Rogerius Merrill

Rogerius Merrill
Discovered (world)	Profi Tiroedd
Discovered (period)	870.M30
Legion	Twentieth
Heraldry/Sigil
Distinguishing Traits	austere, quiet, alert
Flaws	psychopathic, anti-social
Horus Heresy role	Traitor.
Disposition	Daemon Prince
Dominion	Yr Helfa Annherfynol

This page details people, events, and organisations from The /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Rogerius Merrill, Primarch of The Iron Rangers

Personality

Merrill is a clinical psychopath. He is ruthless, cunning, and does not waste anything. He views much around him as tools to be used, and uses them until they no longer serve a purpose. Though he does not view the world in such a view as "good," and "evil," he understands that some actions will result in the greater benefit, whereas others will be a detriment to all. That being said, he does actively work towards the benefit of all, but it is definitely HIS version of that idea, which can put him at odds with other Primarchs and other members of the Imperium.

Conversationally, he does not add much. Though he has been known to make the occasional empassioned speech or long discussion, those are few and far between, and only when necessary. He says what needs to be said, usually being as sparse and direct with words as possible. He does not bandy with useless information, he simply cuts to the heart of the matter and is done with it.

Overall, he is unpopular with most of the other primarchs, due to his anti-social and quiet ways, people aren't really aware of his psychopathic nature as few outside the legion are close enough to notice. He doesn't count many friends, mostly Uriel (as two sneaky bastards tend to get it off, even if it is an arm's length friendship), Gaudin, Lumey (both were extremely practical and pragmatic individuals, their ideas closely mirrored much of Merrill's himself), Hektor, and Arelex. He was actively antagonistic with Inferox, Kranios, Nathanog, and Sebastian Rex, due to their stubborn adherance to single-minded frontal assaults and waste. To most of the other Primarchs, he was just kind of there, in the back of the room. They paid little attention to him (and he to them), generally feeling uneasy around him, but for no reason they could quite put their fingers on. Though they might occasionally engage him in idle discussion (hunting, tactics, exploits), they shared little love for their brother, and few were surprised to find his name amongst the list of traitors.

Appearance

Merrill is smaller than almost all of the other Primarchs, yet still stands head and shoulders above your average Space Marine, with dark, reddish skin, and long, black hair, shaved along the sides. He is also considered softer of features, and, in comparison, seems one of the most unassuming. In stark contrast to this are his eyes. While soft brown in color, they are eyes that have clearly seen hardship, giving a bitter, resentful look to what would otherwise be a rather bland and unassuming face. He wears a lighter version of his brothers' armor, leaving more soft armor, his neck, and arms exposed for greater flexibility. When not in a combat zone, he is often seen wearing softer leather and fur clothing, in the style of his homeworld.

He is among the physically weakest of the Primarchs, but what he lacks in brute strength, he makes up for in speed and cunning.

After his ascent to daemon prince, he became much taller, and gaunt. His skin is mottled, and constantly shifting colours, which always seem to blend with his surroundings. Though still bipedal, he bears the legs of a great predator, with abnormally long, clawed hands and arms. Soot-black feathered wings sprout from his back, and his bestial head bears antlers, forming almost a ring as a mockery of a crown or halo. His hair, oddly, still remains, but hangs low and limp on his stooped form, braids and locks held in place with leather, stone, and brass clasps and ties inscribed with blasphemous symbols and rites. He has a voice which simultaneously sounds like the rustling of leaves on the wind and the roar of a great predator.

Equipment and Weapons

Before the Heresy, he bore a lighter, slimmer variant of Artificer Armor, designed for speed and mobility. As a weapon, he carried only his Power Spear, made to his specifications by the Mechanicum, and endowed with archeotech, titled The Imperial Talon.

His spear was destroyed during his battle with Tiran Osoris, and so he needed new weapons. He searched, and had created, two weapons of terrible daemonic power, a tomahawk and dagger, which he named Hollti O Penglogau and Bywyd-Yfwr.

Youth

Upon his landing on Profi Tiroedd, he was found by one of the local tribes, who raised him as their own, and gave him his name. They taught him the necessities of living in the forest. How to hunt, track, gather food, and how to fight. However, his tribe was one of the smallest and weakest, and so, had to stay constantly on the run, else be targeted for raids and attacks by other, larger tribes. Merrill was a quick learner, though, and rapidly adapted to every problem thrown his way. Eventually, though too young to be considered for the position, he was unofficially made chieftain. It was at this point he made a decision: no more running. The tribe would never again have to flee for its own safety. With that in mind, he began a number of small raids against the more warlike neighbors, burning longhouses, stealing, and destroying supplies under cover of darkness before returning to their own tribe. Eventually, this led to assassinating the leaders of the tribes that would oppose them. As he slowly destroyed the larger tribes, others came to join him. Slowly, either by diplomacy, surrender, or annihilation, he united all of the tribes under his own rule, and created a council of elders to act as advisers and lesser rulers.

