Trudy Nightingale

A tall, lithe lady whose capricious expression is only matched by her acrobatics and cryptic look on her face.

Born to a Rogue Trader family, she lived a pretty spoiled life until a mutiny saw the death of her parents. She escaped to the nearby Convent World of Scythia where she was entered into the Schola Progenium. She was a rather rambunctious adept but still managed to graduate as a Sister of Battle with the Order of the Purifying Storm. She was trained alongside Zia Allia, and the two are close friends.

Currently holds the title of Repentia Superior Trudy Alesfax Nightingale of the Order of the Argent Shroud.

As her first Tour of Duty, she was assigned to be Zia's comrade and assistant as Support Specialist to the 1st Melyrian as part of the There is Only War campaign.

In addition to Zia, she is close friends with Ceries and Iliyanne.

Sister to Titania.

## Soul: The Tale of Trudy Nightingale [SPOILERS]

### Prologue

A rogue trader of unknown name gives birth to a girl with unknown name. Growing up with her rogue trader parents, she learns how rogue traders are able to leverage their resources in order to not only secure wealth for themselves, but also secure peace and defense for Imperials at the same time without any bloodshed. She grew up a bit of a brat of course, at times harassing the RT's crew, as a young spoiled child does. Eventually though due to events outside her control, dissidents among the crew rose up high enough to lead into a mutiny. Her father and mother perished in the uprising, though a loyal servant was able to flee the ship with the girl. Arriving at a nearby frontier/convent planet of Scythia, she was dropped off there for the Schola Progenium to take care of, due to her Imperial background. She was given the name Trudy Nightingale. She grew up as a bit of a troublemaker, sneaking out at night to get into tavern fights with the locals, and would be severely beaten the morning after by the Drill Abbess. Several times. Eventually though she found an aptitude for the sermons she was forced to listen to. She would also prove to be a particularly skilled warrior, and was chosen to partake in Imagifier training as part of her Sororitas training. During her Sororitas training she became close friends with Zia Allia, a local girl whose parents were local governors that were Imperial sided but perished during Imperial Compliance when rebels killed them. They hit it off and found themselves able to work well together. After graduating the Schola the two would be designated as Sisters Constantia and would have to complete a Tour of Duty before being able to be considered full Battle Sisters. They would be assigned to the 1st Melyrian guardsmen regiment as a Ministorum Priest attache.

Somewhere on the other side of the galaxy within the Dark City of Commorragh, Succubus Hezita Alesfax of the Cult of the Red Grief got up and prepared herself for another day of exciting arena battling and realspace raids, not realizing she would soon die - though she was confident that her contract with a certain haemunculus for body restoration would be fulfilled as always.

Somewhere else yet, Farseer Telith, aligned to the Ynnari, joined the Cult of the Dancing Blade to travel to Tenebris - there have been reports of a functional though damaged Blackstone Fortress there and they would occupy it.

### Welcome to the Melyrian 1st

Sister Zia Allia and Imagifier Trudy Nightingale assisted the 1st Melyrian to their best capacity. Trudy at first was not very prominent, as Zia was the more experienced one, and mostly helped her. But soon due to the more calamitous missions facing the guardsman company, Trudy would become more and more inspiration, singing battle hymns and litanies with each battle.

Soon, the 1st Melyrian would be put under control of the Order of the Purifying Storm, and then handed off to a pair of Inquisitorial sisters, as it was determined the original Militarum HQ structure was infected by Genestealers.

It was also around this time that it was discovered that Sister Ceries - one of the inquisitorial sisters - had a very unique fighting style. She utilized strange non-Imperial blades. Later Zia would identify them as wych blades. Later still Zia discovered that Ceries worked for the Ordo Sicarius - a branch of the Inquisition specifically used to oversee and manage the use of Temple Assassins. Even later still, Zia and Trudy found out that Sister Ceries was trained by the Drukhari of the Cult of the Dancing Blade for a brief stint under Succubus Tehreah.

