Scene #1202: A meeting of man, mare, and Mortimer.

Owner	Pose
Mortimer Balman	A 'good snow' on Fenris is a 'blizzard' to most places, but that doesn't bother Mortimer too much. He's well protected from the cold by nature. Normally he'd have bothered to wear the coat that Rarity had woven for him in traditional Imperium of Man styles, but he had made Twilight wear that instead. She would probably be somewhat averse to the skulls the coat was adorned with, but it would keep her warm enough to handle the bitter cold of the sun-distant planet and make it easier on her to trudge through the snow all the way up the Asaheim to the great and imposing Fang fortress wherein the Space Wolves could be found. Plus wearing something with skulls would make the Imperium-natives more likely to accept a purple pastel pony in their midst. Familiarity and stuff. They really like skull motifs in the Imperium. Getting them to allow her to visit at all would no doubt have required considerable work on Mortimer's part, with their Priests and Company commanders, but it was something he could at least accomplish without too much threat to Twilight Sparkle's safety- he had no small number of proverbial feathers in his hat to curry favor with the Wolves, and had no qualms making strategic embellishments when necessary. The two Lone Wolves that had come to fight Discord would hopefully back him up on this, they had seen what ponies can do- such a beast was no doubt equal to a Greater Daemon in their eyes, and to be beaten by /little ponies/ should work in their favor some, hopefully. Should smooth the process, or so Morty hoped. So there they are, Mortimer pounding on the Fang's doors as the cold winds and snow tried to cut into his bones and failed against his heat. "Oy gevalt. OPEN THE DOORS ALREADY YOU GREAT OAFS! Or are you too busy playing grab-ass in there to greet your visitors!"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight cannot believe how cold it is here! And snowy! So, this is what bad weather is like on a world that does not control its weather. She keeps the Imperium coat wrapped tightly around her, despite the slightly unnerving motiff. It is a bit big on her, with is likely a good thing. Her face is shrouded partially by a hood to keep the harsh wind at bay, so all that is easily seen is her little muzzle as she walks along with Mortimer. Her hoofprints are just about buried as quickly as they are made in this harsh snow. She isn't entirely sure what to expect when they get inside the fortress. She has heard that the Imperium is pretty strict in their beliefs, and that she could be rejected due to her nature and her appearance. But, she also knows that the Wolves are heroic and brave. "Are you sure I won't cause any trouble?" she asks Mortimer as they stand at the gate.
Karian Icefang	Moments pass slowly but sure enough the massive doors of the Fang open. Mortimer would recieve nods of approval, but poor Twilight Sparkle would get alot of stares. Even so, one of Karian's Wolfguard, his elite bodyguard clad in ornate Terminator armor, motions for them to follow. Walking through the fang, tapestries and tales of old heroes and their deeds hang on the walls, inspiring the Blood Claws and the other marines to great glory and deeds. Sitting upon his throne, flanked by both his other guard and his rhino sized Thunderwolf Ygdril, Karian waits. "Hello Mort! Come to join us for our feast have you?" He shouts. Then he spots Twilight, and gives a nod. "Welcome to the Fang, Twilight Sparkle." As per usual, the wolfguard cautiously eye the pony, and Ygdril trots over calmly, sniffing at them both.
