Struggling in pain the traitor marine slumped to his knees and dropped Rosetta who landed on her knees, gasping for air. The second marine charged in. Taking advantage of a perceived moment of weakness he fought on only to be ended with a precision strike through the eye lens.

Soon the traitorous leader began to laugh as he stood tall and proud. His voice ringing deep and heavy throughout the hall, indeed the voice of a giant. Then he beat his breastplate once and began to speak.

"The Goddess Anathema? Finally a foe worthy of Fulgrim's Tongue." The Marine said.

He reached for his sheathed sword and drew it. Holding the blade upright in front of himself he activated the power field and the blade glowed every shade of blue as lightning bolted from one point to another across its surface.

"Know the honour of facing Arcanus in battle!" Arcanus boasted.

Rosetta salvaged an eviscerator of a long-dead sister from the floor upon which she stood and faced Arcanus head on.

-//-

Blood and drool poured down Rosetta's body as she and Arcanus fought on and on. Skill with blade matching beastly prowess and genius. Aura grew silent yet her comforting presence still flowed throughout Rosetta's body.

Aura's reassuring power synergised with Rosetta's and fed into her prowess. Soon she performed impossible feats of athleticism all the while the eviscerator grew ever lighter in her hand. Yet, even as Aura reintegrated another piece of herself her power only grew.

Soon the raging storms and erratic ebb and flow of Aura's nature turned into a calm and still stream. Perfection seemed within reach as the world slowed. Arcanus moved at a fraction the speed he should.

Rosetta almost thought herself flying as every movement, every feat and every manoeuvre was carried out as if acting on second nature. Efficiency became a reality as Aura regained a level of control she had not known for millennia.

With one blow after another Arcanus skilfully cut the eviscerator in half. Rosetta launched herself at him, hammering into the helm with her top jaw. Using it like a pickaxe she tore it open to reveal the flesh within.

Stumbling back Arcanus drove his sword through Rosetta's side and the woman squealed as she grabbed the sword-bearing arm and his left shoulder and dug her talon-like nails into them. She had now locked her enemy into a death sentence as she continued to hammer away at the helm. Until she finally broke through.

Growing her teeth into long blade-like k9s she struck one last time and penetrated through to the brain. Brain matter, Blood and gore spurted from the hole and Arcanus dropped to his knees and slumped over to his side dead.

-//-

It did not take long for Rosetta to recover. She had taken her eviscerator and crushed the dead Arcanus' head with it and now she awaited retrieval on top of his corpse. This came in the form of the survivors of the attack.

Seven of what she suspected was three dozen repentia survived. The two mistresses that drove them forward represented only a third of their number who were committed to this offensive. With foul tongue and dreaded whiplash, she was brought back into the fold.

It was not long before she was returned to her place in the dungeons of Wyvern's Citadel. There she was hurled into a cell and was expected to rest and pray in her solitude. Rosetta never spoke and only ever followed.

To think that even now as they locked Rosetta up they were ignorant of Aura's presence. The thought would've amused Aura if it didn't annoy her so utterly. Such idiocy, such willful ignorance to the way of things, such beings are unworthy of her presence. Nor are they worthy of Rosetta's presence either.

-//-

That night, Rosetta slumbered in a world of cold stone. Candles burned in the distance. Their dim glow, the smallest of reminders of the way out. Hard stone and rusted iron, these are the company of the lost.

Hours would pass and prayer was the bleak sweetness afforded the forsaken who dwelt here. One can easily lose themselves amongst the filth and the suffering. Such is the fate of those cursed to remain here.

The path of redemption is long and arduous but at least it is finite. That single mercy is why they endure and the golden promise of returning to the God-Emperor's light is what drives them. Thus it begins for Rosetta as well although while others mourned their fates she mourned her past.

A sudden jolt of energy awoke Rosetta from her slumber. She sat up and looked around and found Aura looking up at the ceiling. Aura seemed to have been perceiving something Rosetta was oblivious to.

Something is amiss in this place. The air is thick with dread.

'Of course. These are the dwellings of the lost.'

No, this dread goes beyond that. This isn't right. We need to see what is going on in the citadel.

Finding more reason in Aura's curiosity than her own contempt, Rosetta got up and approached the door. Then Aura took over. She stuck her nail into the keyhole and grew it. It evolved into a long gelatinous extension of her finger.

It flowed into every gap and every crevasse of the lock until it mimicked the key that unlocked it. Then it hardened and Aura turned her hand clockwise until it unlocked the way. Retracting the nail, she gave control back to Rosetta.

Rosetta shivered. She had no qualms about the entity inhabiting her occasionally taking control. Aura had yet to lead her astray and the sensation of it happen was more akin to passing out than anything. Yet this time it came very suddenly and subtly like a change of heart or new idea driving her soul.

These dungeons have seen too many souls pass through their halls in a very short amount of time. We must investigate.

'Lady Mirabel never tolerated failure. Perhaps the war has taken its toll on the order.' Rosetta reasoned.

No, naturally, I should have been uncovered and you executed by now. I have searched your mind. They are no fools. Something greater is at work here.

If Rosetta had to be honest with herself she would admit that she thought the same thing. Driven by her natural curiosity, she began to move. She made her way up a stairwell, past the moaning, dying and crying.

