Aliverac Held

Aliverac Held during his time in the Foretoken

Once an aspiring librarian of the noble Hopebringers chapter, Aliverac embraced the will of Zetsuris when the Chapter fell to chaos. His psychic powers were turned against the Imperium and used to aid the ever-more-powerful God of Terror. He was outcasted from his chapter for his excessive use of this same sorcery, calling him a servant of the ever-hated Tzeentch. Travelling the galaxy and attempting to spread Zetsuris's will, Aliverac has recently joined the Foretoken, where he mostly spends his time preaching the good word of Zetsuris.

## History

### Youth

Born Ophelia Held on the hive world of Raln, he adopted the name Aliverac from a young age. Aliverac's psychic powers made him an outcast, hunted down and rejected from his well-off family in the upperhive. Despite growing up an outcast, he managed to disguise his psychic powers and fit in with one of the more powerful hive gangs. They managed to protect him for several years, and he trained his physical strength with the other hive gangers in public, and his psychic powers in private.

This relationship built on lies could never be sustained, and the hive gang found out about his psychic powers. They led him into an ambush and tried to kill him, but he escaped after killing one of them. He fled deeper into the underhive, living on scraps, and he only emerged when the Hopebringers arrived on the planet to recruit from its population.

He revealed his psychic powers to the recruiting Astartes, and after proving his skills and beating several other applicants he was accepted.

### Astartes Career

Aliverac was always withdrawn as a scout but took to the guerrilla tactics of his chapter particularly well. However, he couldn't make himself care about civilians as much as his brothers, and made a name for himself as an outcast, who didn't partake in the close brotherly ties of his comrades.

Aliverac's next betrayal came as a scout during the Protection of Liaus IV, when a massive Ork Waagh! arrived on the planet and attempted to destroy the Imperial forces there. The Hopebringers destroyed several key Ork emplacements before the second wave of the Ork forces arrived, and they were forced to the ground. The chapter's forces split up and sided with the local PDF. With the Hopebringer's mastery of guerrilla warfare, they managed to slowly cripple the Orks and kick them off the planet. Tragedy struck immediately after though, and a genestealer cult rose up from among the PDF, slaying several of the unprepared Hopebringers. A group Aliverac had become particularly close to killed his mentor, who sacrificed his life letting Aliverac escape. He was promoted to Librarian shortly after, to fill the gap left by his mentor.

By the time of the Ska'Fel campaign, Aliverac had become a full Librarian of the Hopebringers, and had mastered the art of Umbramancy. He was among the first wave deployed to the planet to destroy the fledgling Muted Cabal, and by this point he had become almost completely untrusting, almost abandoning his brothers on many occasions. When the Inquisition recalled the Hopebringers and committed an unsuccessful excommunicatus on the planet, Aliverac couldn't bring himself to care. The rest of his brethren were furious, yet Aliverac had remained so emotionally distant that he couldn't care, even if he had wanted to. However, he felt it impossible to resist the tide of change that came over the chapter, and his connection to the warp during the emergence of Zetsuris meant that he was inevitably corrupted.

Over time, Aliverac became more and more corrupted, turning his psychic powers towards the worship of Zetsuris. Psykers, however, were becoming increasingly unwelcome among the ranks of the newly rechristened Loss of All Hope. The animosity between Zetsuris and Tzeentch was well known, and many viewed Aliverac as a suitable scapegoat for everything that went wrong in the warband, calling him a follower of the enemy.

Aliverac was left behind by the Loss of All Hope on the destroyed Imperial world of Corian. Angry at being betrayed once again, but not entirely surprised, Aliverac stole a ship and left, wandering the galaxy in the name of Zetsuris, the only one who had yet to betray him.

### The Foretoken

While exploring the depths of the galaxy, Aliverac first met the secretive Foretoken while attempting to sabotage the enigmatic Forge World Valurian. He realised the opportunity they posed, and willingly joined them. Travelling with them to their massive fortress, Aliverac embraced their initiation ritual; to hunt and kill a Chimera, on his own.

As he journeyed deep into the forests surrounding the fortress, Aliverac subtly cloaked himself with shadow. After walking for hours and not finding a single living thing, Aliverac paused, tentatively reaching out with his mind into his surroundings. He brushed against something angry, primal, and only avoided the lunging Chimera's teeth by reflexively leaping into the air with a burst from his Jump Pack. He caught a flash of blue and orange before a massive tail smashed into him. He flew through the air, colliding with a tree and crashing to the ground.

