"In a hidden location, some say at the very centre of the Webway -- the Aeldari's network of stable interdimensional tunnels that crosses the galaxy -- rests the tomes, books, scrolls, and codices describing the Aeldari's complete and extensive knowledge of the Warp. The forbidden lore of the Black Library describes the blandishments, influences, forms, creatures, perils, promises, and horrors of Chaos."
- Legends of the Black Library of Chaos
Though the Webway still connects many Aeldari worlds and craftworlds to one another, the baleful energies of the Fall of the Aeldari have ruptured its hyperspatial pathways in countless places.
Amongst the Webway's shattered and treacherous tendrils, there are many byways, dead ends, and mazes that can entrap the unwary. Some lead to places long since abandoned or destroyed, or else now inhabited by the Daemons of the Warp.
Much of the Webway has fallen into obscurity and disrepair, with many sections destroyed or found uncharted after the Fall of the Aeldari. Seeing the state of the Webway with my own eyes, it was even worse, because I could clearly sense and scan its state.
One can say that the current Webway was beyond repair, and it was a miracle that it still stood.
The Old Ones must have been a really powerful and highly advanced species to achieve something like the creation of the Webway, which was something that not many species could achieve.
"We are near the location of the Black Library of Chaos... so be ready for the unforeseen Psychic Wards and Protections that we will soon passing through."
Cegorach stated as we were nearing the Black Library at a fast pace. Moving through the Webway was much faster, almost infinitely faster than moving through the main universe, as they arrived at the location where the Black Library was located.
In the distance, I had seen the craftworld itself.
The Black Library of Chaos wasn't an ordinary city, but instead it was a craftworld.
A Craftworld is a vast, planetoid-sized spacecraft populated by the Asuryani faction of the highly advanced humanoid species known as the Aeldari. Each craftworld is a self-sufficient, independent realm with its own distinctive culture. Every craftworld is built upon a skeleton of psychoactive, crystalline wraithbone whose structure extends throughout the gigantic voidcraft.
Most, if not all, of them were created during the ancient Aeldari Empire because only then did the Aeldari have the resources to create something as monstrous as the craftworlds.
I had to admit that their existence was something truly shocking, because even the Chthonian Empire would be careful with their resources when constructing spaceships of such size.
Even though the Phalanxes and Black Stone Fortresses were enormous structures, the Chthonian Empire wouldn't be constructing so many Craftworlds that were similar in size to the Phalanx-Class Star Forts.
And the ancient Aeldari Empire constructed several tens of such Craftworlds; some of them were in size even eclipsing our bigger Star Forts, which was mind-boggling. The amount of resources needed for that would be totally staggering, but with the Psychic mastery over the Warp by the Aeldari, it wasn't anything surprising.
Immaterium was the realm of the infinite energies.
If one learned how to channel these infinite energies and create metals and other things, then they would obtain literally infinite materials and everything they could ever need.
It would explain why the Aeldari were able to achieve what they were able to achieve.
The Warp was really one enormous miracle and irrational thing, full of contradictions.
"We are here... the entrance to the Black Library."
We arrived at the particular part of the Webway which looked like a collapsed ruin, to be told.
Everything around in this area was either collapsed, destroyed, or in absolutely terrible shape beyond any repair.
"What is this weird feeling?"
I asked as I sensed something odd about this craftworld.
"The Black Library is a 'dark' craftworld eternally travelling through the Webway. Its location and route are secret, hidden from all but the Harlequins and the members of the governing Black Council. Like all craftworlds, the vessel is conscious and psychoactive, hiding itself from all psychic probes, while simultaneously repelling Warp entities and intrusions."
Cegorach answered as I looked at the Black Library of Chaos for the first time.
It was an enormous construct with a scorched, crystalline appearance, covered in vanes and flourishes but with the typical flowing grace of Aeldari architecture. The interior is an intentional labyrinth with all manner of convoluted passages, corridors, and chambers.
Bubble vaults full of stasis caskets containing forbidden lore and dangerous artefacts hang from the superstructure, whilst inside and above are myriad citadels, obelisks, monoliths, and spires where the rest of the craftworld's arcane contents are kept.
"Fascinating... also... those are humans?"
I asked while looking at the specific direction in the Black Library when I spread my senses across the entire Black Library.
Among the varied structures present within the Black Library was a Wraith Tower, according to the Laughing God.
"Those are the Illuminati. An Imperium-spanning secret society whose hidden objectives are declared to be in support of humanity and the Emperor, and against the Forces of Chaos. The Illuminati is mainly composed of humans who have not only survived possession by a Warp entity, but also managed to do the seemingly impossible... cast out the Daemon from their own bodies."
I looked at the group of humans in the Wraith Tower with mild interest right now. The Laughing God didn't shy from explaining the origin of a few humans in the Black Library, as I found them interesting, and Cegorach didn't even consider it important information to hide.
Even Esdeath, who was speaking to the Harlequins about their methods of waging war, caused this statement to stun them with surprise, because casting out a Daemon that possessed someone was...
Almost surreal though.
I heard about such people during the time of the Terran Federation, because there were some like that in the Federation, albeit not many.
For obvious reasons.
The chance of dying or just remaining possessed by the Daemon was staggeringly high.