+++Subject & Author+++
Acolyte Inquisitor Shaskur Shael, Ordo Malleus - Martin Jenner
+++Thought for the day+++
Acolyte Inquisitor Shaskur Shael, Ordo Malleus.
An orphan, his parents minor members of the Adeptus Terra killed in
an uprising on his homeworld of Gammis IV, Shaskur was adopted into
the Schola Progenium and raised by the Ecclesiarchy on the monastery-
moon orbiting Gammis IX. A precocious child, he showed tremendous
analytical powers, and seemed to have a perfect memory. A report
from one his teachers actually claimed the boy could quote
significant sections of certain holy texts before he was taught them,
but this was discounted, as shortly afterwards the Preacher in
question was transferred to the Ecclesiarchy's secure mental facility
on Ganymede.
However, as the boy progressed into adulthood be began to develop
opinions that could only be classed heretical, disturbing his
instructors. Indeed, he often contested the accuracy of ancient
tomes, particularly those describing the Imperium before the Horus
Heresy, as well as the Emperor's life and deeds. When asked about
the source of his information, the boy merely shrugged, claiming the
texts merely `seemed wrong'. No amount of punishment beatings or
extra duties seemed to turn Shaskur from his insistence on heresy,
and so, irritated at the loss of a potentially fine Preacher, the
Missionary-Abbot of the school declared him Hereticus Extremis, and
ordered him consigned to the flames. Indeed it seemed some dark
power watched over him, as the boy's burns healed almost as soon as
they had appeared, and eventually the fire waned and died as the fuel
was exhausted.
Were it not for the arrival of Inquisitor Thorne at that moment, it
is highly likely Shaskur Shael would have perished there and then.
The Abbot, incensed and believing the boy used heathen sorcery,
forced him to ingest a blessed wafer, a proven method of preventing
heretical psykers using their powers, and ordered him back onto the
pyre. Thorne, landing his transport shuttle in the courtyard on top
of the Abbot himself, ordered the boy cut down and released into his
custody. Intimidated by the death of their master, the monks did as
they were told, and the Inquisitor left Gammis with Shaskur Shael on
board.
Since that day, ten years ago, Thorne has indoctrinated Shael into
the Inquisition itself, taking him as his Acolyte and teaching him of
the dangers Chaos represents to Mankind. Devout already by virtue of
his teachings on Gammis IX, Thorne's teachings came close to pushing
Shael over the edge into fanaticism and self-loathing. For Shael was
a wyrd, able to heal himself and others at an incredible rate. It
took Thorne a long time to convince the young Inquisitor that his
power could be used for the good of the Imperium, but eventually
Shael accepted the man's words and has since accompanied the elder
Inquisitor on many dangerous missions on a hundred different planets,
dispatching the minions of the Void.
Nonetheless, Shael's upbringing has left him with a deep and abiding
hatred of the Ecclesiarchy, believing them to be heretics spreading
false words of the Emperor. His hatred extends to include religious
cults of almost all doctrines, a hatred that could lead to a life in
the Ordo Hereticus once Thorne judges him worthy of the title of full
Inquisitor. His own beliefs are far more simple, and based on
visions he received as a child (and receives still), visions of the
Emperor and the Primarchs, visions that sometime seem - almost like
memories….
