Ishtar

Ishtar (also known as the Phoenician, the Illuminator) is the general of the Exquisite Host’s one of the twelve generals created by the director. Ishtar, like the other generals, was taken by the leaders of the free cities. Constantly seeking to emulate the Director by perfecting himself, Ishtar's obsession bred a hubris.

## History

### Youth

Ishtar was sent to Sao Paulo and placed in a factory called Bastion. Bastion was Sao Paulo life line processing food and water from the natural resources of the amazon.

Ishtar spent his early years as a humble factory worker, but soon became a legend in his own right. At half the age of his fellow workers, he was able to fulfill his obligations to the continual running of the factory of Bastion with ease. He quickly grew to understand the technology he had to work with and began to modify it, increasing efficiency dramatically. By the time he was fifteen years of age, Ishtar had risen from the rank of worker to become one of the executives ruling the factory. Learning of the gradual deterioration of Bastion and Sao Paulo, Ishtar decided that he would save these people.

Under Ishtar's leadership, teams of engineers travelled far from their factory-fortress, reclaiming and repairing many of the far-flung outposts. As produce poured back into Bastion, Ishtar supervised the construction of more sophisticated and energy efficient machinery. As recycling efficiency grew to the point where Bastion was producing a surplus for the first time in years, Ishtar began to foster a re-emergence of art and culture, aspects of humanity sacrificed in the struggle for survival.

### The Director Calls

It was not long after this that the Director arrived at Bastion. On hearing of this, some fragment of memory stirred in Ishtar. In his quarters, Ishtar was faced by armoured warriors. Their faces bore the scars of many battles. Their armour and weapons were finely-worked, and their banners and pennants were works of art. Ishtar recognised that these men were not merely advanced, but civilised his lost brothers had preserved the arts he had longed to return to Sao Paulo. From the midst of these warriors stepped their leader, the Director. Ishtar surveyed him and, without a word, knelt and offered his sword. On that day Ishtar swore to serve the Free Cities with all his heart. From the Director, Ishtar learned of the distant settlement of Seoul, of the Great Reclamation, and his origins. It is unknown when exactly this event occurred.

Travelling to Seoul to meet his new company, Ishtar learned that an accident had destroyed the majority of the gene-seed designated for his company, and without their general, replacing it was a slow and laborious process. Ishtar came to address the twenty super soldiers of his company, and the words he spoke were said to inspire the director so much that he named the company the Exquisite Host.

### The Great Reclamation

Ishtar became driven by the notion that his company should strive to live up to this honour and the perfection of the Director and his vision of Seoul culture. This drive to achieve perfection soon applied to all things the general and his company became concerned with, from military tactics to the embrace of artistic culture that didn't exist at Bastion to their very appearances. Ishtar was a particularly imposing sight, with shimmering white shoulder-length hair, large, friendly-seeming eyes and a mouth that was never far from a smile. His armour was of the finest quality, and intricately decorated. Over it, he often wore one of a variety of high-collared cloaks.

Ishtar was anxious to make his contribution to the Great Reclamation, but the comparatively small size of his company meant that the Exquisite Host’s were placed under the command of Palamedes and his Imperial Heralds. Palamedes and Ishtar grew close to one another while pacifying Hell’s Point. Eventually, swelled by recruits from both Bastion and Seoul, Ishtar was soon able to lead a campaign of his own, bringing countless settlements into the light of the Free Cities. Ishtar sought perfection and spectacle in these campaigns, as demonstrated when he took the settlement of Istanbul with only seven men, despite nearly dying in the process. Ishtar eventually came to try to build the perfect weapon, resulting in Ishtar crafting Fireblade.

During this time, the Exquisite Host initiated the Cleansing of Siberia, a campaign that required great effort, dedication and sacrifice from the Free City forces. After this campaign, Ishtar acquired a trophy from the field of battle; a d sword recovered from an abandoned temple known as the Silver Blade. He would begin to wield this sword more often than Fireblade, his customary personal weapon.

### Palamedes Insurrection

Ishtar himself met with the Nomad forces on more than one occasion during the Nomad War before the Insurrection. During once such battle a prominent Nomad commander told Ishtar of Palamedes' grievous wounding, and how he was slowly beginning to turn to their cause as he recuperated. Ishtar reacted with outrage at the commander's accusations due to his close friendship with Palamedes. Ishtar furiously attacked the Nomads with his commanders and Phoenix guard destroying them outright.

Whilst the exact timing and placement of it varies between versions of the story, it is clear that Ishtar soon met Palamedes in person, demanding a personal account of his actions. Instead, Palamedes was able to sway Ishtar to his cause. Ishtar's respect for Palamedes allowed the Nomads cause to find its way into Ishtar's heart, destroying Ishtar's loyalty to Seoul and replacing it with burning desire to destroy the man who held humanity back from the perfection Ishtar desired. Their path was chosen, the Nomad sympathies spread quickly, from Ishtar to his lieutenants, the Commanders of the company, then to squad leaders, and finally, all but a bare handful of soldiers followed the Nomads rather than the Director. Perfection became perfect hedonism.

When the loyalist companies arrived at Bucharest, the Exquisite Hosts were at the forefront of the fighting, aiding in the massacre of their former brethren. During the massacre, Ishtar captured Sindri but found that the Perpetual general could not be killed despite his best efforts. After unleashing every torment imaginable on Sindri, the Storm Giants general was eventually able to escape Ishtar clutches.

After Palamedes issued his muster for the traitor general's to gather at Pyongyang in preparation for the march to Seoul, the Exquisite Hosts pledged themselves to the march on Seoul. During the final stages of the War, all trace of decency amongst the Exquisite Hosts had vanished. During the early stages of the Siege Ishtar did little, goading Marduk into fits of fury for his amusement and constantly requesting that Palamedes let him be unleashed upon Seoul. While other Traitor companies assaulted the city, the Exquisite Hosts embarked upon a spree of terror and gratification amongst the helpless citizenry. Under Ishtar, hundreds of defenceless civilians were used as experimental subjects in the effort to create ever-more powerful stimulants and pleasure-inducing chemicals.

## Personality

Before the Insurrection Ishtar was a warrior that enjoyed the finer arts of civilisation and culture of his people such as art, music and celebration. He believed that there was little point in conquering the galaxy if they did not indulge in these civilised traits. Ishtar himself also engaged in the arts and created marble statues of his first captains though he felt that his work was not perfect.

One of Ishtar's noted character traits which were adopted by his company was the quest for perfection. He believed that Mankind was the perfect creation and that they must strive to emulate his father, the Director. As such, he was greatly angered whenever this goal was challenged. There was, however, a flaw here as he secretly believed that there was something wrong with him and his Company due to the near-disaster that claimed half their number before the start of the Great Reclamation.

## Equipment

Ishtar wielded many weapons throughout the Insurrection. He is perhaps most famous for the Silver Blade. However, before wielding this weapon, his primary weapon was Fireblade, a Sword built by himself. During the Mobilisation Massacre, Ishtar effectively wielded Sindri’s Thunderhammer Forgebreaker for a time. Ishtar's firearm was the Volkite Charger Firebrand, while his Armour was an ornate artistically crafted suit known as the Gilded Panoply.