KES S AN DRA S SYSTE M

VOX
LOCALUM
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Kôtmmha the Intrepid

Opportunistic and acquisitive, Kôtmmha is a Yaegir negotiation agent who
has found great success in the Chalnath Expanse. Exchanging the services
of their Hernkyn warriors in return for valuable commodities, they have
attained a wealth of profitable resources for their own people, the Fârdelvr
Kindred. Various intelligence trails and potential opportunities, revealed by
hacked communications and careful observation of enemy movements,
have now drawn the mercenary leader to the Kessandras System. If others
are converging here in such numbers, Kôtmmha reasons, this suggests
resources worth harvesting. And so they have begun offering the services
of their Kindred warriors as mercenaries, hoping that they will be able to
identify and mark raw materials to be extracted and refined at a later date.
Kôtmmha is sparing with words, often employing intimidating glares to
convey their opinion. Their personal faith in the Votann is strong, but while
they might use the term occasionally in their dealings, they would never –
ever – explain its meaning.
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Nestorvex Cruhl
The people of Volkus shelter beneath the monstrous shadow of Sacred Death,
believing it a supreme weapon and an embodiment of the God-Emperor’s
own protection. Magos Nestorvex Cruhl scorns such timid and small-
minded superstition, believing that the Emperor’s servants have missed the
shockingly obvious: that a weapon so colossal and complex must contain
a powerful artificial sentience of its own. This is the result of sorcerous
equations that have spun through Cruhl’s logic architecture since the Magos
accessed a forbidden dataslate etched with numerological runes. The
equations have affected their mind; Cruhl’s mechanically augmented body
is wracked by muscle spasms and technological glitches, and they are given
to strange outbursts of daemonic speech and numerological scrapcode. The
corrupted Magos seeks technological secrets that they believe can be fed
into a daemonic cogitator entity of their own forging, revealing the secrets of
the Great Gun’s construction. The value of these secrets to the great warlords
of Chaos will be immeasurable. With their aid, Cruhl will forge a new pantheon
of empyrically fuelled sentient weapons enslaved to his will.
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Sevrinae the Pious

Loud, bombastic and volatile, Sevrinae the Pious has made it their purpose
to mould the Kessandras System into a cradle of militant zeal. If achieving
this aim requires them to bludgeon their ideals into soldiers and generals,
and to personally crack the skulls of heretics and xenos by the score, then so
much the better. The Chalnath Expanse may be a cauldron of blasphemy and
abomination, but Kessandras remains largely free of such corruption and
Sevrinae is determined to see this remain so. Furthermore, the Confessor-
Militant intends this system to be the linchpin of a newfound crusade of faith
that will sweep across the Chalnath Expanse and reclaim the entire region
for the Emperor. As a former Astra Militarum officer, the Confessor-Militant
has a firm grasp of strategy and knows how to bolster the morale of soldiers.
They have surrounded themself with a fanatical group of loyal warriors and
lead their rallying procession from district to district and world to world. In
Sevrinae’s eyes, only those who have proved themselves through battle and
sacrifice are worthy of their trust.
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Luthar Kole
Once the leader of an isolated Imperial world on the rimward fringe of the
Chalnath Expanse, Luthar Kole demonstrated a mechanical ingenuity
that would certainly have drawn the ire of the Adeptus Mechanicus had
their representatives uncovered it. When the colonisation fleets of the
Fifth Sphere Expansion descended upon Kole’s home world, they became
an enthusiastic convert to the Greater Good. Kole was trained in the arts
of diplomacy by the Water caste, during which process a latent psychic
ability revealed itself, rendering Kole exceptionally effective in the arts of
suggestion and psychological manipulation. The T’au were wary of these
exhibitions of what they termed mind-science but open to studying its
application in negotiations. Having served the T’au Empire as an envoy to
Human settlements throughout the Nem’yar Atoll and beyond, Kole has
learned much about the region’s history. It is their belief that, somewhere
in the Kessandras System, lie the remnants of a master computer
belonging to the T’au of the Fourth Sphere. If this device can be recovered
and re-assembled, the data core may provide invaluable insight into the
technological disaster that blighted the first mass deployment of the ZFR
Horizon Accelerator Engine.
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Nicol Rashir
Heir to House Rashir
The eldest child and heir of the High Governor of Celebris, Nicol Rashir, has
lived a life of privilege and excess yet chafed against the strict edicts of their
father’s government. Thus began a descent into depravity. Delving deep into
the crime-ridden lower levels of the hive world, Rashir became obsessed
with attaining new sensations, falling by degrees into the embrace of the
Dark Prince. Through association with criminals, smugglers and cult zealots,
Rashir believes they have uncovered a nexus of empyric energy running
deep through the heart of the Kessandras System. Rashir’s primary desire is
to seek out new experiences and sensations, the more extreme, the better.
To this end, they will aid any who seek to bring an end to the law, order and
Imperial rule and who will aid them in their ambitious plans to tap this raw
conduit of empyric might and unleash it as a storm of unbridled bliss and
agony all across the Kessandras System.
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Canoness Commander Othelia

