Jacob Herschel

Inquisitor Jacob Herschel was a Sivenite Ordo Xenos Inquisitor native to Keb. He was a quiet, inquisitive man with a mind like a steel trap. He was renown for his casual ease with which he could infiltrate the lower levels of society while still retaining the poise required to command a meeting of Inquisitors. He was, at his core, an academic and his inquisitorial work seemed more a bother than a calling. Despite this he was quietly regarded as one of the best at what he did; seeking out alien influences and destroying them. While he did not achieve outward recognition in his time due to a lack of political motivation, his work still stands as a high water mark against which other inquisitors are judged. His influence can be felt in the eighteen members of his retinue that eventually became Inquisitors in their own rights. Some, like Inquisitor Grace Parmenion, have become legendary heroes in their own right thanks to his careful eye and keen tutorage.
Jacob Herschel was born on the Kebbian Battle-Moon of Siven and raised in their strict religious traditions. He entered the ecclesiarchy and became a priest, ministering to several different companies of Imperial Guard in his early years. His gifts for deduction and inquisitorial work were soon apparent when he discovered a genestealer cult within another army before the Inquisitor covertly assigned to investigate the matter even arrived. This Inquisitor, Gaston Inquisitor de Winter, took Jacob into his retinue and over time the Sivenite quietly gained prestige. Despite his exceptional mind he was plagued by an absence of ambition and political savvy so he labored away, doing the Emperor’s Work, in relative obscurity for most of his life. It wasn’t until his later years, after Gaston Inquisitor de Winter had passed, that he was appointed as a full Inquisitor. His career as an official inquisitor was shorter than most due to his advanced age upon his appointment, but no less storied. To those within the know Inquisitor Herschel is regarded as one of the best agents of the Inquisition; he eradicated no less than 126 different genestealer cults, 82 cults worshiping chaos in some fashion, and rooted out an impossibly complex corruption plan by Eldar operatives that had been going on for six centuries and impacted the Imperial Palace itself (though the nature of this mission is heavily classified and most of the information was either destroyed or redacted, for obvious reasons). He has a way of putting people at ease and was able to integrate into all levels of society without detection. He is said to have the persona of a doddering old fool or wise grandfatherly figure that people seemed to inherently trust. He used this to efficiently and often brutally destroy corruptions down to their very roots.
He is also noted for having help found the 13th Rapid Deployment Force aka “The Rift Jumpers” after examining an ancient xenos warp gate. His wish for a rapid deployment force was secondary to his academic intrest in the effects of regular warp gate travel. The project took him several years and much of what we know about warp gates comes from his study on the matter.
Still, his crowning achievement, according to Jacob himself, was his students. He had no less than 18 of his acolytes become full on Inquisitors and none of them were (or are) anything short of exceptional. Six have been appointed as Inquisitor Lords, three have been Inquisitorial Representatives, and it is rumored that one was a High Lord of Terra for a time. Inquisitor Herschel’s name, while not on the lips of the common folk, is enshrined in the minds of those who matter; either via his countless academic contributions, his brutal inquisitorial works, or the legacy he left behind.
== Retinue ==
Inquisitor Herschel's retinue fluctuated but its core members were:
Grace Parmenion: A native of Ile who was as cunning as she was formal. As one of his retinue she was initially tasked with helping him evaluate Xenos weaponry. She soon became a throne agent and eventually an inquisitor in her own right due to her great aptitude for Inquisitorial work owing largely to her sociopathy. Grace is regarded as his "successor" due to her focus on Xenos academia.
Sister Harmony: A Sister Hospitaller who hailed from Ile and served as Herschel's primary medical advisor while on missions.
Bobby "Fix'um" Tonkins: A devilish clever and creative Catachan soldier with a talent for getting information out of people with a knife. He is credited in some of Herschel's books as an "Eldar Anatomy Consultant" for his extensive knowledge of Xenos biological torture techniques. He was famous among the Eldar for his capture of the The Shadow that Sleeps, a famously enigmatic ranger of Craftworld Zhforan, whom Bobby tortured. Bobby was eventually captured by Dark Eldar who celebrated him (to death) for his talents.
Maruda Mindabe: A quick witted thief from a hive world who would rise to the rank of Inquisitor Lord later in his career thanks to Jacob's mentorship. Despite being a psyker he was a gifted conman and thief, skilled Jacob put to great use.
Aratrix Homer: The black sheep of the retinue, Aratrix was a native of Elysian who was Jacob's most promising student. This is no minor distinction, given his long list of exceptional disciples, and he even regarded him as his prized acolyte on many occasions. However, compassion made Jacob blind and he didn't realize until too late that Aratrix had delved too deeply into Xenos lore and lost himself to the influence of chaos. Aratrix was hunted by Jacob and his retinue but they were only able to destroy his body; Aratrix's soul escaped to the warp where it now serves as a twisted Inquisitor who hunts the pure-hearted within the warp. Jacob recounts that Aratrix is his greatest failure and all of his own good works pale in comparison to the evil done by his pupil.
Category:Ordo xenos
Category:Inquisition
Category:Keb