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer puffs some smoke from his nostrils. "You'll be fine. If anyone gives you trouble, you either haul off and hit'em as hard as you can in the face or- if you think you can't or shouldn't- you tell me, and /I'll/ do it." He nods to affirm this, and smiles down at Twilight. "Show them no fear. They'll smell it immediately. You are /supposed/ to be here. Walk with yer head held high and confidence in your voice. They'll respect that." He'd help her with the hood once they were inside, if only so she could see where she was going. This would be nothing like the castles of Equestria. This was a place of constant, endless preparation for War. It was a sight to be beheld, to be taken in and given due consideration. Mortimer made no jokes or cracks like one might usually expect him to- at least, not right yet. "Ahoy, Karian! Afraid not yet, though we can stay for some supper if you've had the presence of mind to prepare some food for someone what doesn't eat meat, I think." He'd hold out a hand for Ygdril to sniff, then ruffle the great wolf's mane. "Hello there, Ygdril. You've not met Twilit yet, have you? She's a good sort. Helpin' us with Ulbrecht."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight nods to Mortimer, but she still looks a bit nervous. When the door opens, she follows Mortimer inside. Remembering Mortimer's advice, she stands as tall as she can and gives her mane a shake to loosen it up after being contained within the hood, then continues forward, ignoring the stares for the most part unless someone is directly in front of her. Then, she meets their gaze and offers a slight nod of aknowledgement. When they reach the throne room, Twilight stops beside Mortimer, her eyes a bit wide from all the tapestries and armor-clad men. This world is what she imagines a world which is completely reverse of Equestria would be like. War always a danger, battle always over the horizon, and the people always prepared to meet those challenges. It is impressive, to say the least. When Karian speaks to her, she bows her head a moment in respect, then smiles to him. "Thank you, Karian. It is an honor to be within the walls of this great fortress. Your people are rather impressive." she says before being sniffed by Ygdril. She is tense a moment, knowing this is a trained war beast, but she follows Mortimer's lead and holds out a forehoof in a non-threatening manner to allow the wolf to familiarize himself with her scent. "Hello, Ygdril. It is nice to meet you."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods and with a quick gesture, a servitor darts off to what amounts to a kitchen for some non-meat food for their guests. Ygdril leans into the ruffling, visibly happy to see Mort. Twilight gets a nod from the massive wolf, who looks over and gives a whuff towards the guards, signalling his approval. That causes them to relax as well. "Aye. We bear a heavy responsibity. It many ways, we are the only thing holding our universe together. 'The Bulwark against Terror, the defenders of Humanity.' and so on." He says, trying his best not to say anything that might offend Twilight. He rises up, standing 7 feet tall. He had on his usual robes for prayers, or at least for feasting. He walks over, his left eye covered with a patch, lost in battle. "Don't mind Ygdril. He's one of the oldest wolves here, and takes his duty of guarding me very seriously." One of the wolfguard looks over. "He isn't the only one, Jarl." A nod and hand wave dismisses them towards the tables. "Mort tells me you are quite a seamstress."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer smiles at Ygdril. "Attaboy." He tries not to eyeroll at the spiel Karian gives out, "She's well aware. I've given her a brief rundown of the Wolves, and the Imperium in general. T'is a strange place for ponies.. I think she may be the only non-predator on the whole planet right now." A bit of a chuckle at that. "Ah, no Karian. Rarity is the seamstress- Twilight Sparkle is one of Equestria's premier magisters.. Or, well, by /your/ standards, she would be one of Equestria's premier Psykers." Even if there's little functional difference between magic and psionics by Imperium standards, they'll react better to 'psyker' than 'wizard'- as long as it's not 'sorcery', at least as far as he recalls. Either way, that should put anyone who thinks she's just a frail little pony on guard. And since they don't fear anything, no need to worry about her causing a panic. Yay for Astartes brainwashing. He would take a seat, motion for Twilight to sit alongside him, and pull his pipe out to start puffing on it. "Which is why we are here. Progress has been made in helping Ulbrecht with the taint that Chaos has left on his soul. It is not yet fully removed, but it has been lessened to a significant degree. She even killed a Bloodletter in the process- fool daemon thought to use /her/ power to try and manifest itself from the Warp.. Didn't work out terribly well for it. Gwahaha.." A bit of a sinister laugh from Mortimer at the end there. He is to some extent embellishing what was accomplished.. But that embellishment should, he hopes, should cement her strength in their minds. Even skilled tactical marines would have great difficulty in fighting a Bloodletter, generally that sort of thing is the realm of veterans in terminator armor, or at least those armed with potent wargear.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight is just about to correct Karian when Mortimer does it. She nods at the correction, but seems slightly confused when her equivalent title is changed from magister to psyker. Of course, then she remembers the version of her that actually -carries- the title of magister, and she is happy to be a psyker instead. And, being the honest, modest pony she is, Mortimer's version of the story makes her headtilts. "I am not sure I can take credit for killing the creature. I merely manufactured the spell that pulled the chaos from Ulbrecht, which in turn led him to believe he could escape his realm. He was wrong, and the portal collapsed on him, cutting the demonic being in half. There was really little fighting to be done at that point." she says as she follows Mortimer and takes a seat beside him. "We have theorized that Equestria's purity was quite literally fatal to a being raised on carnage and hatred."
