Arelex Orannis

Arelex Orannis
Title/Honours	The Reclaimer, Supreme Lord of Atalantos, High Commander of the Galactic Core March
Discovered (world)	Whitestone
Discovered (period)	c.803.M30
Legion	Second
Heraldry/Sigil
Unique Weapon	Earthstriker and the Primarch's Hand
Distinguishing Traits	Innate knack for archaeotech, master campaign strategist and logistics expert
Flaws	Poor social skills, inability to deal with the Warp, unthinkingly loyal
Fate	Death at the hands of the Mechanicus
Dominion	The Atalantos Worlds

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

By way of conclusion, I should note that writing this text has been tremendously more difficult than the previous "Lives". In each case prior to this, I had the benefit of Arelex's brilliant recall, insightful criticism and careful editing. The loss has been far more devastating than I could have anticipated.

While I am not privy to the full workings of our administration, I have little doubt that Arelex's passing has been just as troubling to their work as it has been to mine.

(Excerpt from Arelex Orannis: as he was, by Gaspard Lumey)

Arelex Orranis was one of the thirty Primarchs created by the Emperor of Mankind and scattered throughout the Galaxy by the Ruinous Powers. After he was rediscovered, he led the War Scribes and played an important role in directing the campaigns of the Legiones Astartes as a whole. Arelex Orranis is particularly well-remembered for his work in reforming the Imperium after the Hektor Heresy.

Appearance

Arelex is a bald, hulking mass of scar tissue, shallow gouges from long-healed projectile wounds, and burn marks, signs of a lifetime spent delving into dangerous places in search of relics and lore, and the price that must be paid when attempting to divine the secrets of archaeotechnology. The right side of his jaw and cheek has much of the flesh replaced with bionics, a grim reminder of his near-death on Isstvan.

Shorter in stature than most Primarchs, he stands only a few inches taller than the average Space Marine, though quite a bit broader at the shoulder and extremely muscular. His upper body and arms are overdeveloped and somewhat simian in appearance, because he spent much of his early years dragging himself around in the mine tunnels or using a wheelchair.

If one wished to be unkind, one could even say that Arelex's stooped posture, a legacy of poorly healed spinal injuries sustained when his pod crashlanded, gives him something of an Orkish gait.

Though his body is frightening, the Primarch's pale green eyes are almost kind, a reminder of the gentler man he might have been had his pod not been spirited away.

Primarch's Equipment

• Armor: Arelex's armor is a force-shielded patchwork of different Dark Age relics retrieved from ancient cities and tombs, a bulky, custom fit affair of enormous size painted only with a little bit of purple trim. For scale comparison, it's roughly equivalent to a Centurion Armor in overall shape and heft.

Note: When entering combat, Arelex usually has both his signature weapons with him, though both are two-handed affairs and cannot be wielded at the same time. Generally the Primarch enters battle with his gravition gun deployed first, carrying the Earthstriker strapped to his side, and if the battle enters close combat, Arelex passes the gravition gun to his Equerry, draws the Earthstriker, and wades into the fray.

• Melee Weapon: In keeping with his heritage as a miner and explorer, Arelex wields an upscaled version of the ancient Terran miner's mattock, the faces rotated 90 degrees from one another so that he can break rocks or cut vegetation as he needs, in order to force his way into an ancient tomb. It is a wonder of form and function, equally suited for breaking Ork skulls and prying fallen boulders out of the way. The mattock, known as the "Earthstriker", is nearly as tall as an unarmored Space Marine, weighing hundreds of pounds, and each side of the mattock's head is as long as a Marine's arm. Though deadly sharp and brutally efficient, it has no technological enhancement beyond its fine craftsmanship. For reasons unknown, Power Weapons have no special effect on the metal the Earthstriker is crafted from, and as far as anyone can test, it is absolutely indestructible by any means, no known force even being able to dent its dull metallic surface. Even now, it remains with the Chapter.

