Editing Hua Yuan (section)

===The Saint===
According official hagiography, Matthias Ricco was born on Espandor, a cardinal world in the realm of Ultramar. Raised in the shadow of a great Cathedral among the learned clerics, he was apparently marked for greatness at an early stage, delivering inspiring sermons from the steps to his local church while just a boy. Granted a vision by the Emperor and Roboute Guilliman of a world, he stowed away aboard a pilgrim ship and, after a number of adventures, attracted a large following. His inspired preaching convinced eventually reached the ears of the Sector’s command, who allowed him to lead a crusade to free a world from sin. 

Historical records to support the legends are patchy at best. They indicate that there was, indeed, a Missionary named Matthias Ricco among the soldiers of the Bohai Crusade, although he was probably a Praetorian rather than an Espandor native. He may well have been the first Ecclesiarch of Hua Yuan and have ordered the construction of the Grand Cathedral, but what few records survive seem to indicate that he ruled a mere five years before dying in somewhat mysterious circumstances. Due to the uncertain nature of the records, Matthias' background could be a ploy by Ultramarine forces to have Yuanese pilgrims travel to Espandor, and vice versa.