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Inquisitor Varn Ymir, Heretic, Extremis Diabolus (NPC - Probably)

Started by mcjomar, July 05, 2017, 06:54:24 PM

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mcjomar

Model page:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2781.0

WS 68
BS 62
S 51
T 52
I 63
Wp 87
Sg 84
Ld 76
Nv 82
Left-handed

Equipment:
Shotgun (a bunch of reloads),
Powerfist,
Daemonic Greathammer (see below)
flak on legs/groin/arms
Carapace on chest/abdomen
MIU psycannon (corrupted - fires psychic energy bolts now)

chaotic prayer mat (err)
Keys of mutation (um)
Book of Daemons (eh)
Corrupted aquila (huh)

Abilities:
Furious Assault
Dead Eye Shot

Draconian Tyrant
Survivor

Haemovoric Tendency
Corrupted Wyrdling:
Wyrd:Warp Strength

Hammer of Khal'Athatras
Wp 82

Vampyric Regeneration:
As Vampyre daemon-weapon ability, but additional damage to target injury total is turned to heal wielder injury total/location.

Mind Stealer
Gnawing

Psychic Power: Etheric Leech (while wielding)




Honourary wielder of a shard of Khal'Athatras, this lunatic has been declared his Herald, and doer of deeds in His Dark Name.
Cruel Xanthite, he fell to Horusian ways, and then fel the rest of the way.
Even now he still believes his efforts will eventually be for the good of the Imperium.
He works (worked - and unknowingly at that) for Hydra, and for their (falsely created, but now quite real) Order of the Dragon (nothing to do with the Dragon on Mars, really). Once he was the head of that Order, but now has fallen from grace.
He is a draconian tyrant to his underlings and minions, but still ensures that their lives under him are better than they would be elsewhere, ensuring they remain loyal.
In turn, he is a loyal servant and follower of the whisperings of the being known as Khal'Athatras.
He is also, probably, quite insane.



Background:
Son of a manipulative governor (and widower), Lord Farworth Ymir of the Tyrhal system, Varn was sent to a Schola Progenium as soon as he was old enough for it to be acceptable - the Governor had despised his first wife, and wanted nothing of her son. Being as manipulative as his father, and inquisitive in his own right, Varn soon found himself on the path to becoming an Acolyte of the Inquisition. Training was long, and difficult, both in combat, and in the library. It demanded much of him, and in turn he demanded much of his peers.

When an Inquisitor arrived, seeking replacement personnel, he and a number of others were recruited, and automatically disseminated throughout the Inquisitor's organisation. Assigned to a distant information gathering cell, Varn gradually worked his way up through the organisation, using his successes to his advantage, and (mostly) blaming his failures carefully on suitable scapegoats - after all, he would surely have succeeded if it hadn't been for them! In truth it did not stop him learning from such catastrophes, but he was perfectly willing to turn such failures into opportunities to remove or reduce threats to his position and newfound livelihood.

Gradually he came under notice of the Inquisitor himself. By the age of thirty six years, Terran Standard, he was leading kill-teams and data-gathering raids in the Inquisitor's name, tracking rogue psykers, recidivists, and worse besides. Eventually he was directly recruited to be a part of the Inquisitor's own retinue, having proved himself a capable combatant, leader, and investigator. Under the Inquisitor's watchful eye, he was tested in his abilities, trained in the Monodominant path, and learned the ways of the talented witch hunter, Inquisitor Garvel Tiodanthus.

After the  Viodotus Affair, wherein Varn was personally responsible for the culling of no less than seven rogue psykers, he was granted reason to be trained under several other Inquisitors prior to the consideration of his status within the Inquisition. Assigned to Inquisitor Tanthus Dioran, also a known Monodominant, he was further trained, learning the means with which to detect and hunt heretics and chaos worshippers, and how to track their shady spoor, learning their furtive, secretive ways, and how to use them against them.

However, as this process continued he began more and more to question the Monodominant ways and means. Eventually he was transferred to the Inquisitor who would be his final judge to his worthiness of becoming one of their number, Inquisitor Mannfred Kolpeck. Most assumed him to also be a Monodominant, but in truth he was a follower of Xanthism, hiding this alignment beneath a facade of piety. These Xanthite ways captured Varn's attention, and he was assiduous in studying all he could from his newest master.