• Ranged Weapon: Arelex carries a single weapon when he marches to war, a heavy graviton projector roughly equivalent to that mounted on a Rapier chassis. Indeed, the gun for a Rapier was derived from the graviton projectors native to Arelex's homeworld. The miners who rescued Arelex as an infant used these devices to remove enormous chunks of marble from deep mine shafts, and carry them to the surface. As he grew to manhood, Arelex became expert in their use. Normally these weapons must be mounted on a tripod or a mobile platform, served by two or three men in the manner of a Lascannon, but the Primarch's strength allows him to wield the mighty device with just his two hands and his power armor's assistance. Over the years, Arelex modified the graviton cannon to do a little more than just pull and lift. With it, he can crush, push, lift, drop, and otherwise manipulate his targets as he wishes. Only the toughest of vehicle armor and the strongest of foes can withstand its punishment for long. Arelex never bothered to name his gun, seeing it as more of a tool than anything else, but his Marines took to calling it the "Primarch's Hand", and the name stuck.

Youth

Arelex's pod took a very hard landing, pounding through the crust of his homeworld Whitestone. Underneath the planet's extensive deposits of valuable marble lay an endless maze of geothermal vents and boiling springs. The marble miners and carvers were astounded to see an infant drifting down the boiling rivers, and they managed to catch him before he plunged into a massive lagoon which surely would have been Arelex's end.

Though burned severely and his spine was broken, the infant was alive, and the miners took Arelex's survival to be a blessing, giving him over to be raised by a small priesthood sect of Whitestone, then a fairly obscure group. In their minds, any child who could survive what Arelex did must truly be a blessed being. Though the Primarch's essence within him restored the worst of his injuries, Arelex would forever remain scarred, burned, and unable to stand fully erect and upright.

Whitestone was an ancient land, full of relics, ruins, and holy buildings, and Arelex delighted in exploring all of them. The restrictive life of a "divine messenger" never sat well with him, and he began taking greater and greater risks in his adventures. More than once he was severely injured, spending months in the hospital. Arelex never intentionally rose to a position of power on his homeworld, for he was singularly bad at connecting with the people, preferring the company of the natural world and the cleverest technical works of Man.

Still, almost despite himself, the people of Whitestone rallied around him, seeing his larger size and intelligence as a sign of deific blessing, and the priesthood encouraged this, using Arelex as a somewhat unwitting idol to control the people, who prayed to Arelex and the cult's priesthood for a similar exaltation among their fellow man. He ruled in the priesthood's name, doling out the occasional reward or punishment at their request, but whenever possible he retreated to the wilderness to continue his explorations, which the priests explained as "taking holy communion".

The High Priesthood of Whitestone, casting themselves as the voice of Arelex, "God's Messenger", ruled absolutely. Nothing happened on Whitestone happened without their say-so, and Arelex's trusting nature led him to perpetuate their unjust rule. The Emperor's arrival would not be pleasant for them.

Over time, a few people of Whitestone followed their "prophet" into the wilderness, pursuing Arelex wherever he went. These people at least, Arelex could understand, they were fellow seekers like himself, driven by wanderlust and a need to learn. While the priesthood spoke in his name to the masses, this new cult began to grow in number behind the scenes, and would form the seeds for the first non-Terran War Scribes in later years.

Though the High Priests didn't like Arelex gathering followers outside their influence, they could do little about it without risking his rebellion. It was their hope that by allowing the Primarch his relic-hunting indulgences that they might continue to gather power and set their cult up as the one supreme rule upon Whitestone.

The Coming of The Emperor

Whitestone was very close to Terra, indeed many of the finest Terran monuments and halls of power are made with marble from Whitestone, and the trade links with Terra, though almost destroyed many times, had endured even through the terrible Warp Storms before the Eye of Terror's formation. Thusly, Whitestone was one of the earliest worlds to be visited by the Emperor, and Arelex was the second Primarch to be discovered.