Karian Icefang	Karian's good eye raises open at that. "Really? That's quite a feat. One worthy of praise." He says, but his attention quickly shifts towards the update on Ulbrecht. He nods as he hears that the young wolf had some of the chaotic taint lifted from him. "I'm glad. I knew giving him to you would be a good call." He says. The servitor finally returns, a tray loaded up with salads and other various fruits in one of his arms. It's clear the Space Wolves had been importing, hence making better food. He quickly finds his empty hand being filled with his mug of ale, and the servitor looks to the guests. "Anything to drink, most beneficent ones?" It asks, clearly programmed to offer reverence to marines and guests alike. As Twilight Sparkle explained how things really went, Karian nodded and grinned. "Still, you drew it out. So in our book, that still counts as your victory. I'm also not surprised that the purity would prove fatal. Daemons rarely survive outside of conflict, or their nature." He falls silent in thought for a moment, nodding. "That is promising news overall. Purity makes sense as the ideal weapon to combat the corruption they represent."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer nods. "See, Twilit? Toldja. Victory's a victory, especially over the Ruinous Powers. Gotta take'em as they come along." He'd pick up a cup and hold it out for the servitor to pour some ale into. "There.. Perfect, that's enough." And then he'd sip at it, and pop some fruit down his gullet. Mmm. "Promising news indeed, but there's still more work to be done about it. I don't know what Twilit wants to get here.. Well, what is it that you want to study or look at while we're up here, Twi? You know what you're on about with this. I just handle the burning and breaking stuff when it needs to be done." He'd look around a bit. "Kinda empty.. ...Where is everyone, Karian? Have the Blood Claws been sent outside to roll naked in the snow for the afternoon?"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight smiles as Karian seems just as cheerful about her version as Mortimer's. When Mortimer asks what she hopes to learn here, Twilight considers a moment. "Well, I want to learn more about the chaotic corruption in general. How is one infected? How does it progress? Is it more like a sickness, or is it like an enchantment, or is it like a true corruption of spirit? I know so little about it, it is hard to know exactly what I need to learn about it. I suppose the most important thing to ask about is, do you or anyone on Fenris have any methods that slow the progress of the corruption?" Twilight says as she accepts some fruit, but declines on the drink.
Karian Icefang	"Chaos is....insidious. It corrupts down to the soul by making you want nothing but to persue what the Chaos God wants. There are four, Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeench, and Slaanesh. They are the Princes of Blood, Plague, Change, and Excess respectively. The corruption of each is unique, but damning." He says, taking a drink. He takes another long moment, thinking on how to explain. "Khorne...demands Blood in sacrifice, the larger the slaughter the better. Nurgle will bloat the body with disease, and make the victim think it is a glorious, beautiful thing. Tzeench will mutate and toy with the strings of fate, and is ever scheming, and Slaneesh is excess in all things, such as pleasure, greed, gluttony, and the like. Those who follow gain boons, but in exchange further their descent into madness. Each follower can become a champion, and my understanding is that each is told that with enough devotion to these dark gods, one can undergo deamonification, or elevation to Deamonhood."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer puffs smoke quietly while Karian explains. "Aye.. It depends on who's running the show, as t'were, Twilit. We have witnessed the mark of the Blood God in Ulbrecht. If we cannot find a means of relieving him of this corruption, it will in time most likely consume him with the thirst for blood and hatred that you saw in the eyes of that monstrous thing that tried to crawl through the gaping hole of blood in your lab. But.. I don't think we need fear that, because you've already made more progress in less than a month's time than most folks in the Imperium are capable of making with a century's worth of work." He'd reach down and pat her shoulder to be reassuring. "The most common method for 'aiding' those that have been given any measure of corruption, Twilit- at least here in the Imperium- is the Emperor's Peace. ...That's where they put a gun to your head and pull the trigger and hope that whatever plague has attached itself to the soul can be sorted out in the afterlife. I'm afraid that, barring perhaps the most devout of the Imperium's faithful, you may be the only person- or pony, rather- who has made any /real/ progress on the subject matter that does not involve simply killing the victim. Though.." He paused a moment. "I know that the Adepta Sororitas would never go for it, Karian, but might not the truly faithful of the Ecclesiarchy- the ones who can make real miracles happen- have knowledge on the subject, or would they simply tell us to pray and have faith?"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight listens to Karian's explanation, then Mortimer's, then she shakes her head. "I believe in order to properly remove this corruption, I need to know how the corruption actually takes root. How does one even become seeded with this corruption? Can it compel someone who would not normally act gluttonous or bloodthirsty to become so? Or, is a person seeded with the corruption that most matches their personality already?" Twilight tries to think of other things that might help. As she thinks, she asks, "I thought Ulbrecht was sent to Equestria because they didn't know how to help him here in the Imperium without the...um..." She looks a bit uncomfortable. "...putting him down."
