BOOM!
"By the Ancestors! Have you all not babbled enough!?"
A dull, heavy thud resounded through the council chamber, cutting through the cacophony that had reduced the assembly to a common marketplace. The Hearthkyn were a loud-voiced breed by nature, and this individual was the very paragon of their thunderous diction.
"Uthar the Destined. Ending this catastrophe is simple. Your Greater Thurian League possesses such vast Clan strength; surely you hold many Ancestor Core. Since you find this debate so distasteful, why do you not choose to sacrifice for the good of the entire Kin?"
A stout dwarf, clad in deep crimson power armor and radiating a mercenary air of shrewdness, broke the ensuing silence. He pointed a finger at Uthar, who stood in his stark white-and-green panoply, and barked his interrogation.
"Seryban! You jackal among the Hearthkyn! Greedy lapdog. Your Ancestor Core must have been tainted with filth to have cultivated the likes of you. Rather than spawning more dregs of your ilk, it would be better to put your League's Core to a different use!"
"You—!" With a mere two sentences, Uthar had redirected the crushing weight of the room's tension onto Seryban. The representative of the Ymyr Conglomerate choked on his words, momentarily silenced by fury.
Among the five major Leagues of Votann, the Ymyr Conglomerate was the only one that truly excelled in trade. Naturally, they were also masters of technological innovation; their sharp intellects often made them appear distinct from their more... straightforward kinsmen.
For the Kin, the Greater Thurian League was the most influential, commanding vast territories and serving as the primary federation locked in friction with the Imperium.
"Argue. Go on, keep arguing. You'll find plenty of silence once those silver demons have rendered the entire Galactic Core down to elementary particles."
A Hearthkyn in orange-and-white power armor sat on a nearby bench, watching the spat between the two with the detached air of a spectator at a brawl.
"Ennyt! Has your Trans-Hyperian Alliance already smuggled your Ancestor Cores out of the Galactic Core's reach? Do you intend to abandon even your Hearthworlds? Or have your Hernkyn Pioneers secretly found some bolt-hole and neglected to tell the rest of us?"
It had to be said that for a Hearthkyn, Seryban was an exceptional merchant, and arguably the least "dwarven" of his kind. Sometimes, his peers wondered if he was more closely related to the goblin of ancient myths than to the Kin.
"By the Ancestors, I believe Ennyt is not such a man. But what is the purpose of this bickering? Do you not realize that even as we speak, five more systems, and tens of billions of lives, have been extinguished!?"
The Hearthkyn standing beside Uthar, wearing the same livery, turned his gaze toward the two representatives who had remained stoically silent.
"Fenso, Rugit, do the Kronus Hegemony and the Urani-Surtr Regulates have any effective counsel?"
Fenso, clad in red power armor, glanced at the green-armored Rugit. Simultaneously, they shook their heads.
"The Cores of Kronus will not be surrendered. Not one. Not ever." Fenso slammed the table to punctuate his resolve.
Rugit, beside him, looked with immense trepidation at the Hearthkyn who had posed the question.
"Grimnyr Volke, as the Fire of Votann, you know well that our Urani-Surtr Regulates have been the bulwark for the Leagues against the loathsome Orks. Our population losses are already staggering. Every Ancestor Core is the key to our survival. We have paid enough in blood for this Alliance. By the Ancestors, I trust my brothers will not force me into further hardship."
As the argument threatened to loop back to its starting point, Uthar realized the entire Kin race had reached its precipice. Yet here his kinsmen were, wasting precious time because their stubborn minds lacked a certain flexibility.
The Greater Thurian League did indeed possess a vast domain, but ever since the opening of the Great Rift, the tides had cast Daemons, Aeldari, Orks, and even the forces of the Imperium into their territory in a chaotic jumble. They had already lost many elite warriors and kinsmen across countless war zones.
"I have a proposal," Uthar announced. "Each League shall provide one Ancestor Core. No exceptions. These Cores will be delivered as one to the silver demons to end this reign of terror."
"Any who refuse shall be attacked by a coalition of the other Leagues. We will seize five of their Cores, one for the Silver Death, and the remaining four to be divided among the victors."
Uthar's proposal plunged the room into a chilling silence. Surprisingly, the first response came quickly.
"On behalf of the Trans-Hyperian Alliance, I assent. The Ancestors watch over us!"
"Ennyt, have you lost your wits!? How do you know those mad iron machines will cease their fire even after receiving the Cores!?" Seryban shouted at the concurring Ennyt.
"On behalf of the Urani-Surtr Regulates, I assent. If we allow this onslaught to continue, the Cores will be lost regardless. The Galactic Core is only so large, and beyond it lies the territory of that human Imperium. To try this is to perhaps live; to waste more time is to guarantee our extinction."
Rugit's expression was heavy as he seconded the motion, his head bowing slowly. "May the Ancestors protect us."
The destruction wrought by the Iron Men was too terrifying. Surtr required more than just bodies; they needed mineral worlds. Without arms and materiel, the Ork Green Crusade could not be contained. They could endure no further losses.
Sensing his peer's despair, Uthar stepped forward and clapped Rugit on the shoulder. "If you have need, speak to me. I will arrange reinforcements to help you cull those greenskins."
"Thank you." Uthar's promise brought a flicker of relief to Rugit.
With the support of two Leagues secured, Uthar turned to Seryban. "Seryban. Tell me, do you support this, or do you deny it?"
Seryban's eyes darted toward Fenso, who sat like a silent stone. "What is the stance of Kronus?"
"I am asking you, Seryban! If you refuse, I will immediately unite three Leagues to kick down your door and take your Cores to settle the debt. Three against one, even without the Kronus Hegemony, it won't take long. Don't think for a moment I don't know where your Cores are hidden."
Uthar's gaze was lethal in its sincerity.
"No... you cannot do this! On what grounds!? It's unfair, it violates the Alliance Charter!"
"This concerns the life and death of every Votann, you fool."
Seeing the hardening resolve on Uthar's face, Seryban slumped like a merchant forced to sign a ruinous trade pact. He lowered his head in defeat, finally shouting in exasperation.
"Fine! I agree! I agree!"
With Seryban cowed, Uthar and Volke turned to Fenso, who had yet to utter a word.
"The Kronus Hegemony... agree."
The words were hard, clipped, and saturated with resentment, but he was powerless to resist the tide. Losing one Core was better than losing five and a host of warriors to boot. Yet, beneath his anger, a deeper fear gnawed at him: he dreaded the possibility of outsiders discovering the anomalies within his League's Cores.
"Excellent," Uthar declared. "Broadcast the resolution immediately. Within twelve hours, I want five Cores assembled here. Then, I shall lead the representatives to the heart of the Galactic Core. We will ensure the outcome is witnessed by all, and that the risk is shared by every brother."