Eye in the Shadows

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## Character

### **Role(s)**

Imperium of Man's second in command (In secret)

## Physical Description

### **Weight**

Confidential

The *Eye in the Shadows* is a mysterious figure within the Imperium of Man. A person who moves in the shadows, possessing a control of the Imperium even greater than the Custodes, being only inferior to that of the Emperor.

## History

Let's see, how could someone summarize this person?

Take all those who have ruled a country or kingdom or empire from the shadows, when no one noticed them. Choose only those whose actions have brought good things to said governments by keeping them from foolishly falling apart. Multiply it by one hundred. And grant him absolute power over the Imperium of Mankind, only below the Emperor, even above the Custodes. Well, that's the Eye in the Shadows.

What few people know, of the few people who know of his existence, is that he is a Perpetual, just like the Emperor himself, only that, unlike him, he suffers what could be said as his variation of 'dwarfism', despite being as tall as a normal person.

The few who know of this man in black clothes and a black mask’s existence know that this man is the one who rules from the very shadows of the Imperium. But he does not do it with hype and cymbal like the rest of the rulers. He is dedicated to managing and manipulating the strings that move the Imperium, making sure to place the most suitable people in the command posts most appropriate to these people and avoiding, to a certain extent, those so crazy that they could take the Empire to a second Heresy from the correct position do not obtain the necessary power for it.

Practically he strives that the Empire of Man does not sink more than it already is. And so far he has done great. He has managed to turn battles that seemed doomed to failure by ensuring that the best commanders took command in said battles, and he is able to see the greatness of some soldiers, only pulling the strings necessary for them to achieve that greatness, be it a soldier, or a Space Marine. Men who instill courage in others in the darkest moments. Unfortunately for him, this method can backfire and end up with a totally unpredictable outcome. He can control where people go, but not what they are going to do there. Sometimes he is even forced to make very difficult decisions such as deciding which world to save if two worlds are attacked by different enemy forces, but this kind of decision depends on the main forces of the Astra Militarum stationed there.

Another fault that this system encounters every day is the Ecclesiarchy, the religious power of the Empire. Sometimes the religious fervor that they exert over others tends to turn things upside down, constantly jeopardizing his plans. It is not foolish to think that the Ecclesiarchy knows of the existence of this man, and that on more than one occasion he has been labeled a heretic by them, solely for being the second in command below the Emperor.

But that does not scare him, because this man has real power over almost all the military forces of the Empire. He has a standard knowledge of what a specific Chapter might be interested in or what an Inquisitor or other Imperium officer would want, in addition to knowing all the command and leadership codes only used by the Emperor, so he has full authority over the army of the Imperium. And if someone gets too heavy in not obeying him, without problems, he changes him for a more obedient officer or if he is too important for the Imperium, he will use the tactic of "do you want a reward? I'll give it to you in exchange for you obeying. " Although if he is a Space Marine, he easily uses his ego and his Primarch's memory to get him to collaborate. Of course, he always tries to have an advantage when he deals with those Chapters or Inquisitors who treat humans as inferior beings or pigs (I'm looking at you, Marines Malevolent). The Mechanicus doesn’t get away from this power either, since there have been cases in which it has forced the techno-priests of Mars to grant the Imperium those technologies that they did not even think of giving up even in death.

He also commands a special secret agency: Shadow Star. A hidden agency made up of the top secretly recruited Officio Assassinorum assassins who act as his eyes and ears beyond what Imperial surveillance systems can see. The only two temples not included in this secret agency are Eversor and Culexus. Unfortunately this group has no power to spy on the Inquisitors.

He is the only one the Emperor speaks to directly during this entire time, despite what everyone says about this honor belonging to Primarch Gilliman, although, again, it is a secret to the galaxy. He usually makes extensive summaries at regular intervals explaining how the Empire is today, explaining the actions he has taken, sometimes receiving advice and warnings from the Emperor himself. Rumors say that both he and the Emperor knew of each other from before the Great Crusade, so he practically knew every Primarch and their fates. Well, except the two ‘missing’ ones. One rumor says that he’s the Emperor’s younger brother, but that’s all, a never confirmed rumor.

Even when he’s forced to tolerate the Ecclesiarchy for the Imperium’s ‘sanity’, he recognizes that there could be more "human" methods to carry this religious fervor which can sometimes cause more harm than good. He is currently trying to recruit bishops, priests and religious Inquisitors who are willing to take this religious fervor on a more humanitarian and less oppressive route, going so far as to convert known heretics back into the fold.

