Now, back in her studio, she had spent all her energies trying to recapture that brief, shining moment of perfect colour without success. Straightening her back and wiping her tears on her sleeve, she picked up another palette from the detritus strewn around her and began mixing her paints to try, once again, to capture it.

She mixed cadmium red with quinacridone crimson, leavening the red with some perylene maroon, but already she could see that the colours weren't quite right, the tone off by a fraction.

Even as her anger built again, a droplet of blood fell from her arm into the paint as she was mixing it, and suddenly there it was. The colour was perfect and she smiled, understanding what she had to do.

Serena picked up the small knife she used for cutting the nibs of her quills and drew the blade across her skin, cutting into the soft flesh above her elbow.

Droplets of blood fell from the cut and she held the palette beneath it, smiling as she saw the colours forming.

Now she could begin painting.

Solomon ducked beneath the swinging cut of a sword, bringing his own weapon up in time to block the reverse cut to his chest. The blow rang up the length of his arm, and he gritted his teeth as his freshly healed bones protested at the rigours he was putting them through. He backed away from Marius as the captain of the Third came at him again with his sword aimed at his heart.

'You are slow, Solomon,' said Marius.

Solomon swept his sword down, pushing aside the clumsy thrust, and spun to deliver the deathblow to his opponent, but pulled up short as Marius's blade clove towards him. He twisted out of the way, his body feeling as if it was coming apart at the seams.

'Fast enough to see you coming, old man,' laughed Solomon, though he knew it was only a matter of time before Marius wore him down.

'You're lying,' noted Marius, throwing his sword down to the mat. He backed towards the racks of weapons that lined the walls of the training hall and selected a pair of Sun and Moon spear blades. The double-headed daggers were impractical in a real fight, but made for a deadly training weapon. Solomon threw aside his own sword and picked up a pair of Wind and Fire wheels.

Like his opponent's weapons, these too were largely decorative, the circular blade held by a textured grip and embellished with curved punch spikes around its circumference, but Solomon enjoyed training with weapons that were beyond his normal range. He faced Marius and extended his left arm, while keeping his right hooked at his side.

'Maybe I am, maybe I'm not,' grinned Solomon. 'There's only one way to find out.'

Marius nodded and stormed towards him, the twin bladed daggers spinning before him in a web of glittering steel. Solomon blocked first one strike then another, each ringing clang forcing him back towards the wall.

He swayed aside from a high, slashing cut and sent a low, sweeping blow towards Marius's legs. Marius stabbed one of his daggers down, the tip lancing through the centre of the circular weapon and pinning it to the floor. Solomon jumped back, forced to leave it behind as the second blade was thrust towards him.

'Have you heard the news?' gasped Solomon, desperate to distract Marius and buy himself some space.

'What news?' asked Marius.

'That we're to be issued some new chemical stimulant for testing,' said Solomon.

'I'd heard, yes,' nodded Marius. 'The primarch believes it will make us stronger and faster than ever.'

Solomon frowned at his friend's tone, the words sounding as though he was speaking them by rote, but didn't really believe them. Solomon paused in his retreat and said, 'Aren't you a little bit concerned at where it came from?'

'It comes from the primarch,' said Marius, putting up his dagger.

'No, I mean the drug. It hasn't come from Terra, I know that much,' said Solomon. 'In fact, I think it was made right here. I heard Apothecary Fabius saying something about it before he transferred to the Andronius.'

'What difference does it make where it comes from?' asked Marius. 'The primarch has authorised its use for those that wish it.'

'I'm not sure,' admitted Solomon as Marius began to circle him. 'Perhaps none at all, but I just don't like the idea of some new chemical being pumped into me when I don't know where it came from.'

Marius laughed and said, 'All the genetic enhancements done to your flesh in the laboratory and you choose now to worry about chemicals in your body?'

'It's not the same thing, Marius. We were created in the image of the Emperor as his perfect warriors, so why do we need more?'

Marius shrugged and lunged with his dagger. Solomon swatted it away with his remaining weapon and groaned in pain as he felt something tear inside. The bout was over.

Deciding that his mind would break before his body would heal, he had removed himself from the apothecarion and returned to his company's arming chambers. Gaius Caphen had been pleased to see him, but Solomon could tell that his subordinate had enjoyed the brief taste of command and knew that he would need to see about getting him his own company.

As the days passed with no sign of the Diasporex, he had trained fiercely to rebuild his strength, and had taken to visiting Marius Vairosean for gruelling sparring matches, none of which he had the strength to win.

'Fulgrim has said we should do so,' said Marius, as if that were an end to the matter.

'He has, but I still don't like it,' gasped Solomon. 'I just can't see why it's needed.'

'What you see or don't see is irrelevant,' said Marius. 'The word has been given, and we are duty bound to obey. Our ideal of perfection and purity comes from Fulgrim, and it passes down through the lord commanders to us, the company captains, whereupon it is beholden to us to enact the primarch's will amongst our warriors.'

'I know all that, but this just feels wrong,' said Solomon, breathing heavily and tossing his dagger to the floor. 'Enough, I'm done. You win.'

Marius nodded and said, 'You are getting stronger every day, Solomon.'

'Not strong enough,' said Solomon, slumping to his haunches on the training mat.

'No, not yet, but your strength will return soon enough and then perhaps you'll give me a decent fight,' replied Marius, sitting down next to him.

'Don't you worry about that,' promised Solomon. 'I'll have you beaten soon enough.'

'You won't,' replied Marius without irony. 'I've been training the Third harder than ever before and we're at our very best. I'm at my very best, and with this new chemical I'll be even faster and stronger.'

Solomon looked into his friend's eyes and saw the desperate yearning to atone for his failure on the atoll. He reached out and placed his hand on Marius's arm.

'Listen, I know you know this already, but I'm going to say it anyway,' he said.

'No,' said Marius, shaking his head, 'don't. The Third were shamed and you will only make it worse if you try and excuse our failure.'

'It wasn't a failure,' said Solomon.

'Yes, it was,' nodded Marius. 'If you can't see that, then perhaps you were lucky to have been shot down before you got there.'

Solomon felt his choler rise and said, 'Lucky? I almost died.'

'It would be easier if I had died,' whispered Marius.

'You don't mean that.'

'Perhaps not, but the fact remains that the Third failed in its appointed task, and until we atone for that, I will ensure that my company follows the primarch's orders without question.'

'No matter what they are?' asked Solomon.

'Exactly,' said Marius. 'No matter what they are.'