Aliverac was confused. This beast bore the colours of Zetsuris, yet he had to kill it. He muttered an apology to it, before standing. The Chimera had already begun to attack, and he brought up his storm shield just in time to deflect a swipe from its paw. Aliverac used the momentum to move round to its side, punching its blue and orange mottled side with his power fist, grimacing as he heard bones crunch from the impact. The Chimera flinched back, evidently wounded, yet it wouldn't give up. It continued to attack, faster this time, relentlessly battering Aliverac with paws, teeth, tail. It was all he could do to bring up his shield in time and avoid being struck directly.

Aliverac was pushed back further and further, until he felt a tree at this back. He knew he had to take action now. He flexed his jump pack-wings and jumped over the Chimera's bite, looking in satisfaction as it collided with the thick trunk of the tree. The tail flew up to meet him, but this time Aliverac was ready. He dodged to the side and grabbed it just beneath its tip, crushing it with his power fist and dropping to the ground. Not giving the beast time to even reel in pain, he immediately punched it in the side again. The already cracked ribs gave way and opened up a hole in the Chimera's side. Aliverac dropped his shield and pulled out his plasma pistol, overloading it into the hole repeatedly. When he was done, the Chimera was dead, its corpse a charred ruin. He once again muttered an apology to Zetsuris for killing one of his servants, took a tooth from the Chimera, and returned to the Foretoken's fortress.

## Personality

Having been betrayed by almost everyone he has known, Aliverac trusts nobody, with one exception: Zetsuris. Since his chapter's fall to chaos he has become incredibly loyal to his God, believing that through him he can finally have a family. He is boastful and confident of his own abilities and can be very sociable, using a charismatic front to hide his true intentions and lack of trust.

He spends much of his time praying or training in order to better understand and serve his God's goals. Aliverac often preaches the word of Zetsuris to the other members of Black Bastion, targeting Night Lords with particular prejudice.

## Appearance

With the pale skin and black hair common among successors of the Raven Guard, Aliverac's most defining features are his height, and his orange eyes. He isn't very muscular, at least by Astartes standards, and still looks relatively youthful underneath his armour.

His Raptor armour is painted in the blue and orange of Zetsuris, and is warped by warp exposure and Zetsuris's gifts. It's jump-pack has mutated into a massive pair of vulture-like wings, and thanks to gifts from the God of Fear his left hand is encased in a nine-fingered power fist.

## Abilities and Traits

A talented chaos sorcerer, Aliverac wields a manipulated version of the Raven Gaurd's Umbramancy. This includes extensive manipulation of shadows, often to create fear among his enemies. He has been dabbling in daemon summoning, so far unsuccessfully.

In close combat, Aliverac is very skilled. His combination of nine-fingered power fist, storm shield, and jump pack allow him to close the distance quickly while preventing himself talking unnecessary damage.

Despite his emotional distancing, Aliverac can appear very charismatic and persuasive if it allows him to achieve whatever his goal is.

## Mutations and Gifts of Chaos

* **Orange eyes** - One of his first gifts, Aliverac's eyes turned a deep, ever-changing orange shortly after turning to Zetsuris, allowing him to see the flow of the warp, at least partially.
* **Psychic Enhancements** - A significant portion of Aliverac's gifts come in the form of psychic boons, supplementing his already terrifying powers.
* **Nine-fingered Fist** - A relatively recent mutation, Aliverac's left fist - now permanently encased in a power fist - has grown four additional fingers, and now has nine, the sacred number of Zetsuris.
* **Raptor Armour** - Aliverac, like many servants of Chaos, has melded with his armour at a deep level, so that it now feels like a second skin.
* **Vulture Wings** - The jump-pack of Aliverac's armour has taken the form of a tremendous pair of vulture-esque wings.

## Equipment

### Armour

* **Corrupted Mk VI armour**
* **Corrupted Jump Pack/Wings**

### Weapons

* **Storm Shield**
* **Nine-fingered Power Fist**
* **Plasma Pistol**

### Chimera Trophy

* **Tooth** - A great tooth taken from his Chimera, Aliverac wears it around his neck at all times, believing the Chimera to be a beast of Zetsuris himself.