Saint Drusus

“Saint Drusus. Born: 328.M39. Martyred 367.M39 by unknown heretical assassin on Maccabeus Quintus. Miraculously rose again after his death to complete the conquest of what was to become the Calixis Sector. Scourge of the Bale Childer. Bane of the Yu’vath. First Lord Calixis. Creator of the Corpus Presidium Calixis. Died (again) 417 M39. The greatest of the Sector’s saints, revered on dozens of worlds as second only to the Holy Emperor. Yet even the greatest Calixian saint had to commence his journey somewhere..."
–Extract from the Book of Saints (Calixis Edition)
Without a doubt the greatest of all the saints within the Calixis Sector, Drusus stands at the right hand of the Emperor
in the hearts and minds of most Calixian citizenry. From
early childhood, millions are taught the tales of the great
general Drusus and his relentless armies. They learn of how
he brought the light of the Emperor back to the sector and
swept away the vile masses of xenos who had taken root. It
is because of his efforts that the Calixis Sector exists today.
The Ministorum makes sure that no one forgets his deeds
and, wherever temples and shrines to the Emperor are raised,
so too are statues of this saint. Likewise, few saints can boast
a cult as large or powerful as Drusus and none can deny the
influence that the cult has over all Calixian affairs.
Though a mighty and cunning warlord, Drusus is best
remembered and revered as an honest and courageous warrior.
It is this purity of faith in the Emperor and the Imperium that
soldiers will pray to before heading into battle. To invoke
the name of Drusus is to ask for the righteous might of the
Emperor to guide your hand. On some worlds entire regiments
of Guardsmen are dedicated to the saint’s name, such as the
23rd Drusus Dragoons of Clove, who spend their days in
prayer to the saint when they are not battling the enemies of
the Imperium. Many combat training facilities have a likeness
of the saint above their entrance and cadets are required to
ask Drusus for his blessing before they enter.
The greatest shrine to Drusus can be found within the Cathedral of Illumination on Scintilla. This is also the
headquarters of his cult, where his followers gather from across
the sector to discuss cult business. It is also the place where
prospective cultists are brought to pledge their devotion to the
saint, often in mass blessings many thousand strong. Within
the cult, Drusus is second only to the Emperor and comes even
before the leaders of the Ecclesiarchy. Of equal importance to
the grand shrine on Scintilla is Maccabeus Quintus, sight of
the near death of Drusus during the Angevin Crusade. Then
there is Sentinel, an obscure shrine world, located in the
Drusus Marches. Exactly why the world is holy to the saint
is unclear; thousands make the pilgrimage there, often to die
in the shadow of Drusus’s monument. It is also important to
the cult, and any who would rise to the higher ranks within
it must travel to the world and ask the saint’s blessing. Due to
the dangers involved, reaching the world and returning safely
is usually considered as “proof ” of the saint’s favor.
==In the Beginning==
It is unclear where Drusus’s story begins and just what his
origins are. In all likelihood, to stand at the side of Lord
Angevin he would have had to be a high ranking noble of
one of the Segmentum Noble Houses or a masterful General
in his own right. The truth however has largely been lost,
perhaps deliberately by the church who find the tales more
useful to their teachings. Some of these tales are wild indeed.
Legend claims that Drusus came to the crusade as a lowly
guardsman, recruited from a remote world with no name. During
a fierce battle against an alien world he caught the eye of Lord
Angevin when he slew an alien king and single-handedly
brought the world to heel. Angevin instantly made him a general
and gave him a battle-group so that he might repeat his success.
Less reputable sources claim that Drusus was in fact
Angevin’s son, grown in an Adeptus Mechanicus vat farm
from the great lord’s own flesh. He was intended to replace
the lord should he fall before his task was complete but was
brought to maturity too early and mistakenly sent to join
the crusade. He made a great name for himself in battle,
so Angevin made him a general and gave him the name of
Drusus after his own long lost father.
Clashing rumors state that Drusus was a wild primitive
living on one of the worlds of the Calyx Expanse at the time
of the crusade. When the Imperial troops descended on his
world he had a holy vision and, armed with only a battered
sword, joined the crusaders in their battle against his corrupt
and heathen brethren. So taken was Angevin by the primitive’s,
actions he gave him a place in his armies where he would thrive.