Karian Icefang	"Some sects may. Others would first tell you to pray, then sic the Inquisition on you. If your really unlucky, they'll send the Sisters of Battle. Fire-obsessed nuns..." He mutters under his breath. He shakes that off and nods as Mort explains. "Sadly, that is the case. Allfather be with any innocent who is on an infested planet. Rather then lose a planet and give Chaos a foothold, Exterminatus is enacted." He pauses for the moment, then thinks. "It can woth both ways. The already bloodthirsty or gluttonous already resonate, so it takes little effort for a whisper to reach their ear. But the pure...those are the ones chaos enjoy breaking. It can compell a pious man to commit heinous acts in chuch, or make a pacifist massacre a village. From the lowest peasent, to Chapter Masters...none are immune to chaos. I myself am at risk, but I am trained as a priest. I can recognize the signs, and comfort the souls of my brothers, to prevent their fall."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer chuckles some. "Fire obsessed nuns sounds pretty hot to me.." A mischievous grin- the kind you'd expect to see on an old pervert like say Master Roshi- then a laugh. "But I digress.. And I fear that is the best explanation we can hope for on the matter, Twilit. The Dark Gods simply look for openings they can exploit, whether those are people who are already inclined to hear their terrible songs, or simply force such horrors upon people until they succumb and break. I've had a good look at what happens to the Space Marines who cannot resist and give in to the foul urges.. ...It's an awful thing to see. However, comma," He takes a moment to gulp his ale down and belch forth a measure of flames, "We are fortunate in that Ulbrecht is in Equestria now. The biggest problem with the Imperium, at least as I see it, is that no matter where you go, any seed of corruption that is placed into someone will inevitably, and invariably, be given amplification. There's so much suffering in this galaxy that the Ruinous Powers have no shortage of /opportunity/ to simply pick and choose, at will almost, whom they try to convert to their foul causes. But that's not the case with Equestria, or indeed, with /you/." He'd point at her with his pipe, "They gave Ulbrecht to me as a bit of a.. Skirting of the rules a bit, as I understand it. That lets me bring him to you. Doing this, nobody can accuse them of doing anything untoward or 'heretical'. Hurrah for loopholes, aye?"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight listens to all of this, trying not to look downtrodden. It is much heavier subject matter than she usually deals with. Mortimer brings a bit of cheer to the conversation with pointing out that at least Ulbrecht is likely to be saved. "And, if I am able to purge Ulbrecht, would the Imperium accept treatment for infected marines?" Twilight asks Karian. "Although saving one is certainly wonderful, if my techniques can be used on others, that would be the best reward." Twilight headtilts at Mortimer's comment. "It seems more likely that they would be comfortable in and around fire. Not hot." she says. The, she thinks a moment. "So...how is it you keep your marines from falling to the Ruinous powers?" she asks Karian. "Is there some sort of magic involved? Or, is it simply strengthening of mental fortitude through charismatic inspiration?"
