[534 / 14 / 105]
In the 41st Millenium, there is only war. Human life has never been worth less, as trillions are sacrificed to the ever hungering engine of war, bitter hatred and oppression. There is little room for hope for the vast majority of people living in the Imperium of Man, most trying to eek out whatever miserable life they can under the constant threat of xenos, Chaos and the ever paranoid and watchful eye of the Inquisition and their many pawns.
Indeed, you were one of these trillions of unseen, unheard souls, on the verge of giving up what little hope you had left, when you came upon it: A strange book with a cross on its front, the words The Holy Bible written underneath it. It immediately drew your attention, as paper was a rare and valuable commodity in the Underhive of Boiadero, a backwater hive world on the fringes of Segmentum Ultima. It was particularly odd as it was lying on a pile of reeking trash in one of the many underpopulated sub corridors of the underhive, but the book itself was without a single stain or mark. Utterly pristine.
Of course, you nabbed it, hoping to sell it to whomever you could find for whatever amount of Thrones you could get. You were completely broke, without home and almost without hope, and you would take any break you could get. As you were walking off to the closest market you could think of, however, something compelled you to stop. Take it to a safe place, read it and… And… You weren’t sure. Still, you heeded the compulsion and quickly found a place in the overlooked and ill repaired underhive where you figured you wouldn’t be disturbed. Or robbed and murdered, at that.
And when you began to read it, you found you could not stop. The words printed within spoke to you, they talked of compassion, charity with no expectation of reward, fellowship and love for your fellow man and an eternal reward for those who kept their faith and tried to be good. Far from the cold and distant preachings of the Ecclesiarchy, reading it filled you with a sensation you had almost forgotten.
Hope.
You don’t know how long you spent alone, reading the Bible and absorbing its teachings, only occasionally leaving your hiding spot to scavenge for a scrap to eat, but when you finally emerged, you were a changed man. But you couldn’t keep these Divine truths to yourself alone, if you had learned anything from your study it was that good things were meant to be shared. And what is better than the love of The One True God Himself?
Indeed, you were one of these trillions of unseen, unheard souls, on the verge of giving up what little hope you had left, when you came upon it: A strange book with a cross on its front, the words The Holy Bible written underneath it. It immediately drew your attention, as paper was a rare and valuable commodity in the Underhive of Boiadero, a backwater hive world on the fringes of Segmentum Ultima. It was particularly odd as it was lying on a pile of reeking trash in one of the many underpopulated sub corridors of the underhive, but the book itself was without a single stain or mark. Utterly pristine.
Of course, you nabbed it, hoping to sell it to whomever you could find for whatever amount of Thrones you could get. You were completely broke, without home and almost without hope, and you would take any break you could get. As you were walking off to the closest market you could think of, however, something compelled you to stop. Take it to a safe place, read it and… And… You weren’t sure. Still, you heeded the compulsion and quickly found a place in the overlooked and ill repaired underhive where you figured you wouldn’t be disturbed. Or robbed and murdered, at that.
And when you began to read it, you found you could not stop. The words printed within spoke to you, they talked of compassion, charity with no expectation of reward, fellowship and love for your fellow man and an eternal reward for those who kept their faith and tried to be good. Far from the cold and distant preachings of the Ecclesiarchy, reading it filled you with a sensation you had almost forgotten.
Hope.
You don’t know how long you spent alone, reading the Bible and absorbing its teachings, only occasionally leaving your hiding spot to scavenge for a scrap to eat, but when you finally emerged, you were a changed man. But you couldn’t keep these Divine truths to yourself alone, if you had learned anything from your study it was that good things were meant to be shared. And what is better than the love of The One True God Himself?
