Elzebec Ortennasse

The reverence and admiration the Black Stars hold for their Primogenitor is second to no other Legion, often surpassing the limits of rational thought and instead becoming fanatical and obsessive in nature. It is the result of the IIIrd's meticulous indoctrination, aiming at total obedience to and adoration for the Primarch, to ensure that his will is absolute and his orders obeyed to the letter, as well as the culture of Skandra itself, where Absalom is respected and venerated as a near-Messianic figure, which causes recruits to hold their lord in the highest esteem even before joining the Legion.

Perhaps the most extreme manifestation of this tendency in the Stars is **Elzebec Ortennasse**, 11th Margrav of the Black Stars, whose blind obedience and adulation for his Liege has gained him infamy across the Legiones Astartes. Starting his career as an orphan from a newly liberated world that was later inducted into the Kingdom of Skandra, Elzebec's life was saved by none other than Absalom himself, who unearthed the toddler from the rubble of his home, where he had been entombed for 3 days, along with the pulverised corpses of his parents. Unable to overcome this traumatic experience, the young Ortennasse's fractured mind became obsessed with the Dark Sun, believing him a guardian angel, not only for him, but the entirety of Mankind. Hence it became the child's sole purpose in life to prepare for the Astartes trials, and for years he worked endlessly to sharpen his mind and strength his body, until a decade later he was finally accepted to take part in the trials. He succeeded in every single one, if not because of superior strength or skill then because of his iron determination and single-minded focus on his goal. For the first time in his life, his hero, his idol was acknowledging his existence, and Elzebec could not give a performance short of anything but perfect. During the Grand Proving, Elzebec managed to survive and pass the trial at the cost of injuries that caused him to need augmetic replacements for both of his legs. Elzebec has never revealed the nature of his Proving even to his closest associates, and many speculate that it may even have forced the Margrav to face his hero in single combat, to stand against Absalom's sharp blade and even sharper tongue.

During his service, Ortennasse distinguished himself as an exemplary soldier and commander, whose unyielding courage and grit, borne of his deep-seated longing for Absalom's attention and praise, made him well-suited for the duties of a Chaplain, an office he held for decades, raising the morale of his brothers with long-winded sermons that praised Absalom, exalting his grandeur. He reminded them of the favour and rewards the Amber King would deliver unto them should they succeed, or how terrible his wrath and punishment would be should they fail. His methods were effective, and he rose through the ranks until, finally, Absalom recognised him as one of his finest sons and raised him to the rank of the Margrav of the 11th Domen.

With the advent of the Disappearance and the Ruins, Elzebec has become an instrumental part of Absalom's plots, serving as the Vice-Head of the Spahdien, the IIIrd's secret disciplinary corps, along with Chief Librarian Cyprian Wiez. Where Wiez is the secret, insidious mastermind of the Spahdien, Elzebec is the public, brutal face of the organisation, punishing those Stars that display gross insubordination or are found lacking in morale as an example for the Legion, to remember what happens to those who question Absalom. The soft-spoken Elzebec takes cruel pleasure in his duties, and carries out his executions with a grim, terrible scythe, whose black, wickedly curved blade has culled the heads of friend and foe alike.