Name: Uriah Balis
Gender: Male
Role/Archetype: Acolyte.
Personal Demeanour:
In the dark light shines the brightest. Uriah views the world as a dark place where the light of the Emperor burns bright and his laws maintain it. Many see Uriah as an idealist and they should as regardless of the things he has viewed it has merely reinforced his belief in the Emperor and the Imperium. While there are many who break the laws of the Imperium; to Uriah these are merely individuals who have lost their way. No matter how many people he kills in the name of the Law he believes that in so doing he is giving them the ability to confront the Emperor directly and atone. Regardless Uriah does not view the people who must stop as animals or less human, they have simply lost the way and it is his job to stop them for leading other astray.
At the end of the day Uriah is tired and longs for the vastness of the Jericho Reach again. Regardless of the nightmares the Jericho Reach is still home. Regardless of this he soldiers on in service to his Emperor. Of late he has become more of a seasoned old man. Gone are the days of Uriah’s angry tirades and harsh words; in its wake are stern talks and a sense that one has done wrong. Those around him suspect this is largely due to the loss of his family on Aphrodite.
Also please include any hatreds, grudges, and so on.
Speciality:
Gunslinger- Uriah’s Carnodon pattern Hand Cannon’s have allowed the stockier Commander to become quite excellent at making use of both guns. At short to medium range Uriah is a fantastic shot. While it is rare for Uriah to make use of the duelist worn guns which sit in a right drawn holster in front of his hips and the second one sits in a reverse draw holster on his right hip. This set of holsters allows Uriah to quickly draw with either hand for single fire use or for a crossover draw allowing Uriah to make use of both guns at once in either hand. Part of Uriah’s insistence in his ability to fight in such a manner comes from the effects this has on those who oppose him. More than a few confrontations have been diffused through a single fantastic display of the Commander's use of the hand cannons.
Duelist-While most Arbitrators make use of the power mace Uriah has always preferred the shock baton. Early in his career it was not uncommon for him to make use of a pair of shock batons over the heavy devastating power maces. With his rise to a position of authority Uriah took up use of the power sword in place of his shock baton. During the time he had to grow into the new position Uriah spent time mastering the use of his power sword both in a double grip and in a single grip in combination with his suppression shield.
Investigator- Just prior to his promotion to the Rank of Proctor and his placement as the Strike Commander of Task Force Omnicron Uriah was the Investigator for a team of Arbites on Nariel and then on Caymn. The vast majority of his boots on the ground training comes from Nariel however his real skill in investigation comes from some time spent as an attached member of the Arbites to a retinue for an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor on Caymn. Uriah is well versed in hunting down law breakers, rooting out crime rings and tracking down heretical cults. This blend of investigative training and hands on combat experience made him a natural choice to operate as a Proctor on Aphrodite.
Well Read- When Uriah is not in the field he can be found reading anything he can get his hands on. While Uriah is a rather spartan individual his quarters are home to a small library of historical and religious texts which he is happy to lend out to the other members of the Ordo Malleus retinue he is now a part of.
Rank: Inquisition Acolyte/Adeptus Arbites Proctor
Description:
No one could accuse Uriah Balis of being easy on the eyes. The older Arbitrator was never an attractive man. Uriah’s face is largely common with a heavy, wide brow and a face left pocked marked from a nearly lethal rash when he was in his early teens; the man’s facial features are rounded out by a broken nose from his first posting on Nariel. According to Uriah’s father he inherited his mother's eyes which are a blue green with steel flecks; they are the eyes of someone who has laughed, screamed and frowned often. Crowned with locks of slightly longer hair Uriah keeps his light brown hair cut so that it can be confined with a band at the base of his neck. Short enough to fit under his carapace armor helmet and give little purchase for seeking hands. Uriah has aged well having his form bolstered by juviant treatments which have allowed him to keep his thick stringy muscles and large frame even at his current age.
To complement the pockmarks from his youth Uriah has fade burn scars on the left side of his neck from a homemade incendiary weapon he took to the face during his second posting on the Pleasure world of Carmyn where he had been sent to help bring a rogue psycker to justice who had been implicated in the creation of a Cult of Slaanesh. In addition to the burn scarring which spreads down his left shoulder; Uriah possess a number of bullet wound scars, knife puckering and other scars from his fifteen year tour as an Arbitrator across four different Worlds before his posting on Aphrodus Primaris. The claws of the Demonette that Ergrim Lorshram summoned into existence on Aphrodus left long scars along his abdomen.
