As discussed on the discord, here is my WIP - so far most of it has been gone over by the GM, but just placing it here for everyone else to see.
Without further ado, the gender-flipped Fulgrim/aka Girlymarch, leader of the Space!Bretonnian Emperor's Children.
P.S: This will be updated over time and is nowhere near complete.
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Gender: Female
Homeworld: Engraila is the odd fusion of a Pleasure and feudalistic Knight World. Colonised long ago during the Age of Technology and chosen specifically for its intense natural beauty, the world quickly became a major hub of humanity during those golden years, so much so that the human governments of the time deemed it a worthy world to be defended by the mechanised Knight units of those days. Despite the world’s beauty and significance, or perhaps because of it - the system that held the world was hit hard by the warp storms that raged the galaxy. It was cut off, socially and technologically regressed and infiltrated and corrupted by the storms that isolated it.
While it regressed in many areas technological - the people of Engraila maintained possession of the ancient STC schematics that enabled the continued construction of Knights, and this would maintain civilisation throughout the chaos - and ensure a deeply feudal society like nearly every other ‘Knight World’ in the galaxy.
Millennia since, Engraila has maintained and grown societies and cultures steeped deeply in knightly, chivalric and romantic customs, complex family ties and oaths and odd anachronistic usage of technology, in particular, the Knight Errants of the many Noble Families and Holy Damsels of Engraila. The influences of the warp have also quietly done its work over the millennia - though unknown to all but the most aware of people - specifically, the people of Engraila hold a nigh universal obsession with the values of aesthetics and beauty in whatever form it may be. In architecture, in song or art, in human form, even in the art of war and the chivalric codes that spawned from it. An all-powerful sense of romanticism permeates throughout Engraila, unnatural even - so powerful that it has resisted rationalist and enlightenment philosophies that otherwise should have come to be by now. While perhaps the feudalism and chivalry of Engraila can be explained by the influence of the Knight’s Throne Mechanicum, its obsession with beauty is surely something deeper...
Due to influences of said culture of chivalry and romanticism, while war was quite common on Engraila prior to the arrival of The Emperor, it was nearly always a ritualistic and heavily regulated practice performed between Noble Houses, part-sport, part-duel, these are often absurdly militarised tourneys with far more flair for the theatrical than brutal necessity of modern warfare. War is just as likely to be a means of winning the hand of a fair maiden as it to be for resources, nationalism or political ideology, perhaps more even. The exception to this system of tourney-warfare are the events known as “The Falls” - simply speaking, suspiciously specific societal collapses and periods of anarchy that occurred right before Engraila achieved space flight or could gain contact with the outer world, and typically triggered by decadence or odd new age cults.
Appearance: Nimue is an inhumanly beautiful woman that is often claimed to be the most beautiful human in the galaxy, or so her Remembrancer likes to claim {and so should you!}. She is of silver hair and silver eyes, and despite standing at the Primarch height of 9 feet Nimue possesses a physique that greatly belies her powers, seeming to be more an immensely tall damsel or the subject of old Terran classical works- or even a fairy-tale princess. Few would immediately think of her as a star-traversing conqueror and warrior.
Alongside her beauty is a constant and immense psychic presence around her. It is often said that golden light softly shimmers and glows as an aura from her, flaring up as though a physical manifestation of emotion. animals flock to her and men enter trances upon sight of her. Her voice is said to bring men and women to tears of joy or sadness. Further enhancements also come from her particularly odd practice of making use of cosmetic products typically used by the ruling elite of Engraila, as well as decorative war paints when entering battle.
Prior to The Emperor’s arrival to Engraila, Nimue during her days as a ‘Goddess’ often clad herself not in armour but ceremonial dresses, intricate gold jewellery, translucent silk robes or even walked completely naked {I am certain though that her modesty was assured by the glowing psychic light, surely?}. In the uncommon event where she was forced to physical combat alongside the Knights of Engraila, she wore highly decorative and ceremonial armour designed more to enhance her appearance than for protection - depending more on her significant psychic powers and avoidance of melee combat to prevail {though I must clarify, that her involvement in Engraila’s Wars of the Last Fall surely proves that she too is a masterful combatant of the sword}.
Since her induction into her father The Emperor’s legions, she like the other Primarchs has taken on the practice of wearing full Adeptus armour – although she insisted on custom Artificer armour, Armour which would become what is now known as the “Damsels Flourish” - a lighter and more obviously feminine suit of Adamantine and Ceramite armour than what is typically permitted or expected for the Adeptus Astartes.
The armour was designed in such a manner to be more reminiscent to the Vratine Armour of the Emperor’s own Sisters of Silence than the actual Adeptus Astartes she led. Why a vaunted Primarch would require such a modification is unknown specifically - theories range from her fighting style requiring speed and flexibility to that of simple vanity {Surely you jest good sir! It is clearly noted in the aforementioned sections that she like all of Engraila’s people put great importance in the values of aesthetics}.
Portrait Appearance: {I as Nimue’s personal Remembrancer must note that even this is but a mere simulacrum of her true great beauty}:
Personality: Primarch Nimue is of eccentric character, to say the least. Shaped by her time on Engraila where she was raised amongst priestesses, aristocrats and knights to become a material incarnation of Engraila’s Goddess who she was named after, she now genuinely believes herself to be said divine entity, Nimue, The Engrailan Goddess of Beauty and Chivalry. Prior to her interaction with The Emperor and psykers, she and the people of Engraila attributed her immense psychic powers to divine or miraculous abilities, further proving her divinity.
Besides her self-referring religiosity, Nimue is known for her overbearing personality, vanity and colossal ego - even for a Primarch of The Emperor. So much so that her meeting with The Emperor would be carried out quite differently than for the other Primarchs. The Emperor came to her cloaked anonymously to test her in trials to prove that she was no goddess, and while he easily defeated her, rather than convince her of his truth, he merely drove her towards delusion and egomaniacal denial - perhaps the onset of what can only be considered something akin to delusional narcissism, at least in the view of the other Primarchs. Nimue regardless, stubbornly holds on still to her religious identity, one now comprising a cult of personality and a god complex that comes with it.
Nimue is generally rejected, or as is more often the case causing her own rejection, by most of her siblings. Her antisocial personality has made her a black sheep amongst many of the Primarchs, perhaps only associated by other excluded Primarchs or those too soft for their own good. She is furthermore considered one the most distant of The Emperor’s children to himself (though, fascinatingly is perhaps not the most ambivalent of his children), having barely interacted since their meeting, to the point that Nimue considers the Emperor an abstraction of a person, and instead continues to treat her mortal foster father, Sir Percival, as her parent. The Emperor himself has said little to nothing of his thoughts on Nimue, but it is often rumoured that The Emperor views Nimue alone as the "problem child" of his Primarchs.
That said however, she maintains a sense of affirmation and identity from her legionnaires who have mostly adopted her beliefs, or the many mortals of Engraila and worlds that she has conquered or aligned with herself - in the particular the grovelling aristocrats and sycophants that attach themselves to her coattails. It is as such notable that while Nimue may be highly alienated from those who would be her peers, she has maintained perhaps surprisingly strong personal relations with her underlings, minions and sycophantic admirers {who on Holy Terra wrote this blasphemous part!? The previous Remembrancer who wrote this section has to be dealt with}.
While her religious beliefs are built around a form of narcissistic self-absorption and sustained god-complex, she does possess genuine spiritual beliefs and adherence to the virtues and lessons of the religion she would be named the Goddess of. Raised to embody chivalric values such as courage, magnanimity and valour, to be an exemplar of beauty and purity, both spiritual and material, and to stand in defence of the traditions and duties that guide all Knight Worlds. On top of this, she takes her duties as a goddess-figure seriously, and often presents herself before mortals as an infallible and immaculate, otherworldly being - thus creating a dual image of her, as an idol of virtue to mortals looking to her from below - and yet often a petty, selfish and vain character to those who are actually in the know - in particular her fellow Primarchs. {Again! I swear... We will have to have these parts redone}
Beyond religious ideals, Nimue also has carried on many of Engraila’s cultural values and her own aesthetic sensibilities and obsession with beauty. Highly ritualistic and artistic, Nimue often cares more for style than substance and will at times obstruct other Imperial forces simply to ensure a more glorious or romantic battle... Like any high-born Engralian [or in this case, the highest-born Engralian], Nimue is a lover of all things artistic and aesthetic. When not waging war or knighting questors, she is painting, composing, designing, writing or refining anything and everything beautiful, or ensuring its patronage from others. Due to this, Nimue has been known to at times avoid destroying certain buildings or works of arts during campaigns.
Nimue on the matter of civilians has at times ordered or even personally acted in a manner that can be considered an effort to protect civilian life, however this has often been selective, terribly elitist and at times whimsical. Examples range from deciding to spare a world’s aristocrats because they had good dress sensibilities yet on the very same world rolling over a nearby cottage because it was ‘a horrid abomination’, despite the battle having already ended in the region days ago. While this arbitrariness would seem absurd to the more humanistic or rational legions, to Nimue and her followers - it is a perfectly reasonable decision to make, and certainly more than what they would have got had they been delivered by a far less magnanimous conqueror. The few times she has been moved to actually commit to more genuine humanistic endeavours (usually at the behest of one such as Sekh), it has been appealing to ‘godly obligations’ rather than actual compassion.
