[OOC] Warhammer 40,000: Tales of the Inquisition

[Eisenhorn]

It is the 41st Millenium, and the universe only knows war.

The God Emperor of Mankind resides upon his Golden Throne, interred many millenia ago and now acting as a beacon for which all of the Imperium guides its ships through the warp with, as his armies march forward to defeat the enemies of Man. From the numberless Imperial Guard, where a hundred thousand dead is meaningless so long as victory is claimed, to the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines that provide the tip of the spear for the Imperium of Man. But their deeds and tales, many times, pale in comparison to those of the Inquisition, the hidden heroes of the Imperium of Man. These hidden enforcers of the Imperial rule, from the hunters of the Xenos to those that purge the Heretic and deal swift defeat to the Daemons that invade the real space. Such agents are varied in origin and creed, and just as varied, if not more so, are those that are sworn to follow them.

Loyal men and women from all walks of life can find themselves within the employ of an Inquisitor in a heartbeat. From the lowliest Guardsmen to the most illustrious Adeptus Arbites enforcer of the law, and most men and women in between, the retinue of an Inquisitor defines the methods and resources available to the Inquisitor. For a well equipped, loyal retinue indicates a well to do Inquisitor, while poor equipment or renegade thoughts indicate far darker methods are employed. Some Inquisitors that have no qualms with employing more radical means can find the likes of Xenos and chaos corrupted tools and weapons within their armaments and Retinue, all for the Emperor in their defense, although far too many are corrupted by their own means. But such varied Retinues, and so many varied Inquisitors, methods, and ideologies, that there is no feasable means to control how Inquisitors act, assuming they would allow such a burden and restriction to be placed upon them.

While the Inquisitor is widely feared for his, or her, ability to sniff out any target they see fit, and rightly so, it is the retinue that really shines when working on a task set before them. From those that would smash their way to the objective, to other retinue's that specialize in cunning and stealth in their goals, each Inquisitor and his method of operation often times defines how his retinue forms up, whether combat heavy, specialist focused, or a jack of all trades group capable of filling any role required of it, albeit not as well as dedicated specialists. But an Inquisitor is oft far less of a threat, relatively speaking, alone than he is with back up from his personal, and most loyal, minions and, in some cases, friends that make up his personal retinue. Such men and women provide a, in many cases, final line of defense before hell finally catches up to the Inquisitor, and can also be the tip of his spear, lancing out and starting the assault that finally breaks the back of the enemies of Man. It is such that, regardless of background, numbers, or specialization, the Inquisitor's retinue can be the single most important investment such men and women make, and they often do well to make sure such an investment is well made.

Such is the men and women that serve in the retinue of the man this tale chronicles, an Inquisitor of rising renown known as Xersus, well on his way to the mantle of Inquisitor Lord. Inquisitor Xersus has had notable success in tracking down and banishing Daemons, both ones that their pattern of reappearance is known, and those new ones that are cropping up wherever men are frail of spirit and weak in mind, allowing the taint of unholy Chaos to settle deep in their hearts. Inquisitor Xersus, of the Ordo Malleus, has shown iron resolve in the face of the daemon, and now is tasked with tracking down an artifact capable of rending open gates into the immaterium, large enough to emit ancient, known, and feared greater daemons without the normal limitations, so long as a prime host is available for use. Such a relic is only known that it exists, and the forces of chaos seek its use, for obvious reasons. The 13th Black Crusade makes resources scarce, so now more than ever, having a retinue capable of accomplishing the impossible is more vital than ever. This is a story of Inquisitor Xersus and his retinue, and through this, the tale of the notable men and women that make up such an group.

Alright, so each player will be taking the part of a member of Inquisitor Lord Xersus personal Retinue, member of the Ordo Malleus, the Daemonhunters. I have a few brief rules to cover before the CS, I'll keep it brief!

Rules:
1. Each character is going to be tough, powerful, experienced, and so on and so forth, each in their own right. This does not make them unstoppable, or indestructible. Characters CAN die, this is Warhammer 40,000, after all. Keep that in mind.

2. Metagaming, god modding, controlling other players characters, the usual stuff is not cool, to say the least.

3. I try to be pretty relaxed and lenient about stuff, so if you have ideas or concerns, do bring them up. I also want folks to try and be nice, or at least civil, with each other when OOC. IC, I don't expect people to get along, but try and keep OOC drama and stuff down. And as another note here, if you have ideas or thoughts for the story or characters that your not sure about, feel free to ask! I'll do my best to hear you out and see what I think, in relation to how things are moving along.

