[hider=Daena io Azrael, the Angel of Death]
[b]Name:[/b] Daena io Azrael

[b]Gender:[/b] Female

[b]Homeworld:[/b] Irkalla Solum, classification δτ ("Death World"), should not exist. Records from the Dark Age of Technology name it as Irkalla Tertius, the least of three worlds capable of supporting life in that star system - but humanity's fall from grace took a bitter toll. During the Age of Strife both the hive world of Irkalla Secundus and the agri world of Irkalla Primus were destroyed in an unknown cataclysm that shattered the system, untold trillions perishing. Naught now remains of them save for circling rings of dust and rock that dance about their home star. But by some stroke of luck one world settled by man remained intact, preliminary analysis by the Mechanicum suggesting that a conjunction of Irkalla Tertius with the gas giant of Irkalla Sextus sheltered it from the storm.

Once an overlooked mining world feeding precious minerals to the flourishing society within the system during humanity's zenith, that past is immortalized by the monumental hulks of long inoperative mass excavators. Now, it is one of the few stellar bodies capable of supporting an atmosphere in the Irkalla system, and the only one with a gas mix compatible with human life. But though it was saved from destruction, the scars of that ancient calamity are deep.

Those who survived the shattering of Irkalla slowly picked up the pieces, the old mining concerns forming the basis of a new path forward in an uncertain world. Man labored tirelessly to raise himself from the calamity's ruin in a world forever changed, a stranger to them once more. It is a challenge depressingly common throughout the former realm of humanity during the Age of Strife, but the challenges here were greater than most.

The local wildlife on Tertius, fierce to begin with, were not cowed by the devastation wrought upon their home. Instead they grew stronger, and some whisper that they seemed to grow crueler, monstrosities unknown to humanity stalking them at their weakest hour, turned mutant and feral on a world inundated by radiation and worse. And more beside stalk the wastes, for stalking the blasted landscape are the relics of the long past golden age. Maddened automatons, clouds of death, and horrors forgotten generations ago all bring destruction and terror. Yet even here, surrounded by great and powerful terrors, humanity pressed on.

[hider=Irkalla System Gazetteer]

+++Accessing Carta Galactica...+++
+++Primary information recovered from Dark Age data core, record date approximation [b]M22[/b]+++
+++Supplemental information gathered by the hand of the Glorious Emperor of Humanity [b]M30.890[/b]+++
+++Beginning record.+++

Welcome to Irkalla! Whether you've come to our home to stay, or just passing through, you'd do well to get accustomed to our little slice of the galaxy. Please note that accommodations for non-human physiologies are significantly hard to find outside of Irkalla Secundus, if you require such please contact the [color=red]+WARNING: DATA CONTAMINATION DETECTED. PLAYBACK SKIPPING CORRUPT SEGMENT.+[/color] and do enjoy your stay!

[b]Irkalla Stella:[/b] A standard yellow dwarf, similar in many respects to Sol itself. Stellar cartographers estimate that the Irkalla star is approximately halfway through its lifespan. [color=lightskyblue][u][Kids, click here for more fun star facts!][/u][/color] [color=red]+Supplemental information for adolescents was unrecoverable.+[/color]

[color=red]Contemporary examination of the star reveal it be aberrant, having somehow transformed into a blue dwarf. Local reports indicate that it intermittently surges purple-violet in defiance of known science, but this was not recorded by Imperial instruments. Mechanicum scholars have requested permission to erect a stellar observatory.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Primus:[/b] The breadbasket of Irkalla! Located about as close as you can get to the sun without burning up, crops grow here at a rapid rate. So bountiful are its fields that over ninety percent of its output is exported to other star systems within [color=red]+WARNING: DATA CONTAMINATION DETECTED. PLAYBACK SKIPPING CORRUPT SEGMENT.+[/color] and that's just to name a few of the local delicacies. Visit today!

[color=red]Irkalla Primus has been destroyed, orbital track now inhabited by a ring of planetary fragments.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Secundus:[/b] Capital of the Irkalla system, the great cities here are home to over eight hundred billion people and counting. If you're interested in high arts or the nightlife, or anything in between, there's something here for you. Restaurants, bars, clubs, opera houses, and more dot the spires, some local outposts from establishments linked back to Terra itself!

[color=red]Irkalla Secundus has been destroyed, orbital track now inhabited by a ring of planetary fragments.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Tertius:[/b] If you like to rock a little bit more on the wilder side, this is the place for you! A cold world rich with mineral deposits, several mining concerns from [color=red]+WARNING: DATA CONTAMINATION DETECTED. PLAYBACK SKIPPING CORRUPT SEGMENT.+[/color] dot the surface, enticing explorers new and old! But take care, outside the mining zones little has been done to push back the native wildlife, and they're not the funnest critters to mess with. For those day trippers out there who want to spend the afternoon risking life and limb and evening in a warm bed, this is the place for you!

[color=red]Redesignated Irkalla Solum. The planet remains intact and its original record remains approximately 60% accurate. Exploitation of mineral deposits is highly encouraged, as the same calamity that destroyed the rest of the system rent great chasms in the surface, exposing a bounty of wealth. Local fauna have become only more dangerous however, and there are reports from the locals that technology predating the Age of Strife remains active. Extreme caution is advised.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Quartus:[/b] We like to think of Quartus as our last little light before you head out into the great dark beyond. It's a small planet, barely large enough to keep an atmosphere, and rests at the opposite end of the habitable zone from Primus. Settlement is extremely minimal, and we ask that any who wish to do more than tour the planet sign several liability release waivers. If you just want to get away from it all and eke it out like humanity used to, you can't get better than here.

