Armenneus Valthex, "The Alchemancer"
Armenneus Valthex, known as the "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 for theRed Corsairs, the Astral Claws' piratical 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.
Wargear
- Indynabula Array - Valthex was entrusted with an ancient relic known as the Indynabula Array, a relic 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Founding, this ancient machine was a servo-mechanical system of insane complexity and wide-ranging ability which far superseded the standard systems carried by normal Techmarines.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.
Sources
- Imperial Armour Volume Nine - Badab War - Part One, p. 167
- The Gildar Rift (Novel), by Sarah Cawkwell