The Emperor was most unimpressed by a Primarch who had not mastered his world, and was disappointed that Arelex was content to let the priesthood rule in his name. The Imperial Creed forbade such religious organizations, and the Emperor tracked Arelex into the wilderness in order to speak with him. Horrified by his son's ruined appearance, the Emperor was nevertheless impressed by Arelex's love of humanity and desire to elevate them through reclaiming ancient glories.

This generosity, though useful, could not be permitted to make His son soft, and the Emperor knew that no Primarch could be allowed to remain a passive observer of the galaxy. The Emperor ordered Arelex to lead his people, and tear down the priesthood that was parasitically using Arelex to their own ends. The debate lasted several hours, because Arelex was reluctant to slay those who had raised him. What exactly was said to finally convince Arelex to go to war is unknown, but all that Arelex himself ever said was that the Emperor "Showed me what I needed to see".

Denouncing the parasites who had ruled Whitestone, he commanded his people to serve the Emperor just as they had been serving himself. From now on, the people would know that there were no Gods, just greater degrees of Humanity, with the Emperor being the exemplar of all they could someday be. No priesthood would lie to them again. Though Arelex had no reason to believe he could follow through on his promises, he optimistically told the people of Whitestone that someday they would be as he and his father were, and the technology of ancient eras would bring them there.

The Great Crusade

Joining Arelex on the Crusade were the warriors of the II Legion, almost one hundred thousand strong and chomping at the bit for their Primarch to rejoin them. Despite the Emperor's urging, the II Legion's conquests were slow and methodical. Though their blades were bathed in blood, the II Legion held the pen in equal regard to the sword, and for that, they were derisively dubbed the Scribes of War by Gaspard Lumey, Primarch of the Void Angels. Later, the II Legion adopted this moniker as a title of honor, viewing their pursuit of ancient lore as a point of pride and honorable conduct, shortening the name to War Scribes.

The War Scribes conquered less planets for the Imperium than most of the other Legions, mostly securing a broad swath of worlds in the Ultima Segmentum near the Galactic Core and the space near the Sagittarius Arm, but they also strengthened those planets more than almost any other Primarch, ensuring their economies, militaries, and technological levels were as robust as possible, forming a strong bulwark for the innermost heart of the Imperium, guarding the way to Terra against threats from the Galactic Far East. Additionally, the Legion participated in colonization efforts far more fervently than most, bringing planets into the Imperium by industrial prowess, rather than force of arms.

Over time, almost 10,000 of the most aggressive War Scribes split into smaller squads, ranging far and wide across the Galaxy in scouting expeditions, and their reconnaissance proved quite valuable to Imperial strategy and planning.

Some of the more prominent worlds near the Galactic Core, a few dozen in number, became known as the Atalantos Worlds, a realm where the embers of Humanity's past were slowly, painfully being rekindled into a blaze of power. Whitestone was not among these worlds, being so close to Terra and now firmly integrated into the Imperium, and so the War Scribes primarily recruited from Atalantos, the world for which the area was named.

Though militarily powerful and politically integrated, the brief flowering of technological glory that came to define Atalantos would not last. After the Heresy, without Arelex to help maintain the most temperamental relics, things steadily took a downward turn, though it is to the War Scribes' credit that their tireless labor has kept the rate of decline much slower than elsewhere in the Imperium.

Only by ruthlessly exploiting the available manpower and relentlessly driving into the Galactic Core for more mining worlds could the hungry Atalantos Worlds maintain their status, and in so doing they have attracted the attention of more than one Necron Dynasty, awakened prematurely by the tread of the War Scribes' boots.

Arelex forged friendships with several other Primarchs. Kleisthenes and Arelex proved to be fast friends in particular; while they conversed in person rarely, due to Kleisthenes often being at the forefront of the Great Crusade, they would discuss their shared love for history and the finer aspects of empire-building and governing. Many other Primarchs were true friends, some preyed on Arelex's detachment and naturally trusting nature, and sealed the doom of his Legion on Isstvan.