[color=red]Irkalla Quartus has been destroyed, orbital track now inhabited by a ring of planetary fragments.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Quintus:[/b] If Quartus isn't remote enough for you, give Quintus a shot. Resting outside the habitable zone, your only neighbors will be the occasional mineralogical survey. Please note, settlement assistance is not available on Quintus.

[color=red]Irkalla Quintus has been destroyed, orbital track now inhabited by a ring of planetary fragments.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Sextus:[/b] An immense gas giant near the outskirts of the system, Sextus is the home of the largest refueling depot for light years. For many travelers, this is their last stop before heading off to parts unknown, and trust us that you'll never forget the sight of an entire fleet of sprint traders lighting their drives as they depart.

[color=red]Redesignated Irkalla Quassus. The very world seems to bleed, a great cloud of gas trailing from it as it drifts through the void, and it is significantly smaller than prior records suggest. Mechanicum envoys hypothesize that examination of this wound could be used to date the shattering of Irkalla.[/color]

[b]Irkalla Septus:[/b] Sextus' little sister, Septus is a far smaller gas giant but still rich in hydrogen and helium fuel. Travelers frustrated with the wait times at Sextus can make use of the smaller depots located in orbit here, but it's most commonly used by local shipping.

[color=red]Redesignated Irkalla Moror. The former gas giant has dissipated entirely, leaving only the dense metal core to mark its passage. Even this has been knocked significantly off course, its orbit now highly elliptical.[/color]

This document was prepared by the Irkalla Tourism Board. We hope you enjoy your stay!

+++End of record.+++[/hider]
[b]Appearance:[/b] Daena is clearly a mutant, fully formed wings sprouting from her back. Even overlooking these, her form is distressing for most to look upon, blessed by a beauty beyond the human to the point that her perfection is inhuman. Over nine feet tall, her face is set with eyes of pure white, tresses the same color cascading down from her head. To some, she is an angel sent from on high, to others, an abomination of the human form, but to all it is clear that the giant woman is no ordinary human.

At peace she wears fine, if unornamented, robes appropriate for one one of high station, all such clothing tailored not just for her superhuman form but also the horror of her unwanted gift. At war she girds herself in finely wrought raiment, a suit of artificer armor that remains light enough for her to take flight unaided. She makes no attempt to hide the truth of herself in any arena, forcing the awe struck and the disgusted both to deal with the sight before them.

[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4e78d9e1-f4b2-4a3f-8871-2833634951e3/d731q7i-09d07e16-9fe9-43cd-bb1e-573c95049604.png/v1/fill/w_1600,h_947,q_80,strp/avacyn__angel_of_hope_wallpaper_by_dericwadleigh_d731q7i-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD05NDciLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC80ZTc4ZDllMS1mNGIyLTRhM2YtODg3MS0yODMzNjM0OTUxZTNcL2Q3MzFxN2ktMDlkMDdlMTYtOWZlOS00M2NkLWJiMWUtNTczYzk1MDQ5NjA0LnBuZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xNjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.L3qIhZpt5ng4qgtCkqMPwZaGvYzQQyVfFv1VTjNgI5I[/img]

[b]Personality:[/b] The Mistress of the XIVth is an impassive judge, a silent figure upon her high table, observing and weighing all. Her pronouncements are handed down with an iron surety, and it is said that only her father can dissuade her from a decision once she has made it. But beneath her iron countenance is a woman crushed by the weight of her office and the responsibilities it entails. Such is her compassion for mankind that she has been forced to kill her compassion itself, locking herself in the brutal calculus of death.

Those who she saves. Those who she will not save. Those whose lives she will spend. Those whose lives she will not spend. Those who she will kill. Those who she will not kill. Those who are saved because she killed they who would have killed in the future. Those who are not saved because she did not kill they who kill in the future. Each is assigned and weighted, awaiting the terrible doom to be given. What is one death to save one thousand? What is one thousand deaths to save one million? What is one million deaths to save one billion? What is damning one world to save ten? What is a xenocide to save all mankind?

To save one must kill. To kill is to deny salvation. But if each she sends to their death means the salvation of another, it is worth it. It is enough for a death to purchase a life, and the greatest tragedy for death to be in vain. By the same token, there is nothing more certain to rouse her wrath than wanton slaughter, no affront greater than a needless killing. Those who reject the infinite mercy of the Glorious Emperor of Humanity, be they man or xenos, are pitied as fools who bring death upon their own heads - who must be forced to submit and their leaders brought to account.

And yet, deep within her breast, one hope blazes. A dream. The conviction that it must be possible to save all.

[b]Skills:[/b]
[list]
[b]Flight:[/b] Though mutated, some use may be made of her affliction. The wings upon her back are fully functional, capable of lifting her into the air and enabling her to fly with shocking maneuverability. Such is their strength that she can even fly in full power armor, though she prefers a far lighter suit of artificer armor designed for her.

[b]Resilience:[/b] Danae's mind and body both are difficult to break, the Primarch having been exposed to horrors beyond human comprehension before being rescued by the Emperor. Spikes of hard radiation and the sight of countless companions falling have both hardened her, and she is all but immune to both environmental hazards and psychological distress.