The sight was abhorrent. Sisters living in their own filth, their minds, broken by self-loathing and sorrow. They prayed and howled to the heavens for forgiveness that would not some so long as they lived.

Making use of her nails once more she latched them into the walls and climbed up and onto the ceiling and began to crawl in the darkness. She snuck past the guards and past the mistresses. All the while Aura urged her on.

-//-

Swift and silent like a shadow Rosetta sped down one hallway after another. Darkness consumed the land as the twinkle of far-off stars lit the night sky. All the while, the citadel was eerily quiet. It was being used as a convent which should mean that sisters should be travelling up and down its halls in droves.

She listened sharply, the choirs should be singing, prayer should've been chanted with pride and dignity. Yet, there was nothing, she could sense sisters in their chambers but an atmosphere of dread had befallen this place.

She found herself staring out into courtyards and found ranks upon ranks of young girls. Children, six and seven, all of them in their hundreds. All placed on beds to sleep the night while a massive colourless fabric made a makeshift roof.

She cursed herself for not noticing earlier. Perhaps it was not her that the sisters scolded on the way to the dungeon. She needed to know more. She carried on, looking for clues, looking for the truth. Soon she found it exactly where she wished she didn't.

She came to the doorway to Mirabel's court. The same court where she, herself had been tried for her actions. It was not shut correctly and a small gap offered a window inside. She dreaded what she could learn yet her instincts and curiosity urged her onwards.

"There will be order in this court!" Roared an ancient, male voice.

Rosetta closed in on the door and peeked through the gap. She saw her sisters, five of them, bound in chains and forced onto their knees. Their armours were blackened and bloodied, the cloth had been stripped away and the plates of armour were battered beyond repair.

"For the crimes of insubordination, poor conduct and blasphemies against the God-Emperor of Mankind you are sentenced to death, Heretic. In his name and in fealty to his holy throne, I consign your souls to damnation!" Mirabel declared.

Then an uproar erupted as celestians appeared from the shadows to take the chained sisters away. The prisoners tried to resist but were forced onwards. One burst of anger screaming profanities at the top of her lungs.

"Curse you, Mirabel! May the God-Emperor's holy sight pierce through your veil of lies and smite you down!" She roared.

"Kill the witch now! Lest we suffer the heretic to live any longer!" Barked Mirabel.

Sneaking in amidst the chaos Rosetta slipped into the room and soon all around her, she witnessed panicked sisters bickering amongst each other. They barked and howled amongst each other, bickering over responsibility, decisions, accusations.

Aura growled with sickening annoyance. She could not believe her eyes. packs of wild wolves have been more united than this. She likened the sisters to barbarians and beasts. Savage children have demonstrated more common sense than these fools.

"Have you no faith Sisters?!" Barked Rosetta.

They all grew silent as Rosetta's voice boomed throughout the hall and all grew silent as she approached the centre. She stared at Mirabel in the eye and saw a strange darkness that gathered within her soul.

A trance overcame Rosetta's mind as she began to preach.

"Are we not one under the God-Emperor's divine light? Are we not his brides, his daughters? Unite my sisters and cast aside doubt and suspicion! Charge forth with faith and no sister shall fall to an unworthy death... For far too long this order has been sick. Sick to its very core... And I know who to blame." Rosetta announced.

All eyes fell upon Mirabel who fumed with outrage. She slammed her fist against her podium and stabbed her finger at Rosetta.

"You lost your right to speak when you ran! Why should we... The honoured. The just. The Brave, ever listen to the words of a coward such as you?"

"Do not listen to words Sisters! Listen to reason! The holy body of our order is sick!"

Rosetta raised her finger and pointed back at Mirabel.

"If the body is sick it has only the head to blame!"

Mirabel felt her grip slipping, whispers of descent surrounded her. Her mind could sense it all. The sour looks of disdain and disgust piercing her heart. Unacceptable. She drew her sword and pointed at Rosetta.

"Arrest that heretic! I am Canoness Mirabel! Saviour of this order!" Mirabel wailed in an incoherent mess.

Alexis approached and took hold of Mirabel's wrist.

"My Lady. It is time to stop..." When Mirabel glared at her with fiery eyes of tears and rage Alexis bowed her head "...My Lady, I beseech you... Stop persecuting your own people."

Mirabel ripped her arm from Alexis' grip and raised it in the air. Activating the power field she began to scream.

"Traitors! Heretics! All of you! My people do not divide! My people follow me!" She howled.

"My Lady... Please stop this... It has cost us enough Sisters." Pleaded Alexis as she reached out for Mirabel's arm again.

Mirabel snapped and raised her sword into the air and Rosetta began to bolt across the vast expanse of the court. 

"No! You are weak! Feeble! Doubtful! Curse you all!"Mirabel howled at the top of her lungs.

She slashed downwards into Alexis' shoulder. Rosetta began to scream as time slowed and she bolted to Alexis' aid. It was too late, she could see in slow motion the full horror of Mirabel's madness as the Canoness' sword carved into Alexis' left collarbone. In one terrifying motion, Mirabel's blade carved through the torso and split it in two as it passed out the other end.

In but a moment the world as all knew it came to a halt.

-//-