Knight of Ashes - The Hunt Begins: Thanks to House Draconis' generosity, Luk Kar Chimaeros booked passage on a fast starship. A small retinue of Sacristans accompanied him in order to maintain Sword of Heroes and a small staff of pages and manservants would see to the more mundane aspects of his expedition. Otherwise the Knight of Ashes was alone.Picking up the trail of his mother on the world of Ghamdor, the Knight of Ashes hunted her down from one end of the Tyvorian Spiral to the other. On Undul, Sacramento and Pydos, he arrived too late to confront her, instead dealing with whatever sinister machinations or nasty surprises Alicia left in her wake. Soon the Knight of Ashes gained a reputation for putting down rebellions, unearthing conspirators and defeating the unholy creatures of Chaos.Having gained quite the reputation, other Freeblade Knights soon flocked to the Knight of Ashes, looking to him for guidance and a chance to atone for their own failures. Afraid to lose track of his prey, the Knight of Ashes sought not only to follow, but to intercept the witch before she could work her evil. But this meant knowing in advance where his Emperor-forsaken mother wished to go, a feat that was considered impossible.Finally, on U'latu, the Knight of Ashes found what he sought -- an aging gas-prospector told him of a distant Desert World, Kandakkha, and the mighty seer who lived there, the Oracle of the Silver Eye. Setting a course for Kandakkha, the Knight of Ashes and his fellow Exiles found the world in a state of strife. An armoured warband of Heretic Astra Militarum had spread its corruption to several of the desert-clans and was now hunting the last Loyalist clans in an effort to claim Kandhakka. Allying himself with one of the loyal clans, the Knight of Ashes led the Exiles into battle, easily defeating the armoured column of Traitor Guardsmen under the guns of their Knights.In the wake of the Heretics' slaughter, a mounted clansman guided the Exiles to the active volcano upon which the oracle lived. The fiery mountain was called Lorgukhu in the local tongue, a name that did nothing to alleviate the Knight of Ashes' fears. Dismounting from Sword of Heroes, Luk ascended the volcano on foot after having armed himself with a pair of Bolt Pistols and a Chainsword. Following a path on the volcano's flanks, Luk finally reached the mouth of a deep cave. Human bones had been strung on wires, giving the cave's entrance a sinister look. Refusing to turn back after such a long climb, Luk entered the cave and met the Oracle of the Silver Eye.The oracle was an old woman, thin and frail, her skin almost leathery with age and the harsh kiss of Kandakkha's sun. In one hand, she held an ornate staff topped with a silver Aquila, the same design repeated on her pale robes. On her forehead, the woman wore a blindfold hiding her third eye, for she had once been a member of the Navis Nobilite, one of the Navigators the Imperium relied upon to navigate its starships through the dangers of the Warp.Still suspicious of a possible trap, Luk's hands never stayed far from his weapons, although the oracle proved genuine. At the end of their conversation, she handed him a parchment detailing where he could find Alicia Kar Manticos in the future. With it came two warnings First, his mother knew of his coming for she also had acquired the necessary knowledge and power to gaze into the future. Second, his homeworld, Adrastapol, was in great danger, a danger only Luk and his band of misfit Knights could thwart.Anger filled Luk's heart as he realised he would depart with only more unanswered questions. He wonder if the seer was perhaps in league with Alicia.The oracle sensed his questions. "Trust me that I take no pleasure in this. It is as much of a burden to speak these words as it is for you to hear them," she told the Freeblade. "The quarry of your hunt is foul and deserves to be purged with the Emperor's light. Yet the threat to Adrastapol is as real as you or I, and without you they will fall. Even with you, perhaps. But can you truly turn away and know that you did not try?"Before Luk had reached the bottom of the mountain path, he had made his decision. It was time to go home.