It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of His inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that He may never truly die.
Yet even in His deathless state, the Emperor continues His eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst His soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -- and far, far worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
...
...
'Under the crimson light of Vel and Mel, we've travelled for more than 10 days accross this forsaken desert. Even the once-sparse vegetation has disappeared, replaced by sharp, metallic rocks sticking out of the black sands.
The only things that have interrupted the sounds of the caravans engines lately was Martin's coughing, while Brook has spent most her days laying down, fighting off an unknown disease.
I pray we either find the ruins tomorrow, or Captain Victor decides to turn around as this is looking more hopeless by the day.
And if, by any chance, this diary finds itself in the hands of someo-'
ROOOOAAAAR!!!
Throwing down the book in panic, he turned off the lantern he used for light. Suddenly, the entire truck was enveloped by darkness.
He wanted to wake up the rest, but as he turned around he saw them already awake, faces pale and frozen in dread. A silence enveloped the truck.
"I'll check above." Aven said in a barely audible whisper, while Victor crawled into the drivers seat. Brook and Martin simply grabbed their weapons, covered in cold sweat.
Aven gently pushed open the hatch on the roof, the cold night air flowing in. Thankfully, they had spent some time maintaining it so there was no hint of a creak.
Peeking his head out of the hatch, he scanned the horizon. Having gotten a clear view of everything around him, including the other caravan vehicles parked a small distance away, he didn't relax in the slightest.
Instead, he started looking at the sky in fear.
'If it's not on the ground...'
Yet there were only the stars covering the sky, accompanied by the asteroid rings of Varminth.
Yet, to his confusion, even after looking around for a while he didn't find anything in the sky.
By now, he noticed some of the lights inside of the other vehicles had lit up.
Going back to looking at the sky, he spotted something that made his heart race.
A black spot that was now glaringly visible against the backdrop of the planets rings, previously having blended into the darkness of the night sky.
And as soon as the dot stopped moving, his pupils contracted to the size of a needle. Fear gripped every fiber of his being, and his heart nearly stopped in fright.
Before he could even move...
A flap of wings came from above, followed up by the sound barrier shattering. Like a comet, it left behind a white trail in the atmosphere of the planet.
A massive creature, more than 50 meters in size, slammed at supersonic speeds into the heart of the caravan, crushing countless vehicles. Hundreds lost their lives in an instant.
The shock wave almost turned over their truck, overpowering the screams of those inside. The black sand shot so far into the skies it obscured the stars, while the screams of the other caravanners were drowned by yet another monstrous roar.
ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!
As the sand somewhat settled, he laid his eyes upon the creature.
Standing at 50 meters with its tail still hidden, the entire beast was covered by scales as dark as the void itself, absorbing any light that fell on them. The massive limbs had claws the size of vehicles, and the wingspan of the monster was twice its size.
Suddenly, the vehicle's engine came to life, and he fell back down into his seat, covered in cold sweat.
Victor didn't even bother asking what it was, he simply stepped on the pedal.
The faint sounds of gunfire, along with the thrashing of the beast, started resounding behind them, becoming ever fainter as they ran.
Until the sounds of gunfire and thrashing ceased.
'They were wiped out.'
Nobody spoke those words, yet they all knew it.
Aven, with shaky legs, once more went to peek outside the hatch he forgot to close in his panic.
He saw the beast flying in a different direction compared to them. Judging by the rings, the beast was heading north, while they were still going east.
He collapsed back into his seat, and said quietly to Victor, "It went north, you can stop now. Let's just go back, fuck the ruins."
"I can't." Came the reply.
"Why?" asked Martin, confused.
"We were meant to refuel from the fuel truck in the morning. And if we dont, we would run out of fuel by the end of tomorrow." He turned to look at me and then Brook and Martin. "We won't last if we turn around now. The desert will claim us as its own."
They fell silent once more.
"So..." Victor continued. "There is only forward. Rest for now, I'll drive. If we find any fuel at the ruins well be fine even if we're going to be very hungry."
'If the ruins are real, Victor. I really hope they are...' Aven thought, wiping himself with a cloth before trying to fall asleep.
'It's gona be a long day...' They all thought at the same time.