Inquisitor - Bearers of the Seal: To be chosen to bear the Inquisitorial Rosette at the rank of Inquisitor is at once the greatest of honours and the weightiest of burdens. Of the uncounted trillions that constitute the multitudes of Humanity, only those marked out by the grace of the Emperor Himself are judged worthy.The common man rarely achieves more than he is born into, yet an Inquisitor rises far above the circumstance of their birth, being singled out amongst billions for a fate few can ever dream of. Inquisitors enjoy one of the most privileged of stations in the entire Human-settled galaxy, yet they are far from a master of their own fate.Their life is instead bound up in duty and responsibility. For many, the station is a curse, a cross to bear for the sake of the Emperor and the very future of Humanity. In fact, there are those within the Ordos Calixis of the Calixis Sector, for example, willing to sacrifice their eternal souls for the sake of all Mankind, such as the Oblationists, who give themselves unto Chaos that they might become a weapon against it.For many Inquisitors, life is a series of terrible revelations as more and more horrifying truths are uncovered. Upon their ascension from service as an Interrogator to their mentor to the rank and responsibilities of a full Inquisitor, the individual may well discover that all they thought they knew was in fact a lie. Although the shock of such a revelation is great, the individual would not have been chosen to bear the seal of the Inquisition had they not been judged able to withstand it by their superiors.Even more shockingly, this state of affairs is likely to continue throughout an Inquisitor's career, so that one after another supposedly fundamental truths are proved false. Many do eventually go mad, unable to sustain the relentless assault upon their very sanity. These must be hunted down by their peers, lest they turn Renegade and seek to destroy everything for which the Inquisition stands.Despite the fact that all Inquisitors share the same mission and bear the same burden, they are as varied in demeanour, character and appearance as the worlds from which they are drawn. Some are ascetic and withdrawn, disdaining comfort as an example to their underlings and foes of the sacrifices made by the Emperor for the sake of Humanity. Others attire themselves in regal finery, the better to cow and impress those they move amongst. Some are outwardly pious, while others might appear irreligious to the ignorant. Some Inquisitors are militaristic while others move silently in the shadows or conduct investigations from light years away.Here follows some examples of the many and varied personality types to be found amongst the ranks of the Inquisition:Militant - There are those who bear the Inquisitorial Rosette who believe above all else that the only way to combat the enemies of the Imperium is to burn, blast, and scour them all wherever they may be found. Such individuals frequently extend their opinion to the wider populace, such that an entire city might be blasted from orbit simply to eradicate a mutant enclave sheltering in its sewers, or an entire orbital quay should be sent plummeting to the earth because a dozen voidsmen shared the same portentous nightmare. Militant Inquisitors tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Many do the shooting themselves, being as adept with blade and bolter as any veteran Imperial Guardsman. Militant Inquisitors tend to employ cadres of men and women with a similar demeanour, commonly packing as much firepower as a Space Marine Devastator Squad. They may have built up large cadres of Imperial Guardsmen, retaining their services for life as a permanent unit, often with its own uniform. Militant Inquisitors lead assaults on enemy strongholds from the very front, glorying in the act of slaughtering the Emperor's foes, and equip themselves with the very finest of artificer-crafted weapons, armour and other equipment. Many acquire wargear of ancient and well-established pedigree, while some employ weapons of unique, unknown, or even xenos manufacture. Conversely, some Inquisitors of a militant mindset are akin to lords general, studying strategic maps or pouring over logistical inventories. They take command of friendly Imperial forces, supervising missions from afar through vox-link and gun-cam. They time their assaults with lethal precision and order the deployment of their weapons, whether Death Cult assassin or orbital bombardment, as an extension of their own body. Some of these Inquisitors attain the highest of ranks, eventually leading not just small cadres of warrior-agents, but entire armies, even Imperial Crusades. The line between general and Inquisitor may become blurred, for a time at least. Of course, it may come to pass that such an individual's erstwhile peers come to resent or disapprove of their position, and an entirely new conflict is initiated.Investigator - An Inquisitor must have a mind as keen as a power-stiletto, and a heart as cold as the Death