Laur watched the returned Primarch select and then transmute armor bits and weapons from the armory into an integrated Terminator power suit, with an auramite wolf head with angel wings on his chest. His belt held a Rosarius shield as a belt buckle, while his power fists could extend into four long Phase Claws, and his wolf-head helmet folded around his face.

"There! Do I look like a proper Primarch now?" Anubis asked with a child-like voice.

Laur had seen his father construct Titans in the same manner, making the metal flow and meld with ease. Canis had learned from the best, and it showed. His power armor was orders of magnitude better than the Custodes wore, and the way it moved was like a second skin, barely making any sound unlike the clunky servo-motors of an Astartes suit.

Laur tapped his chest. "Maybe try your magic on my suit as well? I won't know how it feels unless I wore the same." he proposed with a large grin.

Anubis smiled with a sad smile, a waved a hand towards Laur. "Your father already gave you the best power suit known to man, little Laur. I can smooth a few lines and make the links and conduits Master-crafted, but the rest is not possible with such a weak power source. Patrocles has a Potentia Coil, but you do not."

Laur tried a few moves, and indeed, his Terminator plate moved and felt much better and responsive now. "So you just wave those hands around, that's it?" he asked with a curious but joking tone.

Anubis sighed, and his eyes turned grave. "Some of this is instinctive, set-patterns incorporated in the Old One's device that reforged me. Morphic fields and molecular alignments. Other stuff are genetic memories in the Canis Helix genes, battle and hunter tactics, equipment repair and invasion protocols. And then there is the grand strategy, fleet deployment and lots of knowledge of our enemies. I am a Weapon."

"That could be useful too. For in this grim and dark galaxy, there is only war." Laur noted with a careless shrug.

"Hah! Such casual optimism. I'll go speak with Vulkan now." Anubis exclaimed in a cheerful tone, and became a white ghost that blurred away towards Nocturne

Laur rubbed his ribs with a grimace, then stepped through the tesseract and followed. But his arrival at the meeting of the two brothers showed a different scene.

"Owww. Don't break my spine, you wolf monster. What the hell did you eat to grow so strong?" Primarch Vulkan complained as Anubis hugged him and proved much stronger.

"I ate daemons and souls. And plenty of xenos too." Anubis answered with a careless voice, then waved his hand to repair and heal the Salamanders'Primarch and his armor.

"That would do it, I guess. Hey Laur! I expect he already met the Emperor?" Vulkan grumbled and rubbed his healed ribs in phantom pain.

Laur nodded and sat down, observing the Forge of Vulkan and its many wonders. A dozen Tech-priests of Mars and even more Tech-marines were also standing at the side, learning from a real Master-crafter as hundreds of projects lay on tables and walls in various states of assembly.

And among them, thousands of Blank immigrants brought by Laur himself, now living among the people of Hesiod City or being prepared as neophytes for the Salamanders and their successors. Gene-seed was no longer a concern after the return of their Primarch, but many young Blanks under the age of 18 were still living with a wife or three and trying to obtain more Blanks. A Catachan regiment served as Auxilia for the Salamanders, and as gene stock for the Blank girls training to become Sisters of Battle or even Silent Sisters.

"Did your father find Leman Russ as well?" A Salamanders tech-marine asked in a soft whisper.

Laur just nodded slowly. There wasn't much left of Leman Russ in the new Anubis, and Canis seemed to be the main personality that survived their merge, but in the end it didn't matter that much. Another Primarch had returned to the Imperium, and if he was stronger than before, well...Primarchs were bullshit anyway.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"There are two of your Blank step-brothers that should make it, to become tech-marines as well. Therion and Falxen. But the rest..." the tech-marine continued with a low voice.

Laur took note and marked the two Aspirants in his data-log, then pointed at Anubis with his chin. "Our guest will want a share of Blanks for his Chapter. Not everyone is meant to build Master-crafted weapons, Jin'Tai."

"True enough, Laur. I just finished building my Volkite culverine. Want to go test it in the wild? I know a place in the Arridian Plain with a nest of Scorpiads." the Salamander offered while three of his mecha-arms hefted a large Volkite gun on his back.

Laur smiled, and they vanished from the Forge, to go hunting a massive monster or two. Scorpiads were sometimes caught and used for gladiator arenas, but in general they were a pest preying on Sauroch cattle herds and were quite a danger for normal people.

And he also wanted to test his armor's new abilities in combat.

"You said it was a few Scorpiads! Like five at most!" He yelled a minute later, as a horde of hundreds of house-sized monsters emerged from the underground nest.

The Volkite culverine fired again, blowing a chunk of chitin from the first Scorpiad, while the rest of its pack flowed around them to encircle their prey.

"I said it was a nest! Omnissiah give me strength! We'll need a Company of Battle-Brothers to scorch this horde!" the tech-marine yelled and fired a long beam at the nearest monster.

Laur laughed, and Phase Blades sprang from his forearms. "They're mere animals, not even Tyranids. Live a little, Cousin!" he shouted and ran towards the front. "For we are what they fear!"

Before he could make contact with the first Scorpiad, a golden glow blinded everything, and Laur stopped. Anubis had appeared just now, and was examining a dead Scorpiad while the rest of the horde was evaporating like mist. "I thought they were a new strain of Tyranids. Did I mess up your hunt?" Anubis asked after ripping a leg from the giant insect and eating it in a few bites.

"Scorpiads are toxic and poisonous, Primarch. And thank you for saving us!" the tech-marine answered in a meek voice, while Laur retracted his blades and pouted. "There wasn't any danger with me here. You realize I protect the Emperor, right?"

Anubis hesitated for a second. "Sorry! My instincts kicked in. I'll go visit Fenris, maybe there are still some Krakens to hunt..." he said in a despondent voice, and turned around.

"Wait, Primarch. You did good, this time. But you have to let people train and fight by themselves, too. What would Pef Lancefire do? Obliterate entire Hive Fleets by himself?" Laur asked rhetorically. His father also sometimes forgot, and murdered everything before letting anyone else contribute, but he got better with practice.

"You're right, little Laur. I'll think first, next time." Anubis said in a chastised voice, then vanished like a ghost.

The Salamander stared after the ghost for a minute, then turned. "Did you just...?"

"You never heard that. Now, what shall we hunt today? Serrwyrms or Gorladons?" he proposed with an easy voice.

"We need heavy tanks to kill Serrwyrms! Especially if we find a whole pack. Gorladons should be possible, though. Lone ones at least." the tech-marine muttered while holding the cog sign with a free hand.

"Gorladons it is. Just stay away from their heads." Laur decided with a smile.

"Crazy Lamenter....Serrwyrms. Without a platoon of Astareus tanks." the tech-marine grumbled as they traversed the tesseract to find a lone bone-plated dragon with three giant horns.

"Live a little! Shoot the front legs!" Laur yelled and rushed forwards as his Phase Blades powered up.

"I hate you! Don't rush ahead like a damn Neophyte!" the voice of the Tech-marine followed as Volkite beams struck the dragon, for not much damage. Armor was still the bane of Volkite weapons, even as large as a culverine.