Tz'shir'nagul

> *"You insolent maggot! You **dare** address a servant of the Starkiller in such a manner?!"*
> ~ to Victor Golovkin. (\*)
>
>

## Introduction

**Tz'shir'nagul** (pronounced *tash-er-NAR-g'l*) is an Empyreal Devastator in the service of the Qh'naazi Dynasty. He is the personal agent of Phaeroness Qh'naaz, deployed by her only for the most sensitive and important missions as her finest assassin and intelligence operative. His main and current task, as of July 2152 AC, is locating General Elena Trotskaya, subduing her and bringing her back to the waiting phaeroness to use in her mission to empower the dynasty with the body of Vaar'madr. In the Main Canon, in a near complete reversal of allegiance, he serves the Mechanocracy of Mankind in a similar capacity.

His name translates to *Dirge of the Seventh Constellation* in the Khazard'Vaari tongue.

## Physical characteristics

Normally, Tz'shir'nagul is – like all Empyreals – an amorphous mass consisting of billions upon billions of tiny, nearly invisible nanites, all connected to a central magnetic field rippling with virescent lightning and controlled by a hivemind. The shapeless hive appears to the naked eye as dark-grey smoke, able to pass through extremely tight spaces and levitate in the air. However, the nanites can quickly coalesce and bond together to form almost any shape and structure, ranging from solid walls of apparent livingmetal to deadly erupting spikes with the sharpness of a single quark. The nanites are also capable of adopting almost any colouration or texture, altering themselves to imitate targets (such as Serena Romana and Hanlon Miller) to perfection.

Where Tz'shir'nagul differs from other Empyreals, through his more advanced Devastator build, is his capability to divide himself into many different parts. He is shown to be capable of controlling at least five different components simultaneously, a feature that he often uses for infiltration purposes. The other important distinction is his possession of several 'blueprints' for sophisticated mechanisms pre-installed into his consciousness, including a star drive for faster-than-light travel, and he can download more. He carries among these blueprints a combat form, consisting of a humanoid torso and a serpentine lower body terminating in a light arc-blaster. Surrounding this body is a cloud of nanites that can form themselves into a variety of weapons to be used at the Empyreal's disposal, the most common being shuriken-like discs able to eviscerate a baseline human and a deadly sharp trident.

## Personality

Tz'shir'nagul, as is to be expected of an intelligence operative, possesses a high degree of independent thought and operation, assisted by an ancient machine intellect with eons of field experience at his disposal. In line with the distinctly Qh'naazi ideology, he carries about himself a heavily entrenched disdain for organic life and even other Khazard'Vaari not a part of his dynasty. More idiosyncratic still for a machine of his like, he is shown to be infuriated when threatened by a perceived lesser creature. However, his anger only manifests when his cover is blown; elsewhere, he observes and mimics the mannerisms and emotions of the creature that he is disguised as, and maintains a calm, obsequious disposition to his superiors.

As well as (obviously) Khazard'Vaari, Tz'shir'nagul is observed as capable of speaking fluent English and Russian.

## Notable appearances

Tz'shir'nagul is the tertiary antagonist of *Flight of the Polunochnaya*.

## Trivia

* Tz'shir'nagul, in terms of capabilities, is often described as a *"T-1000 on crack"* (the T-1000 being the shapeshifting antagonist of *Terminator 2: Judgment Day*) by his creator.
	+ Several references are made to the T-1000 in the actions that Tz'shir'nagul takes. For instance, the latter's adoption of Miller's form is a near simulacrum of the former's taking the asylum guard's identity.