At the Council of Nikaea, Arelex was at the very forefront of the campaign to ban all Psykers from the Astartes. He distrusted their unpredictable powers to an incredible degree, shocking many who had previously thought Arelex almost totally detached from most worldly affairs. Even in the most brutal fighting, Arelex maintained an almost unnatural calm as he attempted to analyze the unfolding battles, but in the council chambers of Nikaea, he spoke with as much bloodlust and hateful fervor as a die-hard Gorger. He argued that the Imperium must not clutch such a viper to its bosom, and that they were beset by enough threats from outside without adding distrust of their own comrades into the account. When the Emperor banned Librarians, Arelex rejoiced, and to this day the War Scribes and nearly all of their Successors refuse to use Librarians at all.

The Heresy

Sent to Isstvan to bring the Traitor Legions in line alongside several other Loyalists, Arelex threw himself into the fray with gusto. Betrayal enraged the Primarch, as loyalty was one of his deepest-held values, and he was unusually focused on the task at hand. Fearlessly, the War Scribes advanced, certain that their careful planning and superior firepower would carry the day.

Unfortunately, the Traitor Legions had studied the War Scribes well, and the Black Augurs along with several other Traitor Legions, completely outmaneuvered the War Scribes, throwing them into complete disarray with a series of well planned strikes form every quarter. Arelex nearly suffered a complete mental breakdown when confronted with the truth of what his traitorous brothers represented, and what they wanted to do to the Imperium, and at the critical moment, could offer no advice and gave no orders to the Legion. He was unprepared for Chaos, and unprepared to slaughter those he had once called brothers, and out of 90,000 War Scribes deployed, only 3,000 survived to drag Arelex off the field and evacuate him.

To reinforce the Legion, all the exploration squads were immediately recalled, and more than 10,000 warriors returned to bolster the Legion's ranks. If not for their absence from Isstvan, Imperial scholars agree that the War Scribes would be no more than a footnote to history. Immediately, an urgent call for recruits was sent out to all the Atalantos Worlds, and a massive wave of War Scribes was created. Arelex suffered mightily during this time, as his Legion's need for gene-seed drained him severely. While he labored to heal his Legion, he could think of nothing but his own failures.

Within the Basilikon Atalantos, greatest fortress of the Atalantos Worlds, Arelex entered a deep depression, smouldering with anger and feelings of betrayal. Shame at the needless loss of his Legion burned him from within, and the faces of all his soldiers he had gotten killed with his incompetence paraded themselves through his nightmares. The man who emerged from within the Basilikon at the head of a mostly rejuvenated Legion was a wholly different being.

No more was Arelex a warrior who fought for peace and knowledge, this Primarch had become a rampaging monster, gathering the most powerful, most inhumane archaeotech he could muster, and unleashing them indiscriminately on any planet that even vaguely hinted at betraying the Imperium. Battered and broken, the War Scribes merely followed their Primarch, going where he ordered them, and killing what he told them to. They did not participate in the Defense of Terra, heaping shame upon failure. The survivors of the old guard prayed that their Primarch might regain his former self, but the freshly minted Scribes were prepared to make war upon the entire Galaxy in vengeance, and thirsted for blood.

More than a hundred worlds burned, rendered blasted wastelands at the touch of weapons not seen for thousands of years. The Ultima Segmentum near the Galactic Core reeled at Arelex's wrath. Many traitors were killed, but far more innocents were delivered unto the pyres of paranoia. The Emperor issued an edict demanding that Arelex return to Terra and participate in its defense, where the Emperor could talk some sense into the uncontrolled Primarch, but the message was never delivered.

It fell to another Loyalist Primarch, Arelex's friend Kleisthenes, to calm Arelex and remind him of his duty.

And ultimately, it also fell to two Traitor Primarchs, Aubrey The Grey and Inferox, to show Arelex what his enemies truly were, and provide a focus for the seething fury within.

