We turned too, and I swore on Valerius' blood that all heretics on this field would be extinguished before the day was out.

The Lightbringers reached the Berzerkers first, and they piled into combat like a well oiled machine. Lightning claws flashing, the cut a swathe through the Berzerkers, losing only two of their number before they reached the Demon. He destroyed them all, only being wounded once. We fell back, and ordered the Devastators to open fire on the demon.

It fell in a crumbling waste to the onslaught of vengeance. The Devastators turned their attack to the west, where coming over the ridge was the enemy's command group. Their leader had the head of a vulture, and bore upon it the mark of Tzeench. It saw me and drew breath, and belched it's unholy flames at me.

I would have died then, all my work unfinished. This never came however, as Veteran Ambrosius saw the flames of death approach me, and leapt. His body crumbled to ash as the flames hit, and by that time we were close enough to attack. The evil leader swung his heretical weapon at me. I parried and struck back with enough force to dismember a leg, but the evil creature just grew another. I was horrified that the God would suffer such a creature to live, and then I thought that here, now, I was the instrument of his wrath.

It struck me back, and I would have fallen then if it weren't for my blessed iron halo. This force repelled it's axe away, giving me enough room to swing in return. God be praised, I took it's head off. It screamed, and kicked me in the chest, it's claws raking through my armour and against my ribcage. It drew it's axe back for one final strike.

In the time after that, all I remember is the blessed peace as I heard a voice

"Marine. You are the best of the best. You have the power to force the will of the emperor upon those heretics that challenge his wisdom.

Here is your pistol, it's flash the light of the lord.

Here is your sword, it's edge the might of the emperor.

Here is your armour, it's defence the protection of a god.

Kill those who question you, destroy those who defy you, annihilate those who fight you, for this is the way of the lord. Amen"

This is the prayer I heard on my initiation, years ago. One of my felled comrades, Brother Marcus looked at me, his entire lower torso missing, and mouthed "Victory is our destiny"

His hand opened, giving me his plasma pistol. The evil beast above me began his executioners swing.

I fired.

The beast fell, it's chest missing, with no head, and dissolved into dust as it hit the grass.

That was all I needed. I scrambled to my feet and called those around me to arms. We formed a line of heavy fire which, slowly but inexorably, annihilated the enemy. We had won.

I feel drained now. I feel wasted. The fervour of a god had been removed from me, and it is all I can do to wait now for the next time, when my master, the God himself, calls me once again to battle. Calls me once again to:

"Kill! Destroy! Annihilate our enemies! Victory is our destiny!!"

By P. Reed