Standing at an above average height of 1.8 meters Uriah carries very little excess weight on his frame as his build is largely hard muscles from his time serving in the very front of riot suppression, warrant serving and open combat with dissenters.
Uriah has a penchant for wearing a pair of dark black gloves. The Arbitrator claims the color hides any blood he may get on them but many speculate that it is due to a distaste he harbors for the missing digits on his left hand. The pinky and ring finger on his left hand were removed by a group of gang members who captured him on Nariel. The digits have since been replaced by mechanical prosthetics which serve him just as well if not better than the original fingers.
Uriah’s black carapace armor shines with a dull fervor. A reflection of the man who walks within it. While the surface of Uriah’s armor may have a well maintained luster to it; the armor also bares the pockmarks and weld marks of scores of battles long past. On the left shoulder of the Black armor in the tradition of the Astartes who protected his home is a crest. The depiction on the shoulder is that of a Scorpion clutching a sword marked in green. The crest itself is a last gift from his father and a silent prayer to the God-Emperor for sending his Angels to protect his home in the Jericho Reach. When Uriah makes use of the armor’s helmet it also sports the snapping claws of the scorpion over its face plate and its curled tail across the helmets rebreather.
Over the armor Uriah wears an armless duster that ends at his calves. The duster is a shade of dark grey and features his scorpion heraldry on his left breast and on the opposite side of the duster is featured the iconography of the Adeptus Arbites. The scorpion is depicted in the same green as its counterparts on his other pieces of equipment. The symbol of the Adeptus Arbites is depicted in silver on his right breast. In addition to the overcoat Uriah wears about a dozen Purity Seals spread out across his armor.
With his induction into the Inquisition, gone are the days when he wore the iconography of the Adeptus Arbites. Now in its place is the Iconography of the Ordo Malleus
History:
Uriah grew up believing in the truth of the Imperium of Man without question. Castobel was the perfect example of the staunch ideals of the Imperium. When the Age of Strife came regardless of what happened to the hive world they had held strong. Uriah was born shortly after the reclamation of the planet by the Achilus Crusade. Born to a Captain of the Imperial Guard who was stationed on Castobel and a Gubernatorial aid to the new Planet Governor of the Hive world Uriah was raised in relative comfort.
The difference in Uriah’s life came from the precarious nature of Castobel and its place in the Jericho Reach. Much of Uriah early life was shrouded in the knowledge that on the leading edge of the Crusade was the encroaching menace of Hive Fleet Dagon, The Tau and the Legions of Chaos. For many worlds the terrors beyond the stars were just that. Bad dreams and quite fears; for Uriah those fears were a fact of life and their constant presence was drilled into him from birth. Naturally, indoctrination came quickly for the young boy and he took to it with ease quickly understanding that it was the Emperor who had rescued his homeworld from the night right before he was born.
When Uriah was eight tragedy struck. Liana Balis was taken by a pox which infected a large portion of the hive in which the two were living while Uriah’s Father, Kettin, was off world. Against all odds the young Uriah pulled through in the face of certain death; however his mother was not so lucky. When his father returned Uriah was left scarred by the pox but no less for it. If anything the young boy was stronger for the experience even though he mourned the loss of his mother. The next tragedy struck a year later with the death of his Father. Kettin Balis died defending the last of a series of ships fleeing a frontier planet on the leading edge of Hive Fleet Dagon. Kettin Balis was returned to his home on Castobel onboard a Deathwatch Thunderhawk. In death Kettin had secured the last of the fleeing transports against the Tyranid swarm and had given his life helping the Deathwatch Astartes as they secured the doom of the swarm in the face of the Ordo Xenos command of Exterminatus. To this day Uriah carried the memory of being given the scorpion patch by one of the God-Emperor's Astartes. In the eyes of the young Uriah the titanic warrior was nothing short of a grim Angel of Death returning his father to him one last time. Since then Uriah has strived to uphold the ideals of the Imperium as an attempt at repaying the God-Emperor for sending his Angels to bring Uriah’s father home.
Schola Progenium.