4. Try and have fun, I don't want this to devolve into some chore that no one wants to really continue, fair enough?

5. Try to post at least regularly, I don't expect some high speed posting, but if you dont post once every couple days, I will keep things moving. I understand stuff happens, so if at all possible, giving some fair warning can just get your chara moved to an NPC role until your able to come back to posting.

Alright, CS Time!

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Appearance: (Image or Equipment)

Equipment:

Personality:

History:

Position in Retinue: (What kind of role do they fill/why are they included in the retinue?)

[Crazy Guy]

Could you please provide a list for all of the retinue positions, and maybe a brief description for what each role does?

[Grothnor]

I hope you don't mind if I recycle my old CS.

My CS

Name: Sten Revna

Gender: Male

Age: 35

Appearance:


Equipment:
Standard Imperial Guard Flak Armor
Force staff
Laspistol, two extra clips
Psy focus (Imperial Guard ID tags, charred beyond recognition)
Lho-stick case.
Psykana Temple robes.

Personality: Sten was once very outgoing and friendly, but the discovery of his psyker talents has changed him. He is now deadly serious and rarely smiles. He enjoys lho sticks and will smoke them when he is concerned or uneasy, saying that it helps focus and relax his mind. When in battle, he is often filled with rage, which fuels his psychic techniques, though the source of his anger is primarily self-loathing. He is, at his core, ashamed of his psychic talents and is burdened by guilt.

History: Sten and his brother joined the Imperial Guard together when they turned 18 and served in the 27th Kaviskr Shock Troopers. Sten was promoted to Sergeant for his ability to quickly grasp a situation. He and his brother served in the same squad. No one seemed to question that their sergeant's hunches were often right, but when his hunches became more and more eerily accurate, they bean to worry, especially his brother. No one knows exactly what happened, but one day, a freak firestorm engulfed Sten's entire squad. He miraculously crawled out unharmed, and surrendered himself as a psyker. He soon found himself in the employ of the Inquisition due to his uncommon level of psychic control and his powerful abilities.

Position in Retinue: Sten is adept at precognition techniques, such as reading the Emperor's Tarot, and is a potent Pyrokine. Also, as a former Gunnery Sergeant, he knows his munitions and wargear, and can serve a secondary role as armorer.

Psychic Abilities: Sten is able to predict the future, though only with a great deal of focus and concentration, and usually only through vague symbolism. He also possesses potent pyrokinetic powers, often turning himself into a walking firestorm during combat. His psyker abilities have been classified as Beta Level.

Also, Crazy Guy, perhaps I can help....

[Commian]

Would you prefer an Acro-flagellant (With a bit more character than the standard walking vegetable); an Eversor assassin; a Black shield space marine from the deathwatch or the return of Heef?

[Dragonruby]

Name: Atellus Zuriel

Gender: Male

Age: 26

Appearance:


Equipment:
Carapace Armor
Lasgun, Five spare magazines
Extendable Plasteel Baton
Flask of Amasec
Engraved Knife

Personality: Atellus can often be seen as rather stand-offish, keeping to his own most of the time, and remarking back with sarcastic comments when spoken to. This is largely due to the fact that most people outside of his home vessel find him rather unsettling as a voidborn, with pale skin, black hair, and bright yellow eyes, and he has taken to wearing his full suit of armor around in order to hide any signs that he has been touched by life aboard a space vessel. His life as a voidborn has, however, given him a higher tolerance for psykers and the strange things that seem to follow them. Afterall, a ship travelling through the warp tended to suffer from the occasional anomalies, and operation of a space vessel relied on psykers, such as astropaths, in order to function.

History: As a voidborn, most of Atellus' life has been aboard a space ship, in his case, the ship of a Rogue Trader's, The Baleful Beacon. There, he served as one of the Rogue Trader's many armsmen, keeping order onboard the ship, and, on occasion, going planetside in order to aid the Rogue Trader in any number of tasks that required a few extra guns. Atellus caught the interest of the Inquisition when he took part in an investigation of a murder that would lead to the discovery of a Chaos Cult onboard the vessel. While he played no particularly special role in the investigation, he was noted for his bravery and combat prowess against the cultists as one of the first men onboard to combat them, and taking part in an assault that stopped the cultists from taking down the ship's Gellar Field while in Warp transit.