Cultist who wields it. For many Inquisitors, it is in the tracking down of their foe, the sifting of evidence, and the uncovering of long-dormant secrets that their calling finds its true expression. These are the arch-investigators, individuals who can smell a dirty secret from half a sector away. From the scantest of clues, they have the uncanny ability to hunt down the culpable, and bring the criminal to justice. Inquisitors of an investigative nature surround themselves with sages and adepts. They often employ a vast network of specialists from across the many organisations of the Imperium as Acolytes, and are gifted with the ability to draw upon the unique skills of all those in their employ, bringing together the disparate strands of an investigation and acting upon the truth as it is revealed. The appearance of such an Inquisitor is often a portent of a ruthlessly thorough process and strikes such fear into the hearts of the guilty that they often flee, revealing their guilt even before an accusation is made. The investigative Inquisitor may also rely on a number of guards, often Crusaders, for they may eschew the martial skills displayed by others of their kind. Nonetheless, even the most stooped and aged of Inquisitors have a few tricks up their sleeves, saved for the moment they must deliver the harsh judgement of the Inquisition in person -- their foe at bay, with nowhere to flee.Machinator - The Machinator is an Inquisitor who maintains the most convoluted and intricate web of contacts and agents imaginable, each of whom they control with masterly skill as a puppeteer controlling a thousand marionettes with but a single hand. The identity of the Machinator is often withheld from those they control, their missives and instructions passed to them by encrypted, untraceable transmission conduits or delivered by way of a dead letter drop. Indeed, the Machinator's agents may have well met their master face-to-face without ever having known of it. The Machinator is a political animal of the highest calibre. They invariably involve themself as much with the convoluted power struggles within the Inquisition as they do with the broiling heresies of the greater Imperium. In all likelihood, they have many enemies in both camps, and even their fellow Inquisitors may not have met them in person for many solar decades, so mindful must they be of their rivals' petty hatreds. Such Inquisitors plot and scheme to manoeuvre their foes into positions of weakness, slowly infiltrating agents into enemy organisations. Evidence of guilt is gathered, but that is merely the opening phase in the Machinator's scheme. Next, they work tirelessly to seed weaknesses in their enemy's power base, compromising systems, assassinating allies and servants and infiltrating defences. Yet, even the Machinator must take to the field when their enemies arise. That is why they gather about them a cadre of the most trusted of their agents, those they trust above all others not to betray them. Only when their enemy's defences are wide open do they strike, with utterly merciless precision. Key installations are destroyed, enemy servants slain. The target sees their entire power base collapse around them, and through the smoke and rubble appears the form of the Machinator, Inquisitorial Rosette brandished in one hand, Bolt Pistol raised in the other. There are many Inquisitors within the Ordos Calixis who may be described in these terms. The greatest is perhaps Inquisitor Silas Marr, who appears to many to be seated at the vast spider's web of conspiracy and power. Those who intrude upon Marr's business are often warned off, in the first instance at least, though rarely by Marr in person. Those too arrogant, or ignorant, to heed such a warning make themselves a powerful enemy. Many are the times an Inquisitor has followed a lead, only to find it leading back to some concern of Marr's, and been forced to drop the matter lest they make a foe of this powerful individual. To what ends Silas Marr intends to put his vast network none can say, or would dare to openly speculate.Bombast - Inquisitors are men and women of unshakeable faith in the God-Emperor, yet some are so consumed by their faith that they wield it as a weapon in and of itself. These firebrands often blur the line between preacher and Inquisitor, many attiring themselves in robes akin to those worn by the highest officers of the Adeptus Ministorum. A Bombast Inquisitor is quick to anger, and even quicker to denounce. They see heresy and sin wherever they look, and are quick to throw those they judge guilty to the pyres of justice. Such Inquisitors recite a constant stream of holy invective, quoting passages from the holy texts and invoking the names of saints and martyrs of the Emperor with every breath. They are exceptionally intimidating, invoking quivering fear in the unfaithful and utter horror in the Heretic. The cadres of these types of Inquisitors often include all manner of hierophants, Exorcists and Confessors. Their links to the Ecclesiarchy may, in