What is accepted as fact is that Drusus first came to the
Calixis Sector as part of the Angevin Crusade in 322.M39, a
General in the great lord’s armies with the task of taming the
wilds of this far flung region of space for the Imperium and
the God-Emperor.
==Victories in His Name==
Many of the worlds of the sector conquer to be the site of
some battle or other won by the saint, and in many cases
there are some grains of truth behind them as Drusus did
claim scores of worlds with his armies. Some of the more
extraordinary victories claimed in his name include:
Drusus slew the thrice headed serpent of Marioch. Legends
say that the wild frontier world was once plagued by a vast flying
serpent, held aloft by great external lungs and scaly wings. As
large as an Imperial Cruiser, the beast devoured whole towns
in a single gulp and its hide was thick enough to turn even
lascannon shot. Drusus eventually killed the creature by leading
a platoon of soldiers into its maw while it slept and hacking his
way to the creature’s heart to deliver the killing blow.
Drusus liberated the world of Dreah from the Daemons of
Dark Colour. Taking the form of brilliant colours, hues, and
flickering mirages, the Daemons had for centuries enslaved
most of its human populace and forced the remainder to hide
below ground where the creatures of terrible light could not
reach. In his war against the fiends Drusus purged the world
of colour so that the daemons might have no place to hide.
Drusus led the great charge against the Twisted Kings on
Acreage. Legend says that when the crusade came to Acreage
its feudal kingdoms were struggling under the yoke of mutant
kings and their hulking armies of brutes. Gathering together
the Dirt Knights of Yorth, Drusus led a mighty army to the
gates of the palace of the Twisted Kings and shattered their
armies in a single bloody day of fighting.
What is known for sure is that Drusus’s leadership had a
massive impact on the crusade and carved out much of the
region that would become the Golgenna Reach as well as
great tracts of space within the Drusus Marches such as Malfi
and Maccabeus Quintus.
==Fall into Darkness==
The tale of how Drusus fell is an often told one and a central part
of the saint’s legend. While some facts are known, much is not,
and there are many versions of just how this miracle transpired:
Drusus was betrayed by his fellow generals; jealous of his
glory they deployed a Temple Assassin against him, warped and
disguised to appear as a tool of the enemy. However, when the
assassin struck, it was not able to complete the killing blow as a
last shred of its indoctrination and faith in the Emperor remained
and it recognised Drusus as a true instrument of the God-Emperor.
Drusus was slain by a daemonic assassin summoned from
the warp by agents of the ruinous powers, which has long
used the Calyx Expanse as a sanctuary. As it dealt the killing
blow however the daemon was splashed in the blood of the
saint which consumed him in flames with its holy might, its
last vision one of the light of the Emperor filling Drusus and
closing his wounds as he lay on the ground.
Drusus was killed by the Yu’vath, aliens who had spent
years infiltrating his bodyguard with Dark Lamenters. In
a single bloody night the aliens dispatched hundreds of
possessed warriors against Drusus, dragging him down with
sheer numbers. Even as he died however the divine power of
the Emperor filled Drusus and the possessed men fell upon
their own weapons weeping with regret at their actions.
What is generally accepted is that a potent assassin of
the Imperium’s enemies tried to kill Drusus as he rested on
Maccabeus Quintus but was destroyed by the power of the
God-Emperor, a power which also restored Drusus to life
even as he lay dying from the assassin’s blade. From this point
on there could be no doubt as to his divine greatness.
==Rebirth and Legacy==
After his resurrection, Drusus went on to win many more
battles in the name of the Emperor and to leave a lasting
legacy of Imperial rule in his wake. For five decades until his
death in 417.M39, the saint consolidated the power of the
Imperium within the sector and took on the mantle of the
first Sector Lord. He personally ended alien domination over
the sector’s worlds and stood witness to the end of numerous
xenos civilizations, such as when he famously watched the
Yu’vath homeworld burn from the bridge of his Battle Barge.
