Pestilaan (Rogue Psyker)
Pestilaan, Favourite of Nurgle, is a Rogue Psyker, who serves the Death Guard Traitor Legion.[1b]
History
He is a recent member though, who was discovered on an isolated Imperial Frontier World. Warp Storms had long ago cut the world off from the wider Imperium and this led its psyker population to grow unchecked. While most were hunted down and destroyed, the child who would become Pestilaan survived because no one knew he was a psyker. Even he was unaware of his powers, but this changed when Pestilaan's village was struck by an outbreak of the Festering Pox. Though he was sickened by the disease, Pestilaan became fascinated and delighted by the physical changes it wrecked on his body and those of the other infected. While many died from the Pox, Pestilaan was not among them, though his fellow survivors made note of how he was not weakened by the disease as they were. Word spread of this and his fellow villagers became angered and declared Pestilaan to be a witch. As was custom in his village, they then buried Pestilaan alive in a tomb of solid rock, that was far below ground. Now left surrounded by the bones of those who had suffered the same fate, Pestilaan's grew gaunt from lack of subsistence.[1b]
He had only a small cup to gather water from the ceiling with, but this was not enough to sate him. Though as his body became weaker, Pestilaan's mind grew into a fire that granted him strange dreams. They showed him entire worlds of rotting flesh, created from the pustules of unearthly gods, and this went on regardless of whether Pestilaan was sleeping or awake. These visions led him to unknowingly reach out into the Warp with his latent psychic powers, where Pestilaan's obsession with decay became noticed by the Chaos God Nurgle. After tasting the savory flavor of the psyker's mind, Nurgle then decided to project his own Daemonic energy back into Pestilaan. This energy emerged into Realspace through Pestilaan's small cup, which was transformed into the Chalice of Lives and began overflowing with pestilent Warp-foam.[1b]
Pestilaan's body also began to change, as it drew strength and subsistence from the Chalice of Lives' Daemonic energy and in doing so, he earned Nurgle's favour. This led Pestilaan's appearance to undergo drastic changes, as he grew a horn from his brow, began glowing with Daemonic energy and became a cyclops after his eyes merged together. Nurgle also used a fraction of his power to open up the Warp storms around Pestilaan's Homeworld and sent a Death Guard Plague Ship to its location. The Plague Ship then followed the Warp-trail that the Chaos God left for them and reached the Frontier World months later. After brushing aside the forces sent against them, the Death Guard reached Pestilaan's tomb and freed him. Now fully in the Chaos God's grasp, the Rogue Psyker emerged from the tomb with the Chalice of Lives and renounced his old life. He was now Pestilaan, Favoured of Nurgle and the Death Guard recognized that their Chaos God's touch was upon him. They then the Rogue Psyker to their Thunderhawk, which would take them back to the Plague Ship and away from the Frontier World. Before he left though, Pestilaan bestowed a final blessing upon his Homeworld, by pouring the Chalice's Warp contents onto its soil.[1b]
When he was brought before the wider Death Guard, they could see that Nurgle's light shined in Pestilaan's eye. This led the Rogue Psyker to be inducted into the Traitor Legion and his esteem with them grew soon afterwards. This was after days of communal meditation with Daemons, led Pestilaan to be gifted with a Plaguesword from the Warp. Also, while he was too old to undergo the process to become a Chaos Space Marine, Nurgle's Daemonic power allowed Pestilaan to bond with a suit of the Death Guard's power armour. He now joins the Traitor Legion's forces in battle where he wields his psychic might, which is boosted by the unholy power of the Chalice of Lives. He also goes to take command of any Nurgle Chaos Cult, that requests his aid. Wherever he fights though, Pestilaan grows closer to becoming a Daemon Prince. Most importantly to the Death Guard however, is that the Rogue Psyker serves as a visible symbol of their Chaos God's favour.[1b]
As for Pestilaan's Homeworld, it was found two months after he left by the Imperium. However seven months later, the world was destroyed via a Exterminatus after it became covered by waves of disease. By then millions had already died by the plagues unleashed by the Chalice of Lives. The Death Guard returned to the world before it was destroyed, though, and collected the heads of diseased corpses they found there. The Traitor Legion then fashioned the pus-filled skulls into bandoliers of Blight Grenades, which they gave to Pestilaan. The Rogue Psyker now cherishes these gifts as reminders of his Homeworld.[1b]
Gallery
Trivia
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Pestilaan and the Chalice of Lives were created by the Games Workshop employee Tim Huckelbery.[1b] They appeared in The Citadel Journal 17.[1a][1b]