Laur Lancefire had never envisioned his life taken such a turn, becoming the Emperor's Seneschal and being in charge of procurement and logistics for the Imperial Palace, and often for Forge World Mars. In a way, it made sense, since he was not only a Blank Primaris Space Marine, but also a Lancefire Noble and in possession of a precious tesseract.

Supplies and various minerals could be unloaded or moved into place much faster with a tesseract, and since his last 'upgrade' by the Emperor, he could empty an entire mass conveyor in a single day. Nothing larger than a Titan, not in a single dimensional shift, but he could do many such transports one after another.

Of course, that meant working closely with the Adeptus Custodes and numerous tech-priests of high rank, even the Fabricator General at times. Other times, he helped the Primarchs assemble and re-supply their troops, or kept an eye out for infiltrators of many types trying to reach the Emperor of Man.

It was somewhat amusing to see his father marked with a 'don't bother' exception in the Adeptus Custodes logbook, either a sign of their trust or their lack of capability in stopping the galaxy's boogieman from strolling into the best guarded places without even noticing it should be impossible.

So when a golden-glowing giant passed through the Hexshield of Mars, and appeared inside the Imperial Palace, Laur just shifted beside him, expecting to meet his father.

But this was not Pef Lancefire, or anything like a human. A Primarch most likely, but with a wolf head? "Hello? Are you lost?" he asked in a mild voice, as to not scare the man-wolf away.

The wolf head turned towards him, and familiar eyes measured him from head to toe. "Little Laur? Ah, makes sense. Patrocles is also serving the other Emperor on Terra."

"If you wanted to meet the Emperor, there's a waiting line from here to Nocturne, and just as many protocols and security..." Laur muttered until he realized where he had seen those eyes. "Canis?"

"I was Canis, for a millennium. And Leman Russ as well, for 12 millennia. Now, I am Anubis, the Canis Helix primogenitor. See, I have hands!" the wolf giant explained and wiggled his human fingers, like they were a miracle.

Laur felt a headache starting to form, since this being wasn't anything like Canis. Or a Primarch. More like a naive overpowered Ogryn, dragging a water cistern after him when told to bring some water for the troops on the front. Happened quite often.

His dimensional senses noted a pair of Custodes arriving with their disintegration weapons ready to fire on the intruder. "This place is not safe, Anubis. They will kill you...." he warned the man-wolf, just as the orange beams struck him. And vanished without effect.

"Oh! You meant those tiny guns? They don't seem very useful. Anyway, got anything to eat around here?" the strange person asked Laur with a careless tone.

"Don't bother, Custodes! I'll feed this guy until the Emperor has time to meet him." Laur told the Custodes before they got into panic mode and brought out even bigger guns.

"We're going to need more than your word, Seneschal." a Custode Captain demanded as he emerged from a moving wall.

Laur sighed, and massaged his temple. "It's a Primarch, Shield Captain. Back from the cold." he explained in a tired voice, then waved his left glove to set up a big table and food for 10 Astartes, or a single Primarch.

Anubis ignored the Custodes in favor of food, and began eating with strange growls, tearing through bird bones and grox ribs like they were crunchy noodles.

Laur sat down and nibbled a little, mostly for keeping the decorum. Guests would feel more welcomed if you ate with them.

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"Dimensional pocket too? The Black Alpha mostly used them for war. Serving food is a better use, though." Anubis noted after grabbing a pitcher of ice water and gulping it

in a few seconds.

"Canis was always well-fed by father. And I imagine Patrocles also fed you well on Terra. This appetite...is it your other half?" Laur asked once the table was empty, and the wolfman searched around for more.

"Russ subsisted on daemon souls mostly. His memories are a blur of constant battles and ripping into daemons, with rare interludes of xenos meat like Orks and spiders and whatever else fell into the Well of Souls." Anubis said with a sad voice, while staring at his hands for too long.

"We tried to find you, in the Hidden Library. But only Freki and Geri were there. Well, and Primarch Vulkan showed up later." Laur recalled with a lamenting voice.

"The wolf brothers. Such a dangerous thing, imbuing myths and legends into a living thing. Russ was not Odin, and the Canis Helix gene is not a poem to recite to young warriors over mead and beer. I guess I will have to deal with my Space Wolves too." Anubis mused in a thoughtful voice, just as the Emperor and Sister Janice arrived in the room.

"Canis?" Janice yelled and jumped to hug the wolfman, who caught and spun her like a little girl.

"I am more now than just Canis, little Janice. But we can still play when you're free." Anubis whispered in her ear, then set her down to walk in front of the Emperor.

"...Anubis. I see you tested the soul powers already. How does it feel to be a god?" The Emperor asked with a casual tone.

The wolfman bowed with a hand on his chest. "Golden Alpha. Your radiance is like a thousand suns, and I am but a moth to your flame. Don't call me a god."

"Yes, yes. Humility suits you more, Anubis. But, power is power. You already match the C'tan Shards and perhaps Lady Isha of the Eldar pantheon. And your Anathema aura matches my own, when I was young." the Emperor spoke with an easy voice, and raised his little finger to make Anubis kneel at his feet.

Anubis changed, his wolf head transforming into a human one, looking like the familiar paintings on the wall, depicting Leman Russ in his youth, with a mane of wild hair.

"Keep the human face among humans, little god. We'll call the wolfhead a battle transformation, and no one will bat an eye. But people expect to see Leman Russ, and so they will." the Emperor continued while Janice jumped on his arm, and smiled.

"Still, it's Canis! My father created another miracle!" Janice exclaimed, while Anubis rose with a confused face, and measured his new face with his human hands.

"This is not the miracle, sweet Janice. Pef Lancefire somehow tamed the C'tan Void Dragon and has allied with the Silent King. Now they are roaming the galaxy and exterminating rebel Necron worlds, and any other xenos in their path." The Emperor spoke with a strange voice, sounding almost like envy.

Laur just nodded, and stored the table and leftovers in his tesseract. Father was father, and he probably didn't even realize what he did was impossible.

"Come with me, Anubis. We need to get you some armor and weapons, so you look like a real Primarch." Laur told the new god, who nodded and patted his head.

"I don't have fur on my face. This feels weird." the man complained and walked beside Laur towards the nearest armory.

"You'll get used to it. At least you have hands now." Laur told the wolfman in a helpful tone.

"Right! I always wanted hands. They're so useful!" Anubis agreed in a cheerful voice.