[hider=Mathias Montag, Techsorcist] [b]Name:[/b] Mathias Montag [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Role/Archetype:[/b] Sage [b]Personal Demeanour:[/b] Fond of a challenge and eager to embrace the hardships of life among the rank and file, Mathias has upheld his oaths to the Omnissiah with pride bordering on arrogance. This extends to his nationalist pride, though it may be even wounded with the fall of his home world, he is no less defensive of the efforts of his people and the Machine Spirit which fought for every inch of Cadian soil. His actions come amidst a ceaseless flow of motion, each twitch of the Mechandrite calculated in advance for optimum utility in his work. There is a lingering sense of camaraderie with the Guardsman who can appreciate the efforts of an Enginseer repairing a damaged voxcaster in the midst of an artillery barrage, one not shared by many of the Cult Mechanicus, but it lingers despite the augmentation. On occasion and to the commiseration of Enginseer and Guardsman alike, Mathias may make odious oaths in regards to the Departmento Munitorum and their nebulous idea of organization when a shipment of blessed oils had been replaced with 4 tons of prophylactics. It is the aspiration of his compatriots to forsake emotional attachment to achieve advancement on the Path of Knowledge, but to do so would mean abandoning the tender spark of hatred he nurses for the Demon and the Heretic who war upon the works of man and pervert it with Chaos' touch. Bears a keen loathing for the Thousand Sons and their Rubric Marines, seeing it as the ultimate perversion of the Machine Spirit by subsuming it with a mutated pyskers soul. [b]Speciality:[/b] [i]Purifying Machina Spirits:[/i] As a Techsorcist, Mathias has been availed to the private archives of the Ordo Mallaeus to analyze the records of Chaos interaction with Machine spirits and the ensuing procedures to purge the corruption. Studying the corruption as one does a beast has lead to insight into it's workings and confers the knowledge to operate and liberate machine spirits from the influence of the Warp. [i]Multitasker:[/i] Due to the Cortical Implants required for the operation of Mechandrites, Mathias' mind has additional procession power allowing him to be better suited to operating his extraneous limbs along multiple tasks, presumably while explaining such things in the Emperor's High Gothic to a casual observer and cursing in Binary to any nearby Tech Priest. [b]Rank:[/b] Techsorcist. [b]Description:[/b] His height is difficult to discern with the slight hunch in his stature, the augmentations weighing upon his reinforced spine just an inch or so out of proper alignment, leaving him practically five foot nine at all times. Scarlet robes drape his figure with a broad hood crowning his metal plated dome, a steady gleam of violet emanating from his artificial eyes in honor of his Cadian ancestry. From the nose to the bottom of his chin and stretching across the breadth of his jawline is voxcaster which leaves his voice with a synthetic ring to it. A trio of pipes lead down from the Vox-caster and disappear amidst the robes where they meet with metal and wind over what little flesh remains to be seen, most notably that of an unaugmented right arm. Callouses, cuts, and burns weave together into a rough textured mesh along the hand, a parallel to the machine marvel of a cogitator gauntlet replacing his left arm. Both legs have received augmentation and leave Mathias with a stiff gait made all the more apparent if he needs to move with haste. Rising over his shoulders and winding past his waist are a cadre of five mechandrites weaving and whirling about their work without obstruction of one another. Two are dedicated to tools of repair and maintenance, their heads bursting forth like a cornucopia of odds and ends. Another pair are manipulator claws to interact with objects without needing to neglect his cogitator. The last if the badge of a Techsorcist's office, with hexagrammic date gates and electronic safe guards to resist the effect of corruption with machines it interfaces with. A data module inside the Techsorcist Mechandrite stores proscribed documents to aid in restoring the Machine Spirit to it's former glory. [b]History:[/b] Born on a planet considering itself second only to Holy Terra in it's importance to the Imperium's survival, the early life of Mathias Montag was seen through a haze of tactical camouflage and the rigors of a life bound for military service. Cadia, it's very name evoking images of grizzled Guardsman, insurmountable fortress cities, and the yawning expense of Hell itself clawing at the Immaterium beyond their skies. By the age of 10, Mathias and his peers could field strip and reassemble a Lasrifle. Soldiery was their lifeblood, 70% of the population spending their lives from Schola to grave either drilling their skills across field and tundra or putting them to use across the Imperium. It was the expectation of Mathias he would follow as such, yet a keen mind and a steady hand could provide better use elsewhere. As was to be expected with the Schola Progenium, they produced not only Guardsman but offered fertile grounds for Sororitas, Naval, and in this case, Adeptus Mechanicus recruiting. As great the need for soldiers was, not a one of them would be as great as they were without the wisdom of the Tech Cult and the diligence of its Enginseers. The rust red robes and the Martian soil they heralded were all Mathias' future held, the weight of mechandrites bearing the familiarity