Position in Retinue: Atellus is primarily around to serve as the muscle, shooting and fighting his way out of issues should the situation demand it. He is also capable of taking on a more investigative role, though he is largely inexperienced in this field, having never really dealt with problems more than petty theft or breaking up fights during his time onboard The Baleful Beacon

[mattmanganon]

Name: Mary and Yoheved Fathina

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Appearance:



Equipment:

Mary:
Eviscerator
Bolt Pistol (Fully Automatic)
Plasma Pistol
Melta Bombs

Yoheved:
Eviscerator
Psycannon
Melta Bombs

Personality: The sisters are enigma's, wrapped in mystery. They love each other very much, but they love the Emperor even more, he is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. They do not believe in Deus Mechanicus, and will mostly laugh at the existence of power above the Emperor. They will follow any order by the Inquisitor almost without question.

History: Born and grew up on the hiveworld of Necromunda, they were the daughters of one of the biggest ganglords that worked for Van Saar, a woman of such immense physical strength that she could wield an Eviscerator in 1 hand. When the girls grew up and their mother retired, she left them one of her Eviscerators each, retiring to a small moon in the Ultramar segement. The girls were soon picked up by the black ships of the Inquisition, but the Inquisition found it one hell of a hard time bringing them in. With as much space as the hive had, and with them knowing every inch, they gave the Inquisition the run around for over a month, before the Inquisitor came and lured them out with a deal, a deal to become his bodyguards and secure their place as the most feared women in the universe. How could they say no?

Position in Retinue: Melee combatants: They stay close to the inquisitor and cut to pieces anything that gets close to him.

[Pyro V]

Name: Interrogator Anna Cassius

Gender: Female

Age: 37

Appearance

Equipment:
-Godwyn De'az Pattern Boltgun with Five Extra Clips
-Unwarded Daemonblade of Tzeentch
-Inquisitorial Power Armor
-Rosarius
-Grimoire of True Names
-Excruciator
-Archimedes, the Psyber-Raven

Personality: Anna is, in the basest of terms, a thug. She takes great joy in exercising any and all Inquistorial power on anyone, be they a lowly citizen on a hive world or an Astartes Marine. When men do not comply with her decisions, she delights in beating them senseless, or even shooting them on occasion to serve as a warning to the others. She is crude and crass, questions orders, and is nothing like what one would expect out of an Inquisitor.

History: Anna was born on the lower tiers of a Hive World, into a family indebted to numerous crime bosses for "protection" against each other. Growing up, her parents and home were under constant threat of muggings, break ins, and out-right slaughter. Often her father would return home badly bruised, and her mother couldn't go through one day without being groped at least a dozen times, if she was lucky. Anna, however, hardly ever showed any sort of emotion about any of it, even after she learned that none of this should have been happening on a world under the Emperor's light. Not once did she seem sad, nor angry, or even afraid of the men that showed up at the door.

When she reached her teenage years, she began to branch out further than the walls of her home. The buildings nearby were broken into, stashes of money stolen, random passerby brutally beaten and robbed. Over the course of a year, dozens of debts were paid, and Anna even bought a gun for the family to use for defense. This swift turn around in profit did not go unnoticed, of course. One of the more prominent gangs, the first to be paid off by the young girl, had taken a notice. Without a moment of hesitation, they plucked her off the street and integrated her into their gang as a collector. Given a knife and a gun and thrown back to walk door to door.

Few were surprised when that girl with the dead eyes and emotionless face came knocking at their door for money. The first few that she went to handed over money immediately. Eventually, though, one tried to make an excuse. He was beaten, harshly, had an arm broken. His wife was knocked unconscious. Before she left, she told him the next time she came, he better have their money. That was the first time anyone had seen her crack a smile. He told others of the brutality, of how she had grinned as she knocked him around at gunpoint and laughed as she snapped his arm over a table. These accusations were confirmed by several others that received the same treatment that same day.

The gang liked the results. Powerful as they were, several people regularly skipped out on payments, and often members would cut them slack and allow them to pay next month, or even forget entirely. Some never paid at all. But Anna set an example. She was only fifteen, and she was making progress and getting money for herself and for the gang. She was rewarded by being given a bit of rank, some slightly better equipment. However, second month rolled in, and another person attempted to skip again. His family later found him in his house, sliced to bits, entrails scattered around the room. What little money had been in the house was gone, and when the PDF arrived at the gruesome scene, nothing but a few testimonies of a strange, violent girl could link Anna to the murder.

The gang was worried, but never again did anyone try to get out of paying protection when she came knocking, even if it meant using all reserve money. However, this wasn't enough for her. She began to travel higher on the hive, and hit a few houses of people who weren't nameless vermin. She was caught, tried, and sentenced to serve in a penal legion for her crimes against humanity and the Emperor. Unlike most, she didn't seem at all perturbed at being sent to her eventual demise. Like most, she was given basic training, had her head shaved and received the Imperial Aquila tattooed on her left cheek.

