~ [b]Warhammer 40,000; Vigil[/b] ~ ~ [i]"The answer you seek, Lord Admiral, is within the the problem of the question itself. You cannot simply inquire about the survival odds of the Imperium for it is already long doomed to fail. It is a question of whether or not pure and faithful humanity can prevail..." "And what are your thoughts on that particular matter, Lord Commander?" "..." "Lord Commander...?" "Even though...every single threat before us is infallible proof of our mutually assured destruction or indoctrination...every victory behind us proves otherwise. Our race is an impossibility of imperfection perfected, Admiral. Wherever pure, untainted humanity will go to from here is anyone's guess." "Farewell...Lord Commander..."[/i] We find ourselves perched along as observers to the dawn of the forty-second millennium. The Imperium of Man, in all of it's grim and tainted glory, has crumbled into thousands of splintered factions. It began on Cadia, when Abaddon sacrificed his physical form to become the living vessel to a massive warp storm. The entire sector was swallowed whole as the Eye of Terror grew larger than ever before. Meanwhile, tragedy befalls upon Terra as the Golden Throne rusts into a dysfunctional state. The entire planet trembled with quakes as what little remained of the Emperor began erratically twitching, and in the very blink of an eye it all happened. An electrical surge of psychic energy transformed a home into a graveyard for hundreds of billions of citizens, ranking from the most powerful and influential to the most pathetic scum in the galaxy. Thousands of Imperial ships traversing the Immaterium had been lost forever, and the true time of ending had begun. [hider=Backstory] ~ [b]The Approaching Dusk...[/b] A beacon has shown itself to all the forces of the galaxy. Situated within the outer fringes of the Ultima Segmentum, what can only be described as a psychic beacon completely outmatching the power of the Astronomican has continued to shine brightly for the last decade. Only four Imperial battlefleets had survived the utter chaos of the Fall of the Imperium, and had reorganized their forces within the beacon's sector. For the better half of ten years, no other outside contact was possible for the sector's obscurity and the beacon's power allowed it to throw other's off it's scent. Yet nothing would last forever in the end, sadly. It was on the fifth day of August, the 19th year of the 42nd Millennium. Reports came in from the outermost rim of the Alisae Sector, thousands of hostile contacts swarming all radars. Having expected a hive fleet of Tyranids, the four battlefleets met face to face with an armada of battle barges bearing the various banners of the Ruinous Powers. It was Chaos Undivided come knocking upon their doors, seeking the power of the psychic beacon. As they proceeded to exchange fire, the massive ensuing conflict caused the destruction of a nearby moon. The astroid debris knocked out entire fleets on both sides, causing an effective stalemate. Regrettably, aboard that very moon was a yet another strange beacon. Not psychic, but mechanical in nature. It's assured destruction had been the chiming bell to awaken a darkness within the galaxy. There had to have been a reason for the oddly clustered twenty one planets orbiting around in one sector. Regardless, Vigil would remain the one untainted garden world. It's forefront defenses still unprepared against the rise of the cryptic machines. As the Chaos Armada reassembled, they met head on with the remaining three battlefleets of the shattered empire. After a solid week of conflict, the Armada punched the hole they needed to storm the planet. Space hulks carrying the plagues of Nurgle crashed along the dozens of hive cities planetside, hundreds of Khornate and Tzeentchian battle barges taking Imperial forts by sheer force. It took over two months for the Imperial forces to regroup, counter attack and reclaim a concrete territory. Reports soon came in that thousands of gigantic space hulks just struck a massive Tyranid Hive Fleet head on beyond the mid-rim's asteroid field. Currently engaged in a stalemate, they continue ruthlessly and recklessly fighting with no side gaining on the other. Unidentified vessels have reportedly entered the west- southern fringes of uninhabited glacial islands, while rumors of Dark Eldar ships reinforcing the Chaos Armada concern the ground troop's resistance. Vigil, at the heart of the Alisae Sector, has become the eye of the storm for a war prophesied to change the course of the galaxy forever. ~ [/hider] [hider=Are We Merely The Playthings of Gods?] ~ As prophesied by both sorcerers of Tzeentch as well as Imperial sanctioned Psykers, nine individuals from various backgrounds would gather unexpectedly on the planet of Vigil. These individuals have been titled many things, the Conduits of Fate, the Saviors of the Galaxy, the Keys to the Immaterium in rare manuscripts... - The Vigilant Guard (Space Marine Chapter Master or High Ranking