### First Encounter

As the 1st Melyrian were exposed to more and more corruption and heresy as they encountered traitor guardsmen, genestealer cultists, chaos marines, and even orks and necrons, Trudy took on a more active role to inspire the men to keep their faith strong. She would finally utilize her own personal combat prowess to help at the frontlines, heavily favoring melee weapons as opposed to Zia's ranged specialty. It was at this time that Sister Ceries offered to train the two sisters in the use of other wych weapons. The two sisters agreed, and it became apparent that Trudy was a much faster learner of the xenos weaponry than Zia. As part of the training, Trudy would be given a Razorflail, which she used to great effectiveness in combat. The guardsmen were understandably concerned about the "sanctioned" weapon, but they could not deny that her great faith, zealotry and armed mastery helped them greatly. So a few more missions went on the icy world of Tenebris as the 1st Melyrian hunted down the Genestealer leadership. Prior to the final assault on the suspected Genestealer fortification, Sister Ceries tasked the two sisters to join her in a resupply mission. It turns out that the resupply was delivered by none other than the drukhari of the Cult of the Dancing Blade. Sister Zia was ordered not to take hostile actions against the xenos by her superior, Sister Ananka (also the inquisitorial agent who we would later find out was also actually Inquisitor Syleen), so she seethed most of the time she was there. Ceries was locked in a ritual duel with Succubus Tehreah, her former mentor. In the meantime Zia and Trudy clambered on the Raider to get their resupply. They were then asked to come on in and help themselves to some of their weaponry for the fight ahead.

### Cryptic Prognostications

Entering, they found themselves with all sorts of drukhari and eldar weaponry. Stuff like harlequin's kiss, agonizer whips, and so on. In particular, thinking it would be cute, Ceries, who had since finished her duel with Tehreah and lost (but it lasted 14 minutes so it was still a fantastic achievement), picked up a fancy looking rose hairpin and earrings and put them on Trudy. Supposedly the hairpin was a shadowfield. Supposedly the hairpin was a shadowfield. Supposedly - hey wait why are things repeating? Trudy somehow activated this ancient piece of drukhari equipment! That's impossible, only aeldari can do that! After they finally figure out how to turn it off the entire room, including the drukhari present, stare at Trudy with shock. Feeling awkward enough the sisters go to leave only to be stopped by none other than Farseer Telith! She tells Trudy that she was already soulbound before she activated the shadowfield. Whaaaat? This only confuses Trudy who mocks the farseer's fancy necron staff she had somehow acquired in the past. Telith simply laughs, shows Trudy some possible paths and how her soul is intertwined with billions before marking off a lot of future paths that would have ended in her death. Trudy doesn't believe this at all and they leave and prepare for the final mission.

### A Look Within

The final mission begins as the group assault the abandoned Imperial Fist fortress which had since found the Genestealers using it as their HQ to hold their Magos and Patriarch - the mission's stated kill targets. As they begin to infiltrate the fortress under the supporting fire of drukhari voidcraft, one of the guardsmen, Helbrin, accidentally bonks his heavy bolter against a corridor, causing a bunch of autocannons to pop out and rip them to shreds. Or do they? Time seems to reverse and Trudy is able to stop Helbrin's gun from bumping against the corridor wall. Everyone is confused. Suddenly Trudy's mind goes black. She sees what looks like a drukhari version of her in her mind! Filthy xenos scum infiltrating my pure Imperial mind! They fight for a bit but Trudy is unable to win, and the drukhari Trudy just mocks her. But then drops the act - apparently this durkhari Trudy isn't Trudy at all, but the manifestations of the hundreds of eldar souls in the soulgems she's wearing - in the earrings! Trudy is dumbstruck, and calls drukhari Trudy "MeA" in contrast to calling herself "Me-prime". MeA explains how all previous wearers of the earring were influential eldar, including aspect warrior banshees, drukhari archons, and succubi. She now shares all their soul bits too, and a bit of her soul too will be forever in this gem for any future eldar to be infused with. But it still doesn't make sense, Trudy is human! MeA also admits confusion, and before long Trudy comes back to consciousness to rejoin the battle. She particularly notices Helbrin's comrade Albricht being very suspicious and fearful, and her commander, Lieutenant Kade's comrade also eye her drukhari sword awkwardly. She then realizes she's beginning to adopt the empathetic amplification effects that drukhari have. She hates feeling the fear of her allies and enemies around her but continues on the mission.