[b]Inquest:[/b] Observation and evaluation are two sides of the same coin, and she has mastered both. With but a glance, she is able to determine the weak points in an opponent's armor, their relative strength compared to both herself and other foes, and determine how best to strike them down. Prolonged examination of a person, place, or problem permit her something close to true understanding, keen intuition filling in the blanks and providing a more or less accurate picture off of minimal information. Such insight is often combined with her psychic powers.

[b]Deathsight:[/b] An irregular and not always desired psychic gift, Danae has the ability to gaze at any being with a soul and determine its manner of death. This is not true foresight, but instead the future [i]most[/i] likely to occur with the clarity increasing as the event comes closer into being. Due to the lack of context provided with such visions, it is impossible to tell if actions taken in response to such information are truly averting the fate - or simply playing out as designed.

[b]Decree Absolute:[/b] Rarely does the Primarch use this ability, but when she does woe betide all upon the field. Channeling the force of her own conviction, she pronounces a mighty doom with such force that all who hear it are convinced that not only [i]should[/i] the judgement come to pass, but that it [i]must[/i]. Armies and nations have been whipped into furor upon her word, never stopping until all is as was said or they lay dead.
[/list]

[b]Wargear:[/b]
[list]
[b]Heavenly Raiment:[/b] A unique set of Artificer Armor, crafted by the command of the Emperor Himself to grant His daughter protection from all foes by the greatest masters of the Stargazers legion. Shockingly thin, it offers far more protection than it appears, made of sheets of auramite overlaid with a coating of silver and black adamantium. Should that outer covering be destroyed, the pure gold of the material that girds the Emperor's own Custodes would be revealed. Despite the great weight, it is rendered essentially weightless due to the installation of an abeyant, permitting Danae to fly unencumbered. As added protection, it incorporates a conversion field, dazzling all those who would dare land a blow upon the Primarch.

[b]Lance of Judgement:[/b] Building upon the basic patterns of force staves and swords, Danae commissioned the creation of a force spear to her specifications by reforging her own weapon of Irkallan truesilver. The resulting weapon is both light and deadly, its blades sharp enough to pierce even the stoutest armor without the formidable psychic might of its wielder. In her hands, it is an instrument of death, ending the strongest of foes in a single strike.

[b]Purgation:[/b] Appearing as a masterfully crafted inferno pistol, Danae has been seen to take impossibly distant shots with this sidearm. Closer examination reveals the truth, the "pistol" as large as a melta gun. Like all melta weapons, it is able to burrow through armor like so much tissue paper, showering the other side with molten death.
[/list]

[b]Assignment Grade:[/b] Delta. Though most associated with the discipline of divination due to her uncanny pronouncements, her ability with such powers is rather limited in comparison to true masters. Danae is most proficient with telepathy, using it as effortlessly as speech. Sending orders, reading minds, inspiring her followers, or simply striking down those who face her all within her capabilities.

[b]Biography:[/b]

[hider=Biography]
Incubation pod XIV was flung far from Terra, its course taking it deep into the Ultima Segmentum. Out upon the fringes of the galaxy is a lonely and scarred star, orbited by shattered rings of gas and dust - and one world that still bore life. Hurtling by the corpses of dead worlds, Danae's incubation pod crash landed upon the former mining world of Irkalla Tertius. Once a vital conduit of mineral wealth for teeming trillions, the scavenger clans of Irkalla are the descendants of foremen, technicians, and guards who once operated the automated digs.

Threatened by wildlife, other survivors mutated by the harsh environment, and the senseless depredations of automatons following nonsense orders, the people of Irkalla were loathe to approach the crashed pod. Eventually, a man with more courage than most came to see what fell from the sky, and upon recounting that it was a device that shone of metal avarice overcame fear. The scavengers fell upon the pod, keen to salvage its material for their own projects, only to discover a child inside. The fact that she was clearly a mutant complicated things less than might be expected, the clan simply sending her to live with the local witches, wyrds, and oracles living in the hulk of a defunct mass excavator the shadow of which loomed over the makeshift village.

Like all her siblings, she grew rapidly, absorbing every skill she was taught by those around her. Regrettably, she proved a second-rate prophet despite the best training, the growing child far too obstinate to introduce vagueness and flattery into her foretellings for them to seem 'genuine' to a planet accustomed to superstitions. Lest she bring disrepute to the seers around her with her penchant for only telling what she saw, the make shift temple assigned her to the guards. Austere figures bearing truesilver spears and cloaked in robes, the ranks of the guards were constantly worn down by the native wild life and their fellow man. While most who traveled to the great hulks of the mass excavators did so to beseech the wyrds who based themselves from that relic of a bygone age, there were always the foolish and greedy who sought to loot those tombs of the past.

It was while chasing down one such scavenger that then teenager awoke to her most accursed of gifts. Pursuing the thief deeper into the bulk of the dead god-machine then her fellows dared, wings unfurled and spear upright, she descended into a blackness so deep that even the senses of a Primarch were of little use. Her foe, armed with stolen archaeotech, was far less hindered and readied a killing strike against the guard. The vision that unfurled before her in that moment was unlike her attempts at divination, the path to victory shining bright in her mind's eye with an unnatural clarity - but it was not from [i]her[/i] perspective. Instead young Daena foresaw herself swoop down upon out stretched wings and drive her spear into the chest of her enemy, through his own eyes. An abomination come from on high, the deliverance of justice, the angel of death.