Most Penals don't survive their first engagement. She was thrown at a group of Tzeentch worshipers, as well as a few thousand other convicts. She went in gun blazing, grin plastered on her face. As her allies were shot down by the magic of the demons and the psykers amongst the cultists, Anna went unscathed, and killed scores of daemons alone whilst being assaulted by all sorts of sorceries. When she returned, the enemy had a hundred less demons and twenty less psykers, while countless lesser cultists had fled, believing her to be immortal. The Regiment she was assigned to charged the base, with her at the lead, and slaughtered what was left of the forces inside.

Having survived, and having been the reason why so few of the Guard had died to the forces of Chaos, Anna's crimes were forgiven and she was made a permanent part of the 808 Forsberg Regiment. The newly named sergeant remained with the 808 for a few more years, leading many more suicide missions against the forces of Tzeentch, often coming out untouched other than some minor wounds. The Inquisition eventually pulled her out, and questioned her. Her time in the Guard had mellowed her out, and she was now a mouthy woman with no respect for the authority her interrogators held, and barely told them anything they wanted to hear. However, the testimonies of the men she served with, along with one Inquisitor seeing first hand her immunity to sorcery, they named her a blank.

Too old to be sent to the Assassinorum for training, the Inquisition kept her for their own uses and shoved her in the direction of the Ordo Malleus. Given some melee combat training and furthering her knowledge in firearms, she was once more thrust into battles against the servants of Chaos. She was quick to make waves, doing things that even Astartes couldn't without taking substantial losses. Mighty daemons fell, sorcerers rendered useless, warp plagues stifled by her very presence. Eldar suppressed by power, and rogue psykers executed with little effort. While none could deny that she was an unpleasant human being, she got everything done in a timely fashion, and wouldn't fail to disappoint.

Still, though, she fell in line with the Radicals of the Malleus. Often, she would aid in daemonic possessions, make deals with heretics to find much larger groups, and even would point enemy warbands in the direction of their enemies, free of charge, to eliminate her enemies for her. Whenever she was fielded, she'd take with her people that would seem heretical even to someone who knew nothing of the Emperor to serve as meat shields and extra guns. These went, for the most part, unnoticed by many, as when the body counts came in, they were among the numbers and none could scour her mind for information. However, this still got the attention of certain individuals, including the Inquisitor Xersus.

Position in Retinue: Anti-Psyker, Daemonslayer, and expert on Daemonic lore, anatomy, and abilities.

[Honored Brother]

Name: Ignacius Christus

---

Gender: Male

---

Age: 38

---

Appearance:

---

Equipment:
Standard Ecclisiarchy Robe
The writings of Saint Tobias
Imperial Canon
A Confessor's scepter
A chainsword

---

Personality:
Father Ignacius Christus is a man of few words among his peers. He is often stoic and silent, showing little of his personality. When around close friends or people he could trust, the priest is actually aloft and prone to drifting among his thoughts. Father Christus considers himself a philosopher who often evaluates thoughts and ideas that he finds interesting. Those who have gained the trust of the priest would sometimes find themselves in the driest of conversations about the Imperial Canon and the ideologies of the Adeptus Ministorum. Father Christus also enjoys debating the myriad other dogmas of other Ecclisiarchy sects and enjoys the exchange of ideas. another subject that Father Christus also seems to enjoy, oddly enough, is the subject painting. Father Christus is delighted about discussing the different methods, subjects and styles used on the art. The priest is a novice on painting himself and has on occasion, given certain influential people his works of art. The priest however suffers secretly from addiction to alcohol which he has never told a single soul of. The priest has found it increasingly more difficult to hide his affliction however and it may not be too soon until somebody else knows about Father Christus' dark secret. Another flaw with Father Christus is that although it may be difficult for people to gain his trust, once one has done so, the priest would stay loyal to the person no matter what the odds. Even if the person commits the most heretical of acts, so long as he is a judged a true friend of the priest, he would remain true to this person.