Imperial Guardsmen) - The Symbol of Courage (Imperial Guard Commissar, Tank Commander, Space Marine Battle Brother, Sister of Battle or otherwise forefront soldier leading others into battle.) - The Siphon of Blood (Khornate Berserker, Khornate Space Marine, Traitor Guardsmen or Bloodthirsty Cultist of any background aspiring to become a daemonic lord of Khorne.) - The Harbinger of Decay (Death Guard or Plague Marine of any background aspiring to become a daemonic lord of Nurgle.) - The Envious One (Either a high ranking Dark Eldar, Noise Marine or heretical Sister of Battle of any background seeking to become a right hand daemonic servant of Slaanesh, killing anything that gets in the way of their goals.) - The Prophet of Ending (A Thousand Sons Sorcerer or Tzeentchian Psyker cultist willing to sacrifice everything to become a Lord of Change.) - The Hallowed Observer (A male or female Tau Commander in charge of a scouting force of significant size and power.) - The Brutally Cunning/Cunningly Brutal Warlord (An Ork Warboss of legendary size, strength and intelligence. Speaking more fluently than any other Ork before him, this warboss is a living and breathing conduit of Gork and Mork. On the battlefield he is a ruthless, apocalyptic force driven by berserk tendencies. In his calmer stages, he is a cunning strategist capable of maintaining full control of the many flows of battle conducting beneath his fingertips.) - The Passenger (Played by me, a rogue trader whose role in the uncovering events is yet unknown.) [/hider] [hider=Timeline of the 42nd Millennium] 001.M42 - Abbadon the Despoiler conveys his spiritual energy to become a vessel to Warp Storm Vindication, Cadia and other surrounding sectors are swallowed into the now expanded Eye of Terror 002.M42 - The Golden Throne rusts away, becoming completely dysfunctional. As the Emperor seemingly dies, all of Terra is enveloped within a surge of psychic energy. Thus begins the disorganization of the Administratum, the splintering of the Astra Militarum and the disbandment of planetary governments from the Imperium of Man. 004.M42 - Ork fleets are appearing in dozens of systems across the galaxy, converging toward the Ultima Segmentum. Warbands from the Thousand Sons and World Eaters conflict heavily within the Eye of Terror. The Seven Plagues overwhelm hundreds of civilizations within the Segmentum Obscurus. 007.M42 - Thousands of Ork warbands pillage their way through the Ultima Segmentum. The Thousand Sons and World Eaters warbands form a strained alliance named The Ruinous Pact, Death Guard legions join them. 008.M42 - The Angels of Ecstasy join the Ruinous Pact, cultists of all loyalties number in the hundreds of billions as thousands of battle barges storm out from the Eye of Terror. Ork warbands continue pushing further into the Ultima Segmentum as Tyranid Hive Fleets pop up around the outer rim of the galaxy. 009.M42 - Sorcerers of Tzeentch compile the Prophecy of Vigil, detailing future events in vague and cryptic detail. They confess that even the Lord of Change himself holds no power to how the coming events will shape and change the universe forever. 012.M42 - The Segmentum Obscurus is declared lost to the Ruinous Powers. Chaos effectively controls an entire sector of the galaxy. 015.M42 - The largest Waaagh! In ever recorded history gathers outside the Alisea System, preparing to take on over a dozen Tyranid Hive Fleets encroaching toward Vigil. 019.M42 - The Alisae Orbital Conflicts begin, starting off with a stalemate on both Chaos and Imperial sides. Eventually the Chaos Armada manages to wipe out another 1/4th of the Imperial battlefleets, giving them the space needed to land several warships on Vigil. The War for Vigil begins as the Seven Plagues of Nurgle begin eradicating the Eastern Hive City Collective. World Eater and Thousand Sons legions annihilate hundreds of Imperial forts in the first two weeks. Two months later Imperial Command commences an operation known as October Rain, reclaiming a fourth of lost fortresses and storming Death Korps and Armageddon legions through the Eastern Hive City Collective. The war is about to get even more interesting, however... [/hider] [hider=Forging your Key] ~ Creating your character will be a relatively freeform and open concept. You are encouraged to create your titled character with as much liberty as you feel reasonable, without making it too overpowered. But, to make things simple, i'll outline an optional template. Title: (Chosen prophetic title) Name: Appearance: (Pictures are fine, however if choosing worded detail I expect a good and vivid use of imagery.) Equipment/Weapons Loadout: (Please be reasonable with this, not every species can carry five weapons and two hundred pounds of equipment on their backs.) Psychological Profile: (A brief explanation of their personality and any quirks they might have.) Brief Biography: (Notable battles fought, events witnessed/participated in, strange happenings, contacts or relationships made, etc.) [/hider]