 |
 |
| Obra'noctra | |
|---|---|
|
Born |
Dawn of Creation |
|
Death |
N/A |
|
Gender |
N/A |
|
Race |
C'tan |
|
Allegiance |
None, Itself |
|
Role |
Star God |
|
Status |
Shard, Imprisoned |
Obra'noctra was the name of one of ancient Star Gods. In the aftermath of the War in Heaven he was shattered when the Necrons rebelled against them. However he still exists as shards of his former self.
One of these shards would also take on the name, Artisan of Deception
History[]
Origins[]
The Star God known as Obra'noctra, like most C'tan, was 'born' during the very beginning of the universe. Preciously little is recorded about his activeties during this time. Like most C'tan he fed of the abundant energies produced by the stars.
War in Heaven[]
Shattering[]
Towards the end of the War in Heaven, Obra'noctra would meet his end. The inthinkable happened as their slaves turned against them in rebellion. One by one, the remain C'tan were shattered into fragments of themselves. Obra'noctra was one of these. Into many different shards he was reduced. None of of these shards recalled their previous existance and their power was a fraction of it's former strength. These shards were called the Shard of Umbra, the Radiant Giant, Star Kraken, Bloodtide, and the Maw of Charybdis.
One of his shards, the Radiant Giant, were captured and enslaved by the Necrons who used them to their own ends. However his three other shards escaped and hid amongst the stars. Each one would enter hibernation and await for a more fruitful eon.
The Kraken Caged[]
The Star Kraken would be the first to awaken. Rather than wait for a different time, the Star Kraken's own hunger was what stirred the beast from its sleep. It immediately set out to do the only thing it knew how to, consume.
(MORE TO FOLLOW)
The Great Devouring
Next to awaken and least understood of all the shards, the Maw of Charybdis awoke and its waking throes signaled a time of great ruin. Like a living blac hole it consumed and tore a path of destruction through many empires. So little is known of it for it leaves nothing left to understand. The Eldar only hold a scattered legend of a time called the "Great Devouring" Having gourged itself, the Maw ventured out to the galactic edge to slumber until it was hungry again.
Rampage[]
Eons past until the Shard of Umbra awoke. The constant psychic disturbances awoke him from his slumber. It found the Galaxy was once again ripe for harvest, but it was still plagued by psychic races and now worshippers of the Warp. But out of all the shards, the Shard resembled it's former self most closely and possessed Obra's trademark powers. The Shard could control the lesser race's own senses and manipulate them with near impunity.
The Shard of Umbra went on a rampage across the stars. For a time it ravaged worlds of all kinds, especially those of the hated Eldar. It took it's vegeance on the galaxy, turning entire worlds and systems against eachother. It drove whole fleets into stars, turned armies on their people and made whole worlds drown in blood. In it's supposed invincibility it reveled in his own power. From the eldar it would earn the name, Artisan of Deception.
However it would not stand unopposed.
Imprisonment[]
In his blind arrogance, he underestimated who he was fighting. This was a galaxy ruled by the cursed Eldar who were at the zenith of their power. Long ago they had forgotten the fell name of Obra'noctra, but now they came to hunt his remnants. The Eldar would begin a great hunt for Obra'noctra's remaining shards. In response the Shard used it's power to enslave whole species, such as the Gigulaton and Titante and built itself an army. The collective combine of these forces would by archived by the Eldar as the Star Hordes. Ancient xenos records held by Ordo Xenos are incomplete on the matter, but after a hunt that last for decades the Eldar finally cornered the Shard on the world of Mal'duron. After a ferocious battle with it's enthralled armies they defeated him at a great cost and Mal'duron was reduced to a barren wasteland.
They bound and contained him in a psionic box made from the strongest wraithbone and sealed it with their most powerful wards. Then on the site of his defeat on the now barren world they built a great prison to contain and lock him away forever. He was buried deep in the core of the dead world where he would never be found. Mortal guardians would only fall prey to the Shard's power so only automatons would remain and the Eldar would stand watch to ensure that it would never escape from it's prison.
