The Pact of Dying Stars

"The Imperium fears what it cannot control. That is why they burn even their own."

— Regent-Lord Syltharis the Avenger

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Background

In 913.M41, the Genestealer Cult "The Hollow Choir" infested the agri-world Kaelith Secundus, its psychic beacon threatening to summon Hive Fleet Leviathan.

• Vanari’s Motive: Recover the "Songstone of Morai-Henn", a pre-Fall relic capable of disrupting Tyranid synapse.
• Ynnari’s Interest: The cult’s patriarch carried a shard of Ynnead’s prophecy, a key to awakening the God of the Dead.
• Imperium’s Role: Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Jareth Dalk saw an opportunity to purge all xenos at once.

A fragile alliance was forged—Vanari and Ynnari would cleanse the infestation, while the Deathwatch and Imperial Knights of House Vornhalt secured the perimeter.

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The Cleansing

1. The Spear of Vanari
   • Hyshian Blademasters carved through cultist hordes with rune-edged precision.
   • Ynnari Reapers struck from the shadows, their scythes harvesting cultist souls for Ynnead.
2. The Death of the Patriarch
   • The Ynnari Visarch beheaded the patriarch, claiming its shard.
   • Vanari Rune-Master Elyria secured the Songstone, its harmonics purging residual Tyranid spores.
3. The Betrayal
   • As the last cultist fell, Inquisitor Dalk fired a psionic disruptor into Regent-Lord Varyth’s spine, killing him instantly.
   • His broadcast: "Kill the witches. Burn them all."

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The War in the Ruins

1. Avatar’s Wrath
   • Vanari’s "Morai-Henn’s Fury" awoke with a fiery vengeance, shattering two Imperial Knights in a single stroke.
   • The Ynnari Melidh the Whisper, a Death Jester, picked off Dalk’s lieutenants with laughing precision.
2. The Duel of Broken Stars
   • Regent-Lord Syltharis (Varyth’s heir) challenged Deathwatch Captain Torvus Kaine to single combat.
   • After a clash of relic blades, Syltharis severed Kaine’s head—but spared his warriors, demanding only Dalk’s surrender.
3. The Imperium’s Answer
   • Dalk, cornered, called Exterminatus rather than yield.
   • Vanari and Ynnari forces retreated together, the Songstone’s fragments scattered in the firestorm.

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Quotes

• Regent-Lord Sylvaris the Avenger (in the aftermath of the duel): "This one died with honor. His master will not. Remember that, when you choose who to follow."
• Visarch (to Syltharis): "Your lord died for a relic. Ours died for a god. Which weighs heavier?"
• Inquisitor Dalk: "This is not over, xenos. The Emperor’s fire never dies."

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Aftermath

• Vanari & Ynnari: A tenuous respect now binds them, though Vanari still rejects full Ynnari allegiance.
• Imperium’s Shame: Dalk was declared traitor by his own Ordo for wasting Knights and Deathwatch.
• The Songstone’s Echo: Its shards whisper in the warp, sought by Harlequins and Craftworld Ulthwé.