Inquisitor Hybris and the Dark Pattern

Inquisitor Hybris, Ordo Hereticus, Jericho Conclave: this radical Inquisitor was once part of the Dark Cabal, but fell out of favor and relocated (or possibly fled) to the Mammon sector. There is no record of him having been declared rogue, but the Dark Cabal always worked mostly behind the scenes, so that doesn't mean anything.

Hybris is important because, as far as Barotta can tell, he tried using the Dark Symmetry to understand the Dark Pattern. And Barotta knows a thing or two about Dark Symmetry, so he's pretty sure he's right. So either Hybris went insane - or he fell to Chaos. So being forced to flee/banished/whatever makes a lot of sense. Even radicalized Inquisitors can only go so far before they become traitors.

But Hybris was on to something: there is not one, unified dark pattern, where there is one evil force at work, destroying worlds throughout Jericho and beyond. There are several. Without this knowledge, you can forever stare at the Dark Pattern and ALMOST understand what it tries to tell you.

By looking for more than one pattern, the whole picture becomes clearer. And Hybris' vision was clearer than most. To aid his work, he created the Doomsday Clock, an arcane machine capable of predicting the future in great detail (or so Barotta's many texts and sources claim). It is, for lack of better words, an extremely accurate tarot that can be used for some very specific operations.

But where is this clock now? No one knows, but Hybris went to Mammon. Perhaps his clock is there as well?

Scrolls of Eternal Truth - The Great Lie About Slaanesh

Barotta found a new scroll in the library. It seems to be but one of many penned with golden ink on parchment.

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Chaos is creation, the wellspring of life.

Chaos is entropy, the great destroyer.

Chaos is the eternal truth that defies explanation.

One of the most common lies told about Chaos concerns Slaanesh and his/her connection to the Eldar, or, more specifically, the Fall of the Eldar. According to this lie, the Eldar created Slaanesh, whose birth was heralded by the destruction of their xenos Empire.

Claiming that a filthy xenos species birthed eternal and all-powerful Slaanesh is as preposterous as it is insulting. Was there no passion, no excess before the Fall of the Eldar? Of course, there was. Slaanesh has always been, always will be. Ever-changing and eternally the same.

It is true that the Eldar of old worshipped great Slaanesh with every fiber of their being. But to claim they created the Prince/Princess of Gods? Is there no end to their arrogance? No wonder Slaanesh got tired of their attention-seeking and consumed them.

The Eldar's only accomplishment of note is that their Fall announced the end of the Warp Storms that had harrowed the galaxy for five thousand years, give or take, thus bringing an end to the Age of Strife and opening the galaxy to the False Emperor's Great Crusade.

Slaanesh has never forgiven them for this transgression, which is why he/she tirelessly seeks out Eldar souls to punish. Were it not for these lowest of aliens, the galaxy would still be a place of Chaos and wonder.

Now, only the Eye of Slaanesh, the Maelstrom of the Gods, the Whispering Vortex, and a few other sites remain. Woe unto the Eldar!

So it is written, with the True Powers as my witnesses.

- Akram the All-seeing, High Sorcerer of Q'Sal

Komus - the Tyrant Star

The Tyrant Star (sometimes called Komus by those in the 'know') is apparently a wandering stellar phenomenon, a spectral apparition that takes the form of a dark sun (or an eclipse - or both - the stories are confusing and contradictory). When it appears there is always planetwide madness and widespread destruction.

Since the creation of the Calixis sector in early M39, the Tyrant Star has appeared a number of times. Legends hint that Komus was at work in the Calyx Expanse long before the Angevin Crusade. Neighboring regions, like the Koronus Expanse and the Screaming Vortex, also have their share of stories about the Tyrant Star.

Among certain Inquisitors and heretics, there is talk of a Propheticum Hereticus Tenebrae - the Prophecy of the Shadow Heresy - which tells that the Tyrant Star is merely the reflection of something far darker and more powerful. Komus is the Herald of this Doom. And it will come soon, at the turning of the world, to devour everything (which is taken to mean anything from the Calixis Sector to the entire galaxy).

Many, from Dark Eldar Warp-seers to the Sorcerer-Prophets of Q'Sal to Imperial Inquisitors, have tried to learn the true nature of the Tyrant Star, but all have failed. Perhaps it is in the nature of Komus to be unknowable? The wise recognize their follow and turn their attentions elsewhere. The foolish press on, seeing not how the path they follow leads to madness and death.

Some say the Tyrant Star was the reason the Prophet of Light turned his back on Calixis. He alone had the foresight required to understand Komus. And what he saw made him understand that it was future to waste more time of Calyx, that old Chalice of Evil.