For now the Shard of Umbra would sleep away the eons, dreaming of revenge and ressurection.
Attempted Breakout[]
Millenium later, the Shard would have it's first taste of vengence. In the calamity that was the Fall of the Eldar, the entire race was devastated by the birth of Slannesh. Their collective psychic scream woke it with a start. The Shard knew that the first chink in the prison's defenses had been made. Still it bided his time. Milleniums wore on and the eldar would mostly forget its name, nothing but scattered legends to remember the Artisan of Deception. The defenses of his prison also began to suffer, eons without maintenance had taken their toll. Little by little it could begin to expand his inlfuence beyond the confines of his prison. But still he could not break free. But this would soon change. In the later half of the 41st Millenium, the Shard of Umbra would make it's move. A taskforce of ships from a fledgling empire called the Imperium of Man approached the world, investigating odd energy readings and disappearances of ships. These were not ordinary humans, they were Space Marines from the Blaze Ravens chapter. They landed on the world to investigate further. Stretching it's power to the limit he guided the lesser race to the entrance where they "accidentally" discovered it.
The space marines ventured further down the haunting passages of the prison, unaware of what they had discovered. The Shard continued to guide them further and further down the depths of the prison towards it's own prison cell. When the humans finally arrived the found the Shard's cell. A black box with an evil aura, warp maicks were strong in this room and even normal mortals could feel it. The Shard attempted to manipulate their senses so it was as if nothing was wrong. But there were psykers among them and they reacted violently.
Their leader, Captain Ragna Kor, had noticed the markings on the walls and realized that they were of Eldar origin and began to grasp the nature of this place. All the Blaze Ravens present could feel the sheer evil eminating from the box. The Shard made an attempt of the space marine leader to manipulate him into opening the box. But when Ragna fell under it's influence, the Librarians moved to defend him and broke the hallucination. After retreating back to the surface, Ragna reported this back to the Chapter Master who arrived to discern the situation for himself . Dante was revolted as he realized that the box was alive. He had all his chapter's Librarians from a psychic barrier around the box and contain it and it's evil influence.
Taking a closer look around the prison they found that it was in a poor state. Having no means to destroy the box themselves, the space marines knew they could not simply leave it alone. Believing this prison would not hold this evil for much longer, Dante ordered that the box be transported and taken. Dante wanted to know what it was and how to destory it. The box containing the Shard was transported onto a crewless ship and towed along.
Dante conviened with his officers and decided to re-imprison it, this time under human watch. They contacted their allies in Ordo Xenos on the discovery, and requested to bring it to a ultra secret Ordo Xenos facility, codenamed Cocytus.
The Cocytus Incident[]
The Blaze Ravens transported the Shard back to their own home system. Secretly centuries ago, the Chapter made a pact with members of Ordo Xenos, to build a ultra-secure facility located in the moon of Pallas V. It's entire purpose was to contain dangerous artifacts and xenos where they can be studied and destroyed. Anything that goes in must never see the light of day. An almost solid chunk of admantium equipped with the some of the best security in the Imperium, garrisoned by more than fifty Deathwatch 1st company veterans, and under the protection of the Blaze Ravens. If anywhere could contain this evil, it would be Cocytus.
Inquisitor Drakus seemed particularly eager to house the artifact. They locked it in Level 0 containment, the most secure level in the facility in the very center of the moon. Contained in a stasis locked cell, psi-shielded walls made of solid adamantium in the center of a moon that was one of the most secure facilities in the Imperium, most were confident the threat was contained. They were wrong.
Barely a week into it's imprisonment, Pallas V was visited by a small fleet of ships. They were not human. Farseer Arteloc of Craftworld Ura Stara appeared and met with the Imperials as a emissary. He demanded that they reliquish the box from their hold and return it to Eldar custody. Dante asked what exactly was the box but Arteloc did not answer and simple demanded the humans to release. In turn the humans refused to hand it over to aliens without even knowing what it is. The frustrating cycle descended the talks into a frustrating stalemate and the situation turned into violence.