addition, result in them being accompanied by one or more Sisters of Battle of the Adepta Sororitas, potent and zealous warriors indeed, with a fearsome reputation amongst the enemies of the Imperial Cult. Bombasts are unsubtle individuals, with a tendency to ignore the minutiae of an investigation. This often brings them into conflict with others of the Inquisition. The arrival on a world of a bombastic Inquisitor might ruin standard years of work by a subtler agent. Yet, sometimes covert Inquisitors follow in the Bombast's wake, often without their knowledge, watching to see whether any previously unknown enemies attempt to flee, or otherwise reveal their hands. Despite a blunt approach to the calling of the Inquisitor, the Bombast is amongst the boldest of all of the servants of the Holy Ordos of the Emperor's Inquisition. They have been known to face the most terrifying of enemies armed with little more than the word of the Emperor, and prevail. The deeds and words of such an individual can rally an entire population to cast off a Renegade planetary governor, or to take up arms against an overwhelmingly powerful alien invasion. They often lead from the very front of the armies of the faithful, imbued with a burning faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind so fierce that it kindles similar zealousness in the hearts of all who witness it.Judicar - The Judicar Inquisitor is an individual who approaches their calling in almost the exact opposite manner to the Investigator. They assume guilt, and demand evidence to the contrary. Being the prosecutor, judge, and often executioner, such individuals rarely accept any evidence placed before them that contradicts their charge. Such Inquisitors normally travel about from world to world with great ceremony, surrounding themselves with an entire travelling court of clerks, attendants, and flunkies. Upon arrival, they announce a "court of assize," often commandeering the most awe-inspiring of locations for their purposes. Charges against certain individuals are then posted, and the accused brought before the court. Only those of the highest rank have any hope of refuting the charges, but in all likelihood these would not have been charged in the first place. Volume after volume of case law is produced, and added to, during the trial. The Judicar often ensures that the proceedings of their court are entered into the rolls of the planet's own laws, enshrining their every word into law for generations to come. Some such individuals maintain entire armies of seconded Arbitrators, imposing their own law upon those forced to suffer their visitations. When such itinerant precincts arrive upon a world, no one is immune from the smashing in of doors in the middle of the night, constant searches and the spontaneous imposition of totalitarian laws. Entire worlds have burned at the command of such Inquisitors, and their names often live on for many standard centuries as the subject of cautionary tales to strike fear into the hearts of the multitudes.Idealist - Upon being granted the Inquisitorial Rosette, many Inquisitors are at a stage in their lives when they still harbour a faint hope that Mankind can redeem itself of its sinful ways and turn back the tide of darkness that threatens to engulf the entire galaxy. Most are soon disabused of this notion, by bitter experience or an untimely death. Idealists often gravitate towards the various Puritan schools of thought concerning the Inquisition's role, although in time, some find themselves travelling a very different path. Idealists seek out that in the spirit of Mankind which is worth saving, but in so doing often find themselves renouncing that which falls below their exacting standards. They embark upon personal crusades to exact vengeance upon the criminal and the Heretic, and often seek to rally others to their cause. Sadly, many find themselves estranged from their peers, many of whom have simply seen it all before, and cut off from aid when they need it most. Many of the older, more embittered Inquisitors of the Ordos Calixis have been observed to take great delight in watching such young firebrands come to ruin. Some may even have engineered such a situation, only to offer the hand of friendship which the individual has no choice but to accept. And then, the young idealist might find themselves in the thrall of a far more powerful master, whose philosophies and factional leanings might be entirely at odds with their own. Despite the obvious pitfalls faced by such Inquisitors, every now and then one of their kind achieves truly great things. Some even attain sainthood, so genuinely pure and good are their intentions. In a galaxy as corrupt and barbaric as that of the 41st Millennium, the lives and deeds of such individuals are often little more than a brief spark of light amidst a looming, all-encompassing, stygian night. Yet some make their stand against the forces of darkness, and make a difference, no matter how slight, in the battle for the very survival of Humanity.