"Some of the stories say she led an army against the Emperor. An agent of the colony worlds. Or that she was some kind of cosmic being, eldest of several, offended by the challenge to their hegemony."

She lowers her voice, despite the ward, as if she is repeating something illicit: "There is a heresy whispered on the Ninth, that she was God's... beloved... or his protector, and his Lyctors were jealous of her for her closeness to the Emperor and sowed dissent between them. But why would God need a bodyguard?"