The eldar assaulted Chandra, which was defended by the 1st and 2nd Companies and Deathwatch.
(MORE TO FOLLOW)
Death of the Shard[]
Personality[]
Appearance[]
Shard of Umbra[]
When the Shard of Umbra was imrisoned he was greatly weakened. He was reduced to a dormant state to bide his time and sleep the eons away. In this time he took the form of a small glass-like black crystal. This crystal constantly released a smoky black fog. This form was refered to as the Shard of Umbra.
Even when fully sealed and weakened, the Shard could induce vivid hallucination in an attempt to free itself.
Star Kraken[]
True Form[]
Obra'noctra's true form was a terror to behold. Once glance at him and his victims are under total hypnosis and may never be aware of it.
He takes the form of a towering skeletal monster that glides above the ground. His form is massive, possessing six skeleton limbs that control his victims like puppets on a string. His lower body is little more than an extension of what appears to be an elongated spinal cord. Most of this is lost in a smoky black void.
Abilities and Traits[]
Like all C'tan, Obra'noctra helds deadly powers beyond mortal comprehension. He could devour stars and consume all life on a planet.
His trademark ability was the power to control and manipulate the five senses of the victim. This power would be inherited by the Shard of Umbra. As long as his victim is within his presence he could influence them and if they even once glanced at him, they were under his complete and total control. Obra could control what they see, feel, taste, smell, and the words they hear. In doing so he turned whole armies and worlds against each other and themselves.
Only psykers could consciously break free of his hypnosis and they have to realize that they are being decieved. The only other way is to directly touch the Shard of Umbra itself.
Notable Shards[]
Shard of Umbra[]
This fragment of Obra'noctra has taken on his former name and power. He was imprisoned by the Eldar and was almost released by the Blaze Ravens chapter. However his bid for freedom failed and he was presumably destroyed when he was cast into a warp rift.
The Radiant Giant[]
A shard of Obra'noctra that has been enslaved by the Necrons. It has taken the form of a tower being of light. Its can consume light itself and bend it to its will, either blinding the enemy or making itself invisible to mortal eyes. It also can burning it's enemy to death or focus light into a deadly beam. After Obra'noctra was shattered, the Radiant Giant was enslaved by the C'tan's former servants.
Bloodtide[]
Star Kraken[]
A shard of Obra'noctra that has been imprisoned by the Eldar. This shard inherited most of Obra'noctra's natural insatiable hunger and as a result, the Kraken lives only to feed. The Star Kraken is a massive beast whos form was derived from creatures that Mankind might know and fear, a horrible all consuming leviathan. It once traveled the voids of space, slowly consuming the life force of entire worlds before moving to the next one. Fortunetly it was tricked by the eldar and imprisoned.
Maw of Charybdis[]
The most powerful of Obra'noctra's shards, it holds the bulk of Obra'noctra's former strength. The Maw devourers matter of all kind like a sentient blackhole. Everything in it's presence vanishs by spiraling away into nothingness. Immediately afterwards, matter naturally and violently rushes in to fill the void and causes a deadly implosion. For the last few eons, the Maw has slumbered on the edge of the galaxy. But now with its hunger returning, the Maw has begun to stir.
Enemies[]
Eldar[]
During the War in Heaven he regarded only wrath for their warp-taint. It would be the Eldar who would hunt and try to imprison his shard's. After the imprisonment of the Shard of Umbra, he had eons for his hatred to fester. He completely and unconditionally loathed their kind and sought to detroy and consume them.
The eldar have sealed two of his shards, one of which is now presumably destroyed, The Shard of Umbra and the Star Kraken. They continue to seek out and entomb the remaining shards.
Quotes[]
- "Do you really believe you have won? This is only an illusion..."
- —Obra'noctra, the Artisan of Deception
- "I dreamt a dream of great beasts bound in worlds born dead, chafing and howling since the long nights before Man. I would unleash it upon these unworthy stars, these simpering souls, to wipe clean the canvas; but I know that gratitude is a lie."
- —Ashur-El Artashumara