Karian Icefang	Karian grins at that, and nods. "Well, if they refuse, I'll tell the Inquisition to sod off....in less kind words. I really don't give a crap what they say." Then he looks over to Twilight. "Well, a bit of both, really. We born on Fenris grow up on the backfoot. The first thing we own at birth is an axe, so we are used to fighting. Beyond that, my council and consolation of their souls through prayer, our feasting, and even our training. We make our squads like packs of wolves. They live together, eat together, and die together. They are brothers to the end. How better to keep someone safe then to have a brother to talk to?" He asks. It was simplistic, but in many ways it worked. That deep bond of brotherhood. "Many are told the story of the Horus Heresy, and many more develop religious zeal, bordering on fanaticism. We Space Wolves...We're rebels. The Inquisition hate us, the Imperial Guard love us. We do things our way, and we really don't care about what any 'authority' thinks. In the case of Chaos, many of us would sooner punch the Dark Gods before joining them. Our Honored brother Bjorn, even though he's inturred into a Deadnaught frame, tells us the tales of our Primarch, Lemun Russ. I suppose you could say we find out strength in our legends, brothers, and our Wolf Priests."
Mortimer Balman	Morty quietly smokes while they talk. "At the end of the day, for the Imperials, Twilit.. There is no 'curing' them, at least that they've yet seen, of the constant threat of Chaos. There is only resistance. ...If you can figure out a way to make it less resistance, we could begin working on it with the Wolves to see if they can't find a means of integrating it into their system. That could take a long time.. But it would be a massive change for the better for them."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight seems surprised to hear that Karian and his Wolves are rebels. But, that isn't the part she focuses on. The Wolves derive their strength and resistance from stories of strength, fellowship, and just a touch of magic enabling. "Preventing infection would be much more effective than curing those already corrupted. But, with this information, I think I can purge Ulbrecht completely. I'll just need a strong, uncorrupted person who knows the stories of strength from the Imperium's past. Combined with my purging spell, I am sure we can cure Ulbrecht. But, this person would have to be quite strong themselves, both mentally and physically. Able to speak the stories in a strong and inspiring tone, without faultering at any moment or on any of the details." Twilight seems very confident now, and the smirk on her face shows it. "Yes, I am quite sure of it. With a strong story-telling session combined with my spell...the Ruinous corruption inside of Ulbrecht wouldn't stand a chance!"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer scratched his head a bit. "I'm.. Not sure where you'd find such a person. ...Maybe Bjorn himself? I mean to some degree, the Ruinous Powers would start whispering to all of us if and when they saw fit to. I mean even Switchbait can feel the tug of the Warp when he comes here and he's far from impure of spirit. We would have to find a truly noble soul that has never once thought of committing atrocity, that has not been scarred by war and pain and bloodshed, or tempted by the pleasures of the flesh or gluttonous excess, or held a great desire for political power, or any other such vices and evils. Can such a soul exist /anywhere/ in the Imperium?"
Karian Icefang	Karian thinks for a moment, pondering. "Aye....though I've met them once." He says. He turns and takes a breath. "In some of the oldest tales, there are what are known as the Gunmetal Ghosts of the battlefield. They wore the badge of the Inquisition and served as a specialist force. From what I remember, the specifically targetted Daemons. Only two people do that, the insanely brave or perhaps those whose sole duty is to hunt deamons." He then thinks again. He was already this far, so he might as well go all in. "They helped us fight off a Khornite attempt at invasion. They are the Grey Knights."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight blinks at Mortimer and Karian, then shakes her head. "No no, I don't mean completely pure. There are few to no completely pure beings in the Multiverse. As you said, Mortimer, everyone has felt the pull of anger or jealousy or greed or other such corrupting forces at some point. I just mean, someone who has no seed of corruption within them, like the one affecting Ulbrecht. Someone not under the grasp of the Ruinous powers. I think either you, Mortimer, or you, Karian..." she nods toward each of them in turn. "...would fit this position perfectly. Strong, brave, charismatic, and unlikely to faulter in the face of what horrers might be released when the spell completes. Perhaps even both of you together, recounting a great victory over the chaos. If we can strengthen Ulbrecht's mind enough, and push the corruption at the same time, its bonds to him will be weakened, and he will be purified!" Twilight still seems very sure of this. She is smiling, and even gives a light excited clapping of her forehooves. "But, it will have to be a particularly strong story, told in a very dramatic way, in order to most affect Ulbrecht."