For Uriah this was the day he had hoped for his whole life. After the death of his Father, Uriah was sent to Minolan in the Iron Collar of the Achilus Crusade. From the moment his feet hit the ground with grey robes on, he was run ragged. The reality of the Jericho Reach was far different than that of the rest of the Imperium. This region of space was far harsher and much more deadly. A posting with the crusade meant death was a reality far more salient. Becoming a Soritas within the reach meant that you would stand against the forces of Chaos, Acolytes of the Inquisition would be beset on all sides by Xenos, Heretics and the forces of Chaos. No matter where you turned there was only death to be seen and as such the Progenium of the Jericho Reach were trained on the rugged edge in preparation for the realities of this tract of space.
Very quickly it was determined that Uriah would be slated for the Adeptus Arbites. The young man was uncompromising in upholding the rules and his martial power was in the top ten percent of his peers. Regardless of this Uriah continued to progress within the Schola Progenium before, at the age of eighteen, he was sent to begin his training with the Arbites. From the word go Uriah took to the training; mastering use of the Shotgun, Powermace, Suppression Shield and so forth. After two years of intensive training Uriah went boots down on Nariel.
Uriah’s first two decades were spent on Nariel. The world was a mess and sat at the heart of the Crusade. As a result of the placement of the Hive World it was immediately necessary for there to be a massive Arbites presence on the world. After many years on Nariel Uriah had become a hardened veteran of the planets Arbites force and in the last six years of his tour he was trained as an Investigator. This all came to an abrupt end when purely by chance an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus came looking for veteran Arbites.
Quickly thereafter he was transferred to Caymn to continue assisting in the investigation of the Inquisitor who was following the trail of a rogue Psyker. What Uriah uncovered on the pleasure world of Caymn was a full blown cult of Slaanesh. The members of the Inquisitor's band and the Abrites on the world were quickly drawn into a protracted engagement with the agents of Chaos. After forty-eight hours of drawn out combat and hurried hunting across Carymn, Uriah brought the armored fist of his team down on the back of the Cult while the Inquisitor gutted the cult on another front. Following the Cults deathroes Uriah was faced with one final trail. Two members of his team and his best friends at the time had been corrupted though it would not be until years later that the corruption would appear.
Upon request Uriah was assigned to the Arbitrator team which was sent to track down the remains of the Cult. Over the course of the next ten years Uriah would be assigned to two more worlds, Levarus Minor and Mercurion Prime, before he and a small force of Arbitrators assigned to the Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus finally caught up with the escaped leader.
In the final showdown Uriah and his Arbitrators in combination with the Inquisitors retinue killed the Cult leader and a handful of Psychers before they could summon a daemon of Slaanesh into the lower hives of Mercurion Prime. With the chase finally finished Uriah put in a request to be transferred to a world beyond the Jericho Reach. With his transfer to Aphrodus Prime Uriah received an audience with Judge Catulo after a few years on Aphrodus Prime. Given his lengthy track record in the wild edge of the Jericho Reach Judge Catulo wanted him to lead what would be known as Task Force Omicron, and with that Uriah was promoted to the rank of Proctor to command the task force. Uriah immediately accepted seeing it as the will of the Emperor that he be transferred here and asked to head Task Force Omicron. In addition to Uriah, Mary Anna Lorainne and Ergrim Lorsharm were also assigned to the Task Force alongside him. Little did he know that they still carried with them the seeds of corruption.
After his first few years on Aphrodus, Uriah sired a daughter with a middle management member of the Adeptus Administratum. A few years later he was married to Lori Mot, the mother of his child. Another six years serving on Aphrodus ground by but in the end things were not meant to be. After a particularly grueling series of raids it became apparent that there was more than initially met the eye with the well armed and militant gangs they had been encountering in the underhive.
The fifth raid in a series of confrontations with the gang that called themselves the Lidless Eyes Uriah and Judge Catulo determined that is was perhaps best to request more specialized assistance in dealing with the gangs that they had encountered. It had become apparent given the level of contraband that they had encountered in the Gang's hideouts and the fact that Uriah’s inner circle knew that they had encountered strange iconography that this problem was about to be above their pay grade. The Judge submitted a report and request for aid but in the year it took for the aid to arrive the situation deteriorated.