Returning from the pits once filled with glimmering ore and untold riches, the guard was given the title of Deathseer and underwent the training to refine her newfound skill. Over the course of years, she found a way to see without sight, gazing into the swirling probabilities about everyone's soul and seize upon their terminus. For all men who live must one day die, all things that begin must in time end, and it was there, at the the cessation of possibility, that she was drawn. Despite her best efforts, she could never elevate her gift to the point of decreeing true fate - but in some ways that made her more valuable to the oracles. A warrior will pay more to know of a doom he can yet change than one which is set in stone after all. Indeed, the limitations on her sight were all likely preferable than perfect visions would be, for there is little more reassuring than being told that ones death is so distant no details can be parsed from what was seen.

The popularity of the 'Oracle of Death' soared across Irkalla as her predictions either came true, or even better, came just true enough for death to be thwarted. Such was Daena's fate never to conquer or unite her world, but instead to be viewed by the jostling techno-barbarians and scavenger clans as a valuable resource. The tribe that found her soon capitalized upon the fame of the angel who fell from the sky, their village quickly expanding to accommodate all those who wished to have their deaths seen. For nigh on a century this was the Primarch's life, accruing riches and power as she inevitably became mistress of the oracles and wyrds, her dominion stretching from their 'temple' to the growing city and the wastes beyond. While around her, chaos and death reigned, within her realm saw peace and a measure of prosperity. Slowly but surely, she began increasing her control, seeking to win without fighting and bring her peace to every soul.

Until the day she began to see her own death. She had first tried to do so as a child, shortly after her power first showed itself, and saw nothing. Decades passed with the woman occasionally daring to gaze into her own future, but the lack of response was so stunning she began to doubt if she could use her power on herself. And then she could. A sudden vision, brought forth by the innocuous act of looking herself in the mirror, of a purging light scouring her from existence. Troubled, she sent her servants and spies to discover if a new archeotech weapon had been discovered elsewhere on the planet, to no avail. Even more troubling was seeing that her closest companions seemed to suffer the same fate, and so she prepared herself for what was to come in the only way she could.

A grand convocation of every psyker with even the barest skill at divination was brought together, the assembly peering through the skeins of fate to find the bringer of their doom. When the truth was discovered, it is said that the oracles and prophets and wyrds and witches screamed in terror at the power of the being they witnessed, but Daena only whispered 'father' before dismissing those who had hurried to her side. Faced with the impossible might boring down upon them, the Primarch made no attempt to ready for war. It would make no difference either way.

When the Emperor came, his daughter recognized him and welcomed him to her home. Of what they spoke, little is known and much is rumored, but she agreed to stand by his side and bring his peace to the galaxy. Thwarting the fate she had seen, she boarded his ships of gold and reunited with her own gene-daughters, at last taking command of the XIVth. But the occasion was anything but a happy one. Discovered by a Stargazers fleet led by her brother, the stench of death hung heavy in the air and the number of her own Astartes was few. It is said that it was during these early days that she adopted her stoic countenance, but this is wrong. Far too astute to waste tears on the Stargazers in public, she nonetheless lamented the sacrifices they had made, and will make, alongside her own daughters.

It was only the beginning of her sorrows. Departing with the Emperor for her own Legion's main force, she found herself installed as Mistress of the XIVth halfway through the brutality of the Rangdan Xenocides. The deaths she foresaw for her own daughters, women greeting their Primarch and mother for the first time, etched themselves upon Daena's mind. Each Astartes who swore fealty to her, each who saluted her joyously at her finally having been found, each boasting during the grand feasts, each of her daughters who would suffer death and worse at her first commands - they were far too much to bear. Her closest confidants, the few she bothered to take with her from Irkalla, were the only ones permitted with her in private in those days, and whispers swirled that the Primarch was unable to command her own Legion. Feeling something on the verge of breaking inside of her, the telepathic woman took the step of reaching into her own mind to smother her emotions themselves, a state that rendered the superhuman far less than human more often than not.

Ordering her Legion forwards into the most wretched of wars with the cold efficiency of an automaton, she weighed the corpses made with each decision and picked the lighter side of the scale. Atrocity and slaughter were justified in the name of ending atrocity and slaughter, but even with her neutered emotions her daughters whispered that their mother wept at the sacrifices made at her command. Keeping to her resolve, the grim humor of the XIVth soon named her 'Doomsayer' - a name that stuck. Her reaction upon hearing the title given to her by her daughters is said to be one of the few times she smiled during the bio-pogroms, the Primarch ordering the Legion's name changed on the spot.

With the conclusion of the hellish conflict against the Rangdan, Daena and her Doomsayers retired to the rear echelons of the Grim Crusade, resuming the original mission of the XIVth. While the uncharitable whispered that she lacked the resolve of her sister Eiosha or the inhumanity of her brother Sarghaul, she dedicated herself to ensuring that Compliant worlds remained so. Installing herself as the highest judge on hundreds of worlds she ruled on matters of loyalty, treason, Compliance, and Tolerance, speaking with the authority of the Emperor himself.
[/hider]

[b]The Meeting:[/b]

[hider=The Meeting]
A streak of gold descended from the sky, tracing the same arc as Daena's silver pod had made so long ago, the Deathseer of Irkalla tensing as she strained to make out if it was the death she had foreseen. She relaxed when it came close enough to be seen clearly as a ship, her death would not come so impersonally at the least. Turning to the identical oracles kneeling behind her atop the great bulk of the mass excavator that was her home, she beckoned at them to follow her as she made her way back inside.

"Do you trust me?" she asked the twins, her wings fluttering to steady herself as she climbed inside of the hull.