### The End of the Beginning

The squad finally gets to the room containing their mission objective - the Patriarch of the genestealers. He's supported by a powerful Neurothrope as well. The squad slowly blasts their way into the room and begin returning fire to the advancing hordes of hormagaunts and termagaunts, as well as Genestealers and Aberrants. It's a brutal fight. Eventually Zia goes down when she's struck by a Genestealer, prompting Trudy to step up. She pulls out a wraithbone communicator she was given back on the Raider and calls down a "Xenos Eliminando" on the genestealers. Immediately, the Patriarch and Neurothrope PANIC and scatter as they could feel a powerful psychic emanation appear where Trudy had called forth what she would believe to be some sort of bombardment that could teleport through the fortress walls. Instead, it's a Distortion Flail Accelerator, and it creates a massive sphere of pure warp energy. It does its job of swallowing up the neurothrope, whose psychic death shunts people away from the growing warp sphere. It then swallows up and destroys a Tyranid Trygon that was being spawned by the Patriarch using its psychic powers. Finally the Patriarch is corralled into the warp sphere and destroyed too. But then the traitor reveals himself! Albricht seemed eager to throw Trudy into the growing warp sphere, but she resisted. As the warp sphere continued to roil and grow, it suddenly began to collapse after it grew big enough to swallow up Trudy, giving her massive amounts of Insanity and Corruption as pure warp energy struck her. But as it collapsed, in its place poured out a group of Slaanesh daemonettes, and even worse - a Keeper of Secrets! Albricht was nowhere to be seen, assumedly also swallowed up by the warp sphere. Epic battle commenced as the battered party attacked the Keeper, and it turned out Janine, Kade's comrade was actually a psyker who began making wards against the Keeper of Secrets.

The sisters of battle attache at this point had arrived to give supporting fire, though the apparently "trainee sisters" were quite competent. Then as the Keeper of Secrets bashed them away, their holo-disguises dropped, revealing they weren't trainee sisters, but actually Celestian Sacresancts! The Inquisitors knew all along the primary target was the daemon, and not the genestealers! With a renewed vigor the party assaulted the Keeper despite the fact that half of them were suffering from fear and shock or outright knocked out. Sister Ceries was increasingly unsure how to proceed, to the point where Trudy had to tell her what to do even. But right after that the Keeper slashed Trudy in half, killing her. Moments after though the party managed to suppress the daemon for long enough that Janine could use the drukhari power sword she eyed earlier to suck up the daemon into it, ending the fight. It was rough and brutal, with a knocked out sister Zia and Krieger, and a dead Trudy. Everyone began to evacuate, no time to grieve now... Later on a funeral and posthumous promotion that would recognize Trudy as a full Battle Sister would be held.

### Awakening

with a start, Trudy "awoke" in her mind? she noticed where she had been cut in half - a serpentine body had replaced her legs. As she slithered around, visions began to affect her. A massive library with a bound tome on the opposite end. But before she got there a new vision! She was in a grand hall of splendor! Then she was in a massive banquet of amazing foods and heard amazing music like she had never before heard! But she scorned this all. She was a Sororitas, and would not be corrupted by such simple tricks of Chaos! She powered on past the temptation, but was weakened by it. Yet, she finally made it through and was back at the long library and got to the book. A mysterious figure appeared - it was a harlequin Shadowseer. He asked Trudy what she really desired. Did she seek to protect humanity or destroy its enemies? She thought about this. All her life she had been trained to kill the enemies of the Ecclesiarchy, but her core memories were that of her rogue trader parents, able to protect humanity without need for bloodshed. She told her answer. The shadowseer granted her access to the book. It was the book written by the Cabal, a group who had predicted all the events that would lead up to the Horus Heresy and the two possible options: Horus wins but realizes his folly and destroys humanity within 3 generations; with all humans dead, chaos would wither and die too. The other option was the Emperor won, but mankind would fall into stagnation and crumble away, which would let Chaos prosper on the suffering for millennia to come. She then was given a copy of the Emperor's original Imperial Truth, and a copy of Lorgar's Lectitio Divinatus. She was finally given revelation as to the true reality of the Imperium, of mankind, and of chaos; everything she knew up to that point had been a lie.

And so after spending what felt like decades reading and memorizing these books that normally would have made her a super heretic, the shadowseer led her to a vibrant spirit stone. She took it and suddenly awoke!