Mortimer Balman	"Grey Knights?" Mortimer blinks, puzzledly. "I've never heard of them. Who the heck are they?" He even took the time to study up on the Imperium and came across no mention of Grey Knights. "Oh.. Ohhh, okay, I see what you mean now, Twilit. Well hell that should be easy enough. I've got /lots/ of good stories I could tell.." He mused on the idea for a few moments, swishing his ale around in the mug. "Yeah, yeah we could pull that off. We'll see if we can't organize something in the future for that, though there's no telling if and when Karian'd have time for that. All that Astartes business tends to be time consuming, though frankly it's to be expected. Just trying to give the Blood Claws a basic education- from what I've seen- is like trying to pull dragon's teeth with bare hooves." A smile comes to his face. "But this, this we can pull off, I think!"
Karian Icefang	"Aye!" Karian roars, his approval of the plan clear. As for the Grey Knights. "Details are scarce, understandably. Grey Knights are what I would consider a secret weapon. They apparently are either resistant or an anathema to the warp itself, as I saw deamons recoil in their preseance. I also heard from my rune priest that they may all be psykers too. I also heard a rumor that in 10 millenia, not one of them has fallen to chaos." He explains, despite not having any real facts. "Well, that's what I have Sargeants for, Drake." He says, using morts more commonly known honorific name.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight Sparkle smiles even more brightly as the two warriors agree to her plan. She's already picturing the setup in her head. Of course, it needs some planning, and perhaps a change of venue from her basement. After all, basements don't usually inspire confidence and courage. She wants everything to lead Ulbrecht toward strength when they do this ritual. But, hearing the supposed powers of the Grey Knights brings her attention back. "Oh my. That is rather amazing, if true!" she says before realizing she still has most of the salad left in front of her. Not wanting to be rude, she stops talking and focuses on eating. Properly, of course, not over zealously. She does take a moment to add, "When we perform this ritual, I think it will be important that everything in the room inspires Ulbrecht toward greatness. Even our outfits could make a difference. If you two have dress uniforms or particularly impressive armors, I would suggest using those during the ritual. I will also try to aquire some ceremonial armor. And we will have to find a place in Equestria that has the same effect. Somewhere that heroes of the past are immortalized in murals and tapestries and such."
Karian Icefang	"Sounds like my Terminator armor then. We have to earn the honors to wear armor blessed with the Crux Terminatus. Armor fragments from the Allfather's set of ancient armor are used. I can think of nothing more inspiring." He says. He does look to Mort and grins. "I should thank you again for taking Ulbrecht. Once he's pure, he is in your care. I made that choice long ago. I hope you don't mind, my friend."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer rubs his chin some. "Yeah, that sounds good.. That sounds real good, in fact. I can bring out my dress greens.." He thinks about what Twilit is proposing and the theory behind it. He has a vague understanding of it, but he's not sure there'd be time to get Karian involved. "If you can't come, Karian, could I borrow one of yer sergeants? Or- maybe- better, one of the Wolves who came and helped to defend Equestria? Someone who'd have some previous familiarity with it and would be more at ease. Presumin' they're not already busy, of course!" He'd pause to finish off his drink, take a few more bites of food. "Oh of course, Karian. I don't mind.. Ulbrecht wouldn't be able to survive too well on Fenris anymore, I don't think. He's already adapted with remarkable speed to Equestrian living, and would likely perish in the constant death struggle that this planet represents, I don't think he'd be able to re-adapt quickly enough. But.." Another pause. "I think it's time we headed out, Twilit. We've both got important stuff to get doin' tomorrow, and it's startin' to get late, much as I hate to say it. I'll be back here tomorrow of course, as I told the Wolves I'd be here to feast with them for Christmas, but I'll need to finish packagin' their gifts and whatnot, and I still need to talk with the Mayor about some stuff I'd like to do soonish."