Post-Heresy

Once the fires of the Heresy had cooled, Arelex's talents were critically needed. With the Emperor now on the Throne, no one else had the high-level vision to even try and put the Imperium back to rights. In his immeasurable shame and self-hatred for his failure to save his father, Arelex threw himself into the task with an almost insane fervor, welding the broken fragments of Imperial politics together into a structure that lives on to this day, the various political and administrative branches of the Adeptus Terra.

Arelex put the first High Lords in power, cementing the power of the previous Council of Terra and legitimizing their right of succession to the Emperor's rule. To this day, the bond between the War Scribes and the various branches of the Adeptus Terra is ironclad, and they can almost always count on the support of *most* of the High Lords. Initially, the Fabricator-General was not included in this number, because the Mechanicus' stubborn refusal to become fully part of the Imperium rankled Arelex, who viewed their separatism as another Heresy-level schism waiting to happen.

Arelex's greatest struggle, a conflict that would dominate his life following Hektor's defeat, was curtailing the Mechanicus. Sensing an opportunity after the Emperor's withdrawal from power, a shadow war between the High Lords, backed by Arelex, and the Mechanicus began. The Mechanicus desired complete control of the Imperium from behind the Throne, and for the center of true power to be Mars, not Terra. Though neither side was willing to go so far as to break the Imperium in half once more, the Mechanicus came to hate Arelex for denying them absolute power. The AdMech threatened dire vengeance if Arelex did not permit them to become the dominant power in Imperial politics, and time and time again Arelex rebuffed them, drawing support in particular from the nascent Inquisition.

For several decades the struggle raged on, both sides seeking a way to silence their opponents politically without resorting to open war. Arelex's supporters found themselves plagued with mysterious mechanical problems ranging from the annoying to the fatal, and the Mechanicus found their Forge Worlds suspiciously devoid of Imperial support to varying degrees, causing widespread fear for their safety. As much as the Mechanicus believed that technology and its masters should rule all things, it was likewise impossible to survive the horrors of the Galaxy without the Imperium's manpower to defend them. Even a mighty Forge World was but a small snack to a raging WAAGH or Chaotic incursion.

Finally, matters came to a head on Whitestone, where the Mechanicus confronted Arelex and the War Scribes. They had finally come to the conclusion that the thorn in their side had to be removed, and were willing to deploy multiple Titan Legions and an ocean of Skitarii to silence Arelex forever. If the Mechanicus couldn't rule the Imperium from Mars, at least they would ensure that the Imperium could never live without their consent and technology. Arelex represented a wild card, a force potentially capable of breaking their stranglehold on machinery, and that could not be allowed. Whitestone convulsed as Dark Age weaponry was unleashed by both sides, and the fight was so apocalyptic that the planet itself began to come apart.

Arelex, seeing that even at the last he had failed, resolved that his Chapter, his Second Founding scions, and their Successors must live on. Opening a hailing frequency to the Grand Magos in charge of the invasion fleet, Arelex offered his life for his children's. If he would agree to lay down his life, then his blood would buy a truce forevermore, and the War Scribes would merely gather technology, consenting to let the Mechanicus control how technology was dispersed within the Imperium. In keeping with this new offer, the Mechanicus would receive a seat at the table, and the Fabricator-General would forever have a place among the High Lords.

The Orannis Accord was sealed in blood, and as the poor, tortured world of Whitestone came apart, Arelex was wiped from the Galaxy in its death throes. The War Scribes and their Successors would never attempt to challenge the Mechanicus, and though the two factions would never hold the other in a positive light, they would lay down their arms and coexist.

In this, Arelex showed his Legion that for the good of the Imperium, the greatest of sacrifices may be required, and the memory of their Primarch's voluntary death indelibly shaped the War Scribes and their Successors' psychology.

At the very end, Arelex charged his children with a simple task, to "Become better men than I", for at the end of his life, Arelex deemed his failures to outweigh his successes. The interpretation of what exactly his final message means is a point of much debate among the War Scribes and their Successors.

