01x01 - Reforged

[bunniefuu]

What do you remember?

Pieces.

Fragments.

That is what happens when you die.

It will pass, Neave.

It always does.

There is something there, a

A shadow in the shards.

And you want to know what it means.

I want to know who I am.

You are yourself, Neave. You know that.

We are our past!

If I can't remember it, then who am I?

What do you remember about the hunt?

I remember how it ended.

You will all die here.

We will. But so will you!

Neave.

It is alright.

- Get away from me!

- Neave! Listen to me, look at me.

That's not me. That's not

Neave?

- Hendrick?

- Welcome home, Blacktalon.

What do you remember?

I remember

Neave! Teeth of the Dragon,

it's good to see you.

Oh.

So this time it's me

that Sigmar's fire has taken.

Maybe next time I pass

through the lightning,

I will forget who all of you are.

Thinking about it, maybe I already have.

Maybe, maybe you have all been playing

on my empty memory

and none of you are who you claim to be.

Maybe I'm not even called Rostus,

and was once

a svelte king from the Lost Kingdoms.

Tell me, wise old wolf,

has the Anvil

stolen my throne or expanded my girth?

Without doubt,

both.

What do you remember?

The Blightkings have set their sights

on an outpost fortress.

They plan to use the survivors

to make plague carriers.

The infected bear no sign of their curse,

but the contagions they carry are lethal.

Sigmar's light and tears.

They call them the Seeds of the Father.

From the outpost, they can spread

to the settlements to the north.

The precise intent of our hunt?

Slay Orimos as the

source and slay any infected.

And when will he reach the outpost?

He already has.

Suffering is a seed.

Be not afraid.

Let it take root

and soon there will be no pain.

Dreams?

Hmm.

Why does this feel like an ambush?

Because it is.

Your time might be better spent resting.

I find I need less rest as

as time goes on.

- As you die.

- As I am reforged.

But yes, that too.

You are trying to put it back together.

These memories, the images.

Each time we pass through the lightning

and wake on the Anvil, we lose something.

For you, it is the past.

I remember though, I remember you.

I remember the precepts

of the Blacktalons,

that we are Sigmar's hunters

charged with slaying the enemies of Order.

I remember the orruk that you cut in two

on the Nightspur in Shyish.

All of it clear.

How can I remember all of that

and not know who I was?

The celestial order

moves to a greater purpose.

We cannot always see the patterns.

But there's something there

on the edge of the dreams and memories.

A shadow, like a shadow just behind me.

I don't know if it was

something about the hunt.

We completed our hunt.

You slew Orimos.

There were no infected found.

These dreams shall pass.

It is happening again, isn't it?

Neave. Which bit of the past

are you caught in now?

- I was just

- How much did you lose this time?

I didn't come to talk about that, Shakana.

Oh, you didn't? Don't lie to me.

You've come here asking questions

about what happened in the last hunt.

Clearly it is about your memory.

I can remember. I'm fine.

But you can't remember

what happened three breaths ago.

You don't want to know

what I remember about the hunt.

You're trying

to put yourself back together.

Perhaps I am. I have to.

You always say that.

Every time you come back from the Anvil,

it's the same.

You're the Blacktalon Prime.

You decide how we execute the hunt.

You die and lose memories

because of the decisions you make.

And what would you do?

Sit on the top of a cliff for days,

waiting for the perfect shot

that never comes?

We are Stormcast.

Dead heroes chosen by Sigmar

to save the Mortal Realms.

We have no other purpose.

We do whatever it takes to win.

It's not just about

winning, Neave.

It's about how we win.

We don't have that luxury.

There are too many threats.

We strike with the tool

that will get the job done.

We get in and we get out.

Get out?

Just look at yourself.

Here you are in the same broken loop,

desperate to find a way back

and arguing

that any means justifies the end.

If you can't see how foolish that is,

what hope do we have?

Death is the price we pay.

And I pay it gladly.

Gladly?

Too gladly and without need.

You think there's another way?

I don't think it, I know it.

But that would mean

you couldn't die for your kills.

So we will never know.

- Will we?

- Why are you so angry?

I'm not angry.

I'm not angry.

I'm afraid.

Not of the enemy, not of death.

Because we don't die.

But we change.

I fear what we may become.

What did your reforging take from you?

I don't dream anymore.

That's what the lightning took.