---

History: Father Ignacius Christus was born on the agri-world of Carthagius. It was the forth from its star of Africanus and was a perfect world for life to thrive on. As such, Carthagius offered a rich bounty ofdifferent plants and animals as title fief. At the time of Ignacius' birth, the planetary governor of Carthagius was Neros Pappolus. Unknown to the people of the peaceful planet, Pappulos was actually an agent of chaos. No one would suspect of this as Pappolus hid himself well before the eyes of the public. He was a kind and respectable man who also sought to help those in need. He was also quite tall and had a pleasant figure and appearance so it would turn quite to be a surprise when he was learned to be an agent of the plague father, Nurgle. The people of Carthagius followed a sub-sect of the Adeptus Ministorum known as the Amileon faith. Amileons would disapprove the use of technology and use simply methods to grow their crops and live their lives. They believe that living in simplicity and humility will bring them closer to the Emperor and his light and strengthen their resolve against the dark temptation of chaos. They were very pious and devoted and would always strive to appease the Immortal Emperor by working hard and diligently. The Planetary Defense Force of Carthagius was well equipped like every other PDF's but their equipments were stored away in bunkers unless needed. When a traitor space marine warband devout to the plague father suddenly appeared to spread disease and pestilence to the pleasant agri-world appeared, the members of the PDF rushed to their bunkers to retrieve their equipment and fight off the heretics. However, secret cultist who worked with Pappolus rigged those bunkers to explode the minute those men entered, trapping them inside. The citizens of Carthagius were left to defend themselves when the PDF soldiers were lost. The Carthaginians were faithful and loyal to the Emperor and wholehearted in their service. They would not allow the forces of chaos to triumph so easily. Arming themselves with simple farming tools, they fanatically tried to repelled the invaders as best they could. The citizens held out for a day, long enough for the Inquisition to arrive with the Sisters of Battle to repel the plague marines. The inquisitor who arrived on the planet noted the exceptional courage and valor the Carthaginians displayed. The planet and those who fought of the invaders however were afflicted with rot and decay and there was nothing the Inquisition could do but perform an exterminatus and give the citizens the Emperor's peace. The children of Carthagius were declared free of taint and were rescued. This orphans were then sent to the Schola Progenium.

The young Ignacius was always observed to be brilliant yet lethargic. This was perhaps due to the child asthma. Considering his history, the Drill Abbots suspected this as a taint of Nurgle. After observing no other diseases about the child, this allegations were proven false although a close eyes was still kept around him. His teachers also noted that he was always absent minded during his class lessons. His mind drifted every minute and he rarely noticed anything his teachers were trying to teach him. This became a problem for the child until he grew of the age old enough to leave the Schola. He was not qualified for any field of further studies so we was forced to leave the Schola without any formal training. He then moved back to his homeworld of Carthagius that had been replenished back to its old glory and was once again a thriving agri-world.

Finding nowhere else to find employment, Ignacius took on the vows and oaths of the Ecclisiachy and became a monk at one of the chapels. He lived a simple life as he still followed some of the dogmas of Amileonism but was more open to the use of technological devices. This continued until Carthagius was to deploy its own Imperial Guard regiment under the command of Commander Erron Garse. The local church was then asked by the regiment commander for a preacher to assist them in their battle. Ignacius along with two others were chosen for the job.

The new regiment, now known as the Carthaginian Assault Troopers were tasked to defend the forge world of Merrinia under attack from dark eldar raiding groups. For multiple days, the dark eldar chipped away at the regiment and captured a surprising amount of men. The inexperienced commander was no match for the cunning of the raiders. After a month on their deployment there, Ignacius along with a squad he was with was captured by the vile xenos. They were kept on a larger ship hiding on Merrinia's satellite smaller raiding parties deployed on the ground. As the ship was just about ready to return to Commorragh, one of the guard sergeants, Sergeant Anna Strumph, staged an escape. Sergeant Strumph and the others that escaped began to free the others that were locked. They then overpowered the crew and piloted the ship back to the planet's surface. As they did, the raiders scrambled back to their ship and tried to regain control of the vessel. Ignacius along with the other guardsmen defended Sergeant Strumph and a tech priest flew the craft into Merrinia's ocean. Once they got to the surface, the survivors contacted the rest of the Carthaginian Assault Troopers to engage the crippled dark eldar ship while it was still grounded. After an three days of intense fighting, the guardsmen killed every single dark eldar raider. Sergeant Strumph was then made the new commander of the Carthaginian Assault Troopers. When asked about any soldier for recommendation, Strumph named Ignacius among five others for their bravery and skill. Ignacius tried to deny this but the Minitorum made him a confessor for his act. After five years more of being a confessor, the Inquisition took notice of him and employed him in their ranks.

---

Position in Retinue: Father Ignacius Christus uses his oratory skills to stir the emotions of entire crowds, leading them to confess personal heresies and mutations, and to betray their neighbors as psykers or other deviants. He may also be employed to persuade certain people to give up information they might not confer with other people. Such is the job of a confessor. Father Christus also has basic guardsmen training and knows basic maneuvers and tactics on the battle field.

[Eisenhorn]

@Crazy Guy: That section is kind of a "How you see them operating in the retinue" kind of deal, although the link Grohtnor provided is certainly acceptable as well!