Finally, in the matter of Xenos, while mostly unaware of alien life until The Emperor came, Nimue has since been in general accord with what she imagines to be The Emperor's designs and will for the Xenos scum. While she may completely reject the Imperial Truth’s secular foundations, she does find agreement with him in its human supremacy and rejection of the xeno. To her, the holy human form is beauty in its purest form, and the xeno, in its infinitely numerous but ugly forms is either a vile desecration in the case of most xenos, or a degenerate aberration of it (as with the Aeldari). As such, the Xenos are a direct affront to her aesthetics and notions of purity, and so she is more than willing to exterminate them. Nimue believes that the galaxy must be made a pure garden for humanity alone, for it is humanity alone that has a place in a design as perfect and beautiful as the Imperium of Man. For this reason, Nimue rejects in its entirety the Edicts of Tolerance {or as I remember most humorously, she calls the 'Nattering's of Micholi'), and personally blames the Primarch Micholi of the Night Watch for manipulating The Emperor.
Skill:
Wargear:
Assignment Grade: Alpha, leaning towards Alpha+ (Nimue possesses extraordinary psyker powers that have been developed from both incredible capacity and a lifetime of extensive use for both petty and grand acts of psychic power, as her role as the "Goddess-Incarnate" of Engraila. Even though Nimue herself somewhat misunderstands the true nature of her psyker powers as she still clings to her view as herself as a physical incarnation of a goddess and so possessing miraculous divine powers, this has not stopped her powers development across the spectrum of telepathic, telekinetic, biomancy, divination and so on. Nimue in particular has shown very extensive strengths in the influencing of others minds as well as distorting the senses of mortals - which she extensively used in her role as Goddess). While immensely powerful because of her psyker powers - there does come a flaw of sorts, one that Nimue herself tends to ignore or overlook - that being she has a tendency towards relying on her Psyker powers and even being somewhat conceitedly avoidant or even lazy when it comes to actual 'gritty' to the metal physical combat. While she can and is certainly excellent at (highly mobile) melee combat, her arrogance and laziness in this regard tends to lead to oversights.
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Warcry:
Kneel!
You shall bow!
Glory, Glory, for Nimue and the Emperor!
Legion Number: VII
Legion Strength:
75,000 Astartes
Imperial Army Contingents (The Celestial Inheritors often make use of IA, typically in supporting roles to fill in following successful armoured spearhead assaults. The CI also make use of private militias of all-aristocratic regiments aligned directly with the VII)
Imperial Knights (Drawing from both Engraila’s own Houses such as Houses Arcadia, Pendragon and House Elan - as well as mixed in Knights from other Knight Worlds associated with Nimue, notably House Devine)
Armour Appearance:
An Astarte of the VII Legion in embellished and customised Mark IV Armour. Reds, maroon and pinks with a base of dull grey and bronze are the colours of the Celestial Inheritors, and they often make use of romantic symbols such as roses and the fleur-de-leis. Capes are also common, such as seen here.
Their legion as such prefers swift, fast-paced assaults focused on either ‘heavy cavalry’ (armour) breaking the enemy lines while supporting jetbike riders and mechanised infantry armed with either melee or anti-tank weapons ride down or disable enemy armour in the process. As such, in general the Celestial Inheritors are a combination of Armour Superiority, Melee-specialised mechanised infantry as well as anti-armour units. To bind this together, like other similar armoured spearhead-based Legions, the legion makes use of large quantities of Imperial Army fodder to then fill in gaps, follow up successful spearhead attacks and to hold ground taken by the legion. As an extension of their spearhead strategic outlook, the Celestial Inheritors are renown for various encirclement and blitzkrieg type mobility tactics, and in general prefer annihilation over attrition.
The Celestial Inheritors are also well known as an ‘integration’ legion, which like other fellow Legions such as the Night Watch (which, the Celestial Inheritors act as a kind of dark shadow counterpart to, in this regard) prefers making good use of combined arms and integrated units of non-astarte forces, such as the general Imperial Army, their own private militias, and, in particular, the Imperial Knights whom the Celestial Inheritors have a very close relationship with due to their own Knight World origins and Primarch Nimue’s efforts at networking with other such worlds and their houses. The Celestial Inheritors are well known for using larger numbers of Imperial Knights in their cavalry formations than most, and perhaps all, other astarte legions.
The Celestial Inheritors are particularly well known for their Cavalier Marine Squadrons, being knight-like astartes riding upon Jetbikes and armed with power lances and stormshields or a combination of other melee and ranged weapons. They are extremely swift melee 'infantry' designed like medieval shock cavalry, tasked with running down swarms of unprotected infantry or surrounding and disabling armour via careful strikes from their lances or, grenades or other carried on AT-weapons.
The Legion is also well known for their relatively unique "Damsels", battlefield priestesses and chaplains that during battle inspire troops, though who's actual purpose tends to be revolved around maintaining 'purity' and spiritual cleanliness - usually in the sense of unironically enforcing aesthetic and beauty standards on not just the legion but even their IA cohorts. Damsels are often also fused with the role of Librarian, with the Enchantress-Damsel being the official title for such a psyker-capable Astarte in the VII Legion. Damsels also often as some of the more prolific artisans of the Legion, and, as odd as it seems, act almost as a sort of PR branch for the Legion, often acting as intermediaries between the Primarch Nimue and her various aristocratic non-astarte allies, rogue-traders, planetary governors and even propaganda and marketing efforts to appeal to the common people (in particular of newly conquered worlds).
Nimue's honour-guard are known as the Chevalier-Maiden Guard.
It should be to no one's surprise that most of the Seventh Legion's recruits are taken either from Engraila, the Legion's homeworld, or from a network of Knight, Feudal and some Civilized worlds that are in some way associated with Nimue. These recruits are overwhelming selected from the aristocratic upper-class of these worlds, though occasionally clerics are also chosen. While Nimue's Legion generally selects based on the criteria of stamina, durability, strength or other such feats of competence, the legion is also renown for its tendency towards another criteria of beauty, a criteria that while ensures that most of the legion possesses the physical sensibilities of their Primarch, significantly obstructs efficient recruitment... for beauty is hardly a characteristic intrinsic to the purpose or success of a potential Astarte. Due to this self-limiting recruitment process, the Celestial Inheritors are not a particularly large legion, and even at their greatest number have never exceeded 80,000 marines. This criteria of beauty continues onwards after recruitment too, for while officially the Legion designates its promotion and ranking based on the typical areas of skill, experience, loyalty or overall ability - a less official aesthetic standard exists that judges marines on such things as how closely they took on the features of the geneseed to certain physical features, to their adherence to the arts... ensuring that to reach the higher ranks of the VII, Astartes must either submerge themselves in the aesthetic culture, or otherwise be very physically gifted from the onset.
While the obsession with beauty and aesthetics remains a constant influence on the legion, Engraila's other traditions also shines through with the legion. Chivalric principles and practices are common - knighting ceremonies, personal quests as final initiation from squire (Marine scout) to full fledged Astarte, honourable duels and personal oaths of service from master to servant even within the legion. Nimue expects her daughters to be as engaged in the arts as she is. Beyond merely warriors, they should be painters, sculptures, musicians, architects, even models or singers. It is considered a rare and extremely sort after commodity for a regular imperial citizen to acquire the artistic works of the sixth legion, and nothing can be as quite a odd (and perhaps, though left unsaid, comical) as seeing a full fledged Astarte actually dancing.
The Seventh Legion is, to the dismay of armour-workers and forgeworlds everywhere, very keen on the practice of embellishing and altering their armour for aesthetic purposes well beyond the notions of practicality. Upon receiving their mark II or mark IV armour, Astartes of the Celestial Inheritors are well known for commissioning (bullying) manufacturers into providing them personalised alterations to the armour. These modifications can range from simple additions of paraphernalia such as rose carvings, laurels and so on to relatively significant structural alterations, such as a full 'feminisation' of the breastplate to the addition of artificial wings. All the modifications serve no real utilitarian purpose however it certainly has made the VII Legion memorable to remembrances, common citizens and IA and of course the enemies of mankind.
Without further ado, the gender-flipped Fulgrim/aka Girlymarch, leader of the Space!Bretonnian Emperor's Children.
P.S: This will be updated over time and is nowhere near complete.
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Nimue Arcadia
Nimue, The Goddess Nimue, The Lady of the Lake, The Damsel, The Starchild, The Enchantress of EngrailaGender: Female
Homeworld: Engraila is the odd fusion of a Pleasure and feudalistic Knight World. Colonised long ago during the Age of Technology and chosen specifically for its intense natural beauty, the world quickly became a major hub of humanity during those golden years, so much so that the human governments of the time deemed it a worthy world to be defended by the mechanised Knight units of those days. Despite the world’s beauty and significance, or perhaps because of it - the system that held the world was hit hard by the warp storms that raged the galaxy. It was cut off, socially and technologically regressed and infiltrated and corrupted by the storms that isolated it.
While it regressed in many areas technological - the people of Engraila maintained possession of the ancient STC schematics that enabled the continued construction of Knights, and this would maintain civilisation throughout the chaos - and ensure a deeply feudal society like nearly every other ‘Knight World’ in the galaxy.