Shakana.

I remember taking my shots.

I remember my kills, that's all.

By the time you reached the tower,

I was already dead.

In the end, you were on your own.

That's all I know, Neave.

You were on your own.

Accept what is.

Come back to us, Neave.

There's something I've forgotten,

but it's right there.

I can almost see its shadow.

I can almost get it back.

You must let it go.

Only you can do that.

If you don't accept what remains,

then you will never be whole.

The past is gone.

The present is everything.

I saw something in my dreams.

I need you to open my memories.

My purpose is to cloud the pools

of our enemies' senses,

so look into the waters of far places

so that you may find your quarries.

I am not here to reassemble

the fragments of your mind

Even if I could.

Lorai, I know what you're capable of.

Deep waters run slow,

dark as winter seas, cold as sorrow.

I cannot return what is lost to the storm.

I don't need you to.

I just need you to help me see

the memories I still have.

The waters churn.

The past scatters before the storm wave.

The pieces of your broken soul

are fighting to stay above the surface.

Soon they will sink

and drown and be silent.

Wait and your dreams will be calm again.

That is why I must do this now,

before they are lost.

This isn't about healing.

It's about truth.

Such things are not my concern.

Unless

You will see nothing!

Stay out of this, Hendrick.

The past is lost.

You must accept the present

or risk losing

what remains to you and I am worried.

I am worried that

we are going to lose you.

Your fears are groundless.

This isn't about me.

There's something in my memory,

something I can't see, but it's important.

I know it is.

The lightning takes its toll,

and if you fight it,

it will only get worse.

You will lose more and more of yourself.

I have seen it before.

What do you want?

What's your price to do this?

- Lorai. Don't.

- She doesn't answer to you.

You aren't one of us.

You're a mercenary.

So I ask again, what's your price?

A sea of night,

with every light a soul.

Ah To glide through them,

to touch the warmth of hope

and the salt of fear.

To feed

But the anticipation

The promise.

Is that worth more than the taking?

The price will make itself known.

Neave

Do it.

There was someone else in the tower.

You're the one who crossed the plateau.

You look like you need some water.

Fear not, it's clean.

We need every sword out here.

I have somewhere I need to be.

Thank you.

Hey! Hey!

You'll die out there without water.

Hey!

Who is this?

We do not know.

One of the soldiers from the outpost.

Where are they now?

To scry a vision

from the sea of dreams is difficult.

To hunt the location of a soul

using only whispers, shadows, echoes

That demands even greater artistry.

Thankfully, I am graced with such skill.

The infected seed is here,

on the Flamescar Plateau,

within sight of this city

And all the souls that call it home.

- No mercy then.

- No, not for you.

Not now.

I didn't want to hurt anyone.

I fought to keep people alive.

I fought for so long.

Do you know how many of us have died

trying to reclaim this land?

If the tribes don't get you,

hunger and disease will.

We're supposed to be reclaiming this land,

making it our own

But all it does is k*ll us

and take our tears.

No one ever promised it would be easy.

Only that it was necessary.

He said it would end.

All I needed to do was eat the fruit.

No more hunger. No more thirst.

No more suffering.

You became the suffering!

I just wanted to go home.

But that can't happen now, can it?

And end every life within those walls?

You're a seed of death.

Lost and damned

Strange how you go from one to the other.

Not strange.

We are what we choose to be.

Isn't that true.

Before you There's something he said.

When I told him

I was going back to Hammerhal.

He laughed.

He said it didn't matter what I did,

because the Horned Shadow comes.

Good lu

Wait!

You are keeping it?

I wish to see deeper.

I wish to understand what this threat is.

It's dealt with,

no need to risk taking such a trophy.

Much lies

beneath the surface of certainty.

Take it.

Alright. What and where now?

Home.

You were right.

I should have trusted you.

I am sorry.

No need.

I likely wouldn't have trusted me either.

And the nightmares?

Gone.

You do not need to know

who you were to know who you are.

I have accepted that.

I would have liked to be able

to remember what I lost, though.

To sleep in peace, by Sigmar's grace.

May he grant all your prayers.

Blacktalon Prime

This one bears your seal

and says she brings a message.

I have found a piece of what you seek.

What I seek

Did I charge you to find something?

Something, someone, somewhen.

I could not find where she died.

But I found this.

The question yet remains.

Who was she?