A final confrontation with the Lidless Eye occurred with an Ordo Malleus Inquisitorial retinue burning into orbit while in the underhive of Aphrodus it was quickly becoming clear what had happened. Task Force Omicron had been betrayed from the inside. Ergrim’s corruption had become manifest and for the last six years he had in secret built up a militant cult of Slaanesh keeping them one step ahead of the task force he worked alongside. In the underhive Uriah caught up with Ergrim’s cultists only to have them finish the work that their predecessor cult had begun on Caymn. They succeeded in summoning a Demonette of Slaanesh. The ensuing battle ripped through the Underhive and culminated on the surface streets with Stormtroopers being called in to suppress the mass hysteria.
In the end the Inquisitor retinue spent a month on Aphrodius rooting out the last of the cult and tracking down the escaped and wounded Demonette. The cost of the battle was initially high with all of the core members of Task Force Omicron having been killed. Mary Ann was captured and it was determined that she had been brainwashed by Ergrim and was not a willing accomplice. Mary Ann was mind scoured and taken away to serve the Imperium of Man somewhere far away from the events and people of her past. Shortly after the battle ended it was discovered that Ergrim has used Uriah’s daughter as a sacrifice for the summoning ritual. Beyond this Ergrim has also murdered Lori before fleeing the planet.
In the ashes of Task Force Omicron, Judge Catulo recommended a reposting for Uriah, however given his tenacity in the face of a daemon and his history working alongside the Inquisition in the past it was determined that he would be accepted as an Acolyte of the Ordo Malleus. With nothing but the tools of his trade, a belief in the Emperor and the skills of many years Uriah left Aphrodus and never looked back.
Equipment and Armament:
- Primary weapons: Vox Legi-Pattern Combat Shotgun,
The epitome of standardized weapon Uriah carries the signature shotgun pattern of the Adeptus Arbites. Unlike Uriah's other weapons this Shotgun’s only modification is a side rail for additional variation of of ammunition. The chambered shells can easily be swapped out for the shells on the side railing through quickly ejecting the unwanted shells and loading the new shells from the rail which sits on the side of the shot gun. Uriah still favors the Executioner shells of his original order, though they are now sanctified for killing demons and the forces of Chaos.
- Secondary weapon: Westingkrup Carnodon Pattern Precision Hand Cannon
Uriah’s hand cannons features his distinctive bright green scorpion along the length of it curling its claws around the black finish of the barrels. The guns particular pattern makes it generally more reliable than some of its counter parts which circulate in the general populace. The hand cannons also features a red dot sight modification, top barrel venting to counteract the kick of the gun making it more accurate. The hand cannon pair also feature revolving six chambers which make for a nasty piece of hardware that Uriah takes great care in maintaining and training with. With his induction into the ranks of the Inquisition, Uriah has acquired a collection of exotic ammunition for the gun.
- Melee weapon: Power-Sword, Sanctified
After becoming the Strike Commander of Omicron Uriah was granted use of a Power-Sword. Since coming into his possession Uriah has made two significant modifications to the blade. The first addition was a hand and a half grip which allows easy switching between a single handed grip and a double handed grip depending on the circumstance. Uriah is fully capable of using his sword in conjunction with both his suppression shield and his hand cannon giving him great versatility. The second modification is a dipole mag-lock for the blade. The true secret behind Uriah’s gloves lies in the trigger electrodes in the gloves which when placed over the mag-lock on the sword causes the polarity to reverse and propel the blade into his open hand. The Power-Sword has since been inscribed with Litanies of the Ecclesiarchy in order to improve its use against the forces of chaos.
- Tertiary equipment: Suppression Shield, Sanctified
As standard as they come Uriah’s Shield is no different than any other suppression shield carried by the members of the Arbites.Though now it sports the Heraldry of the Ordo Malleus instead of the Heraldry of the Adeptus Arbites. Most days it is rare for the Proctor turned Acolyte to carry the shield but when he does it fits neatly on his back where it can easily be shifted to his left arm.
- Mementos: A picture of his mother and father on Castelbel before the disease killed his mother. Uriah also carries the scorpion patch from his father's uniform; the only thing returned to him after his father was killed. Under all of his armor and clothing Uriah wears his wife and his own wedding rings on a finely wrought chain of titanium around his neck.
Miscellaneous: Anything you want to mention but haven't been able to cover yet.