"Of course, Deathseer," the pair said as one, walking in after her with an unnaturally smooth gait. "And to answer your next question, no, we do not know what happens after you order the visitor to be let inside. So, it makes perfect sense for us to trust you. We'll be blind in a few minutes anyway," they add.

She said nothing further as she flew down to the great hall that had once been.... she wasn't certain what it once was, but it was a suitably cavernous space to fit the supplicants and attendants that were par for the course when foreseeing a great hero's death. Seating herself down upon her throne, wings splayed, she made ready to wait until the inevitable arrived.

The oracles had told her what this day would bring, as much as they could, several times but nonetheless her pulse quickened when the guard knelt before her and made his report. "There is a man at the gate, my lady. He calls himself the Emperor and wishes an audience with you. It is as was said."

"The Emperor of [i]what[/i]?"

"The.... Emperor of Humanity."

"That is a novel title..." The natives of Irkalla occasionally coalesced around strongmen and barbarians with a variety of ostentatious claims but this... felt different. She believed it.

Casting a glance at her personal seers for a moment, Daena gives the guard a nod. "Very well. Let him in. I do not think I have seen for an emperor before," she said, attempting to calm herself with levity - and also by going off script. Sometimes it felt good to defy fate, but she felt the glares from her oracles as she robbed them of the last certainty they had as their prescience was stolen from them but she paid it no mind. They'd get over it. Or they'd be dead.

A blinding light washed over the room as the doors opened, and for a moment she wondered if it was death after all, until her senses adjusted. Her [i]eyes[/i] saw a gleaming figure, that much was true, a tall man in golden armor - but that is not what she [i]saw[/i]. What she saw, what overwhelmed far more mundane sight, was the sheer number of possibilities radiating off of this Emperor - the sheer number of deaths. Sitting upon her throne, she saw a thousand thousand endings as he approached her, fate itself twisting and writhing with his every act. He was a locus of events, a place of many beginnings and many endings. And oh, he had so many endings.

She saw him die. She saw herself die. She saw those around her die. She saw those she never met die. But not once did the deaths stay the same.

The man, a flaming sword in hand, severing her head. Her, forcing her spear deep inside of his breast. The man, a gold tipped claw piercing her heart. Her, falling from the sky as impossible figures tore her apart. Her, leading the same against him. A winged man, his spine broken. A wise man, turning to dust. Armies killing at her command. Armies dying at her word. Worlds cracking. Cities starving. The stars burning. The man, a living a corpse, dying over the course of ten thousand years upon a throne of gold.

And then he came to a stop before her and the future vanished from her sight.

"Daena io Azrael. The Angel of Death. Deathseer of Irkalla." He spoke in statements, a man used to obedience. Perhaps a man deserving it.

Composing herself upon her throne, she regarded this Emperor clearly for the first time. He was tall, taller than even herself, and possessed the same impossible perfection. A word blossomed in her mind, once lost in the chaos and frenzy of visions, surfacing once more.

"Father."

"You know why I have come then."

"I know enough. I have seen enough."

"Then shall you join me?" he asked, and in that moment the sight of her death was never clearer. To answer no would to invite utter destruction, for her father had no need for truculent children.

"A question, father, I beg of you," she said, raising a hand as if to ward off the fate that was creeping closer and closer. The Emperor gave only a nod in reply, but that was enough. "Do you think we can actually succeed?"

A long silence stretched out as the two superhumans stared at one another, the vision of her death fading away the longer he thought on her question. When his answer finally came, it was not a surprise. The same will to demand obedience seemed to apply to the galaxy itself. 

"We must, Daena. For all mankind."

Fluttering down from her throne, she presented herself on bent knee to him, staring up into his eyes as she supplicated her twisted body before him. "Then I am yours, if you shall have me, oh Emperor mine." [i]Oh murderer mine.[/i]
[/hider]
[/hider]

[hider=Legio XIV, the Doomsayers]
Legion Name: Doomsayers, formerly known as the Judicators

Legion Number: XIV

Legion Strength: 200,000 Astartes

[hider=Armour Appearance]
[img]http://puu.sh/GGuWc/47b25fb400.png[/img]
[i]A Lady Commander of the Doomsayers in Mk IV Armor.[/i]

[img]http://puu.sh/GGuEX/4cfd318bcc.png[/img]
[i]A Doomsayer Praetorian in Mk II Armor, so rare are Mk IVs within the ranks of the XIVth Legion that even its Honor Guards are not fully outfitted with them.[/i]

[img]http://puu.sh/GGuFa/0ba4113971.png[/img]
[i]A Doomsayer Veteran.[/i]

[img]http://puu.sh/GGuFl/1823dbe0d6.png[/img]
[i]A Doomsayer Tactical Marine.[/i]

[img]http://puu.sh/GGuWX/30654afcac.png[/img]
[i]A Doomsayer member of the Revenant Wing.[/i]
[/hider]
Warcry: "We are the final judgement!" was the Legion's original warcry, "Your doom comes!" has become increasingly popular since the adoption of the Doomsayer name.

[hider=Dramatis Personae]
[list]
[*] Legion Mistress Vairya Kurus: The first and only leader of the Judicators before reunification with Daena, she was granted the honor of retaining her title and now serves as second in command of the Legion. As the effective executive officer of the Doomsayers, she serves as head of the Praetorate and is tasked with ensuring that the needs of the Legion are met.

[*] Equerry Yekterina Ascania: Equerry to the Primarch, one of the last Terran Astartes who fought with the Legion before Daena's rediscovery. The Primarch values her relative youth and her ability to consider both Terran and Irkallan influences upon the Legion, and often consults her for a fresh view of proposed changes.