of the Order of Our Martyred Lady
Stationed on the shrine world Imperator’s Grace, Canoness Othelia is a stern
warrior who leads a battle-hardened mission of Battle Sisters. It is the sworn
duty of Ophelia and her sisters to maintain the sanctity of the planet’s holy
ground and to defend the Tsorin System as a whole. However, as the situation
in the Chalnath Expanse has steadily deteriorated the Canoness has sensed
the hand of the God-Emperor upon her shoulder and heard his call to strike
out and do battle in systems beyond her designated responsibility. To this
end she has issued a rallying cry to the faithful and brought local militias and
fragmented Imperial troops under her command. Othelia claims to have been
visited by a vision of the long-dead Saint Rodriga, who instructed her on the
God-Emperor’s behalf to recover a variety of holy relics from nearby systems.
Othelia wholeheartedly believes that should these items be bound together
in a holy reliquary, Imperial worlds as distant as Volkus will benefit from the
saint’s holy favour.
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Barekh Akkaron
Long sworn to the service of Dark Apostle Zar Tahyed, Akkaron is a true
fanatic, as dedicated to the Word Bearers’ creed as any mortal could be.
Through sermons and passionate diatribes, Akkaron has amassed many
followers across the worlds of the Kessandras System and beyond. Afflicted
by delusions of grandeur, Akkaron believes that these successes render them
invaluable in the eyes of Lorgar’s sons. In reality, the Dark Disciple is little more
than a babbling, half-crazed pawn, tasked with spreading Tahyed’s teachings
and – with the aid of his cultist converts – recovering a series of objects that
his Dark Apostle master seeks in order to complete his fell ritual. Of the exact
nature of the rite Tahyed hopes to enact, Akkaron knows little, but he remains
convinced that its completion will see him rewarded for his efforts.
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Zoggit the Grot

Zoggit is Glitcha’s longest-surviving – and most long-suffering – grot oiler. He
is wearily accustomed to the Big Mek’s sudden bursts of enthusiasm for what
are usually very hazardous projects. As a result, Zoggit has developed a keen
instinct for when to stick by his master’s side with that handy doohickey he
needed and when instead to be hiding somewhere beyond minimum safe
distance when his boss hits the on switch. This time, though, Zoggit has a
very bad feeling about what Glitcha’s up to and is starting to wonder if there
might not be a safe distance. To this end, he recently thieved a bunch of
the shiniest gubbinz Glitcha needed for his machine and slid it all through a
tellyporta when his boss wasn’t looking in hopes of sabotaging the plan. He’s
now more than a little paranoid that Glitcha knows what he did, of course,
and so is doing everything he can to – ostensibly – further Glitcha’s schemes
while privately hoping they will never come to fruition.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Threnn Gallow,
Rotpriest of the Sect Septic
Threnn Gallow was consigned to the prison of Kumenos many years ago and
grew to maturity amongst its claustrophobic corridors and dank cells. They
were hardened by this existence, surviving alongside their twin, Nereth,
and learning to hate the Imperial authorities and revel in the squalor of their
brutal life. When a virulent sickness tore through Kumenos’ inmates, Threnn
listened willingly to the rasping voices that rasped into their sleeping mind
and took certain gruesome steps to ensure their and Nereth’s survival. They
became a devotee of Nurgle in the process and soon began spreading the
Grandfather’s faith amongst the surviving prisoners – and even some of
the guards – in the outbreak’s wake. Threnn believes fervently in Nurgle’s
supernatural might and is jovially vocal in his praise, both proselytising the
Plague God’s faith and spreading his physical ailments as far as they can.
Threnn seeks to gather sacred ingredients to drop into their cauldron of
supernatural poxes, believing that this act of worship is an end unto itself.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Nereth Gallow,
Ruinpriest of the Sect Septic
Nereth Gallow is quiet and sombre compared to their twin, Threnn. Going
hooded and masked at all times, they are a sinister and mysterious figure
who speaks only when they absolutely must and then only in a rasping
gurgle. Nereth is a harbinger of despair and a spiteful schemer who seeks
only to advance in Nurgle’s favour. Unlike their twin, Nereth wants to drain
the power of the cauldron of supernatural poxes and take it into themselves,
believing that this will grant them great sorcerous might or perhaps even
daemonhood. Nereth Gallow is determined not to allow anything to stand in
the way of their ambitions, and to escape the rotting prison of Kumenos, no
matter what the cost.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Vizispektor Hekmoteth
Necron Cryptek
An ancient Cryptek of the Szarekhan Dynasty, Hekmoteth is fascinated by
secrets, and delights in the act of prying and spying. They enjoy nothing
more than using their nanoscarab swarms to infest communications and
data-storage infrastructures. They then watch with smug satisfaction as
their unleashed cryptoviral datastrains shatter every defence algorithm,
strangle the life from guardian machine spirits, and covertly plunder every
scrap of information they can locate. Hekmoteth uses these accumulated
troves of classified intelligence to leverage all manner of advantages over
rivals and to engineer situations to their own benefit. They have learned
much about the motivations and goals of the warlords doing battle in the
Kessandras System. Now they only need to decide how best to use that
information to increase their own personal power.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Estren Valdermann
Astropath Viridian Grade
Valdermann is a senior Astropath based primarily at the relay spire on Ochari,
but their nightmarish dreams of late have led them on a rushed pilgrimage to
several other locations in the Kessandras System. They cut a sinister figure,
physically blind but eerily alert, their frame swathed in the green robes of
their office and their force cane tapping out a maddening beat as they talk,
echoing a rhythm only they can hear. It was on Ochari that Valdermann
received a fragmentary portent of doom. They believe they have the keys
to saving the Kessandras System and have embarked on a quest to gather
talented individuals and locate psi-amplification devices that could restore
communication between the system’s worlds. Valdermann knows they are
feared and hated by most non-psykers, but their deep quiet faith allows them
to look past the ignorance and prejudice of the Emperor’s servants. They will
use whatever strange power, high-ranking contacts or eerie intimidation is
required to fulfil their vision and save this system for the Imperium.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