He studied much of daemonology, their ways and means. More he learned about heretics and traitors, daemon worshippers, cultists, mutants, and more besides, and how to turn their strengths against them, how to turn Chaos against itself, how ones strength of will and faith in the Emperor could allow one to wield the weapons of the great enemy against those who would destroy all the Emperor had sought to build.

At the age of sixty three he was voted by all three Inquisitors, and granted his own badge of office, his own rosette, and empowered to act in the Emperor's name as he saw fit. He was now an Inquisitor. Like Kolpeck, he too pretended to Monodominancy, while in truth aligning more with Xanthism.

He began his investigations and practices simply. At first he hunted traitors, those who had turned from the Emperor's light and thought themselves safe. Gradually he increased his scope, tracing down chaotic cults, and those who dabbled in artefact trades, and black market acquisitions of dark materials, and heretical texts. Many such items he burned or otherwise destroyed, or gave over to Inquisition Fortresses for suitable control, disposal, or storage as was deemed necessary by conclaves of his bretheren. But other items were carefully sequestered, hidden away from prying eyes.

Never did he share his beliefs. Even those few he took on as acolytes, or as Interrogators to be trained as favours to brother Inquisitors only ever saw his Monodominant side, or were kept at a distance to control secure portions of his network that acted within the purview of the Inquisition. Only easily disposed of mercenaries, servitors, or the occasional guardsmen were allowed to be used in his personal pursuits, all of whom tended to find themselves coming to an unsavoury, unplanned (from their point of view) end.

Except for one - one servitor. Inquisitor Ymir had request a selection of servitors on an archeological dig - nothing too overt - and had suggested to the Adepts of the Mechanicus temple on Drevex IV that he would be willing to take many of their less efficient models off their hands, as the work would be dangerous, and he did not wish to poorly use the Omnissaiah's bounty. With such a pious attitude, the Adepts were quite willing to give over a number of lesser servitors into his hands.

These servitors became useful bodyguards and workers in his pursuit of the sinister Skull of Sab'rath, an ancient Chaotic artefact, said to house the intelligence of an ancient daemon, cursed and locked away for eternity. The tracing of such an object took nearly a decade, during which many of the servitors were crushed, or became inoperative due to overuse while mining, exploring, or otherwise doing the bidding of an unforgiving master.

The last, Servitor 592, was responsible for saving his life during a hull-shock when boarding a space hulk, rumoured to be the final resting place of the artefact he craved. He and the servitor had advanced through the belly of the beast, while Terminators of the Stellar Spartans chapter pursued efforts to cleansed another part of the great hulk. In addition to the servitor, Ymir also had a number of naval ratings along to provide security, and heavy lifting to transport any archeotech that had been discovered. Many such groups had already returned to the boarding craft with suitable items that could be "donated" to the Adeptus Mechanicus in return for future favour.

Eventually their surroundings grew darker, and more warped. Many of the men and women with him wished to turn back. Cursing that he could drive them no further, but equally could not dare risk executing them for their fear, given that the captain would likely look poorly on such ill-use of his crew, Ymir was forced to order them to hold position at a suitably untainted location, and create a temporary forward base. In truth it was to his benefit - he did not wish them to observe his acquisition of such an artefact as the one he sought.

Ymir, and servitor 592, advanced further, following ancient texts that Ymir had brought for such a purpose. The instructions bound within the tome guided them to a cursed shrine to Chaos. The sheer power of the warp, concentrated within such a place for centuries, radiated from the walls. Ymir advanced with purpose across the space, the servitor trailing mindlessly behind him.

The artefact itself was place intertly upon a baroque pedestal, glinting in the dim light of the shrine. In fact, it seemed almost unobtrusive. A bronze skull, nothing more. Frustrated, Ymir handed the skull off to the servitor, and began to turn back upon himself, sending the servitor ahead of him to ensure it would not damage the artefact - perhaps he simply needed to examine it in less concerning surroundings. Possibly a suitable sacrifice might awaken its power.

It was then that the hulk-quake struck. A succession of support struts had finally collapsed after centuries of neglect and weakening within the warping influence of the empyrean. This had a knock on effect, which lead to the collapse of several sections of the hulk, including the corridor that Ymir and his servitor had been advancing down. Acting purely out of self-preservation (and an intent to keep the artefact intact), Ymir flung himself at the servitor (it was blocking the passage anyway, and he would have had to shove it out of the way in any event).