[*] Praetor Primus Asha io Qaphsiel: Head of Daena's personal bodyguard, one of the few Irkallan Marines raised to the Praetorate in any capacity. Raised within the temple that the Primarch herself dwelt in, she was in training to become a guard when the Emperor arrived. Swept into the stars and transformed into an Astartes, she quickly won acclaim as a warrior and was soon gifted an intricate silver spear of the same make as her Primarch's own and inducted into her guard.

[*] Lady Commander Livia Kastrioti: Commander of the First Chapter, a Terran born warrior who partook in smothering the last embers of the Unification Wars. Even as other Legions set out across the galaxy under the command of the Emperor and his generals, a great bulk of the Doomsayers remained behind within Sol and upon Terra itself to ensure that the hard won peace was kept.

[*] The Two Hundred: Ladies Commander of the Doomsayers, undisputed mistresses of the Legion's two hundred or so Chapters. The Lady Commander of the First Chapter is often considered the first among equals in their number, but the best that Livia could hope to accomplish is advising her sisters in arms. These operational commanders are trusted with and accustomed to independent command, and each is a fearsome warrior in her own right.

[*] Librarus Spenta io Raziel: The senior-most Irkallan Marine within the Legion, Spenta is the Chief Librarian of the Doomsayers and in many ways a mirror of her Primarch. Granted a limited form of Deathsight, the legacy of her gene-mother has also transformed her hair and eyes a stark white. Formerly a junior oracle within Daena's temple, she was one of the few witches of that place deemed both stable and young enough for transformation into an Astartes.

[*] Mistress of the Forge Elise Hohenheim: Born to a family of engineers in the confederation of orbital habitats and moons around the great gas giant Saturn, Elise was a girl when the Saturnyne Ordo was brought into Compliance with the Imperium. Her technical aptitude was noticed immediately after her induction into the Legion, the new Astarte sent to Mars for training as a Techmarine in accordance with the Treaty of Mars. To say her religious indoctrination did not stick would be an understatement, the entirety of the Legion's Techmarines at best paying lip service to the Omnissiah. The arrival of her Primarch and the Emperor's decree that the XIVth was exempt from the provisions of the treaty was a relief, and the highest ranking Techmarine of the Doomsayers has worked to ensure that true believers within her ranks are kept content.

[*] Lord Engineer Gustav Hohenheim: Twin brother of the Mistress of the Forge, he originally followed a vastly different career path than his sister, becoming an engineer involved in the manufacture of the Solar Auxilia's fearsome Void Armor. His skills soon granted him a name of his own, and though some may decry his appointment as nepotism, few would question his abilities to his face. Serving alongside his twin as head of the non-Astartes scientists and engineers attached to the Legion, he performs much the same role of a Mechanicum representative within other Legions.

[*] Navigator-Plenipotentiary Ramalies Pytheas: An ancient house of the Navis Nobilite that predates the Imperium itself, House Pytheas has served the Emperor since the days of the Unification Wars. Ramalies is himself a veteran Navigator who has served with the XIVth since it was founded, eventually rising to the august post of Navigator-Plenipotentiary of the Legion. Charged with coordinating the secretive Navigators with their Astartes mistresses, and senior-most of their number, he is arguably the most powerful person in the ranks of the Doomsayers other than the Primarch herself.
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[hider=Legion Organization]
The Doomsayers are unique among the Legions for retaining almost all aspects of their original character, including the Terran Standard organizational template laid down by the Officio Militaris at their founding. The Legion with the Primarch and Legion Mistress at its head is divided into Chapters, nominally composed of one thousand Astartes, led by a Lady Commander. Chapters are further subdivided into two Battalions of five hundred, led by Lieutenant Commanders, which are then broken down into Companies of one hundred each under the authority of a Company Captain. A Company is composed of four platoons led by Lieutenants - three line platoons and a support platoon. The line platoons consist of two standard tactical squads of approximately ten Astartes, with an attached support squad of another five, comprising roughly a fourth of the Company's fighting power. Finally, the support platoon is the home of heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and their maintenance and operational personnel.

Under the original dictates of the Officio Militaris, each Chapter was expected to be able to not just fight alone, but operate independently for indeterminate periods of time. The Ladies Commander of the Doomsayers are still granted this awesome right, and each is in command of not only a thousand Legionaries but an entire fleet with which to transport them. As a result, the full might of the Legion is almost never brought to bear, its Chapters strewn throughout the galaxy. A common deployment pattern of the Doomsayers is for a Chapter to be dispatched to a collection of worlds nominally brought under Compliance, but considered too militant or technologically advanced to leave loosely guarded. Dividing up her Companies, the Lady Commander sprinkles garrisons across potentially rebellious planets, ensuring that their populaces remain Compliant. In this way the Legion not only gains battlefield experience through the more typical assignments given to an Astartes, but that of peacekeeping and administration as well.

Perhaps even more shocking however is that the Legion remains comprised, at least on paper, almost entirely of Terran born stock. Originally raised from warriors of the Achaemenid Empire, a coalition of tribes who swiftly swore fealty to the Emperor, and recruiting further afield as Unification wore on, the Legion maintained its original raising grounds even after reunification with its Primarch. Though partly done out of need, there were few both strong enough and with pure enough genes on Irkalla to replace the influx of Terran Marines, it was also served a convenient secondary purpose. The militant tribes of Terra, those of Albia and Meric and Ursh, were keen for martial glory even centuries after Unification, and service in the Legiones Astartes proved an adept release valve for such hunger. Though the Legion has also taken to recruiting from the worlds it garrisons, it keeps itself to a strict policy of only accepting volunteers from not only these planets but Irkalla and Terra as well.