Dreshwither Thrend
Adept Attendum to the Astropath
Adept Thrend has been Estren Valdermann’s personal attendant for many
years. They are extremely loyal to the Astropath and highly protective of
their master, never shy about loudly proclaiming the Astropath’s approach
and insisting that everyone clear a path for so important a personage.
While Thrend is neither physically imposing nor particularly high-ranking
in their own right, their position at Astropath Valdermann’s right hand
has made them forthright and self-important. They have no patience for
fools and even less for anyone who they believe is getting in the way
of Valdermann’s vital duties to the Imperium. Thrend does at least back
up their pomposity with belligerent courage and a deep personal faith
in the God-Emperor: they have been known to square up to towering
Space Marines and gimlet-eyed Commissars if they believe them to be an
obstruction to the Astropath’s work, and once famously shouted down a
Catachan Colonel despite the fact that she could have broken Adept Thrend
over her knee without breaking a sweat.
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Lleryth Arnhellion
This Corsair captain rules over the Starpyre Raiders, a sizeable coalition of
Aeldari void pirates and assorted other alien hangers-on. Arnhellion has
millennia of practice commanding fractious and warlike bands of barely-
allied cutthroats, which they marry to a certain genius for manipulating or
exploiting the actions of beings such as Tyranids, Necrons or Orks who are
usually too hostile or far-removed from conventional sentience to negotiate
with. Being toweringly arrogant and monstrously entitled, Arnhellion also
has no qualms about employing these skills to benefit themselves, no
matter the cost to others. Their current – admittedly tenuous – alliance with
Glitcha serves Arnhellion’s goals for now, as it provides them with plentiful
expendable allies through whose efforts they can accrue more wealth and
power. The moment the situation changes, Lleryth Arnhellion will turn on
Glitcha, along with anyone else whose backs it will profit them to stab.
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The Void’s Shadow

This mysterious cowled figure has appeared in waking dreams, in unsettling
psychic visions and in the superstitious whispers of dregs and labourers
all across the Kessandras System. Who or what they are remains obscure
to some, while to others – local law enforcement and Imperial clergy in
particular – it is a matter for urgent inquisition. Their coming prophesied
in rambling downhive graffiti and the trance-borne automatic scribblings
of sages, the Void’s Shadow always appears as an omen of disaster. Militia
blockhouses have been consumed in flames. Inspection tunnels have
collapsed on mine overseers. Formerly faithful Imperial servants have
turned on their masters with sudden and rabid ferocity. Some amongst the
lowest rungs of Kessandran society believe this figure to be a supernatural
manifestation of the Emperor’s wrath directed against those who mistreat
his humblest servants. Those in power are less convinced by this theory,
suspecting instead that this cowled and mysterious lurker may be an agent
of heretical or even xenophile sabotage.
 KE SS ANDRA S SYSTEM

+++Partial Transmission Fragment+++

+++Originating Sender: System Defence Monitor Iron Resolve+++
Recipient Ultima:
Grand Sanctum Array, Receptorium Primus, Hive Fissilicus, Volkus
+++ EXLOAD COMMENCE +++

‘… say again… pray to the Emperor almighty that… will hear this…
Our long-range auspicators detected… swarming, dozens of… are not
mechanical vessels, these abominations are… Tyranids! I say again…
dozens of Tyranid bio-vessels… a massive, combined fleet on a direct
course… Kessandras Syste… no hope of outrunning… Throne of Terra
they’re breaking through the… commend our souls to the Emperor, and for
His sake prepare yourselves. The swarm descends!’

+++Thought for the Day +++

Hope is the first step upon the road to disappointment
+++