Millennia since, Engraila has maintained and grown societies and cultures steeped deeply in knightly, chivalric and romantic customs, complex family ties and oaths and odd anachronistic usage of technology, in particular, the Knight Errants of the many Noble Families and Holy Damsels of Engraila. The influences of the warp have also quietly done its work over the millennia - though unknown to all but the most aware of people - specifically, the people of Engraila hold a nigh universal obsession with the values of aesthetics and beauty in whatever form it may be. In architecture, in song or art, in human form, even in the art of war and the chivalric codes that spawned from it. An all-powerful sense of romanticism permeates throughout Engraila, unnatural even - so powerful that it has resisted rationalist and enlightenment philosophies that otherwise should have come to be by now. While perhaps the feudalism and chivalry of Engraila can be explained by the influence of the Knight’s Throne Mechanicum, its obsession with beauty is surely something deeper...
Due to influences of said culture of chivalry and romanticism, while war was quite common on Engraila prior to the arrival of The Emperor, it was nearly always a ritualistic and heavily regulated practice performed between Noble Houses, part-sport, part-duel, these are often absurdly militarised tourneys with far more flair for the theatrical than brutal necessity of modern warfare. War is just as likely to be a means of winning the hand of a fair maiden as it to be for resources, nationalism or political ideology, perhaps more even. The exception to this system of tourney-warfare are the events known as “The Falls” - simply speaking, suspiciously specific societal collapses and periods of anarchy that occurred right before Engraila achieved space flight or could gain contact with the outer world, and typically triggered by decadence or odd new age cults.
Appearance: Nimue is an inhumanly beautiful woman that is often claimed to be the most beautiful human in the galaxy, or so her Remembrancer likes to claim {and so should you!}. She is of silver hair and silver eyes, and despite standing at the Primarch height of 9 feet Nimue possesses a physique that greatly belies her powers, seeming to be more an immensely tall damsel or the subject of old Terran classical works- or even a fairy-tale princess. Few would immediately think of her as a star-traversing conqueror and warrior.
Alongside her beauty is a constant and immense psychic presence around her. It is often said that golden light softly shimmers and glows as an aura from her, flaring up as though a physical manifestation of emotion. animals flock to her and men enter trances upon sight of her. Her voice is said to bring men and women to tears of joy or sadness. Further enhancements also come from her particularly odd practice of making use of cosmetic products typically used by the ruling elite of Engraila, as well as decorative war paints when entering battle.
Prior to The Emperor’s arrival to Engraila, Nimue during her days as a ‘Goddess’ often clad herself not in armour but ceremonial dresses, intricate gold jewellery, translucent silk robes or even walked completely naked {I am certain though that her modesty was assured by the glowing psychic light, surely?}. In the uncommon event where she was forced to physical combat alongside the Knights of Engraila, she wore highly decorative and ceremonial armour designed more to enhance her appearance than for protection - depending more on her significant psychic powers and avoidance of melee combat to prevail {though I must clarify, that her involvement in Engraila’s Wars of the Last Fall surely proves that she too is a masterful combatant of the sword}.
Since her induction into her father The Emperor’s legions, she like the other Primarchs has taken on the practice of wearing full Adeptus armour – although she insisted on custom Artificer armour, Armour which would become what is now known as the “Damsels Flourish” - a lighter and more obviously feminine suit of Adamantine and Ceramite armour than what is typically permitted or expected for the Adeptus Astartes.
The armour was designed in such a manner to be more reminiscent to the Vratine Armour of the Emperor’s own Sisters of Silence than the actual Adeptus Astartes she led. Why a vaunted Primarch would require such a modification is unknown specifically - theories range from her fighting style requiring speed and flexibility to that of simple vanity {Surely you jest good sir! It is clearly noted in the aforementioned sections that she like all of Engraila’s people put great importance in the values of aesthetics}.
Portrait Appearance: {I as Nimue’s personal Remembrancer must note that even this is but a mere simulacrum of her true great beauty}:
Personality: Primarch Nimue is of eccentric character, to say the least. Shaped by her time on Engraila where she was raised amongst priestesses, aristocrats and knights to become a material incarnation of Engraila’s Goddess who she was named after, she now genuinely believes herself to be said divine entity, Nimue, The Engrailan Goddess of Beauty and Chivalry. Prior to her interaction with The Emperor and psykers, she and the people of Engraila attributed her immense psychic powers to divine or miraculous abilities, further proving her divinity.
Besides her self-referring religiosity, Nimue is known for her overbearing personality, vanity and colossal ego - even for a Primarch of The Emperor. So much so that her meeting with The Emperor would be carried out quite differently than for the other Primarchs. The Emperor came to her cloaked anonymously to test her in trials to prove that she was no goddess, and while he easily defeated her, rather than convince her of his truth, he merely drove her towards delusion and egomaniacal denial - perhaps the onset of what can only be considered something akin to delusional narcissism, at least in the view of the other Primarchs. Nimue regardless, stubbornly holds on still to her religious identity, one now comprising a cult of personality and a god complex that comes with it.
Nimue is generally rejected, or as is more often the case causing her own rejection, by most of her siblings. Her antisocial personality has made her a black sheep amongst many of the Primarchs, perhaps only associated by other excluded Primarchs or those too soft for their own good. She is furthermore considered one the most distant of The Emperor’s children to himself (though, fascinatingly is perhaps not the most ambivalent of his children), having barely interacted since their meeting, to the point that Nimue considers the Emperor an abstraction of a person, and instead continues to treat her mortal foster father, Sir Percival, as her parent. The Emperor himself has said little to nothing of his thoughts on Nimue, but it is often rumoured that The Emperor views Nimue alone as the "problem child" of his Primarchs.
That said however, she maintains a sense of affirmation and identity from her legionnaires who have mostly adopted her beliefs, or the many mortals of Engraila and worlds that she has conquered or aligned with herself - in the particular the grovelling aristocrats and sycophants that attach themselves to her coattails. It is as such notable that while Nimue may be highly alienated from those who would be her peers, she has maintained perhaps surprisingly strong personal relations with her underlings, minions and sycophantic admirers {who on Holy Terra wrote this blasphemous part!? The previous Remembrancer who wrote this section has to be dealt with}.
While her religious beliefs are built around a form of narcissistic self-absorption and sustained god-complex, she does possess genuine spiritual beliefs and adherence to the virtues and lessons of the religion she would be named the Goddess of. Raised to embody chivalric values such as courage, magnanimity and valour, to be an exemplar of beauty and purity, both spiritual and material, and to stand in defence of the traditions and duties that guide all Knight Worlds. On top of this, she takes her duties as a goddess-figure seriously, and often presents herself before mortals as an infallible and immaculate, otherworldly being - thus creating a dual image of her, as an idol of virtue to mortals looking to her from below - and yet often a petty, selfish and vain character to those who are actually in the know - in particular her fellow Primarchs. {Again! I swear... We will have to have these parts redone}
Beyond religious ideals, Nimue also has carried on many of Engraila’s cultural values and her own aesthetic sensibilities and obsession with beauty. Highly ritualistic and artistic, Nimue often cares more for style than substance and will at times obstruct other Imperial forces simply to ensure a more glorious or romantic battle... Like any high-born Engralian [or in this case, the highest-born Engralian], Nimue is a lover of all things artistic and aesthetic. When not waging war or knighting questors, she is painting, composing, designing, writing or refining anything and everything beautiful, or ensuring its patronage from others. Due to this, Nimue has been known to at times avoid destroying certain buildings or works of arts during campaigns.
Nimue on the matter of civilians has at times ordered or even personally acted in a manner that can be considered an effort to protect civilian life, however this has often been selective, terribly elitist and at times whimsical. Examples range from deciding to spare a world’s aristocrats because they had good dress sensibilities yet on the very same world rolling over a nearby cottage because it was ‘a horrid abomination’, despite the battle having already ended in the region days ago. While this arbitrariness would seem absurd to the more humanistic or rational legions, to Nimue and her followers - it is a perfectly reasonable decision to make, and certainly more than what they would have got had they been delivered by a far less magnanimous conqueror. The few times she has been moved to actually commit to more genuine humanistic endeavours (usually at the behest of one such as Sekh), it has been appealing to ‘godly obligations’ rather than actual compassion.
Finally, in the matter of Xenos, while mostly unaware of alien life until The Emperor came, Nimue has since been in general accord with what she imagines to be The Emperor's designs and will for the Xenos scum. While she may completely reject the Imperial Truth’s secular foundations, she does find agreement with him in its human supremacy and rejection of the xeno. To her, the holy human form is beauty in its purest form, and the xeno, in its infinitely numerous but ugly forms is either a vile desecration in the case of most xenos, or a degenerate aberration of it (as with the Aeldari). As such, the Xenos are a direct affront to her aesthetics and notions of purity, and so she is more than willing to exterminate them. Nimue believes that the galaxy must be made a pure garden for humanity alone, for it is humanity alone that has a place in a design as perfect and beautiful as the Imperium of Man. For this reason, Nimue rejects in its entirety the Edicts of Tolerance {or as I remember most humorously, she calls the 'Nattering's of Micholi'), and personally blames the Primarch Micholi of the Night Watch for manipulating The Emperor.
