Marthain Ullandel

"*Ah, stop your whining and struggling, landlubber. You'll not be hurt here. I'm no Ork savage or Drukhari scum. I'm a professional, and professionals have standards.*"
—Captain Marthain Ullandel to a Mon-Keigh hostage
Captain **Marthain Ullandel**, also known as **Captain Longbeard** and the **Hunter of the West**, is an Aeldari Corsair Prince (though he personally prefers the title "Captain") who originally hails from Craftworld Tair-Melann. Although loyal Tair-Melannis consider him a dishonest and cowardly traitor for forsaking his Craftworld, if compared to the standards of other Corsairs then Marthain can be considered staggeringly honourable, displaying a degree of restraint, mercy and loyalty that is totally unseen in other Corsairs. After all, Marthain only forsook his political allegiance to Tair-Melann; he did not abandon the values he was raised with.

The fleet that Marthain commands is known as the Fleet of the Wild Hunt, named after the mythical entourage of the hunter god Kurnous. Though Kurnous disappeared in the Fall of the Aeldari and is in all likelihood no longer alive, Marthain continues to venerate the lord of hunters, perhaps in the hope that some vestigial remnants of his spirit can still lend aid.

Marthain's fleet, the Fleet of the Wild Hunt, mainly roams around Segmentum Pacificus, but does occasionally sail across the border into Segmentum Tempestus for brief periods.

## Appearance

Marthain's most distinctive visual characteristic is his beard, from which he gained the nickname "Captain Longbeard". Despite this name, his beard is not in fact particularly long; many a *Mon-Keigh* has a beard several times the length of his. Marthain's nickname is instead reflective of how long his beard is by Aeldari standards. Since Aeldari facial hair grows slowly and nearly all men remain close-shaven, even a short beard is "long-bearded" to an Aeldari.

Marthain's skin is darker than most of his kinsmen, partly due to genetics and partly due to a tan he has accumulated over years of basking in interstellar light. His hair is light brown and is worn long in a half-ponytail, and his eyes - as is common for inhabitants of Tair-Melann - are a vibrant emerald-green.

Marthain is also distinctive for his manner of dress. Atop the green and gold armour he took with him from his Craftworld, Marthain wears a dark reddish-purple high-collared armless frock coat, with elaborately decorated with gold embroidery on the facings and collar. He wears this unbuttoned, showing the plates of his armour. Marthain additionally wears a wide black tricorne hat, its edges embroided with gold thread, which hides an armoured skullcap that is his only head protection.

## Fleet of the Wild Hunt

The Fleet of the Wild Hunt is far from the largest corsair fleet, but the ships that sail the stars under Marthain's command are all relatively large vessels that boast impressive speed, thunderous firepower and numerous cloaking devices. As is typical for all things that hail from Tair-Melann, the ships tend to sacrifice some of the graceful agility that is a hallmark of Aeldari design for increased durability and power - but even the most cumbersome Aeldari vessels are usually capable of easily outpacing the spacecrafts of many other civilisations, especially those of the Imperium of Man.

The Fleet of the Wild Hunt is commanded from Marthain's flagship, *Kurnous' Revenge*. This fact is particularly aggravating to Tair-Melann, since *Kurnous' Revenge* is one of the largest and mightiest ships that the Craftworld ever constructed - taking centuries to construct, a true marvel of Aeldari engineering - which was stolen away from them by Marthain when he first defected. This is largely why the Fleet of the Wild Hunt stays far away from Tair-Melann in Segmentum Pacificus; simply abandoning the Craftworld is a mere disappointment, but stealing their greatest ship is a severe crime that would result in Marthain being hunted down with the full might of Tair-Melann if he was ever spotted.

Although Marthain is the ruler of the Fleet of the Wild Hunt, the nature of his governance is far more democratic than the feudal society of his home of Tair-Melann. He permits his subordinates, particularly his Quartermasters, to challenge his ideas and speak freely, though everyone is expected to follow orders during combat. It is also fairly common for some matters to be put to a vote, or for Marthain to at least consult the opinion of his crew when making decisions.

