Chapter 981 The Secret of the Megalith
After receiving the message from Soshyan, Azrael, who was fighting on the ground, immediately chose to return to the Megalith Fortress in orbit, not just because he needed to know What's more, the next important action is no longer decided by him alone.
Although he is the Supreme Master of the Chapter, collective decision-making must still be adopted for major events.
When Azrael stepped down from the Thunder Eagle and stood at the huge stone Knight's Gate, the echoing bells of the church had stopped, the lights were turned off, and even the servants who usually patrolled the passage had disappeared.
I can’t say why, but Azrael doesn’t want others to discover his whereabouts, and he doesn’t want others to know that he has appeared here at this moment.
Therefore, he had no servants or guards around him.
The Knight's Gate is one of the few remaining ancient buildings in Caliban. There are two statues standing on both sides of the gate. On the left is a proud young knight holding a pistol and a chainsword tightly. He strode towards the world with his head held high, and on his right was an old knight covered in scars and dusty. His armor was broken, and his weapons were broken. He knelt on his knees weakly, but his head and back were raised high, and he looked at the door with deep eyes. .
When Azrael passed the two statues, he reached out and gently touched the stone tablet on the right - this is a tradition with a long history. He felt the smooth touch on his fingertips, and his thoughts drifted to thousands of years. In the past, I thought back to countless ancestors who had done the same thing in previous generations.
Then, he stepped into the Knight's Gate alone. The artificial breeze gently lifted his green robe and pulled his hood.
After entering the door, Azrael walked straight to the center of the hall.
The light in the circular hall is dim. There are several candlesticks placed on the raised platform, and a few candles are burning. The stained glass above reflects the flickering candlelight. The heroes of the past legions depicted on the glass are under the dim candlelight. He looked a little ferocious, and his eyes seemed to be staring at Azrael.
Azrael took off his helmet and glanced left and right, looking for traces of someone.
Darkness enveloped the entire hall, and the light of candles only illuminated the first few rows of stone benches.
“Ezekiel?”
He shouted in a low voice, but no answer came from the darkness.
Suddenly, Azrael suddenly turned around and saw Ezekiel, the Grand Master of the Chapter's Think Tank, appearing on one side of the platform, holding his hand on the railing.
The think tank director wears an ancient robe, with his face hidden in the shadow of the hood. This can reduce the strange gazes of ordinary battle brothers. The think tanks feel that any explanation cannot avoid rumors and superstition, so they simply keep it. mystery.
“You’re here.”
Ezekiel said with a smile, his figure hidden in the darkness. If it weren’t for his demeanor and voice, Azrael would have really taken it seriously. Don't let him out.
Then, the Grand Master of the Think Tank magically took out a lantern, and the warm light illuminated the place under his feet.
"Everyone is here."
Ezekiel waved Azrael up to the platform.
The Supreme Master nodded and walked down the stairs. These stone steps were worn and worn out, and only members of the inner circle could walk on them.
Soon, they entered another almost completely hidden space, next to a stone staircase. This spiral downward staircase was both in the center of the hall and in the middle of the platform.
But most people in the war group don't know the existence of this staircase, nor do they know there is any hidden space below.
"I heard that the leader of the Soshiyang Chapter seems to have some new ideas."
The two of them walked down and chatted. The voice of the think tank master was very relaxed, not like a subordinate at all. Excessive deference in treating superiors. The reason is actually very simple. Every Supreme Master will have a pair of right and left hands. The first thing the Supreme Master does after taking office is to appoint his left hand and right hand, which are his two closest advisers.
The right-hand men appointed by Azrael when he took office were Ezekiel, the Grand Master of the Think Tank, and Dagone, the former Priest Grand Mentor. Although Dagone is no longer in office, Ezekiel is still He is Azrael's closest and most trusted person, and his strongest ally in the Chapter.
Correspondingly, as the think tank master Ezekiel who has served three supreme masters successively, his status can be said to be second only to the supreme master himself.
The ancient history of the Dark Angels not only brings a glorious history, but also a complex internal political ecology. As the supreme master of the chapter, it is by no means as powerful and free as outsiders imagine.
"Well, his plan was successfully realized and he captured a lord of Abaddon in a fortress."
At this point, Azriel couldn't help but sigh.
“Originally, I almost captured a Chaos Warlord of the Sons of Cruelty, but Asmodai temporarily took away the Third Company, causing the success to fail.”
“Yes, I After hearing about it, he took people to destroy a cultist den, but found nothing except killing hundreds of cultists.”
"He was deceived by false information without knowing it."
As he spoke, Azrael was already gritting his teeth.
“Why would he dare to transfer troops without my consent.”
“Azrael, this is his duty, and the request to interrogate the priest must come first. , this is a decision made by the inner circle thousands of years ago. "
"Becoming an interrogation priest only requires fanaticism, doesn't it require a little reason and wisdom? "
"Okay, put away your complaints for now, we are almost there."
Azrael simply kept silent, and after counting more than a thousand steps in his mind, he finally reached the bottom.
The stairs lead to a brick room with a low, arched roof and no decorations, like a house built by a mortal farmer.
Similarly, this room is also circular. The end of the stairs is in the center of the room. There is an oil lamp hanging on every node of the ceiling. Under almost every lamp, there is a person wearing a green robe with his head on his head. Hooded figure.
These people were motionless, their faces hidden in the shadows under their hoods, their arms crossed on their chests.
The eyes of those gathered were on Azrael as he entered the shadowed sanctuary, nine in total standing in full armor around a huge granite table built into the deck, a table for dozens of Chapters. The place where important matters for centuries have been debated and decided.
Each of them has a helmet on the table in front of them. Different styles of painting indicate their command authority in the battle group. At the same time, there is an unsheathed sword next to each helmet, plus Azrael and Ezekiel, a total of twelve men and twelve swords, which represents the twelve Chapter Masters assembled when the Inner Circle was first established after the Second Founding of the Army.
It was at that first Inner Circle meeting that the secret duty of hunting down fallen angels was determined, and at the same time, all Unforgiven Chapters formed their own Inner Circle organizations.
The inner circle meeting of the Dark Angels has a very long history. Before the Great Rebellion, there was a conference room deep in the Dark Angel Legion's flagship "Invincible Reason", in which were placed the Six-Wing Commander and The seat of the Primarch himself, they were here to decide the future of the Legion, and this could be said to be an early prototype of the Inner Circle.
After the Horus Heresy and the Caliban Incident, the official Inner Circle was formed.
(End of this chapter)