Skill:
- Psyker: (See Psyker Assignment)
- Agility: Nimue while preferring to blast her opponents with her considerable psyker powers, in close combat typically makes use of her slighter than usual frame and lighter armour relative to other Space Marines to enhance her speed and nimbleness, avoiding and dancing around blows. This particularly makes Nimue an effective melee combatant in difficult environments - uneven terrain, urban battlefields, jungles and so on. Her agility also enables her the ability to more easily chase down retreating opponents, as well as retreat herself.
- Charisma: Nimue possesses substantial skill and natural aptitude towards the persuasive arts, having been a world leader and religious figure of her homeworld - she is exceptionally skilled in both inspiring fervour in her soldiers and supporters as well as more personally enticing worship, devotion and even love from others. Despite this, Nimue at times has also inspired intense dislike in others - and as such her charisma can often be considered polarising to those who do not share her beliefs or passions.
- Theology: While not particularly useful in conquest or the politics of an empire built around state atheism, Nimue is well versed in the theories and practices of religion - in particular, her own. This may become useful if she ever interacts with others with organized religious beliefs.
- Politics: Nimue is relatively well versed in the methods of dynastic and feudal politics and is personally well acquainted with many noble families - and in fact is an adopted member of one of her homeworld Engraila’s most powerful Noble Houses. While seemingly blunt and at times honest to an obnoxiously offensive extent to some of her siblings, her haughty directness hides a cunning side that often catches those unaware of this side of her off guard.
- Delegation: A particularly odd skill for a Primarch to possess, but surprisingly useful - Nimue is very talented at finding talent, binding it to her through her charisma and then maximising it from others, generally with the intention of filling in for her weaknesses. Beyond her own superhuman abilities, Nimue finds and employs some of the greatest mortal minds in the galaxy in her retinue of specialists: Logisticians, academics, economists, Imperial Army tacticians and strategists, linguists, geologists - whatever she can find to give her an edge. {I will also add that Her Holy Eminence is a great patron of the arts and the Remembrancers, with many of us having built our careers on Her personal patronage of our works}
- Art: {her artistic abilities are surely above and beyond any Remembrancer in the galaxy!}
Wargear:
- The Damsel’s Flourish (Artificer Armour designed to be reminiscent of Primarch Nimue’s homeworld armour)
- Power Halberd with Volkite Serpentas integrated into the weapon.
- Power Sword (Rapier) and Volkite Serpentas pistol as alternative weapons.
- Hengroen (A customized dais-like Land Speeder Vengeance, built as both a super-heavy yet highly mobile weapons platform and personal 'chariot' and throne of Primarch Nimue)
Assignment Grade: Alpha, leaning towards Alpha+ (Nimue possesses extraordinary psyker powers that have been developed from both incredible capacity and a lifetime of extensive use for both petty and grand acts of psychic power, as her role as the "Goddess-Incarnate" of Engraila. Even though Nimue herself somewhat misunderstands the true nature of her psyker powers as she still clings to her view as herself as a physical incarnation of a goddess and so possessing miraculous divine powers, this has not stopped her powers development across the spectrum of telepathic, telekinetic, biomancy, divination and so on. Nimue in particular has shown very extensive strengths in the influencing of others minds as well as distorting the senses of mortals - which she extensively used in her role as Goddess). While immensely powerful because of her psyker powers - there does come a flaw of sorts, one that Nimue herself tends to ignore or overlook - that being she has a tendency towards relying on her Psyker powers and even being somewhat conceitedly avoidant or even lazy when it comes to actual 'gritty' to the metal physical combat. While she can and is certainly excellent at (highly mobile) melee combat, her arrogance and laziness in this regard tends to lead to oversights.
Biography:
The Discovery by the Fisher King
When Nimue’s capsule pod crash-landed on the world of Engraila, it crashed in the suitably named Lake of Miracles, then simply known as Lake Corbenic. Powerless as an infant in a pod submerged by water, Nimue’s escape from the bottom of the holy lake was only because a single, and mortal man was fishing that early morning. The man heard and felt the crash of water but knew not what or where the disturbance had come - he would have left, figuring the disturbance to have been an attack of another monstrous beast of Engraila, but then the magic came.
All forms of magic spewed forth from lake Corbenic that morning. The water glowed; sprites of gold light buzzed around the watery surface like dragonflies. The water became restless, flowing and waving as if in a storm. From the golden sprites, ghostly shapes formed amongst them, misshapen attempts to form what appeared to be a babe made of golden light, or a child, or animal figures - as well as what appeared to be jumbled attempts at symbols and objects.
Next came the voices. Or what the man, years later, said were voices. In truth, no actual words were spoken, but rather pure intent and needs, emotions and directives, as well as more jumbled and nonsensical noises, as if attempts to speak. The intent that appeared within the man’s mind, however, was clear - release me it said.
The man rowed his small boat back to the shore as quickly as he could. Usually, he would have terrible dreams and hear the voices of past fallen comrades, but this time he knew this to be different. This was not the delusions of his traumatised mind, but something… magical, pure even.
The fishing village by the shore was wakened by the magical phenomena just as the fisher had, men, women and children gathering by the shoreline or peeking out of windows to watch as Lake Corbenic went wild with impossible magic. The fisher landed his craft, and desperately tried to lift his broken legs over the edge of the boat. Villagers frantically rushed to him asking what he had seen, or even what he had done. Some in amazement, or fear, or in accusatory fashion. Driven by a singular purpose and a fervour he had not felt since the wars he once fought, he ignored them, only demanding them to aid him. Afraid to stand in the way in such a determined man, a man who they once knew as a dejected cripple of an ex-knight, they agreed to aid him.
The crippled fisherman was brought to an ancient warehouse behind his home, mixed amongst the villager’s old and mostly abandoned factories. Within stood hunched, aged and dust-covered was a Knight Errant. The mechanical steed of the fisherman long ago, it had stood idle for many years, its Machina Anima within refusing to fuse with him following the wars they once fought in. It stood idle no more - when the Animus saw why the Fishermen had once again fused with it through the Throne Mechanicum, it came alive immediately, smashing through the roof and side of the warehouse to leap into the lake.
Wielding its Thunderstrike Gauntlet, the Knight Errant frantically searched through the waters of the lake for the source of the voices and magic - finally grasping the sunken capsule and lifting it out of the lake. The capsule was shimmering and glowing, pulsating magic from it. Once carried back to the village, the magic across the lake went silent, and the glowing capsule dimmed. It opened the moment the fisherman’s Knight Errant placed the capsule on the ground, revealing an infant - a human babe all witnessing were certain was the source of the miracles they had experienced.
A different certainty passed over the crippled fisherman-knight within his warmachine. Still guided by the voice - he had found a new purpose. A new quest - possibly the most significant quest in all the world’s history. This was how Sir Percival the Fisher King would become the warden and surrogate father unknowingly for a Primarch of the God Emperor of Mankind.
When Nimue’s capsule pod crash-landed on the world of Engraila, it crashed in the suitably named Lake of Miracles, then simply known as Lake Corbenic. Powerless as an infant in a pod submerged by water, Nimue’s escape from the bottom of the holy lake was only because a single, and mortal man was fishing that early morning. The man heard and felt the crash of water but knew not what or where the disturbance had come - he would have left, figuring the disturbance to have been an attack of another monstrous beast of Engraila, but then the magic came.
All forms of magic spewed forth from lake Corbenic that morning. The water glowed; sprites of gold light buzzed around the watery surface like dragonflies. The water became restless, flowing and waving as if in a storm. From the golden sprites, ghostly shapes formed amongst them, misshapen attempts to form what appeared to be a babe made of golden light, or a child, or animal figures - as well as what appeared to be jumbled attempts at symbols and objects.
Next came the voices. Or what the man, years later, said were voices. In truth, no actual words were spoken, but rather pure intent and needs, emotions and directives, as well as more jumbled and nonsensical noises, as if attempts to speak. The intent that appeared within the man’s mind, however, was clear - release me it said.
The man rowed his small boat back to the shore as quickly as he could. Usually, he would have terrible dreams and hear the voices of past fallen comrades, but this time he knew this to be different. This was not the delusions of his traumatised mind, but something… magical, pure even.
The fishing village by the shore was wakened by the magical phenomena just as the fisher had, men, women and children gathering by the shoreline or peeking out of windows to watch as Lake Corbenic went wild with impossible magic. The fisher landed his craft, and desperately tried to lift his broken legs over the edge of the boat. Villagers frantically rushed to him asking what he had seen, or even what he had done. Some in amazement, or fear, or in accusatory fashion. Driven by a singular purpose and a fervour he had not felt since the wars he once fought, he ignored them, only demanding them to aid him. Afraid to stand in the way in such a determined man, a man who they once knew as a dejected cripple of an ex-knight, they agreed to aid him.
The crippled fisherman was brought to an ancient warehouse behind his home, mixed amongst the villager’s old and mostly abandoned factories. Within stood hunched, aged and dust-covered was a Knight Errant. The mechanical steed of the fisherman long ago, it had stood idle for many years, its Machina Anima within refusing to fuse with him following the wars they once fought in. It stood idle no more - when the Animus saw why the Fishermen had once again fused with it through the Throne Mechanicum, it came alive immediately, smashing through the roof and side of the warehouse to leap into the lake.
