While Anzion was busy centrifuging blood vials and Margos toiled with the ancient Forge, a small girl sneaked her way through the black walls of the Fortress.

Her name was Purity, and she was a Lancefire, thus she feared nothing!

And anyways, Father and Mother would stomp on anything that dared to harm her, or Canis would eat them, or if all went to hell she could use the blue rune, and call Godfather.

Purity hid her presence and sound with the Null Aura, and hid her image with a weak psyker illusion. Nobody should know she was away, not even Sister Darcy!

Sneak, sneak...hey! That warded door should not be open! It was never open!

Purity peaked inside cautiously, to find a man reading through Father's old data files. An old man, possibly over 50! He even had white hair! And so tall too.

"You should not read that...Father will catch you!" she warned the intruder with a serious voice.

"...A child?" the man asked in surprise, or maybe shame for being caught. Old people were so strange!

"A child of House Lancefire. My name is Purity! And who might be you? And what are you reading?" she asked curious.

"...Just a guest of your House, I guess. As for these logs, they are Pef Lancefire's memoirs. When he was also a child like yourself. A wise Tech-priest was teaching him about the galaxy." the old man explained in a patient voice, then drank from an expensive wine bottle, like Father kept for Inquisitors and such.

"That bottle better not be stolen. Father killed an Inquisitor once, over a bottle of amasec. Or with one, I'm not so clear about that part." Purity warned the man, and picked up a data-log as well, and started to read too.

Huh! It seems Father was also naughty and was spanked for sneaking through the old House cruiser, the Litany for the Vanquished. Didn't learn the lesson at all, going by the rumours she heard from her older Battle-brothers.

"...Gave him his Blank blood to drink, mixed with the wine. A novel purity test, and so ironic..." the pale old man laughed and shadows stirred around him, like vultures feasting on a corpse.

Purity grabbed one of the bad shadows, and clenched her mind fist, crushing it. A warp spawn, like a mini-daemon.

"What did you do?" the man asked in fear. Or maybe surprise?

"There's some parasites attached to you. Can I eat them? I think I can eat half of them..." Purity asked innocently. If the old man agreed, she could gain a bit more power.

"...Eat them? Truly?" The man asked with a weird voice.

"I am still young you know? Not like the powerful Silent Sisters. But tiny daemons like these? Pah, I can eat two at once!" Purity boasted, although it was a small lie. One was easy enough, but two may be a bit much, for now.

"Purity, you say your name was?" the man asked again.

"Purity Lancefire! The one and only!" the girl agreed with a dimpled smile.

"Eat away then. Take your time, it's not like I'm in a hurry anyways." the man answered in a calm voice, then began to read again.

Purity followed suit, delighted by Father's adventures in his youth, and even learning many things from the digested technical lessons as related by the logs. Now she knew what a cogitator was, for example!

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Maybe she shouldn't kick the things anymore. While reading, she kept eating the bad shadows one by one, almost like eating snacks while absorbed by a pict-log of her Astartes brothers returning from a mission.

Hours later, she found herself chatting with the old man, who seemed a bit better now. And she just noticed Clonemaster Anzion waiting by the door.

"She shouldn't be here, old crow. I have seen her father get angry." Anzion spoke over her head, warning the man about Father.

"...It's fine, genetor. What have you found?" the old man asked in a mild voice, but also powerful. Like Father on the bridge.

"Go back, Purity. There is danger here!" Anzion spoke in a harsher tone.

The young girl pursed her lips. 'Canis, here!' she called on the mental link. In a flash of light, the giant wolf appeared and stood tall at her side. "Woogh?" the wolf asked with wary eyes.

"Just watch over me. Anzion is scared, so I should be cautious too." she explained in a polite voice. Although it seemed unlikely, the wolf did understand words, even written words. And it was far smarter than a beast, for certain.

"Still worried, Clonemaster?" the old man asked with a sharp voice.

"Even so, maintain a meter distance. Your infection is contagious." Anzion said with a sad voice.

"...I always guessed so, that's why I stayed away. But this girl...she can cure me. She eats them!" the man exclaimed in a praising voice.

"One meter!" Anzion demanded again, and even pointed at Canis for some reason.

"Wooorf!" Canis spoke with a gruff voice, and drew a line on the floor with its green claw.

"I would say this is surreal, but I did see much worse. Still in top 10." the old man muttered to himself, and began reading again.

Purity shrugged and pulled another log-book with her mind. She wondered if Father did manage to find a girl, and how. This was the best part!

Much later, M also showed up with a lot of armor and weapons which he set on the floor beside the old man. "Purity, are you feeling fine?" the giant man asked with a kind voice.

"Great! I think I almost doubled my powers already. If the old man gets infected with these shadows again, please let me have them. Pretty please?" she asked politely and even batted her eyelids, like the big sisters taught her.

A strange silence fell in the room, as everyone stared at her, maybe in awe, or such.

"Wooo?" Canis asked as he drew a new line on the floor, a bit closer to the old man.

"I'd say 10 percent?" Anzion wondered with a curious voice.

"Just don't move, old crow. When Lancefire returns, he will decide the rest. For now, it seems safe enough." M spoke with a warning voice, then walked away.

"You know, I didn't eat any food since I came here, but I'm still not hungry. Canis, can you also eat them?" Purity asked as she drew a shadow and offered it to the wolf.

Canis smelled her hand cautiously, then grinned and licked her palm, taking the shadow with it. "Awooo" he answered after a minute.

Was that for taste good or taste bad? Anyway, it was edible. Matter closed.

Purity began to read more, finding out about Decima then Hanna. Hmmm. Lady Decima was still around, a House Admiral at Illevar, the Rogue Trader dynasty's capital. Hanna however...died of old age a century ago.

So strange. People could still die from age? Maybe normal people. She hadn't heard of anyone in the House dying of anything other than combat. Even her Battle-Brothers always said they will never die of old age.

"I think Mother Hanna was a normal person. She died of old age." she spoke out loud, making the two men stare at her for some strange reason.

"Very likely so, Purity. Our House didn't have many Blanks, until your Grandmother and then your Father came. Not like these days, with millions of them." Anzion spoke with a weird voice, making the other man called Crow blink in surprise.

"Aha! Grandmother Justine Lancefire! She died when the Serpent Fulgrim was killed. But then Father found the good Fulgrim and sent him to Terra. I remember that lesson." Purity exclaimed, proud of her excellent memory.

"...The good Fulgrim?" both men asked at once.

"Hey, so maybe I peeked into the big Sister's lessons too. But there wasn't much even in that manual: 'The Custodes took the good Fulgrim to Terra.' That's all!" she protested in dismay.

"How can there be?" the old Crow asked, and measured Anzion from head to toe with keen eyes.

"I think so too. Lancefire has too many secrets." Anzion answered cryptically.

"I should go." the old Crow muttered softly, only for Anzion to laugh, much too loud. "Oh, old man. There is nowhere to run now. Plus you are still infectious. Read your books, maybe you'll learn not to mess with Lancefire!"

Purity giggled as well. If the old man wanted to run from Father, he would need more luck than existed in the universe. "Drink your wine, old crow. I'm not letting you leave until I eat all your shadows." she spoke in a wry voice.

She was a Lancefire, and she was what they feared.