Today, the legend of the saint remains strong and his mark
can be seen on almost every world within the sector. The
Cult of Drusus is the largest and most powerful within the
Imperial Creed; numerous cities, ships and regiments bear his
name; and even the sector laws laid down millennia ago still
bear his signature. It seems that while there is a Calixis Sector
there will always be a Saint Drusus to watch over it.
==Drusianism==
Besides the Emperor, the figure most revered by the faithful
of Calixis is Saint Drusus---the warrior turned saint who
fought for the birth of the sector. So-called “Drusianism”
pervades much of the Cult Imperialis in the Calixian
worlds, particularly those that are distant from Scintilla.
Drusianism is a hard and uncompromising reading of
the Imperial Creed, emphasizing the purifying quality of
suffering, the power of holy relics, and the endurance of
hardship. An ascetic and largely mystical tradition for the
main part, it is somewhat at odds with the cult authorities
on Scintilla, who hold to more traditionalist modes of
worship but also claim the sector’s saint as their own.
Importantly, Drusianism also has a strong “Calendite”
influence and so holds the Emperor to be a complete and
eternally divine being who predates even the birth of man.
At a deep level, the uncompromising scholars and priests of
the sect (in particular those trained for office on the bleak
shrine world of Maccabeus Quintus) maintain that the
Emperor’s order is the natural order of all things without
exception. To them, spiritual truth is the only truth, as it
supersedes mundane physical reality and locally imposed
temporal laws---although they do hold that the basis of
the Dictates Imperialis as “his word” is indeed divine. This
belief often leads the sect’s adherents into conflict with the
forces of authority, such as the nobility and the Combine
Commercia, whose power lies outside of the cult or the
core of the Adepta.
Many hard-line Drusians consider the noble and
mercantile classes to be fundamentally venial and corrupt
by nature, and hold little regard for any power or supposed
rights such individuals possess.
Some adherents are known to tattoo the 999 Holy Words of Saint Drusus upon their bodies.
==The Footsteps of Drusus==
Though no exact record of Drusus’s campaign in the Calixis
Sector exist that tell of everywhere he went and all of what he did,
there are many worlds that have become sacred to his memory. A
path between these worlds, known as the “Footsteps of Drusus”,
has long been established and a constant stream of pilgrims can
be found “walking” it at any one time. It begins in the Golgenna Reach on the planet Scintilla. Each year, prospective pilgrims gather
before the gates of the Cathedral of Illumination and members
of the Ministorum move among them providing blessing of the
saint and giving the pilgrims permission to being their journey.
While such permission is mostly symbolic, there have been rare
instances where a pilgrim has been denied the right to walk the
footsteps of Drusus. This is usually as a result of some past crime
that the Ministorum feels would stain the memory of Drusus.
From here, the pilgrims march to the spaceport at Hive Tarsus.
After ascending into orbit, pilgrims make a circuit of the core
worlds of the Golgenna Reach---Sepheris Secundus, the Lathes
and Iocanthos. On each of these planets, they travel to the places
where Drusus is said to have made his landings and spend days
in prayer. From the Golgenna Reach the pilgrimage then spirals
out into the Drusus Marches where the journey becomes more
dangerous, visiting Endrite and Tygress V.
Pilgrims face real peril from both natives and local flora and fauna. The penultimate step
sees the pilgrims descend to the dry surface of Maccabeus Quintus
to see the shrines built where the man died and the legend of the
saint began. Finally, the pilgrimage comes to its end on the world
of Sentinel. Many of those who make it to the shrine world do not
return. Exhausted by their travels, and without funds, they wander
into the wastes to die and at last be at one with their saint.
==Drusian "Crusader" Chainsword==
Manufactured by a variety of forge worlds, these popular
weapons are a familiar sight throughout the edges of the
sector where memories of Saint Drusus burn brightly. On
Drusus Day, many shrines are crowded with multitudes of
followers, raising their chainswords (or mock replicas for the
poor or young) in the air in honor of his works and sacrifice.
For those who seek to continue the crusade in the Expanse,
the common weapon pattern uses a curved cutlass-like blade.
Most are a holy silver in color, and favor a large spiked
basket-guard to better smite the unclean xenos.