Wielding its Thunderstrike Gauntlet, the Knight Errant frantically searched through the waters of the lake for the source of the voices and magic - finally grasping the sunken capsule and lifting it out of the lake. The capsule was shimmering and glowing, pulsating magic from it. Once carried back to the village, the magic across the lake went silent, and the glowing capsule dimmed. It opened the moment the fisherman’s Knight Errant placed the capsule on the ground, revealing an infant - a human babe all witnessing were certain was the source of the miracles they had experienced.
A different certainty passed over the crippled fisherman-knight within his warmachine. Still guided by the voice - he had found a new purpose. A new quest - possibly the most significant quest in all the world’s history. This was how Sir Percival the Fisher King would become the warden and surrogate father unknowingly for a Primarch of the God Emperor of Mankind.
The Miracles of Nimue
Following the miraculous discovery and demonstration of power of the child who fell from the stars, a child they would soon dub ‘The Starchild’, rumours soon spread out from the village-by-Corbenic. The word was spread by jubilant peddlers, by word-of-mouth of cousins of cousins, and even by telegraph once word spread to the more technologically advanced towns.
Hundreds from neighbouring villages and cottages came to bear witness to the rumoured ‘Starchild’. Stories continued to spread as the child performed further miracles - often displays of immense power to communicate the simple desires of a barely aware infant. Eventually, the Holy Damsels were forced to take notice when the tales and rumours spread across the entire nation of Loe-lydaw - one of the great nations of Engraila, as well as beyond. Even those within aristocratic halls of the great Knight Houses and dignitaries of foreign nations across the world had since heard the tales.
When the Damsels of a nearby Temple accompanied by squires and scribes approached the village-by-Corbenic, Ser Percival presented the infant Starchild to them, knowing that if he attempted to hide her or obstruct them, they would certainly return with force. The lead Damsel, her Grace the Lady Charlotte de Luc was merely touched by the infant, and as had occurred to the villagers and Percival, so too was the Damsel entranced by the Starchild’s powers.
Overwhelmed by what could only be described as a transcendental experience, the Damsel returned to awareness an entire hour later - and only then spoke. She named the Starchild as Nimue, convinced that this child was in fact the Goddess Nimue in the flesh, the supreme deity of much of Engraila’s peoples, declaring that the goddess of beauty and chivalry had manifested herself before her people to deliver them from a future catastrophe and lead them towards Avalon, the Paradise beyond.
Hysteria, religious jubilation and calls for both unity and revolution would shake the societal fabric of Engraila for decades to come from this single declaration. Hundreds of visiting villagers become millions, calls of heresy and schisms would soon follow - all before the newly dubbed Nimue could even speak.
Following the miraculous discovery and demonstration of power of the child who fell from the stars, a child they would soon dub ‘The Starchild’, rumours soon spread out from the village-by-Corbenic. The word was spread by jubilant peddlers, by word-of-mouth of cousins of cousins, and even by telegraph once word spread to the more technologically advanced towns.
Hundreds from neighbouring villages and cottages came to bear witness to the rumoured ‘Starchild’. Stories continued to spread as the child performed further miracles - often displays of immense power to communicate the simple desires of a barely aware infant. Eventually, the Holy Damsels were forced to take notice when the tales and rumours spread across the entire nation of Loe-lydaw - one of the great nations of Engraila, as well as beyond. Even those within aristocratic halls of the great Knight Houses and dignitaries of foreign nations across the world had since heard the tales.
When the Damsels of a nearby Temple accompanied by squires and scribes approached the village-by-Corbenic, Ser Percival presented the infant Starchild to them, knowing that if he attempted to hide her or obstruct them, they would certainly return with force. The lead Damsel, her Grace the Lady Charlotte de Luc was merely touched by the infant, and as had occurred to the villagers and Percival, so too was the Damsel entranced by the Starchild’s powers.
Overwhelmed by what could only be described as a transcendental experience, the Damsel returned to awareness an entire hour later - and only then spoke. She named the Starchild as Nimue, convinced that this child was in fact the Goddess Nimue in the flesh, the supreme deity of much of Engraila’s peoples, declaring that the goddess of beauty and chivalry had manifested herself before her people to deliver them from a future catastrophe and lead them towards Avalon, the Paradise beyond.
Hysteria, religious jubilation and calls for both unity and revolution would shake the societal fabric of Engraila for decades to come from this single declaration. Hundreds of visiting villagers become millions, calls of heresy and schisms would soon follow - all before the newly dubbed Nimue could even speak.
Goddess Amongst Mere Mortals
While Nimue would age slower than the average Primarch, she would still age considerably faster than any normal human. At a mere single year of age, The Goddess Nimue could already speak, talk and even write, and appeared as a toddler of three or four. Her growth was faster than any normal human that Sir Percival, the Damsels or Doctors they had sent to inspect her had ever witnessed, further proving to all her divine nature.
The leaders of Engraila, knowing full well the extent of this rapidly ageing child-goddess’s influence on the world, soon turned to a tug-of-war over influencing and controlling her. It was this struggle that led to Nimue, as well as her guardian Sir Percival, to be summoned to the Rose City, a holy city devoted to the Goddess Nimue so that the child-goddess may be educated by the Damsels who presided of the Goddess’ faith. Then she was to be summoned to the aristocratic courts of Greater Loe-lydaw so she may be reared in proper etiquette and amongst those of rightful birth. Then to the Knightly House of Arcadia, whom Percival once belonged to prior to his exile, so that she may learn the ways of tradition and the martial arts, then again, the Rose city and so the struggle continued. Nimue as such grew up unlike most other Primarchs - in the lap of luxury amongst aristocrats and priests, however also swamped in intrigue. Percival and other ‘favoured’ would-be victims of attempted assassination attempts. Nimue herself survived attempts on her life as well by those who rejected her nature as Goddess, or even by fanatical adherents who believed that she was trapped in mortal form and must be returned to her heavenly throne.
Nimue’s upbringing among the elite would shape her personality and legion long after. Commoners and peasants became abstractions rather than actual people, they would be loyal and adoring masses or rogue and deranged assassins among the throng. While her educators were often excessively subservient and lacking as authority figures out of fear of displeasing their god, they did successfully impart the cultural values of Engraila unto her - values of chivalry, beauty, purity and courage - though not without also neglecting or accidentally encouraging her more terrible vices as well.
Nimue even while young performed her new-found duties and obligations as a deity. She ordained ceremonies and knighted squires, sent young men on quests of glory and chivalry and used her mystical powers to inquire and divine the true nature and hearts of man. She also sat as judge and mediator, dragged into disputes between knights, houses and nations - and so had to quickly learn the arts of politics and diplomacy. Despite her quick learning in this matter, she often made mistakes, particularly as many of her advisors and caretakers tried to turn her against others or wield her as a weapon.
By the end of her tutelage, upon approaching a fully mature adult form by her tenth year alive - Nimue had been fully shaped into a near-perfect image of what Engraila’s people envisioned the Goddess Nimue to be.
While Nimue would age slower than the average Primarch, she would still age considerably faster than any normal human. At a mere single year of age, The Goddess Nimue could already speak, talk and even write, and appeared as a toddler of three or four. Her growth was faster than any normal human that Sir Percival, the Damsels or Doctors they had sent to inspect her had ever witnessed, further proving to all her divine nature.
The leaders of Engraila, knowing full well the extent of this rapidly ageing child-goddess’s influence on the world, soon turned to a tug-of-war over influencing and controlling her. It was this struggle that led to Nimue, as well as her guardian Sir Percival, to be summoned to the Rose City, a holy city devoted to the Goddess Nimue so that the child-goddess may be educated by the Damsels who presided of the Goddess’ faith. Then she was to be summoned to the aristocratic courts of Greater Loe-lydaw so she may be reared in proper etiquette and amongst those of rightful birth. Then to the Knightly House of Arcadia, whom Percival once belonged to prior to his exile, so that she may learn the ways of tradition and the martial arts, then again, the Rose city and so the struggle continued. Nimue as such grew up unlike most other Primarchs - in the lap of luxury amongst aristocrats and priests, however also swamped in intrigue. Percival and other ‘favoured’ would-be victims of attempted assassination attempts. Nimue herself survived attempts on her life as well by those who rejected her nature as Goddess, or even by fanatical adherents who believed that she was trapped in mortal form and must be returned to her heavenly throne.
Nimue’s upbringing among the elite would shape her personality and legion long after. Commoners and peasants became abstractions rather than actual people, they would be loyal and adoring masses or rogue and deranged assassins among the throng. While her educators were often excessively subservient and lacking as authority figures out of fear of displeasing their god, they did successfully impart the cultural values of Engraila unto her - values of chivalry, beauty, purity and courage - though not without also neglecting or accidentally encouraging her more terrible vices as well.
Nimue even while young performed her new-found duties and obligations as a deity. She ordained ceremonies and knighted squires, sent young men on quests of glory and chivalry and used her mystical powers to inquire and divine the true nature and hearts of man. She also sat as judge and mediator, dragged into disputes between knights, houses and nations - and so had to quickly learn the arts of politics and diplomacy. Despite her quick learning in this matter, she often made mistakes, particularly as many of her advisors and caretakers tried to turn her against others or wield her as a weapon.