This results in an intake rate that some functionaries of the nascent Administratum find impossibly low considering the standing strength of the Legion in recent years. Indeed, much of the Legion's history seems deliberately obscured, the XIVth nearly doubling in size after the Rangdan Xenocides, an event coinciding with the creation of the Revenant Wing, a rapid strike force utterly at odds with standard Doomsayer doctrine. Every member is a veteran of those grim days, and seem to hurl themselves at death with a wild abandon, charging headlong into the heart of the enemy's forces. Marines of the Revenant Wing act so contrary to the typical behavior of the Doomsayers that some whisper they are not members of the XIVth at all, but that is of course merely conjecture.

The arguably greater variation that the Doomsayers have taken from the Legion norm is their refusal to induct their Techmarines into the Martian Mechanicum. Having remained in Sol far longer than the other Legions ensuring the Compliance of the Selenar gene-cults of Luna and the tech-enclaves of the Saturnyne Ordo without which the Crusade itself might flounder, they become linked not only with these independent scientific minds but also the Terran researchers of the Emperor himself. For decades this was an informal affair, the Legion operating with Imperial scientists and recruiting technically inclined women from Saturn's habitats while still obeying the tenets of the Treaty of Mars. It was upon Daena's rediscovery by the Stargazers that change was truly wrought, the Emperor decreeing that the Doomsayers were exempt from the requirement to have their Astartes technicians be members of the Cult. The motivation behind this proclamation is still unclear, some contending that it was requested by the Primarch herself due to her zealous adoption of the Imperial Truth, while others whisper that it was the Emperor's way of 'balancing the scales' due to having two of his sons so tightly tied to the Mechanicum. Regardless of the rationale, the number of Mechanicum Techmarines in the XIVth, always low, has been permitted to stagnate, their losses replaced by secular scientists trained on Terra, Luna, and around Saturn.
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[hider=Battlefield Role]
Where other Legions have a tendency to adopt particular styles of battle, the Doomsayers seem to almost consciously reject such specialization. Serving as a reserve and garrison force prior to Daena's discovery, the Primarch has made almost no alterations to the Legion's order of battle with the notable exception of the Revenant Wing. Able to fight any conflict, but lacking true mastery, they are the consummate second line, ready to engage in any emergency that may develop without obvious weak points.

Their greatest weakness is a lack of speed - where a Legion such as the Lurkers can immediately enter amphibious operations, the Doomsayers must first prepare themselves for such a battlefield. But this is in a sense also their greatest strength, for the patience required to observe and understand an enemy, to determine the best means by which they ought to be destroyed, have taught them secrets more forthright Legions have ground into the dust of history. Where the Serpents or the Dreadlords would erase their foe utterly, the Doomsayers pore over their ruins and lore, and have amassed a great trove of knowledge.

While the other Legions have grown and evolved, tailoring their wargear to their tastes, the Doomsayers have remained strangely static, utilizing to a woman almost the same equipment that they left Terra with. Mark II Power Armor and Volkite weaponry have yet to be replaced in any significant numbers with Mark IVs or bolters due to lack of wear - the latter of great significance to the Legion's secret councils. While upon the surface the Legion may seem strangely inactive, even indolent, its Primarch is watchful for threats that could threaten the entire Imperium. Spurred on by the harsh lessons of the Rangdan Xenocides, the Doomsayers have dedicated themselves to the eradication of enemy psykers - and the culling of enthralled Astartes. The darkest rumors contend that these have already been put to good use.
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[hider=Legion Characteristics and Ideology]
When the XIVth was reunited with its mistress, there was surprisingly little discord between them. Serving as the Emperor's magistrates and peacekeepers, the Judicators had already begun to see themselves as the Imperium's shield, and so the ideological drive of their Primarch to preserve human life was well received. Where other, more bellicose, Legions find war to be glorious, Daena and her daughters view it as a means to an end and zealously work to enact the Emperor's justice and peace upon the galaxy.

To that end, the Doomsayers dedicate themselves not just to martial vigor, but make a study of all aspects of humanity. Senior officers are expected to not only be strategic thinkers, but to have a working understanding of both the Administratum and the Lex Imperialis. The countless worlds throughout the galaxy that play host to a garrison from the XIVth often see the officer in charge place herself as both chief judge and bureaucrat, handling matters of justice and taxation if more appropriate Imperial officials are lacking. Dedicating themselves not just to humanity's expansion, but to the [i]idea[/i] of humanity, it is no surprise that the XIVth's fleets have one of the largest concentrations of Remembrancers, Iterators, and Elucidators of any of the Legions.

As stalwart believers in the Emperor's vision of a united mankind free of superstition, every member of the Legion is versed in the dictates of the Imperial Truth and scorn the worship of any God. Senior elements of the Legion, the Primarch included, have however began to wonder if the Emperor has kept silent on matters of great import, for the writings of cast down foes paint a picture of a foe that the Truth would render humanity utterly ignorant of if they were true. What even those doubters do hold as firm as any faith however is that if the gods spoken of in the rantings of the insane and superstitious truly do exist, then it is their duty to eliminate them from the universe.