## Piratical Career

Unlike most Corsair Princes, Marthain's main goal is not to live as a pirate. Instead, he sees piracy as a means to an end; he desires to bring destruction to evil forces across the galaxy, but such a venture is highly expensive. The Fleet of the Wild Hunt does engage in legitimate trade, but this does not provide enough income to sustain the fleet, so Marthain is forced to rely on piracy, which he sees as an acceptable lesser evil he must perform to conquer a greater one.

As a Tair-Melanni, Marthain was instilled with the virtues of chivalry from birth, and he sees piracy as something he must do rather than something he wants to do; as such, he could conceivably be called the most merciful pirate in the galaxy. He avoids the use of violence where possible, instead chiefly relying on intimidation to force merchant ships to give up their cargo. He harshly punishes any member of his crew who attacks those who are unarmed, and mercilessly enforces the death penalty for those who defile women. These strict articles of agreement have warded off many potential recruits, but many others have joined due to Marthain's generous and egalitarian treatment of his crew; he shares loot and rations in a fair manner and does not take a larger share for himself than any other officer, and he provides compensation for those who become crippled in his service.

Marthain is also known for issuing the captains of captured prizes with so-called "Certificates of Piracy", which are documents that Marthain signs by hand that a looted merchant ship takes with them as proof that they were raided by pirates, preventing them from being accused of fraud by their investors and insurers. This practice was a great surprise to Imperial institutions in Segmentum Pacificus; it is rare enough that pirates allow merchant vessels to go on their way after being boarded, but it is utterly unheard of for a pirate - an *alien* pirate, at that - to provide some measure of legal protection for their victims.

Marthain has also been rarely known to capture hostages for ransom, though he takes care to demand a fair price that he knows can be paid, and insists on treating hostages with respect. Although this is a cause of great antagonism amongst the wealthy families of his targets, this practice - alongside the issuing of Certificates of Piracy - has proven to the more pragmatic and shady corners of Segmentum Pacificus that Marthain is a man who can be trusted to uphold his word. As such, Marthain has several times been contracted by humans to act as a mercenary. These contracts have had a diverse range of aims, such as the relatively petty act of targeting vessels belonging to a certain trading corporation, taking down other pirates, destroying Ork warbands or even slaughtering cultists of the Ruinous Powers.

The existence of Marthain is highly troubling for the Imperium, particularly the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition. On the one hand, the Fleet of the Wild Hunt is a painful thorn in the side of all merchants in Segmentum Pacificus, but on the other hand the relative lack of actual harm to human life that Marthain causes and his steadfast dedication to fighting far more abhorrent threats cannot be denied. Inquisitors on the more radical end of the spectrum see no reason to hunt Marthain, believing it to be a waste of resources that would cause more harm than good, as they believe the occasional seizure of merchant shipping is an acceptable price to pay for having an alien fleet in the region that can make war against mankind's enemies without an Imperial soldier having to lift a finger. Even those who are more stalwart in their divinely ordained righteous xenophobia consider Marthain to be a low-tier threat, one that is not worth destroying when there are far more dangerous forces afoot.

## Early Life

The Ullandel name is one that once carried weight within Tair-Melann. The dynasty has a long military history worthy of pride, and they have always been loyal and mighty servants of the High King. However, by the time Marthain was born, the dynasty had suffered greatly from its own military prowess, for all other branches of the bloodline had been extinguished in combat besides Marthain and his parents, Eadann and Raoma.

From an early age, Marthain had a keen interest in the tales of great explorers who sailed the stellar winds to far-flung planets, and he dreamed of becoming captain of his own vessel. He joined Tair-Melann's navy as soon as he was able, beginning as a petty officer due to his noble heritage, and quickly gained a reputation as an intelligent, decisive and likeable fellow who won the respect of his peers, subordinates and superiors alike. It was widely assumed that Marthain was destined for greatness in naval service.