By the end of her tutelage, upon approaching a fully mature adult form by her tenth year alive - Nimue had been fully shaped into a near-perfect image of what Engraila’s people envisioned the Goddess Nimue to be.
The Fall and Deliverance
The world of Engraila following the proclamation of Nimue’s godhood was one of chaos. Civil wars had erupted in numerous kingdoms, alongside revolutions and drastic religious changes. While, from an optimistic point of view, Nimue’s appearance could be seen as a sign of some deliverance of another “fall”, the periodic collapses Engraila suffers, more cynical could also claim that Nimue’s arrival acted as the Fall’s catalyst. The religious turmoil and chaos of her appearance also laid the groundwork for new religious movements, cults and heresies, both for and against the new Goddess Made Flesh. These cults would, predictably, twist and change until they took on a form that could only be recognised as destructive.
Nimue’s ascendance to her role as a religious leader of an entire world would be marred by the concurrent rise of heretics that used her name and image for diabolical and depraved purposes, eventually leading to her enacting a quest for herself and her favoured. Through a series of personal missions of chivalric glory, military campaigns, theological debates and treaties, Nimue achieved enough successes that eventually the ringleader behind these disturbances was forced to light - one of her own favoured, a Damsel who had long been tutoring her throughout her childhood years, who had been responsible in part for the shaping of who she was, and in fact her declaration of Godhood. The Damsel Charlotte de Luc. The Damsel attempted to explain to Nimue that her nature was in fact predetermined millennia before her birth - that she was a divine creation of her ‘father’ and ‘mother’ both, a god beyond all other gods, and that it was time for her to return to him.
The precise nature of what conversation followed between the two women is a closely guarded secret of Nimue’s (and The Emperor), however, what is known is that Sir Percival, accompanied by a mysterious hooded man, interrupted their conversation and through this eventually led to Nimue and Charlotte being at odds, the former rejecting the latter. Nimue ordered Charlotte to fight in a duel to the death for her heresy. Charlotte, desperate, agreed but demanded right to proxy, and so picked a Knight and traitor cultist, Sir Morgan, to fight in her stead. Nimue chose her foster-father, Sir Percival, respecting the traditions of Engraila rather than fighting herself. While the two knights duelled, however, when it appeared Percival neared victory, Charlotte attempted to flee. Nimue gave chase… and after finally slaying her, beheld contact with mystical forces beyond reckoning. Monsters, beasts and misshapen forms, and twisted whispers.
Nimue triumphed over these forces after an arduous battle in the palace, and when the monstrous forms vanished, all that was left were corpses, Nimue and the mysterious man, eyes shining under a concealing hood.
The world of Engraila following the proclamation of Nimue’s godhood was one of chaos. Civil wars had erupted in numerous kingdoms, alongside revolutions and drastic religious changes. While, from an optimistic point of view, Nimue’s appearance could be seen as a sign of some deliverance of another “fall”, the periodic collapses Engraila suffers, more cynical could also claim that Nimue’s arrival acted as the Fall’s catalyst. The religious turmoil and chaos of her appearance also laid the groundwork for new religious movements, cults and heresies, both for and against the new Goddess Made Flesh. These cults would, predictably, twist and change until they took on a form that could only be recognised as destructive.
Nimue’s ascendance to her role as a religious leader of an entire world would be marred by the concurrent rise of heretics that used her name and image for diabolical and depraved purposes, eventually leading to her enacting a quest for herself and her favoured. Through a series of personal missions of chivalric glory, military campaigns, theological debates and treaties, Nimue achieved enough successes that eventually the ringleader behind these disturbances was forced to light - one of her own favoured, a Damsel who had long been tutoring her throughout her childhood years, who had been responsible in part for the shaping of who she was, and in fact her declaration of Godhood. The Damsel Charlotte de Luc. The Damsel attempted to explain to Nimue that her nature was in fact predetermined millennia before her birth - that she was a divine creation of her ‘father’ and ‘mother’ both, a god beyond all other gods, and that it was time for her to return to him.
The precise nature of what conversation followed between the two women is a closely guarded secret of Nimue’s (and The Emperor), however, what is known is that Sir Percival, accompanied by a mysterious hooded man, interrupted their conversation and through this eventually led to Nimue and Charlotte being at odds, the former rejecting the latter. Nimue ordered Charlotte to fight in a duel to the death for her heresy. Charlotte, desperate, agreed but demanded right to proxy, and so picked a Knight and traitor cultist, Sir Morgan, to fight in her stead. Nimue chose her foster-father, Sir Percival, respecting the traditions of Engraila rather than fighting herself. While the two knights duelled, however, when it appeared Percival neared victory, Charlotte attempted to flee. Nimue gave chase… and after finally slaying her, beheld contact with mystical forces beyond reckoning. Monsters, beasts and misshapen forms, and twisted whispers.
Nimue triumphed over these forces after an arduous battle in the palace, and when the monstrous forms vanished, all that was left were corpses, Nimue and the mysterious man, eyes shining under a concealing hood.
This could not be happening.
It could not.
Nimue could not believe it. She clenched her fist again and hit the marble ground of the palace in what could only be described as infantile fury. It was impossible. Only a day ago she was putting down her treacherous mentor and her… strange, otherworldly minions. Now she was panting of all things! on the ground! in defeat!
Again.
And again.
She had no clue or notion as to who the mysterious cloaked man was, only that after he witnessed her vanquishing the monsters - he demanded a series of duels between them, ‘trials’ he called them… and said that he would prove that she was no god. It was madness, heresy and absurdity… How dare this - this peasant! Robed in rags!
She had dealt with these heretics before, of course, madmen covered in mud and dung and smelling of pigs urine, ugly little beasts that somehow, in their madness, concluded that they could set their goddess free by killing her!
Ridiculous, just ridiculous.
Calming down, controlling her outrage, suppressing the hopelessness at somehow being obstructed for perhaps the first time in her entire existence… She was a Goddess, the Goddess Nimue. She would not be denied.
The full force of her psyker power ripping apart marble, stone, smashing every window, blasting apart columns and pillars and the walls and roof itself as part of the palace fell, a force of such might that even a House Arcadian Knight would bow and crumble under it…
A mere wind, calmly blowing against the cloaked man.
“Impressive, very impressive,” he said. Where others, such as Ser Percival witnessing on as his adopted daughter and the man who came to his aid to vanquish the corrupt Charlotte de Luc battled each other, would see the Cloaked Man’s statements as sincere admiration - if perhaps with an overly cold and analytical gaze… was instead perceived by the Goddess Nimue as…
Mockery!? She screams internally, unbelievably what she saw with her own eyes.
This disgusting braggart! Before the Goddess Nimue could fire yet another destructive blast of psychic energy, The Cloaked Man then decided, again, to go on the offensive. Instead of simply engaging her in melee as before - which resulted in the ‘goddess’ easily being bested and sent to the marble ground, the Cloaked Man glowed brightly, shining like the sun - much as Nimue’s own eminent aura but, in all’s eyes except Nimue’s own - so much brighter.
“Wha--” All Nimue could say as immense pressure following the light engulfed her mind. “Kneel” it said. Over and over. Against her will, total shock as a gaggle of horror from her lips fell as her legs did so too.
“My daughter, I have come fro--”
“NO!” she yelled, somehow still having the psychic might to portray her refusal as booming and powerful shout of authority- rather than the almost-crying denial it truly was. No, no, no, no! Silence you cretin!
Against all odds, even to the Cloaked Man’s slightly raised eyebrows and the briefest moment of surprise, The Goddess Nimue struggled into a stance of half-standing, half-bent over, as if trying futilely to stand tall against a raging hurricane.
“Kneel” this time, The Goddess did not kneel. The Cloaked Man smiled.
“Kneel…. Thyself…” The ‘Goddess’ struggled with each syllable back, as if only barely able to move her jaw to speak.
A tense period of silence followed. The Goddess’ ethereal form was unmoving other than frequent but futile sudden jerks of defiant rage. Once cloaked in shining golden light covering her whole form was now dimmed to the point that those witnessing the event could actually see her actual human form, clad still in only ceremonial silks and jewellery.
White hair, silver eyes. Porcelain if terribly dirtied and bruised skin. Sculptured to perfection. Superhumanly tall. An otherworldly beautiful if perhaps excessively provocative form, so that one perhaps would doubt the intent and foundation of her creator's own purity. Truly, this was a woman that could be called ‘beauty’... but no goddess.
The audience watched this dimming and increasingly human woman appear before them. Shock. Despair. Existential dread.
This was no goddess before them, it was barely even a mature woman, this was what was left of the child that fell from the stars whom they named Nimue.
“My daughter” The Cloaked man, still overflowing with golden light as Nimue once was, spoke steadily and surely - yet smiling, impressed by his soon-to-be-Primarchs strength of will and psyker abilities.
“I have come from the stars. I am your sire and father, not a god, or a devil or a heretic. There is no need for these things for no gods or demons exist in this world or any world” The Emperor said with practiced patience and confidence. It was a speech he had given many times before, almost rehearsed. ‘The difference is that I am right’ still echoed through his speech.