@Grothnor: Thats fine, and Revna is accepted

@Commian: Either the arco-flagellant or the Black shield is fine, Eversor's tend not to be able to function outside combat situations, being kept in stasis until needed.

@Dragonruby: Our voidborn friend Atellus is accepted

@mattmanganon: I'd be cool with either the Brides of Death or the Chaplain Tennik, so go with whomever you have more of a preference for.

@Pyro V: Interrogator Cassius is accepted, welcome to the retinue.

@Honored Brother: Welcome to the Retinue, Father Christus

@Everyone: Alright folks, we got quite the group up and running right quick, so beyond Commian, Crazyguy (If he wishes to participate), Mattmanganon, and one more person I'm expecting a character from, I'll be closing this off for now towards adding new people, since I don't want this to get too large. I'll be getting to work on an actual IC post when I'm working today, I'll also compile a list of Accepted characters in the first OOC post for ease of referencing characters. If people need to drop off, dissapear, or otherwise are forced to be unable to continue, then I'll open up slots, but for now, I think we got a good sized group for this.

[mattmanganon]

I changed my profile and went with the Brides of Death. we already have a spiritual advisor.

[Pyro V]

Character currently taken down due to history overhaul. When finished, tell me if you prefer it to the original, or if I should switch it back.

Character back up. Edited both history and equipment.

[Crazy Guy]

Alright, then. What does the group not have that could be interesting to fill in? Do we have healer/torturer/assassin-type character yet?

[Fallen Muse]

Name: Frika Stadheim

Gender: Female

Age: -Classified-

Appearance:


Equipment:
Inferno Digi Ring
Neural Shredder
C'tan Phase Sword
Poisoned Microblades
Polymorphine drugs
Stealth suit

Personality: One would expect an assassin of any sort to not be the most friendly, laid back sort of person, but Frika Stadheim is rather notable just because of this. She does not take well to what she considers frivolous wastes of time that don't involve preparation or execution of plans for the enemies of the Inquisitor, and by extension, the Imperium of Man. This unflinching, harsh, and strict outlook on her life and duty make her quite disciplined in the process however, this does not really endear her very much when it comes to team dynamics, which isn't normally a problem for assassins. She takes her job deathly serious, more so than others might, focused solely on the execution of her orders to the letter, and regardless of the complaints and suggestions of those working alongside her. But this strict discipline is useful and not a negative trait in her position, more often than not, so its often tolerated, at worst.

Her off duty persona is little different, often compared to just a stick in the mud, catching and dragging everyone else down into her serious, strict mire that is hard to escape easily, if at all. Focused training, changing her appearance via Polymorphine, meditation, study on battle orders, intelligence, and other such business aspects of her job are the sole things most find her undergoing, if they happen to stumble upon her at all. While she is prepared for any moment of a job coming up, more often than not, she is left to her devices, most people not fond of her solemn, apparently shallow outlook on life, even if this is hardly the case. Its, short and simple, that the life of wearing many faces when not amongst close allies, always assassinating and invading the lairs of the enemies of Man, leaves little time for such luxuries that others often enjoy, even those allied to her beyond a vague sense.

Position in Retinue: Assassin

Name: Anastasia Dona

Gender: Female

Age: -Classified-

Appearance:


Equipment:
Exitus Rifle
Exitus Pistol
Spy Mask
Stealth Suit
Rosarius Belt Buckle
Specialty Ammuntion for Exitus Rifle

Personality: As one would also expect of a sniper assassin of the Vindicare caliber, on the job, Anastasia is a highly focused, strict and to the letter member of any mission, alone or in support of others. Much like the Callidus assassin she is often compared to, she is an ice queen that rains death from on high, regardless of the defenses, distance, or difficulties such a task would put between her and her job. At a glance, one would think she was little different in mentality and personality than her fellow assassin, beyond the tools of the trade that each of them are equipped with to do their jobs, but this couldn't be farther from the truth, since unlike her fellow assassin, Anastasia has quite the different outlook and personality once the team is no longer on the battlefield.

Away goes the harsh, cold gaze, strict tone of voice and actions, and tense, focused movements and actions. Off duty, as it could be called, Anastasia is quite opposite of her on duty persona. More than comfortable cracking a smile or a joke with others of the team, she often times is far more approachable than one would consider such a lethal combination of death and grace, and she can often use this to her advantage to pull a fast one on others, pulling jokes and other such jests with other members of the group she happens to be traveling and working with at the time. This can be surprising, but when compared to other, far more solemn and unapproachable people in this line of work, she can be considered an Emperor sent gift, someone who actually has a sense of humor and can be worked with outside and during work, assuming one doesn't mind the harsh shift between the two.

