Varian Carnel

[Pending Image reference]

Name: Varian Carnel

Appearance: Tall and well structured, Varian's imposing silhouette resembles every bit the stern-gazed statues of marble and bronze that dot Mankind's worlds. His olive skin tone and carefully trimmed blond hair speak of a well dedicated regime of self-care. Yellow eyes of piercing gaze betray a background of affluence and gene-therapy. Most remarkable of all are his hands, built with the most delicate looking fingers found only in the greatest musicians of imperial society.

History: Of all the foes and entities the Inquisition faces, few cause more concern and more dread that the Cognitae and its agents. According to some savants, the Cognitae, or some version of it, had existed within the Imperium for millennia, as far back as before the Great Crusade. The goal of the Cognitae is to "liberate" Humanity from what it sees as the dogmatic oppression of the Imperium, using the powers of Chaos to achieve this. According to Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor, the Cognitae's aim was to develop, "by means psychic, eugenic and noetic," a generation of individuals who would work to further the aims of Chaos in the Scarus Sector. The Cognitae operates a network of "academies" which engage in psychic training, eugenics, cloning, and forbidden sciences. Every "graduate" of the Cognitae was considered to be both highly intelligent and extremely dangerous.

Born to agents of this agency and their eugenic program, Varian is one of the latest agents of this nefarious plot. Having faced discovery and persecution, plans were hatched to ensure the continuation of the Cognitate beyond their boundaries of the Scarus Sector. Rogue Trader Victris, along with his treasonous dynasty has not only sheltered many projects for the Cognitae but also served as an itinerant vector of contagion for it. Wherever his ships goes, nurtured agents who manage to graduate are inconspicuously seeded among the very fabric of imperial society.

Posing as a trusted advisor to the dynasty in both art and financial matters, Varian Carnel offered his services to House Eurydice. Much reduced from their past glory, the House was easy prey to promises of restitution and comforting words. The twin heads of the House are now the main target of Varian, who patiently schemes behind the desperation of one and relish in the madness of the other. Ironically, he speaks truth when he proclaims he has come to serve House Eurydice to rebuild and reclaim its past glory as this will only provide him with a stronger powerbase for further schemes.

Today, he poses as a Guilder Consul to the Eurydice sisters. Acting as intermediary in matter of trade with the guilds, herald to other houses or imperial forces and seneschal in the finances of the house.

Personality: One thing everyone finds shocking is how approachable Varian seems to be. Despite his physical appearance, his demeanor hardly changes to ill-tempers. Smile comes frequently to his thin lips and there seems to be only kindness on his gilded eyes. He is, by all accounts, patient beyond reason and affable for a noble of his rank. In truth, Varian has been trained to posses an indomitable iron will and self-restrain. Despite his association with the Ruinous Powers, he remains strict and professional about it, never indulging a single tip more than strictly necessary to achieve his goals. Needless to say, dabbling with the powers who prey on one's soul demands such traits and those who fail to cultivate this behavior fill the masses of the lost and the damned.

Refinement and a very well hidden sense of supreme self-entitlement also affects his darker side. He finds no joy in the outlandish and savage destruction of war but he relish immensely the corruption and subsequent downfall he works for others. A personal triumph no one else can appreciate but him.

The Arvus is a small, solid, reliable workhorse utility cargo shuttle, used by the ships of the Imperial Navy for transferring cargos of supplies or small units of personnel from ship-to-ship or ship-to-planet. Squat and durable, the Arvus has two powerful engines for carrying heavy loads. It has no armaments and is not expected to engage the enemy. It is commonly seen on the decks of large Imperial Navy ships or making repeat runs from surface to ship transporting supplies and men.

As standard the Arvus is unarmed, intended to discourage pilots from getting involved in a fight they should avoid instead, although some will be modified to carry weapons when operating on hostile worlds. A wide variety of other adaptations also exist for the lighter, such as converting the cargo hold to carry fuel and turning it into a tanker or elongating the hull to carry more cargo at the expense of speed and handling. In need it can also be used as an assault boat, although it is not designed for this purpose.

The ship's interior is very basic and does not include many advanced systems beyond standard navigational and sensor equipment and proximity alarms. It is crewed by a single pilot who controls the ship from a small cramped cockpit, connected to the cargo compartment by a small hatchway. The cockpit's screen can also swing up to allow access from the front, while the cargo compartment can be accessed by the rear ramp and transport twelve individuals. Some Arvus Lighters can also be fitted with an Ejector Seat, Flare or Chaff Launchers, an Armoured Cockpit or Illum Flares.

The Cognitae produces his "graduates" for the advancement of Mankind by any means. Several methods have been tested and tried with mixed degrees of success but they all share one conclusion: Conflict is desirable to further progress through strife. Mankind has made its greatest achievements after periods of conflict, such as the Horus Heresy, or Age of Apostasy. It is the place of the Cognitae to strengthen Mankind through adversity. The chief concern of Cognitae agents is engendering and managing vital conflict. Though all conflict of any type interests them, raw warfare on a massive scale is what concerns them the most. Sebastian Thor is held in particularly high regard, for his sweeping reforms were made possible only due to the bloodshed of the Age of Apostasy.

Raised amid an environment of survivalist competition and rampant predatory abuse, only a few truly managed to reach adulthood. Those who did, were expected to be independent and resourceful, never to rely on anyone or anything.

No matter how horrific or alien someone can be, every race, every society yearns for something it cannot obtain on its own. Value is subjective and eternal. Trade is conducted even amongst the unspeakable creatures of the Warp itself. Whether be services, barter or coin, there's always an intermediary or a provider. Varian will fill that role and profit for it.

+2 when using a Sneaky check made to lie or deceive someone.

+2 when using a Quick check made to dodge an attack. Must be declared before the attack is made. Evidence of sorcery.

+3 when using a Forceful check to make an attack. Requires 1 action to prepare. Can only be used once per session. Evidence of alien corruption.

Careful - 2

Clever - 3

Flashy - 1

Forceful - 0

Quick - 1

Sneaky - 2