The servitor stumbled clear on its mis-matched legs, but Ymir was pinned down his left side, specifically his arm. In addition, at least three ribs were broken, and his lung was pierced. He croaked out an order for the servitor to clear the debris and get him to a medic. Dutifully, forgotten artefact held within one spare mechadendrite, the weapons servitor began to clear the wreckage with mindlessly efficient swings of chain axe, and calculated blasts with the melta.
One slightly-too-close blast from the melta vapourised the rubble which had crushed his arm, and further damaged the limb beyond any probable repair. Though cauterised, the painw as intense, and only through sheer will and fury did Ymir maintain any semblance of consciousness, where any other individual would have been lost in shock, dead to the world in all but name.

He screamed for the servitor to drag him to safety. Ploddingly, it did so, dragging his tortured wreck back to the location the ratings had been defending. Seeing his condition, and afraid of what would happen to them if they "lost" an Inquisitor, the crew helped the servitor drag Ymir back to the boarding craft along with all their loot, abandoning the hulk to the Terminators, and their foes.

Once aboard the imperial vessel, Holy Flame, the Servitor was ordered back to the Inquisitor's quarters (dragging the unnoticed skull with it), while Ymir was given over to the care of the shipboard medic. The looted archeotech was placed within the holds that Ymir had requisitioned for the task.

When Ymir awoke from the ministrations of the medicae, he discovered that his left arm had been replaced with a bionic limb, and that his skeleton along that side had been reinforced to support its weight and power. The first moment he could, the Inquisitor ordered the ship to the nearest Mechanicus facility. Giving over significant portions of archeotech (and leaving his servitor firmly ensconced in secure storage), he bargained for a far superior quality of bionic arm - one with which he could wield a powerfist, capable of ripping through such obstructions with the ease of a blowtorch through a tin can. In addition he arranged for them to equip him with an MIU-linked psycannon, in the service of the Ordo Malleus.

This dealt with, he returned to the servitor, and secretly began investigations of the Skull of Sab'rath. Gradually he began to test its power, investigating its origins, and searching out texts and references. Eventually he discovered the Ritual of Sab'rath, a sorcerous incantation and sacrifice which would awaken the intellect within the skull, and bend it to his will, forcing it to give over its knowledge to him.

Making his way to a suitably secluded cavern on a world where lines within the weft and weave of the warp were said to cross, and the boundaries weaken, the Whispering Caverns of Raan III proved to be the perfect site for the ritual. The seven sages he had collected for the purpose (under the guise of an archeological investigation into the local phenomenon) were most surprised to be ritually chained and sacrificed in order to awake the powers of an inanimate skull. In the centre of the pentagram drawn with their blood stood servitor 592, still holding the skull within a limp mechadendrite - Ymir was willing to take no chance, and was quite comfortable to allow the servitor to shoulder the burdens of carrying such a risky artefact.

As the ritual was completed, however, nothing appeared to happen. Cursing his ill fortune, the Inquisitor was quite ready to leave (after having the cavern purged of all evidence by his ever-loyal servitor and its meltagun), when the skull began to glow. Specifically its eyes. A baleful burning blue fire awoke within the depths of the eyes of the skull, and the bronze object merged with the mechadendrite that had been carrying it over a span of mere seconds. The servitor began to shudder, and collapsed backwards onto the floor.

Hestening to investigate, albeit cautiously, Ymir discovered that servitor 592 was conscious. Indeed, the machine was looking around blearily, as if in wonder at the surroundings. Even with the new strength of his left arm, Ymir struggled in helping the mechanical monster to its feet. It began to question him, piteously, as to what had happened. Clearly the skull had awoken the original intelligence of this servitor. He soon learned the name of the creature Benei, and the piteous history. Unmoved in the slightest, Ymir was still forced to concede that he yet needed this being, as the bearer of the Skull of Sab'rath and its knowledge - clearly now knowledge in the hands of an imbecile. But perhaps this could be a blessing, and Ymir could use the creature as a dupe, keeping the corrupting influence of Sab'rath at a distance.

Gradually he convinced Benei to clear the area of evidence of their malfeasance before they left the area. Giving Benei some illusion of respect and decent treatment was enough to further convince this individual to spew forth all it knew (intially very little), but soon Benei was telling him about various artefacts which had previously been unheard of. One such artefact rapidly gained his attention - the Hammer of Khal'Athatras. The bearer of this hammer would become the Herald of the shard of the daemon trapped inside, and granted insight into the knowledge and secrets held by the daemon.