Position in Retinue: Assassins

History: While the efforts of Vindicare Anastasia Dona and Callidus Frika Stadheim before crossing paths with Inquisitor Xersus are classified, its not hard to find information and figure out why they were assigned to his retinue, and why they have not been recalled yet. Veterans in both their fields, Anastasia and Frika were assigned to aid the Inquisitor Xersus upon his request, actual request and not order, for aid on a specialty mission that required unique talent from the Ordo Assassinorum, and since Xersus did not just bluster in, and demand their best, he actually got cooperative aid, since it aligned with their personal goals as well. At the time, Xersus was hunting a cabal of sorcerers hidden amongst the higher Nobles of a hiveworld, those that would have fled well before the Inquisitor could ever have gotten close, and required the special talent of the Callidus. At the same time, they were numerous enough that one Callidus, as lethal as she may be, would not be enough, so they also loaned him a Vindicare, a rare, but not impossible, situation that the Inquisitor found himself in.

While Xersus did not expect the generally likable nature of the Vindicare, his plan was set to be put in motion. Anastasia was on overwatch, while Frika had shifted into a maid that was disposed of prior to the mission, and sure enough it worked, Frika got close enough to eliminate the leader of the cabal, and corral the others in the right direction. While the Inquisition moved its forces in on all fronts, it was unnecessary in total. Between the vicious blade work of Frika, and the unwavering marksmanship of Anastasia, not one cabal member lasted the night. Xersus did not immediately inform the Officio Assassinorum of the mission success, although he did in time, the recall order for the two assassins never came. Xersus found this odd, but he did not question it too closely for now, choosing to allow the two to remain part of his personal Retinue, and serve as specialists in their individual fields.

Beyond this initial operation, the Vindicare and Callidus would prove more than worth their keep on numerous occassions. From carving down the forces of the Chaos daemons and worshippers, from afar and up close, to sniffing out new members of his task force and retinue, or those he was oft resorting to hunting down for various reasons, he made good use of the Polymorphine using Callidus to sniff out many potential recruits over the years, while the Vindicare made good use of her rifle and scope, picking off threats and keeping an eye on things the Callidus couldn't keep close to without blowing her cover, utilizing the two to spy and keep an eye on those around him, both untrusted and trusted, and they would often times be given orders to watch friends as well as foes, should the need arise. The Inquisitor trusted the two assassins as much as he was willing to trust most of the time, a rare honor to be sure, and one reserved for those who proved their worth. Whether this was earnest, or a hidden agenda by the Officio Assassinorum remains yet to be seen.

[Dragonruby]

Crazy Guy said
Alright, then. What does the group not have that could be interesting to fill in? Do we have healer/torturer/assassin-type character yet?

Well, we currently seem to be lacking either a healer or a technical expert. A tech priest could possibly fill the role of both if they specialized in implants or xenobiology, or something else along those lines. The group in general seems to be rather combat focused right now, and if I'd known everyone else would be going for such characters, i probably would have gone with someone who was in a more supportive role instead. Decision is up to you though.

[Crazy Guy]

Alrighty, then! One Simon/River Tam composite character coming right up after I get back from school.

Question: Is everyone in the retinue familiar with each other, or are they assembling under the Inquisitor for the first time?

[Mortarion]

Hmm, still accepting members? And if so, is the spot of Tech-priest/anything related to the Cult Mechanicus occupied?

[Pyro V]

@Mortarion

Eisenhorn said
I'll be closing this off for now towards adding new people, since I don't want this to get too large. If people need to drop off, disappear, or otherwise are forced to be unable to continue, then I'll open up slots, but for now, I think we got a good sized group for this.

I also believe Crazy Guy is going to make our Tech Priest, anyway.

[Mortarion]

Ah, I see. Thanks for telling me

[Fallen Muse]

@Mortarion don't feel like there is no chance though. People will drop I am sure so openings will be available as this progresses

[Eisenhorn]

@mattmanagon: The sistesr are approved, welcome to the retinue.

@Pyro V: The revamp is accepted also, just be warned, carrying a daemonblade is going to draw some close watch and suspicion from her peers.

@FallenMuse: Both the Vindicare and Callidus are accepted

@Crazy Guy: I figure its a mixture of new and old members, so I'll leave it to each person to decide whether they have had some time in the retinue or not.

@Mortarian: If an opening does crop up, I'll try and pass word along your way, if you want.

And now, allow me to introduce our Inquisitor, more of his background will become apparent as the story progresses.