Such dreams of utter extermination are not held towards all of humanity's foes however, the Legion viewing the Edict of Tolerance as a wise and prudent measure. The ultimate expression of xenocide would result in war unending, costing the lives of countless scores of humanity. Altogether better to end a war peacefully and increase the power of the Imperium than waste it on a foolish notion of purity. These notions compound upon one another - for if there are no gods, if only reason prevails, then it must be that any species with which one may reason can come to accept the Emperor's peace.

Internally, the Legion has relatively few cultural markers imposed or influenced by their Primarch or her geneseed, the melange of Terran tribes predominant in its place. Two massive exceptions do exist however. The first, and by far the more important, is the Legion's outlook upon death. Influenced both by the thoughts of their Primarch, and the preponderance of psykers who develop abilities similar to her Deathsight, it is believed that one's death will come when it comes, and that it is the duty of every member of mankind to face it well. As a result, the XIVth has a remarkably small number of Dreadnoughts, the honor reserved only for those who deserve to face death twice. The second is driven entirely by Daena's genetic legacy, with a significant proportion of all Legion aspirants developing either the whited out eyes or white hair of their Primarch - some developing both.

Other than these markers of their Primarch's influence, compared occasionally to that of the Lions Illustris, the Doomsayers have a rather stable geneseed. Astartes of the XIVth tend to be more likely than average to develop psychic ability, and often develop on the shorter end of superhuman, resembling baseline humanity more than even their other sisters. This suits their tendencies quite nicely, their immense scale granting them immediate awe and respect without appearing inhuman.

This embrace of the human does not end there, for the Legion does not just permit but instead requires its Astartes to maintain mundane relationships. Developed from the martial tribal culture of the Terran techno-barbarians that swelled the ranks of the XIVth, the idea that a warrior would leave her family behind has always been anathema to the Doomsayers. The glory hungry tribes went so far as to preserve the gametes of aspirants to the Legion, ensuring that their gene line could continue if the Legionnaire went to prove her worth. Daena did not just tolerate this, but expanded it after taking control of her Marines, standardizing the process so that all under her command could have a mundane child if they so desired. The first of only two stipulations is that such a woman be a mother in truth to her children, and the Doomsayer's children travel with the fleets like any other child of the Crusade. The second is that it is forbidden for the father to be another Astartes, the concept considered both incestuous and rather besides the point.
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[hider=Relationships]
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[*] The Emperor: It is unclear what the Master of Mankind thinks of the XIVth, with just as many whispering that he favors them as that he despises them. Kept far from the front lines for most of its history, and when brought to the fore rarely permitted to leave His side, it was assumed for centuries that He held distrust towards the abilities of its warriors. Yet, the missions they were entrusted with were of the utmost importance, often quelling rebellions within the heart of the Imperium that could spell disaster for the Crusade had they been left unchecked. In the quietest of councils however, it is rumored that the Emperor grows concerned with the knowledge the Legion has begun to amass. 

[*] Malcador and the Administratum: The Doomsayers are the Sigilite's favorite Legion almost by default, being as they are one of the few among the Astartes who think to care for the needs of the Administratum and his Order Elucidatum. Malcador frequently makes use of the Legion for his more irregular activities as well, knowing that the XIVth are always willing to assist entreaties from the civilian government. The Doomsayers often receive reports sooner and are able to receive what they need far easier from the Imperial bureaucracy, an advantage that is often overlooked.

[*] The Imperial Army: Taken as a whole, the Exercetus Imperialis have no small measure of awe and respect towards the Doomsayers, a respect that is often mutual - especially among the regiments of the Solar Auxilia and the Old Hundred. Loathe to waste human life, the Doomsayers refuse to throw the regiments of the Army into the meat grinder, a fact known and treasured by both officers and enlisted alike. Members of the Solar Auxilia raised from Saturn have a special affection for the XIVth, more than a few military families having a daughter within its ranks.

[*] The Mechanicum: The Priests of Mars do not particularly like nor dislike the XIVth Legion, instead viewing them with something altogether different and in many ways worse: utter indifference. Categorizing the Doomsayers as a Legion of least concern, most Mechanicum resources are diverted to ensuring the smooth operation of the other Astartes. Though of little issue at the moment, the Legion's own Techmarines more than sufficient for routine maintenance, there is notable lack of Tech-Priests among its fleets. It is considered likely that this is the Primarch's own doing, her initial exposure to the Mechanicum via the Stargazers seeding a distaste for the only religious body permitted within her father's Imperium. Surprisingly, the Mechanicum cares little for not receiving Techmarines from the Legion, more conservative magi contending that such were borderline hereteks to begin with. So long as all other provisions of the Treaty of Mars are followed, including the timely delivery of rediscovered STCs and the approval of new technologies, both parties seem content pretending the other does not exist.

[*] The Navis Nobilite: Few Space Marines engage with the affairs of the Navigators, but for the unusual deployment of the Doomsayers it is a necessity. Compacts have been forged with a slew of Houses for the services of their sons and daughters, for each Chapter of the Legion is expected to be able to traverse the Warp on its own - requiring an immense number of Navigators.

[*] Other Legions: The XIVth has kept itself aloof from the affairs of its brother and sisters even before its Primarch was discovered, its typical duties seeing them fight alongside the Imperial Army far more than other Legions. Where they did interact, it was at best for the duration of a campaign as emergency reinforcements before leaving once more. Daena saw no reason to alter this state of affairs, a decision that proved wise in the wake of the Rangdan Xenocides, a grueling era of war that saw the Doomsayers slay scores of fellow Astartes.
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