After confirming the existence of such a creature within the annals of the Ordo Malleus, Ymir hastened to begin his latest folly. Taking two decades of careful and painstaking investigation, and in the process becoming a member of the Order of the Dragon - an order of Inquisitors dedecated to strengthening the Imperium through any means necessary - Ymir traced the artefact he sought. With each passing year, Benei became ever more pitifully loyal to Ymir, giving over the secrets of Sab'rath wilingly. Ymir also used - and abused - his membership within the Dragon to protect his efforts, and support his researches. His efforts to pretend to monodominancy increasingly fell to the wayside as the years passed, until his efforts became token at best, little more than occasional witch burnings, or artefact destruction to keep the pious distracted.

Eventually his efforts bore twisted fruit, and he ventured into the Slaam Reaches, a selection of worlds that are only barely within the Emperor's light, recently taken from the Slaam race by the will of His Holy Might. Upon the world of Gra'ath V, in the swamps of Yrgoth, Ymir and his intrepid imbecile discovered an unholy xenos temple - as yet undiscovered and unburned - to the might of Khal'Athatras. Decorated with runes which hurt the eyes, it was a foreboding and dready sight. Unperturbed, Ymir advanced within its gloomy arches, Benei limping along behind him. The further in they strode (or shambled), the thicker the dust.

Soon enough they came upon the Unholy of Unholies, corrupt heart of the temple. In pride of place, standing on its haft stood the Hammer of Khal'Athatras. Protected by an impenetrable corrupting shield, there was no easy way to access the monstrosity. Blinding runes projected the shield, and only a correct interpretation and alteration of such runes would allow access to the arcane artefact. Carefully interpreting the tomes that Benei had lugged with them, and paying heed to the jealous whispers of Sab'rath, as interpreted by the idiot Benei, Ymir slowly peiced together the runic language in front of them. The effort took months (thankfully Benei had also carried enough supplies for the both of them initially, and more were airdropped nearby for the shambler to collect), and much ranting on Ymir's part.

Eventually he noticed some of the core elements of the language, the references, and repeated uses, and gradually - with Sab'rath's grudging respect, minor daemon that it was - Ymir pieced together the correct interpretation of this twisted mirror language. After several more weeks, Ymir began the attempt, relying on faith and force of will to protect from the corrupting effects. It took a certain amount of bloodletting (mostly from Benei, but some directly from Ymir) to cause the final runic shield to drop.

Clasping the hammer in hand, Ymir raised it high - immediately a battle of wills began between himself and the shard of Khal'Athatras will and consciousness held within the hammer. After several more hours of chanting, praying, spraying of incence, and general sweating, Benei finally gave up his efforts, and began to patiently wait for his master's success. As the seventh hour drew to a close, Ymir finally opened his eyes once more. Still in charge of his faculties, he knew that the daemon would never stop trying to escape. Not that he minded - he was now Herald of Khal'Athatras, and careful unleashing of his new master would be of great benefit to the Imperium. Khal'Athatras would be a great servant to Imperial efforts, crushing those Ymir knew to be the enemies of the Emperor.

As the years progressed in his quest, he became ever more eccentric. The hammer initially did nothing more that cause far more damage than such a hammer should do when wielded against Ymir's foes. Gradually, however, it began to do more. It began to stupefy those it struck, stealing their mental faculties. Then it began to drink their blood, restoring and healing Ymir as it did so. By this point Ymir had developed haemovoric tendencies himself, employing Benei to "acquire" suitable targets for his needs, provide for them himself, or shield his master when he went hunting to satisfy such carnal need.

When the artefact began to actively allow Ymir to channel its ability to more directly drain the minds of his enemies from a distance, he discovered within himself the mark of the wytch. Able to channel his rage and fury, he could direct his gaze upon his foes, and with intense concentration cause their blood to boil within their skulls, bursting forth in a satisfying fountain from which he could drink at leisure. Truly the foes of the Emperor would quake at his coming!
"Heretics are like cockroaches - annoying to find, and even more annoying to kill." - unattrib.

mcjomar

I'm debating giving this guy a bionic left arm (the one with the power fist), and replacing warp strength with blood boil (to go along with his haemovoric tendencies).
I'm also working on his background as to how he came to Xanthism, and how he became the Herald of Khal'Athatras.
"Heretics are like cockroaches - annoying to find, and even more annoying to kill." - unattrib.