Inquisitor Xersus

Name: Andros Xersus

Gender: Male

Age: 148

Appearance:


Equipment:
Artificer Armor: Expected to stand against the foulest minions of Chaos and defend the Imperium of Man against its gravest threat, both from within and without, Xersus has access to incredible resources, should he need them. One of his most reliable, and well used, pieces of equipment is his personal set of Artificer Armor, blessed and warded against the forces of Chaos. Rather than the ornate designs and colors that some of his fellow inquisitors favor, his armor is a gunmetal silver, lacking the sheen and decoration that other armors have. However, he oft pairs his armor with a crimson cloak attached to his armor, creating an imposing image, an armored figure, bearing lance and fury, to crush the machinations and plans of the Daemon and Heretic.

Mastercraft Force Sword: Unlike many of his fellow Malleus inquisitors, Xersus does not favor the Daemonhammer that many others do, finding the size unwieldy and impractical if he is operating without his armor. Instead he favors the reliable, and wide variety of maneuvers he can apply using his personal blade, a gift from his mentor when he attained the rank of Inquisitor many years ago. Deceptively light, even without armored assistance, Xersus could be considered a master of the sword, having spent almost his entire life fielding a blade of some sort or another, and this is only amplified when he pours his psyker powers into the blade, creating a force capable of rending targets far beyond the normal abilities of a sword into pieces, should it be necessary.

Mastercraft Storm Bolter: Mounted to his wrist, rather than held, this weapon is only seen when Xersus is in his power armor, providing a fair bit of ranged punch as the Inquisitor closes the gap, each round that the weapon fires Psybolt rounds that, while not as powerful as a Psycannon rounds themselves, are more than capable of utilizing the psyker prowess of its wielder to be charged, tearing apart shields, hostile psykers, and daemons. Due to the ammunition system that this weapon requires, it is only seen when the Inquisitor is wearing his power armor.

Inferno Pistol: An ancient pistol that his former mentor used, before disappearing, and left the weapon to his acolyte and now Inquisitor Xersus. A melta weapon compacted into pistol form, but retains the power of larger melta weapons, this particular pistol has banished its fair share of daemons and destroyed plenty of vehicles in its long lifespan, and has done plenty more damage in the hands of Xersus, all in the Emperor's name, of course.

Rosarius: An elegant device worn around his neck like a collar, the deceptively small emblem generates a powerful Conversion Field, capable of stopping a wide variety of attacks, including those from hostile psykers. Without his armor, this is dangerous enough, but coupled with his Artificer Armor, all pretense of subtly is gone, if something manages to overcome the shield, the Artificer Armor gives him a better chance to survive the, most likely, weakened attack long enough to get into cover from whatever happened to overcome the Conversion Field.

Personality: At a glance, one would not assume that Xersus was an Inquisitor, outside of his armor. He does not maintain that aura of power and position that others might favor, but nor does he simply fade from thought, like some shadow that one is never sure they ever actually saw. He holds himself with a quiet dignity that can be considered rare, and blends in far better than a hidden shadow that prompts some to seek, and a zealot the prompts others to hide. A soul that thirsts for more knowledge and effective ways to defeat the foes of Man, which might concern some, considering the depths of depravity one can find while seeking such things, but a analytical, cautious mind set keeps his thirst for knowledge in check when confronted with things that are far too dangerous to even consider using.

This does not mean he is merciful or kind towards those who have fallen so far into the Abyss they no longer serve the Emperor of Man. He watches those who walk the line between Puritan and Radical beliefs carefully, those who are considered Radical more so, though he is more tolerant of their methods than others, though he is more than wary of any treachery they might undertake, taking one too many steps into the darkness and turning on all of their fellows. It is from these brothers and sisters that have fallen so that he holds his cautious attitude towards the most, having seen more damage done by such extremists than could be justified beyond base lusts for bloodshed and power. He has no qualms about executing a radical, but only after evidence has shown they are, indeed, corrupted beyond their worth.

All this quiet cautiousness hides the warrior mentality that Xersus displays when put on the front line. The time for subtelty and subterfuge has effectively passed now, and the time for precise, well timed, and overwhelming force has come. Wielding over a hundred years of experience in the arts of war, from the sword to the pysker powers he demonstrates, he believes that, once a crack has been found in the enemies defenses, it must be struck with such overwhelming force that it will leave naught a speck of dust in the remains. He fears no foe, and while caution tempers his actions now, he strides forward when the time comes, no matter the situation, the air crackling with power, and he takes good practice in making his foes fear him more than anything before, for such blind fear can render them even more ineffective than they might have been already.

History: -Redacted-