Melee, 1d10+2, R, PEN 2, Tearing, Balanced, WT 7kg, Average
==Armor of the Sacred Guard==
Legends and tales of the exploits of Drusus are numerous and
varied; in a hundred different texts from a hundred different
sources a scribe might find that none can agree on even simple
things such as his eye colour, his favoured weapon, or his
favoured lieutenants. One thing that does appear again and
again however is the mention of a sacred honour guard which
would follow the saint upon his holy work, staying close to
him in battle and guarding his chambers while he was at rest.
Though the names of these chosen men and women have
been lost to time, stories tell of their courage and prowess in
battle. Each was a hero in his own right, selected by the saint
after an outstanding deed or sacrifice for the Emperor.
As befitted their role as protectors of the saint, the sacred
guard was outfitted with the finest weapons and armor the
Imperium’s forge worlds could produce: boltguns of exquisite
manufacture, power blades of sublime craftsmanship and
power armor second only to that of the fabled Adeptus
Astartes. As with Drusus himself, many are the false relics
attributed to the sacred guard, ranging from fragments of
bone and locks of hair to spent bolt casings and tarnished
combat knives. Legend does tell, however, of a single suit
of armor that somehow survived the march of time, taken
by the faithful from the last of the sacred guard to die in the
last battle they fought, shortly before the saint’s own demise.
Pitted and battle-scarred, the archaic suit of gilt armor,
emblazoned with symbols of the Emperor, is reputed to
contain special qualities and the divine spark of Saint Drusus
himself. Of course the location or exact nature of the armor
is unknown, though stories and legends persist about its
whereabouts somewhere within the wilds of the sector.
The Armor of the Sacred Guard is a suit of ancient power
armor covered in faded grandeur and tarnished icons. It is also badly damaged
by battle: scored with burns and scarred by blades and bolt
shells. Due to its general state of disrepair it counts as being of
Poor Craftsmanship. In addition it has no functioning power
pack (such is the uniqueness of its design it will not work with
more common Imperial Technology) and so does not grant any
bonus to strength and unless the wearer has a strength of 40 or
more they will suffer a -10 to all Agility Tests and a -1 to their
Agility Bonus (also reducing their movement).
What the armor does possess is an undeniable air of
divine power, a sacred power that seems to bleed from its very
plates. A character with the Pure Faith Talent that dons the
armor will receive its blessing for as long as he endures its
broken weight. This grants him an addition point of Fate each
game session which may only be spent (though not burnt) on
activating Faith Talents. He also gains immunity to any psychic
powers which would subvert or control his mind (though
only while he wears the armor’s helmet). Finally, attacks from
creatures with the Warp Weapons Trait do not ignore the sacred armor’s
Armor as they would with normal defenses.
==Saint's Breath==
Within the Calixis Sector few saints are revered as much as
Drusus the Warrior; hero of the Avengin Crusade and twiceborn
savior of the Imperium’s claim to the region. It is no
surprise then that almost every world, church and cult lays
some claim to the saint, whether it is because he slept a night
in their city, drank from the waters of a fountain or touched
a rock as he climbed a hill. Objects said to have been used or
belong to the saint also abound and should a pilgrim have a
mind he could no doubt assemble countless sets of clothing,
broken weapons and enough bones to make numerous
skeletons. Even within the church itself the validity of true
Drusus relics is often questioned and sometimes bitterly
disputed between worlds; each competing for the prestige of
having a genuine article.
Of course among the sea of false relics and charm seller’s
rubbish, there do exist some true Drusian artefacts. One such
fabled object is know as the Breath of the Divine Drusus upon
His most Holy Works, or more commonly Saint’s Breath.
Contained in a battered Imperial Guard issue canteen, now
covered with holy icons and gilt with symbols of the creed,
the story tells of how in the wake of a great battle, while
Drusus took rest from his wounds, a cleric
came and offered him water. As he drank,
the saint filled the canteen with his labored
breath from his holy exertions, and the
cleric, realizing the sanctity of the moment,
sealed the flask and spirited it away to the
vault of his church for safe keeping, as even
then the works of Drusus were becoming
legend and his greatness was shining
across the sector. Where the flask is now
is unknown, but stories tell of it passing
through the hands of countless faithful
down the centuries. It is said that when
the stopper is removed, the breath of
the saint flows out filling the bearer
with vigor and a divine endurance,
just as Drusus commanded in his
years of battle for humanity’s place
among the stars. It is also said that
such is the power of the saint’s
breath that no matter how often the
flask has been open his breath continues to flow, bonded with
the flask and enduring the ages by virtue of its blessed origins.