He knows all the secrets of the Imperium of Man, even the ones they would kill each other to keep secret, some found by himself and others found by the Shadow Star. He has knowledge of the different prophecies that are spread throughout the galaxy, he even has knowledge of the Star Child prophecy, in addition to some other similar ones.

In fact, this is the reason why he never attempted to undo the events that took the Imperium to what is now. One day, during the Great Crusader, both he and the Emperor received the visit of a mysterious oracle (from some time he suspected that this one could be a time traveling Orikan) that warns them about some events that would happen in the next 10k years and that changing them would cause havoc in the universe. One of these events would be related to the birth of a particular girl who would possess unparalleled power which, when she grew up, could impose order and balance in the Immaterium. Someone more powerful than the Chaos Gods themselves, but that her 'alliance' would depend on who she was raised with. And that a dark power behind her birth would try to force her to obey her will.

For this reason the Eye in the Shadows has been observing the events of the galaxy, making sure that the events described by the oracle are followed, whether they are beneficial or detrimental to the galaxy, as well as making sure that smaller events don't escalate to a galactic scale. Even to the point to create in secret a twenty-first legion which would only receive orders from the Eye in the Shadows and from the Emperor himself, hidden somewhere in the Galaxy whose location has been erased from the maps of the Imperium of Humanity: the Archangels. Waiting to be activated and sent to protect the Empire, and the girl supposed to save the galaxy, known by him as the ‘Girl of Hope’.

## Personality

Intelligent and calm, capable of taking advantage of any very delicate situation. He expects a lot from people’s best, but worries about people’s worst. At times he can be manipulative when necessary. He has a lot of patience, except with people who are hellishly and insufferably stubborn.

Unlike the Emperor, who openly wanted to get rid of the Xenos in the galaxy, he is willing to deal openly with them to avoid unnecessary confrontation or to seek their support in extreme cases (it is rumored that he secretly informed all Xenos races involved in the defense of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade). He believes that, despite the dangers the Xenos bring, dealing with them peacefully and trading with them would be the only true way for the Imperium to prosper, other than to get out of the hole humankind has gotten itself into by Horus’s fault and, by his own words, by the Ecclesiarchy’s incompetence. In that aspect he is open to the idea of "if you come peacefully to me, I will be peaceful with you”, but if they openly attack the Imperium, oh boy, they can start to run as fast as they can, because the Imperium’s wrath will fall over them with all their weight under his orders. Of course, he will not tolerate any Ork, Drukhari, or Tyranid roaming around any territory of the Imperium (He’s still searching for a way to purge the ork fungus from a planet invaded by them.).

## Appearance

No one knows the true appearance of the Eye in the Shadows. He can only be described as wearing black clothing that hides his body shape, while his face is hidden by his black mask with red eyes. Despite being a Perpetual, his dwarfism allows him to go unnoticed by being the size of a normal person.

## Equipment

* Twin rapiers designed with Power Sword tech (visible)
* Other weapons and equipment are classified.

## Relations

### Allies

* Imperium of Man
* Adeptus Mechanicus
* Eldar except Drukhari (When not attacking the Imperium)
* Leagues of Vottan (When not attacking the Imperium)
* Tau Empire & Sub-factions (When not attacking the Imperium)
* Necron (When not attacking the Imperium)
* Passive Xenos to the Imperium

### Enemies

* Orks
* Tyranids & Genestealers
* Eldar (When attacking the Imperium)
* Leagues of Vottan (When attacking the Imperium)
* Tau Empire & Sub-factions (When attacking the Imperium)
* Necron (When attacking the Imperium)
* Violent Xenos against the Imperium

## Notable Quotes

### By the Eye in the Shadows

"*My only task is to protect the creation of the Emperor, and if for that I have to anger someone to the point that they call me a Heretic, it doesn't matter, because I know the ins and outs and secrets of the Imperium. So if you don't want to have your own men against you, you'd better do as I tell you.*"
—Eye in the Shadows to unknown Inquisitor.
### About the Eye in the Shadows

"*Don't you know who he is? It looks like you are very new. I only saw him once, and believe me, that man is the most powerful person in the Imperium. As far as I know, only the Emperor could reply to him without risks. Also, when he shows up, something big is going to happen. So watch out!*"
—Veteran Space Marine to Recruit.

Pd: I'm open to suggestions for give some decent touches to this page, always they're constructive and doesn't try to delete the character's idea.