Everything hurt... she then realized she was in a Drukhari Haemunculus lair! She saw a Cronos nearby and urged it to give her some energy. It did, and she heard a scream somewhere, then sobbing. But she had enough energy to stand up. She walked to a mirror and gasped. She was... some sort of drukhari-human hybrid! Her body looked like a tall human except she looked particularly lithe and had pitch black eyes. Several vats nearby showed that one had her old human body still cut in half, but also several other half-or-partially formed drukhari bodies. She heard the sobbing again and rushed towards it. She saw a drukhari wych kneeling by a bed. She glared at Trudy. But then Trudy saw who was on the bed hooked up to the Cronos. It was Ceries! Trudy immediately cried, unable to reconcile that her ask for energy had directly caused the pain for Ceries. Then the haemonculus shows up. He explains to Trudy what happened - after she was chopped in half, Ceries grabbed her and went to the Cult of the Dancing Blade - the same cult that had helped train Ceries -and asked for help. The Cult agreed given that Trudy helped defeat a daemon, and because Ceries seemed to hold a decent amount of sway within the cult. Or perhaps because Inquisitor Syleen convinced them to. In any case the haemonculus normally wouldn't have accepted to repair a random human, but then he saw Trudy's body had a unique psychic signature. That of Succubus Hezita Alesfax of the Cult of the Red Grief, a frequent client of his! He happily took her in and made a body to tailor - one that could pass off as a human but with all the internal workings of a drukhari.

Trudy was shocked to learn this. She was now truly both human and eldar. But she was surprisingly cool with it. Maybe it was because of her whopping 50 insanity at that point (and 20 corruption). She went back and talked to Ceries and realized that Ceries had volunteered to be the pain originator. The other wych seemed to be Ceries' gal pal. Very interesting. Then Trudy mentioned that she was also Succubus Alesfax. Immediately the wych kneeled down in apology. Trudy told her to knock it off, she would have to prove herself to actually be Succubus Alesfax before she would ask anyone to kneel down. She then released Ceries from the bed and they all had a big hug session. Very emotional. As Trudy then went back to get dressed she noticed the spirit stone. What? but it was from her dreams but now in reality? She went to pick it up and then it morphed into an imperial rosarius. Very curious. She put it on and a wych suit that was provided to her. She wanted to ask the haemonculus a few more questions but couldn't find him - there was a lot of shouting out front. She went to check and a whooole lotta durkhari - kabalites, scourges, and such - were nervously pointing guns at a figure. That figure was farseer Telith who casually walked forth. Trudy had mixed emotions and charged Telith, and shook her angrily. A nervous kabalite shot their shard carbine at the farseer but then her staff glowed and the shards stopped mid-air Neo from the Matrix style. Funky. Trudy was understandably very upset at Telith who gave noncommittal nods. She was here to help pick up Ceries, Trudy, and Ilyianne - the name of the other wych. But the haemonculus was very upset that a farseer came so far into the Dark City. But Telith showed that her weapon stopping powers weren't psychic, but rather from her necron staff! Very interesting, so she chatted with the haemonculus about further study into necron tech.

### The First Encounter: Reprisal

Meanwhile Trudy took the time to talk to Ceries and her gal-pal. They made up and were happy to be finally together. Both were happy they could talk about normally taboo topics. Trudy turned out to be good at socializing with her, and soon Ceries' gal-pal was also Trudy's gal pal. And Ceries herself maybe even.

Then finally the raider arrives to pick everyone up. They leave. Then Trudy once more goes to confront Telith about how she led to her life becoming such a mess. Telith doesn't apologize but simply says that the path Trudy is currently on was the most important one. She could have died as a regular sister of battle, but that would have been a waste for the galaxy at a whole. Trudy is confused. Then Telith offers to show Trudy the beginning of everything so that Trudy could understand herself. They once more enter a mindscape. Telith creates a portal and Trudy walks through, and then sees Telith meditating in a wraithbone dome. Then Telith is behind her? There's two Teliths and the two Teliths fight for a bit. Eventually they stop fighting as Trudy gets upset. Turns out one Telith is past Telith, and the other one is present Telith. Trudy hashes it out with them finally figuring out they went to past Telith's mind for something. Another portal is created and Trudy goes into it.

Suddenly she feels herself witnessing the events from back in CHAPTER 3. Right as Ceries puts the hairpin into past!Trudy's hair, Trudy realizes what is going on. She begins to cry as she realizes that it was herself all along responsible for what happened. She sobbed as she mentally reached out to past!Trudy and led her to activate the Shadowfield, just as it had happened in the past. present!Trudy collapses in heaving sobs as she finally understands. Telith gently picks her up and hugs her.

### The Beginning of the End

Trudy returns to present reality, still sobbing, drawing everyone in a group hug. She realizes that she indeed took the most important route possible. She could've died as a generic martyr for the Sororitas, or understood that her possible purpose was so much greater. She was her own condemnation and revelation. She finally understands why Telith manipulated fate and made time loops to do so. With this revelation, Trudy is more determined than ever to protect both humanity and eldars from chaos. She then goes for another cuddle session with Ceries and Iliyanne...