Armenneus Valthex

Armenneus Valthex, "The Alchemancer"

Armenneus Valthex, also spelled Armanneus Valthex, and known as "The Alchemancer," was the Honoured Patriarch of the Forges and chief Techmarine of the Renegade Chapter of the Astral Claws.

During the Badab War Valthex was Chapter Master Lufgt Huron's chief Armourer and most loyal servant. A formidable forge-wright and tech-smith, Valthex often fought as a field commander and served as the Chapter's chief siege engineer.

During the final assault on Badab Primaris, it is believed that Valthex was the individual who carried away his fallen Chapter Master's body into the Maelstrom. He now serves in the same role as Master of the Forge for the Red Corsairs, the Astral Claws' piratical Heretic Astartes successors.

History

Armenneus Valthex was an individual of great importance to the Astral Claws during the Badab War as Lufgt Huron's chief Armourer. Valthex's skills as a crafter of poisons and chemical weaponry were as infamous as his abilities as a forge-wright and tech-smith were famed. Possessing a singular intellect and driven curiosity, it was he that Lufgt Huron turned to in order to expand his Chapter's military might to keep pace with its increasing ranks.

Even as a young recruit, Armenneus was singled out for his genius and skills as a polymath, and in his later career the Tech-magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus were known to have consulted him on certain matters pertaining to the deeper mysteries of Astartes technology as Valthex was widely regarded as one of the greatest living experts in the Imperium.

During the Badab War, Valthex fought as a field commander and as the chief siege engineer for the Astral Claws, and it was believed that it was he that carried away his fallen lord's body into the Maelstrom after the apocalyptic final battle for the Palace of Thorns during the final assault on Badab Primaris.

Valthex would later assist the Chief Apothecary Garreon and his apprentice Variel in saving Lufgt Huron's life through the addition of a wide array of cybernetic enhancements. This act earned these Astartes Huron's gratitude and left them largely immune to his later wrath when he became the Chaos Lord Huron Blackheart.

Wargear

• Artificer Armour - Artificer Armour is the name given to individualised and heavily modified suits of Power Armour of many different patterns provided only to Space Marines who have proven themselves worthy of the honour. Though Artificer Armour and Power Armour are similar in appearance, Artificer Armour is as far beyond standard Power Armour as Power Armour is beyond the Carapace Armour used by the soldiers of the Imperial Guard.
• Indynabula Array - Valthex was entrusted with an ancient relic known as the Indynabula Array, an artefact that had been handed down through the centuries as a symbol of the office of the Astral Claws' Honoured Patriarch of the Forges. Believed to predate the Chapter's Founding, this ancient machine was a servo-mechanical assistance system of insane complexity and wide-ranging ability which far superseded the standard systems carried by normal Techmarines. Not only was Valthex able to master this mysterious device, he was also able to further add to it a powerful Conversion Beamer of his own construction.
• Bolt Pistol - A Bolt Pistol is a smaller version of the Bolter in standard use by the Space Marines and other Imperial forces. It is a powerful sidearm that fires explosive kinetic rounds colloquially referred to as bolts.
• Frag Grenades - A Frag Grenade is the standard anti-personnel grenade commonly used by the military forces of the Imperium of Man, including the Astra Militarum and Adeptus Astartes. It produces a blast of shrapnel that can shred unarmoured infantry troops.
• Krak Grenades - The Krak Grenade is a type of explosive device used by the military forces of the Imperium of Man. Krak Grenades use a shaped explosive charge capable of punching holes in armoured targets such as vehicles or bunkers, and its charge can even rip armour plating apart.

Sources

• Imperial Armour Volume Nine - Badab War - Part One (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 167
• The Gildar Rift (Novel) by Sarah Cawkwell, Ch. 18