“You too, are no goddess. You are my daughter, a Primarch, one of twenty siblings who would be the very pinnacle of humanity, a weapon and war-leader to forge mankind’s mastership of the stars…” He continued, his daughter, Nimue, still silent, her struggling ending however, so he let down the psychic forces bearing down upon her. He was confident now that she would not again struggle and so would listen to reason.
“I have a Legion awaiting you, in the many thousands. The Iron Maidens, though you may name them as you will. They are yours to take” The golden form of The Emperor held out his hand to the defeated woman, now on the ground and legs crossed under her - not the kneeling The Emperor was more accustomed.
The Girl, Nimue, looked up at the Golden Figure’s outreaching hand, a peculiar expression that The Emperor had…. never seen before on one of his Primarch’s faces. Of the sixteen he had gathered before her… never.
And then… She did not agree. Or disagree. It was not joy. It was not sorrow, apologies for not knowing. Attempts at bartering or compromise. It was not curiosity or resignation. It was not reasoned acceptance, or patient knowing. Not duty, or jubilance or fervent love.
Laughter. Pained laughter. She did not take his hand.
She just laughed.
It could not.
Nimue could not believe it. She clenched her fist again and hit the marble ground of the palace in what could only be described as infantile fury. It was impossible. Only a day ago she was putting down her treacherous mentor and her… strange, otherworldly minions. Now she was panting of all things! on the ground! in defeat!
Again.
And again.
She had no clue or notion as to who the mysterious cloaked man was, only that after he witnessed her vanquishing the monsters - he demanded a series of duels between them, ‘trials’ he called them… and said that he would prove that she was no god. It was madness, heresy and absurdity… How dare this - this peasant! Robed in rags!
She had dealt with these heretics before, of course, madmen covered in mud and dung and smelling of pigs urine, ugly little beasts that somehow, in their madness, concluded that they could set their goddess free by killing her!
Ridiculous, just ridiculous.
Calming down, controlling her outrage, suppressing the hopelessness at somehow being obstructed for perhaps the first time in her entire existence… She was a Goddess, the Goddess Nimue. She would not be denied.
The full force of her psyker power ripping apart marble, stone, smashing every window, blasting apart columns and pillars and the walls and roof itself as part of the palace fell, a force of such might that even a House Arcadian Knight would bow and crumble under it…
A mere wind, calmly blowing against the cloaked man.
“Impressive, very impressive,” he said. Where others, such as Ser Percival witnessing on as his adopted daughter and the man who came to his aid to vanquish the corrupt Charlotte de Luc battled each other, would see the Cloaked Man’s statements as sincere admiration - if perhaps with an overly cold and analytical gaze… was instead perceived by the Goddess Nimue as…
Mockery!? She screams internally, unbelievably what she saw with her own eyes.
This disgusting braggart! Before the Goddess Nimue could fire yet another destructive blast of psychic energy, The Cloaked Man then decided, again, to go on the offensive. Instead of simply engaging her in melee as before - which resulted in the ‘goddess’ easily being bested and sent to the marble ground, the Cloaked Man glowed brightly, shining like the sun - much as Nimue’s own eminent aura but, in all’s eyes except Nimue’s own - so much brighter.
“Wha--” All Nimue could say as immense pressure following the light engulfed her mind. “Kneel” it said. Over and over. Against her will, total shock as a gaggle of horror from her lips fell as her legs did so too.
“My daughter, I have come fro--”
“NO!” she yelled, somehow still having the psychic might to portray her refusal as booming and powerful shout of authority- rather than the almost-crying denial it truly was. No, no, no, no! Silence you cretin!
Against all odds, even to the Cloaked Man’s slightly raised eyebrows and the briefest moment of surprise, The Goddess Nimue struggled into a stance of half-standing, half-bent over, as if trying futilely to stand tall against a raging hurricane.
“Kneel” this time, The Goddess did not kneel. The Cloaked Man smiled.
“Kneel…. Thyself…” The ‘Goddess’ struggled with each syllable back, as if only barely able to move her jaw to speak.
A tense period of silence followed. The Goddess’ ethereal form was unmoving other than frequent but futile sudden jerks of defiant rage. Once cloaked in shining golden light covering her whole form was now dimmed to the point that those witnessing the event could actually see her actual human form, clad still in only ceremonial silks and jewellery.
White hair, silver eyes. Porcelain if terribly dirtied and bruised skin. Sculptured to perfection. Superhumanly tall. An otherworldly beautiful if perhaps excessively provocative form, so that one perhaps would doubt the intent and foundation of her creator's own purity. Truly, this was a woman that could be called ‘beauty’... but no goddess.
The audience watched this dimming and increasingly human woman appear before them. Shock. Despair. Existential dread.
This was no goddess before them, it was barely even a mature woman, this was what was left of the child that fell from the stars whom they named Nimue.
“My daughter” The Cloaked man, still overflowing with golden light as Nimue once was, spoke steadily and surely - yet smiling, impressed by his soon-to-be-Primarchs strength of will and psyker abilities.
“I have come from the stars. I am your sire and father, not a god, or a devil or a heretic. There is no need for these things for no gods or demons exist in this world or any world” The Emperor said with practiced patience and confidence. It was a speech he had given many times before, almost rehearsed. ‘The difference is that I am right’ still echoed through his speech.
“You too, are no goddess. You are my daughter, a Primarch, one of twenty siblings who would be the very pinnacle of humanity, a weapon and war-leader to forge mankind’s mastership of the stars…” He continued, his daughter, Nimue, still silent, her struggling ending however, so he let down the psychic forces bearing down upon her. He was confident now that she would not again struggle and so would listen to reason.
“I have a Legion awaiting you, in the many thousands. The Iron Maidens, though you may name them as you will. They are yours to take” The golden form of The Emperor held out his hand to the defeated woman, now on the ground and legs crossed under her - not the kneeling The Emperor was more accustomed.
The Girl, Nimue, looked up at the Golden Figure’s outreaching hand, a peculiar expression that The Emperor had…. never seen before on one of his Primarch’s faces. Of the sixteen he had gathered before her… never.
And then… She did not agree. Or disagree. It was not joy. It was not sorrow, apologies for not knowing. Attempts at bartering or compromise. It was not curiosity or resignation. It was not reasoned acceptance, or patient knowing. Not duty, or jubilance or fervent love.
Laughter. Pained laughter. She did not take his hand.
She just laughed.
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Celestial Inheritors
(Formerly known as the Iron Maidens until the return of Primarch Nimue)Warcry:
Kneel!
You shall bow!
Glory, Glory, for Nimue and the Emperor!
Legion Number: VII
Legion Strength:
75,000 Astartes
Imperial Army Contingents (The Celestial Inheritors often make use of IA, typically in supporting roles to fill in following successful armoured spearhead assaults. The CI also make use of private militias of all-aristocratic regiments aligned directly with the VII)
Imperial Knights (Drawing from both Engraila’s own Houses such as Houses Arcadia, Pendragon and House Elan - as well as mixed in Knights from other Knight Worlds associated with Nimue, notably House Devine)
Armour Appearance:
An Astarte of the VII Legion in embellished and customised Mark IV Armour. Reds, maroon and pinks with a base of dull grey and bronze are the colours of the Celestial Inheritors, and they often make use of romantic symbols such as roses and the fleur-de-leis. Capes are also common, such as seen here.
Dramatis Persona:
- Charlotte de Guinevere (Lady Commander):
- Lyx Devine of House Devine (Lady Commander):
- Marianne Delabor The Missionary (High Enchantress-Damsel):
- Lucrezia D'Testarossa (Chief-Apothecary):
- Sylelle Eidolaia (Consul-Delegatus on representative mission):
- Joan Morganna (Captain of the Chevalier-Maiden Guard):
- Dalia Plantagenet (Squire-Enchantress, member of Sylelle's team):
- Bequa Kynska
- Ostian Delafour (Remembrancer & Sculptor)
- Serena D'Angelus (Remembrancer & Painter)
Legion Tactics / Battlefield Role:
The Celestial Inheritors as a Legion has some disdain for sluggish, dirtier combat styles and methods of their brother (and some of their sister) legions, leaning away from trench warfare deathtraps meant for their IA minions and bludgeoning each other with thunder hammers as their brothers do, instead preferring to ride gloriously into battle atop heavy and super-heavy armour, land-speeders of both small and large size, or descending with grace from high with jump packs or charging down foes with lances, monomolecular cavalry sabres and storm shields upon jetbikes.Their legion as such prefers swift, fast-paced assaults focused on either ‘heavy cavalry’ (armour) breaking the enemy lines while supporting jetbike riders and mechanised infantry armed with either melee or anti-tank weapons ride down or disable enemy armour in the process. As such, in general the Celestial Inheritors are a combination of Armour Superiority, Melee-specialised mechanised infantry as well as anti-armour units. To bind this together, like other similar armoured spearhead-based Legions, the legion makes use of large quantities of Imperial Army fodder to then fill in gaps, follow up successful spearhead attacks and to hold ground taken by the legion. As an extension of their spearhead strategic outlook, the Celestial Inheritors are renown for various encirclement and blitzkrieg type mobility tactics, and in general prefer annihilation over attrition.
