Thera (Terran)
Thera was a young Terran orphan who lived within the Ionus Plateau's refuge camps, shortly after the Unification Wars had ended.[1]
History
At that time, she protected a group of young orphans from the predations of the gangs that lived within the camps. During one such attack by the Corpse Kings, Thera fought back with her metal bar and sent the gang fleeing. Despite this, the orphans knew the Kings would return for revenge and hid. As they hid, Nestro, one of the youngest orphans, hoped that the gang would not find them. Thera, though, told him the Kings surely would, but that she would protect the orphans when the gang did. Shortly afterwards, she was proven correct, when the orphans heard the Kings approaching the door to their hideout. Despite being wounded from her last fight with the gang, Thera began to prepare herself to face them once again. As she did so, Thera kneeled and closed her eyes, before she rested her forehead on the metal bar. This was a ritual Thera did before all of her fights, though none of the orphans knew why. Sigismund witnessed this and finally asked Thera why she did it. She did not answer and the Corpse Kings soon called for the orphans to face them. This caused Thera to finally open her eyes and she began to tremble. Thera quickly steadied herself, though, and began to painfully move towards the door. Upon seeing this, the other orphans knew she was still wounded and began to moan in fear. Sigismund knew this as well and tried to stop Thera from leaving. She shook her head, however, and told Sigismund this fight needed to happen. She had hurt the Corpse Kings too badly for the gang to leave the orphans alone. If Thera did not defeat them now, then the Kings would continue to come after the orphans. With that, she walked out of the hideout and closed the door behind her.[1]
Sometime would pass, but eventually the Corpse Kings began calling the orphans to face them once more. None of the fearful orphans did so, until Sigismund began moving towards the door. He was not the eldest of the remaining orphans, nor did Sigismund want to face his death by fighting the gang. Sigismund knew, however, that unless he did so the orphans would be left at the mercy of the gang. After opening the door, he saw Thera's lifeless body nearby. The orphan's protector lay dead in a pool of her own blood, with the metal bar close by her. The leering Kings surrounded them and they asked if Sigismund would kneel or die like Thera did. In answer, the fearful Sigismund kneeled and grabbed Thera's metal bar, causing the gang to begin laughing. As they did so, Sigismund closed his eyes and placed his forehead upon the metal bar like he had seen Thera do. This steadied Sigismund's nerves and stopped him from trembling. Seconds later, the Corpse Kings rushed Sigismund, but he miraculously beat them back and protected the orphans from Thera's killers. Sigismund later went on to join the Imperial Fists Legion and he continued to use Thera's ritual, throughout his service to the Imperium.[1]