The death of a Loyal Primarch at the hands of forces ostensibly loyal to the Imperium was covered up with the utmost secrecy and care. Despite the War Scribes reaching an agreement with the Mechanicus, the Imperium could not be allowed to know that Imperial forces slew a Loyalist Primarch. The Mechanicus keep the secret to avoid incriminating themselves, and the War Scribes keep the secret because to do otherwise would be to spit on their Primarch's sacrifice, and risk destroying the Imperium they had bled to uphold.

To the Imperium as a whole, Arelex is a Primarch who failed his Emperor, but atoned with everything he had to offer and turned back to the path of righteous servitude. In the annals of Imperial saints, he is known as the "Wayward Son", patron of those afflicted with wanderlust, who feel a burning nostalgia for greater times. Though it would utterly horrify him, there are several cults dedicated to the Changer of Ways who also worship Arelex's memory, for he sought to change the technological stagnation of the entire Galaxy.

Few worship his legacy as they do with other, more noble Primarchs, but many pay him respect for what he accomplished after the Emperor's interment.

INQUISITORIAL RECORD: SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL ULTRAVIOLET DELTA-RHO, CLASSIFICATION THIRTEEN. FOR INQUISITORIAL REPRESENTATIVE'S EYES ONLY, UPON ASSUMPTION OF THEIR SACRED ROLE.

Our investigations of the life and history of Primarch Arelex have turned up a crucial omission beyond that which is already known of his life and death. We have calculated the forces and perils upon the dying world of Whitestone to a truly exacting degree, and ten million different cogitators of various strengths, laboring on countless variations of a single analysis, have unanimously spoken.

The armor worn by the Primarch, combined with his known resilience, would have protected him from the planet's destruction, enough for him to have survived with nearly 97% probability. While we have no direct evidence, we can infer that he lived on after his supposed sacrifice. Though the idea is almost too horrifying to contemplate, we must consider the possibility that the Mechanicus has held him captive all these years.

To be honest... I almost do not wish to confirm our suspicions. But out of respect, it is the duty of every Inquisitorial Representative to attempt to uncover this mystery's depths. Surely the War Scribes and their Successors do not know, or there would inevitably be open war between them and the Mechanicus.

Rules

Arelex Orannis, Primarch of the War Scribes The Archaeotechnician, Lord of Whitestone, Protector of Atalantos

WS6 BS6 S6 T6 W5 I4 A4 Ld10 Sv2+

Unit Composition •1 (Unique)

Unit Type •Infantry (Character)

Wargear •The Stechen •The Primarch's Hand •Earthstriker

Special rules •Primarch •Sire of the War Scribes •Very Bulky •Master of the Old Tech

The Stechen: Arelex’s panoply of war was a unique and highly customised suit of Artificer-crafted armour, the heavy layered ceramite looking more at home on a tank than on a Primarch. This Artificer Armour was of his own design, and combined hundreds of different archeotech systems to allow it to not only protect Arelex, but also allow him to observe and command cybernetically every facet of the forces under his disposal. It provides a 2+ armour save and a 3+ Invulnerable save. In addition Arelex is immune to blind and concussive. The armour also includes a Teleport homer, Cortex Controller, Nuncio-Vox and Cognis Signum.

The Primarchs’s Hand: a heavy graviton projector roughly equivalent to that mounted on a Rapier chassis, only the toughest of vehicle armor and the strongest of foes can withstand its punishment for long.

Range: 24” S* AP3 Special Rules: Heavy 1, large Blast (5”), Concussion, Graviton Pulse*, Haywire

Earthstriker: In keeping with his heritage as a miner and explorer, Arelex wields an upscaled version of the ancient Terran miner's mattock, capable of destroying any foe be it flesh or stone.

Range: Melee Sx2 AP1 Special Rules: Melee, Concussive, Strikedown, Unwieldy, Sunder

Master of the Old Tech: 0-2 Tactical Squads of War Scribes in a force led by Arelex may replace their bolters with Volkite Chargers for +5pts per model. In addition Tactical Support Squads in a force led by Arelexmay replace their Flamers with Graviton Guns for +10pts per model.