A member of the faith that opens the flask and breathes in
the breath of the saint will find himself filled with a divine
endurance unlike any he has felt before. He becomes immune
to the effects of Stunning and Fatigue, he gains the Unnatural
Toughness (x2) Trait, and he will automatically pass any
Toughness Test he is required to make. The breath’s blessing
lasts for the duration of the encounter. However, its power is
limited, needing time to gather within the flask, and can only
be used once per game session.
==Drusian Tomb Shard==
The grand tomb of Drusus can be found within the Cathedral
of Illumination on Scintilla. Of course there are countless
lesser tombs scattered across the sector. All are said to hold a
portion of the saint’s blessing and to touch a tomb to Drusus
is considered very favourable. More favourable still is to
possess a part of one of these tombs, leading to a thriving
trade in Drusian tomb shards. These are small fragments of
stone, allegedly chipped-off one of the saint’s tombs. The
Ministorum outwardly frowns on the practices of defacing
tombs, though it makes a small fortune each year in selling
them. Where all the shards come from is a mystery and anyone
who has seen the grand tomb on Scintilla will attest that it
certainly looks “unsullied”. Likewise, many other Drusian
tombs are constantly guarded to prevent such vandalism.
Nevertheless, the market in tomb shards continues to prove
very popular with the faithful.
==Bones of the First==
When Drusus came to the Calixis Sector, he arrived at the
head of an army many millions strong. These men and women
fought and died at his side in the saint’s battles of conquest
and liberation and were blessed for their service. The bones
of these “first warriors” can still be found in reliquaries and
shrines throughout the sector, often lending their names to
towns and provinces where they settled after the conquest. It
is said that they still hold the courage which Drusus instilled
in them in life, and carrying a bone of one of the “first” is
enough to steel a man before battle and calm the fearful with
a touch. Whatever the case, bones of the first are among some
of the most common relics to be found for sale within the
sector. The fact that there were millions of dead makes it hard
to disprove their authenticity.
==Hidden Truthes==
There is another story, a story that is known in part by few and in whole by none. It is a story bound with lies, so that even the great Lords of the Holy Ordos Calixis do not know where truth begins and lies end. They know only that it is made of both, of truth and lies bound into a knot. It is a story of an old man of weakening health and a mundane mind given command of a mighty Crusade by virtue of old blood and the favor of dusty traditions. Under his failing will and weak strategies, millions died for little gain, and the forces of the Imperium were shamed. It is said that among the Inquisition were those unwilling to see such blood split to no end, who watched the pitiful scrabbling of a so-called crusade amongst dead stars and hateful worlds and decided that it could not be allowed to continue. These watchers picked another to be the hand of destiny, one with the will and personal power to forge mankind’s future amongst the unforgiving reaches of space. These Recongregators, it is said, made a deal with the darkest of powers in order to meet their ends. If this is to be believed, it was they who saved Drusus and began the whisperings of his favor in the sight of the Emperor, they who wielded the knife that removed the old and made space for the new. The story says that the Calixis Sector was born of their will and that Drusus was a saint not of the Emperor’s making but at the hands of hidden powers who charged a heavy price for their aid. Others respond that if the future need be bought by a lie, then it is a small price to pay.
==Prophetic Shadows==
For years, whispers within the church have asserted
that the tale of Drusus is not finished, and signs and
portents have been observed which claim that the saint
will one day rise again to right the wrongs of the sector
and bring it back into the Emperor’s light. Though
officially the Ministorum does not accept such tales,
many within its ranks firmly believe that one day the
saint will return. Such a possibility is one that is viewed
with both joy and terror, as many fear the saint may be
less than pleased with what has become of his domain.