Marthain's enthusiastic spirits were greatly dampened by the death of his father, Eadann, who fell in an attack upon a marauding Ork fleet. Eadann's Spirit Stone was recovered and his soul was brought to safety inside the Infinity Circuit, but Marthain was far too inexperienced to try and commune with the Circuit to speak with his father. His mother Raoma was not there to comfort him, for she was a Shieldmaiden who was also out on campaign, and did not yet know of her husband's death. However, Marthain had many friends in the navy who were there for him, most of all his fellow officer Agenna, whom he eventually became very close with.

Upon returning home to news of her husband's death, Raoma lay down her weapons and resolved to be there for her son. She instead became a doctor, dedicating herself to healing the casualties of war. However, Raoma's obsession with not allowing a single patient under her watch to die would be her undoing. After ignoring the warnings of her peers to treat a soldier infected with Nurgle's Rot, she too contracted the disease. She was killed out of mercy to prevent her from becoming an abomination, separating her soul from her body before the foul infection could spread to her very essence.

Now bereft of both his parents, and struck with the painful knowledge that he was the last surviving member of his bloodline while still just a young man, Marthain fell into depression and lost interest in all his passions, and began drinking an unhealthy amount. When he was excused from military service, he distanced himself from his friends and spent most of his days locked inside his house - until his close friend Agenna came barging in, determined to drag Marthain back into the proverbial light. The process was far from quick, but Marthain did mostly return to his old self after several years. It came as a surprise to nobody that Marthain and Agenna eventually confessed their love to each other and became husband and wife.

Now that he was fit for duty again, Marthain returned to military service and rapidly re-integrated himself back into the navy. He displayed more vigour than ever, and gained the opportunity to seize his forgotten dream of captaincy during the Lathlann campaign, when Tair-Melann came to the defence of the Maiden World Lathlann to protect it from a savage Ork Waaagh. Serving alongside his wife Agenna, Marthain proved himself to be capable of command, and was given the ship *Voidshaker* after her previous captain succumbed to wounds sustained in combat. Agenna, too, eventually became a captain in command of her own vessel, and the two captains became renowned as the greatest naval commanders in the war.

This was until the Kings masterminded a plan to destroy the Ork fleet in its entirety by drawing them into an ambush using a ship as bait. Rather than asking for volunteers, as was standard practice, the Kings ordered Agenna to be the bait for the trap, despite Marthain's protests. He knew that her task was suicidal, but she would not break her oath of loyalty. Marthain was left to be unable to do anything as he watched his beloved wife be blown apart by hundreds of Ork munitions, and the decisive victory the Tair-Melanni navy won that day was utterly hollow to him. To Marthain, what had happened to his wife was no better than murder. She was given a vile, craven order for an insane plan, but the Kings had convinced their subjects that the sacrifice of Agenna and her crew was a glorious martyrdom.

Marthain's rage was incalculable. The Craftworld had taken his father and mother and had now murdered his wife, and nobody seemed to care. He could tolerate it no longer. He gathered his crew, announced his intentions and asked them to follow him. All but a few swore loyalty to their captain and joined him as he set off to the dockyards, the grand ship *Kurnous' Revenge* in his sights. As a supposed war hero, nobody questioned Marthain when he disembarked from the Craftworld and sailed into the abyss, assuming that he was given the ship as a reward for his service - but it soon became clear that he had abandoned Tair-Melann for good.

Marthain cared not for what they would call him back home. Traitor, coward, thief - these names did not matter, for he was certain in his heart that Tair-Melann had fallen from grace, and he sailed to the far west of the galaxy. Some say that he truly seeks to live by the principles he believes his Craftworld has abandoned, whereas others say he is merely drowning his sorrows in a childish desire for adventure. In any case, Marthain is determined to live on his own terms as a free man, and is equally determined to never see his home again.