The Coming of The Emperor

The Coming of the Emperor was marked by tribesmen noticing "Great Birds" in the sky. Many became worried, and reported their sightings to the Great Council. Merrill decided that he should lead the hunt to find out what these were and where they went, as he was the best hunter and warrior of the tribes. So, with a select handful of his best, he set out to find them.

Several days into the hunt, they did discover the "Beast," surrounded by Custodes. Merrill attempted diplomacy, but that failed, and was forced to fight, killing three Custodes before being rendered unconscious. He awoke to the Emperor, who told him of his birth and design. Merrill reluctantly agreed to take control of the legion, while learning everything he could of life in the 31st Millennium. Oddly enough, he requested that Profi Tiroedd be kept at its current technological state, only asking for Medicae facilities. If Profi Tiroedd were to be his recruiting world, he needed the difficulties of life and the hunt to be ingrained in his future soldiers. Men pampered with technology that made all aspects of life easy made poor warriors, and poorer hunters.

The Great Crusade

Merrill decided to keep the original title of the chapter, as he believed anything else would be insulting to the men that had served in the Legion before his discovery. He disliked having his forces in direct confrontation with the enemy, and was best suited for long range asymmetrical warfare. With that in mind, he requested for, and was approved of, a fleet of Imperial Army soldiers. He would use his regular soldiers to bolster their fighting capabilities and dispense advice to their command structure, relieving him of having to plan and read large-scale engagements, so he could move his men around the planet like a Regicide board, to strike their most valuable assets.

Throughout the Crusade, he led the 732nd Expeditionary Fleet (The 733rd through 738th were also Iron Rangers), and conquered numerous planets and systems in the name of the Emperor. While his methods were considered slow by some, they were efficient, and effective, bringing more worlds into full compliance, and utilizing less resources than some other fleets. However, he had his misgivings, and issues with some of the methods the crusades carried out. This would start his fall to Chaos.

The Heresy

During the Heresy, Iron Rangers forces were deployed under Hektor, to disrupt and destroy loyalist assaults and defenses across the galaxy. Most famous were his actions in the space and on land crippling the Scale Bearers, and, eventually, killing Tiran Osorus himself.

Post-Heresy

After the Heresy, Merrill and the Iron Rangers took up residence on the Warp Planet, Yr Helfa Annherfynol. It is a world entirely covered in forest and enshrouded in mists. Strange beasts lurk through the growth, and everything on the surface is either the hunter or hunted. Merrill spends most of his time there, only occasionally leaving to destroy a world in realspace, or to assist in another black crusade, endlessly hunting and killing, with a chosen few by his side. Those few (un)fortunate souls who have managed to see him and live say he has changed since his early days. His psychological issues have taken full control, and he believes civilization to be the downfall of mankind. His only goals in life are now to destroy social order and organization and to hunt.

Ascension to Daemon Prince

After long deliberation and a far fall from sanity, Merrill decided to descend on the Hive World Greyshroud. In the first Legion-wide planetfall since the Heresy, the entire chain of command within the local PDF, Governance, and Communications fell to one swift assassination maneuver. Chaos spread as the Legion set fire to entire hab-blocks, riots erupted across the planet, and the streets ran red with the blood of the innocent and guilty alike as the Rangers ran through the sewers, across the spires, and through the alleys hunting man, woman, and child alike in one profane ritual. Cut off from the Imperium, some fought back, others joined in a desperate attempt to survive, and brother killed brother just to flee the wrath of a full Astartes Legion. All the violence only stoked the fires of the Rangers and added fuel to the ritual, as Merrill himself sacrificed civilian after civilian in his bid for Princedom. After a long silence, the Imperium finally sent aid to investigate the planet, only to find it completely devoid of human life. Eerily, the streets were as clean as though none had ever lived there, and, as the investigative team proceeded to the top of the hive, the only evidence they found of any activity was the occasional destroyed building, or burned-out husk. Upon finally opening the door to the governor's office at the peak of the spire, they found a scene of such horror and vileness that several members of the team lost their sanity upon just viewing it. The walls dripped red with blood, unidentifiable pieces of gore and bodies littered the surface, and pools of blood moving into constantly changing blasphemous symbols. A former altar hungered for yet more blood and bodies in the centre of it all. Finding no alternative, the spire was destroyed, and the ruins purified with the most potent of the Emperor's blessings. Centuries after the planet was re-inhabited and a new governance enacted, rumors still abound of dark rituals and darker things moving through the rubble of the spire that was.