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
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 from both Warp energies and sparking electricity and plasma. Growing up inside the nightmarish tangle of metal and energy that is a Space Hulk left indelible marks even on the body of a Primarch. They are signs of a lifetime spent delving into dangerous places in search of relics and lore with which to protect his tribe, and the price that must be paid when attempting to reverse the decay of millennia. They are also the unmistakable marks of a man who has struggled with nameless mutant horrors with nothing more than fist, foot, and fury.

The right side of his jaw and cheek has much of the flesh replaced with bionics, a grim reminder of (INSERT SOMETHING HERE).

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 compact frame served him well crawling through the maze in which he grew to manhood, and his endurance is truly inhuman. Large hands and a short, thick neck give him something of a wrestler's look, and to fall into a grapple with Arelex is to court death.

Though his body is scarred, ravaged, and 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: The Orion V. Arelex's armor is a mighty suit of Jump Armor, something he recovered from the deepest recesses of the Space Hulk and repaired with the Emperor's assistance. Built for a long-dead person of massive stature, the armor is equally at home in the Void as in the air or on the ground, and contains a variety of integrated weaponry and communications equipment. Indeed, such is its complexity that Arelex's combat suit could be considered a mobile headquarters in its own right, and it offers him a variety of command and control options in combat. The suit's thrusters are a true wonder of the Dark Age, for though they emit massive amounts of deadly radiation at full thrust, the pilot can travel from ground to orbit if necessary. The original pilot and the reasons for this armor's construction are lost to the mists of time. All that remains are the words Orion V emblazoned on each of the four massive thrust elements, and it is from this that Arelex named his equipment.

• Melee Weapon: Inside the Orion V's left forearm is a curious weapon of Dark Age design, akin to a Power Sword but damaged in some way, with far too much energy being forced through the blade when extended. Perhaps the ancients had means by which to harness this overload properly, but such knowledge is long lost, despite Arelex's best efforts. Still, when wielded by a man of Arelex's strength it remains an effective melee device, and the enormous overload of electricity has a deleterious effect on the nerves of anyone struck by his sword. Opponents too weak to resist being electrocuted rapidly find themselves slowed, muddled, and confused. Easy prey.

Arelex calls this blade Legion's Verdict.

• Ranged Weapons: The Orion V mounts two integral ranged weapons, a compact machine gun firing white-hot adamantium rounds, and a large device similar to a Heavy Flamer, venting the terrible energies powering Orion V in a cone of hellish irradiated fury. While not the most powerful firearms available to the Emperor's sons, they are well integrated into the Orion V, and can be easily brought to bear in any situation. The armor's cogitators are precisely calibrated for these devices, and Arelex can wield them almost as one, focusing a terrible onslaught of metal and fire into his ill-fated foe.

The Primarch has named the flame weapon Sol's Heart and the machine gun Terra's Blood.

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, 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.

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+ (Statline to be changed)

Unit Composition •1 (Unique)

Unit Type •Infantry (Character)

Wargear

Special rules •Primarch •Sire of the War Scribes •Very Bulky