that a Guardsman holds their flak armor. His education had shifted away from the drilling of physical perfection to the pursuit of knowledge and the honing of finer articulation. In a sense it was a period of constant failure, fumbling in the dark to do that which every Imperial Citizen had been indoctrinated to do otherwise; To question the unknown. Assembling a Lasgun required no knowledge of a forces which produced the charge in a power pack, yet now Mathias mind was compelled to stretch beyond the yolk of dogma and fathom the processes of the very universe from which they were all but cogs in a glorious mechanism of such scale and design he wept before the Emperor visage, and the mechanism he had wrought as the Omnissah's vessel. Though the very act of observation does the universe change, and as Mathias' knowledge swelled so to did his interests shift and whirl from the building blocks of physics to the maintenance of the Imperium's engines of war, and ultimately came to drift towards a peculiar field of inquiry. In the beginning steps of an Enginseer he was ravenous to understand the workings of a Chimera transport and how to go about repairs of various damages common to use in combat, yet as with all Cadians his thoughts came upon the practical usage of his skills against one enemy in particular. Valhallan's had their nemesis in the Orks, and even Space Marines like the White Scars had a particular grudge against the Dark Eldar. Mathias thought of Chaos. He thought of mobs of cultists with their flesh profaned with the icons of the Ruinous powers. He thought of treacherous PDF who'd rather turn their guns upon comrades and serve demons then give their life for the Emperor. He thought of their Lasguns once made pure with every solemn incantation of the a Guardsman's litanies and bristled as the machine spirits were turned upon the Omnissiah. Thoughts rumbling beneath the boots of Chaos Space Marines and their Daemon infused Bolters spewing curses without end, of Predator tanks spewing infernal fire as they trundled like wild beasts over Imperial ramparts. More then any other enemy, Chaos was the one who robbed the Imperium of its glory, who sullied the grand mechanism for which they all spun their lives to the last to keep in motion. The standard procedure was to destroy that which was tainted and free the machine spirit trapped within, yet it was simple to find a path to a far greater victory over the traitor hordes. Reclamation. Any above the ranks of menials could request induction into the order of Techsorcists, provided they had the aptitude to complete a 7000 question test with only 3 hours of preparation and the approval of the Inquisition. He threw himself upon the task with the fervor of one storming from their trench and crossing no mans land, every step forward possibly your last amidst a tide of opposition. But he was borne to the Emperor's Light and the Omnissiah's designs. Born to Cadian blood and the most righteous Imperium, the vanguard against terror, and he would remain unbroken against such paltry trials. 7000 questions later and he emerged with his Techsorcist Mechandrite, and went on to finish his studies with all due haste before requesting to return to the Cadian Gate for assignment. He'd hoped to spend his life defending the Imperium from Chaos, and tearing away their stolen technology to restore its Machine Spirit to former glory right before the baleful eye itself. Yet scarce few years went by, bouncing between regiments and patrol ships, before the 13th Black Crusade changed the face of the galaxy, and Cadia fought to its dying breath before succumbing to the Despoilers final slight against the beleaguered defenders. Mathias was not there to witness a Living Saint fight the Chosen of Chaos, nor did he see Creed's heroism rouse the likes of Astartes and Nobles to new heights. Instead he could only watch from a neighboring planet as they shrunk, then grew, as Cadia shattered before a falling Blackstone Fortress. There was no respite, no time to mourn, as the warbands of Chaos splintered off to pillage the remaining planets in the system and he was drawn into the street-by-street fighting for his very survival. Mechandrites were more often thrust at the frenzied cultist then was put to use maintaining armaments, and Mathias' quest for Reclamation was paused for a time, till little by little the infighting of Chaos shattered the back of their offensive and some ill-fitting sense of normalcy asserted itself. And it was into this period of transition that he found himself approached by Servo Skull with an unexpected, but wholly welcome invitation. Finally, there was a challenge worthy of his skill. [b]Equipment and Armament:[/b] Quintet of Mechandrites (Described above.) Cortex Implants. Vox-caster. Mechanicus Cog Wheel Medallion Servo Skull: Originally equipped solely for remote reconnaissance, has been outfitted with an engraving tool and a small data module containing the patterns for hexagrammic seals, allowing the Servo Skull to carve said seal into terrain, vehicles, or flesh- Assuming said flesh doesn't swat the skull away. The brow of the skull has a neatly carved cogwheel resting at the center of a wrought iron gate. Sacred Oils and Incense. Cogitator Gauntlet: Grafted to his left arm and fitted with similar seals as Techsorcist Mechandrite, it allows for ease of access with Machine Spirits and additional processing capabilities outside his own cortical implants. [b]Miscellaneous:[/b] Anything you want to mention but haven't been able to cover yet. [/hider]