The Celestial Inheritors are also well known as an ‘integration’ legion, which like other fellow Legions such as the Night Watch (which, the Celestial Inheritors act as a kind of dark shadow counterpart to, in this regard) prefers making good use of combined arms and integrated units of non-astarte forces, such as the general Imperial Army, their own private militias, and, in particular, the Imperial Knights whom the Celestial Inheritors have a very close relationship with due to their own Knight World origins and Primarch Nimue’s efforts at networking with other such worlds and their houses. The Celestial Inheritors are well known for using larger numbers of Imperial Knights in their cavalry formations than most, and perhaps all, other astarte legions.
The Celestial Inheritors are particularly well known for their Cavalier Marine Squadrons, being knight-like astartes riding upon Jetbikes and armed with power lances and stormshields or a combination of other melee and ranged weapons. They are extremely swift melee 'infantry' designed like medieval shock cavalry, tasked with running down swarms of unprotected infantry or surrounding and disabling armour via careful strikes from their lances or, grenades or other carried on AT-weapons.
The Legion is also well known for their relatively unique "Damsels", battlefield priestesses and chaplains that during battle inspire troops, though who's actual purpose tends to be revolved around maintaining 'purity' and spiritual cleanliness - usually in the sense of unironically enforcing aesthetic and beauty standards on not just the legion but even their IA cohorts. Damsels are often also fused with the role of Librarian, with the Enchantress-Damsel being the official title for such a psyker-capable Astarte in the VII Legion. Damsels also often as some of the more prolific artisans of the Legion, and, as odd as it seems, act almost as a sort of PR branch for the Legion, often acting as intermediaries between the Primarch Nimue and her various aristocratic non-astarte allies, rogue-traders, planetary governors and even propaganda and marketing efforts to appeal to the common people (in particular of newly conquered worlds).
Nimue's honour-guard are known as the Chevalier-Maiden Guard.
Legion Characteristics / Ideology:
The Seventh Legion even before Nimue Arcadia would become their Primarch inherited many of Nimue's personality traits, possessing a general tendency towards vanity, elitism and egomania similar to their geneseed sire. When Nimue took full control of her new legion, this tendency became exponentially more stronger and refined. Nimue brought with her the culture, beliefs and traditions of Engraila into the legion which would hence forth permeate throughout the entire legion's identity. As such, the Celestial Inheritors have gained a strong reputation as a legion of beautiful yet haughty aristocrat-warrior women with eccentric and often extravagant tastes accompanied by often arbitrary rules of etiquette and class... and of course seem to be perfectly fine with the cult of personality that grows from wherever they pass through.It should be to no one's surprise that most of the Seventh Legion's recruits are taken either from Engraila, the Legion's homeworld, or from a network of Knight, Feudal and some Civilized worlds that are in some way associated with Nimue. These recruits are overwhelming selected from the aristocratic upper-class of these worlds, though occasionally clerics are also chosen. While Nimue's Legion generally selects based on the criteria of stamina, durability, strength or other such feats of competence, the legion is also renown for its tendency towards another criteria of beauty, a criteria that while ensures that most of the legion possesses the physical sensibilities of their Primarch, significantly obstructs efficient recruitment... for beauty is hardly a characteristic intrinsic to the purpose or success of a potential Astarte. Due to this self-limiting recruitment process, the Celestial Inheritors are not a particularly large legion, and even at their greatest number have never exceeded 80,000 marines. This criteria of beauty continues onwards after recruitment too, for while officially the Legion designates its promotion and ranking based on the typical areas of skill, experience, loyalty or overall ability - a less official aesthetic standard exists that judges marines on such things as how closely they took on the features of the geneseed to certain physical features, to their adherence to the arts... ensuring that to reach the higher ranks of the VII, Astartes must either submerge themselves in the aesthetic culture, or otherwise be very physically gifted from the onset.
While the obsession with beauty and aesthetics remains a constant influence on the legion, Engraila's other traditions also shines through with the legion. Chivalric principles and practices are common - knighting ceremonies, personal quests as final initiation from squire (Marine scout) to full fledged Astarte, honourable duels and personal oaths of service from master to servant even within the legion. Nimue expects her daughters to be as engaged in the arts as she is. Beyond merely warriors, they should be painters, sculptures, musicians, architects, even models or singers. It is considered a rare and extremely sort after commodity for a regular imperial citizen to acquire the artistic works of the sixth legion, and nothing can be as quite a odd (and perhaps, though left unsaid, comical) as seeing a full fledged Astarte actually dancing.
The Seventh Legion is, to the dismay of armour-workers and forgeworlds everywhere, very keen on the practice of embellishing and altering their armour for aesthetic purposes well beyond the notions of practicality. Upon receiving their mark II or mark IV armour, Astartes of the Celestial Inheritors are well known for commissioning (bullying) manufacturers into providing them personalised alterations to the armour. These modifications can range from simple additions of paraphernalia such as rose carvings, laurels and so on to relatively significant structural alterations, such as a full 'feminisation' of the breastplate to the addition of artificial wings. All the modifications serve no real utilitarian purpose however it certainly has made the VII Legion memorable to remembrances, common citizens and IA and of course the enemies of mankind.
Relationships:
- The Emperor: The Emperor is seen as a distant and restraining force that wishes to censor and control the Legion, though held in esteem as the pinnacle of humanity and apex of purity and the perfection of the holy human form. From the Emperor's side, there is a strong implication (or at least the rumours have it) that while he respects his VII Legion for their swift melee combat, he remains disapproving of their excessive vanity as well as their religiosity.
-- - Other Legions: Simply put, the VII Legion is regarded as the Blacksheep of the Astartes Legions just as their Primarch Nimue is the blacksheep of her siblings. While they are known to work surprisingly well with certain legions who's primarchs relationships with their primarch are not completely soured, in general the VII are not teamplayers and instead prefers to work alongside their IA and Knight minions.
-- - Imperial Army: The VII Legion makes common use and integration with the Imperial Army, both as a practical measure to complete their strategic doctrines need for large quantities of fodder to fill in for their main force, as well as the fact that as an aristocratic-heritage legion, they are more than used to and accepting of the notion of ordering around lowly mortals - and perhaps even feel it is a mere continuation of their pre-training lives. For the Imperial Army's part, regard for the VII Legion is split along class lines, with officers typically groveling at their feet in adoration, while non-commissioned officers and regulars looking at them either in disillusioned cynicism if treated badly, or a kind of alienated awe if treated well.
Of particular note, the VII possess specific all-aristocratic private militia IA regiments that are often scions of high nobility who represent their families interests in either trying to curry favour with the VII, attempt to 'prove' the strength of their bloodline so that the VII may select future squires from their house, or, for what are in essence female child-soldiers, actual potential squires and future astartes themselves. These 'scion-militia' performances are of... mixed results, due to the nobility's misunderstanding of how Astartes selection in the VII actually works.
-- - Knight Houses: Due to Primarch Nimue's own past being raised on a Knight World and adopted into a prominent Imperial Knight House, the VII Legion has very close ties with the Imperium's Knight Houses. Besides sharing very similar cultural values, traditions, and rituals - Nimue politically has gone out of her way to connect and network with the various Knight Worlds spread across the Imperium, generally tying these Questor Imperialis, or as is more colloquially referred to as "Questor Celestialis". Of particular note is the high number of successful Astartes that have come from the daughters of Imperial Knight houses - most prominently being Lady Commander Lyx Devine, of the Knight World Molech's House Devine.
-- - Imperial Institutions: While there is mixed regard for the VII Legion amongst the commoners as well as the highest levels of power (the other Primarchs), the institutional elites of the Imperium adore them. Aristocrats and Planetary Governors regularly are tripping over each other to somehow claim even a slither of connection to the legion, and some of the most prominent dynasties in the galaxy often attempt to send their daughters to Engraila to join the Legion or Private Militias, not understanding that while Beauty and aristocratic heritage are criteria for selection - strength, stamina and the other usual requirements for Astarte training remain... regardless, a sycophantic and very different kind of worshipful regard for the nobility exist towards the Celestial Inheritors, and in turn the Legion tends to be the closest and most actively involved Legion with said institutional elites. It is said that the VII Legion is "the" legion for the Imperium's aristocracy.
-- - Imperial Citizens: The Imperial citizenry tend to have a mixed view of the VII Legion. On one hand, they are atrociously haughty and sometimes both arbitrary and petty and have little regard for the common masses so those who personally have met them are often disenchanted, however on the other hand the citizenry idolise them as being 'perfect' beings, are aware of the immense value of their artistic works and know how highly their rulers regard them. Many commoners from worlds conquered by the Celestial Inheritors worship Nimue as part of a cult-of-personality extension of Engraila's religion. Interestingly, these cultists are often at odds with the wider demographics of Imperial citizenry, acting as kind of fanatical minority base of Nimue supporters.
-- - Mechanicus: The VII Legion and the Adeptus Mechanicus have a relatively poor relationship due to the general disregard that the Celestial Inheritors have for their religious beliefs when compared with their own - in particular the clash the resides in the Astartes concern for aesthetic value in their equipment and willingness to 'defile' it to achieve greater beauty. There is furthermore political rivalry between the legion and the Admech over the control of Knight Worlds and their precious STC schematics, as prior to Nimue's arrival the Mechanicus was the only real monopolist of Knight World technology and utilisation, but now are seriously challenged by a Primarch and her legion.
-- - Xenos: Suffer not the xenos to live.
