Brother-Captain Arvann Stern of the Grey Knights
Brother-Captain Arvann Stern is an elite Daemonhunter and one of the longest-serving and most highly decorated Brother-Captains of the elite Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter. Even from his earliest years as a Grey Knight, he was thought to be firmly on the path of becoming one of the Chapter's Grand Masters, but instead his life undertook an altogether different course. Throughout his nearly four centuries of service he has been confronted by his mortal enemy, the Tzeentch Lord of Change known as M'Kachen. The Greater Daemon has continued to interfere with the Brother-Captain's fate almost constantly - for every act of heroism or bravery performed in battle by the valiant Brother-Captain, some inexplicable misfortune befalls him also.
History
"There is nothing in the arcane and blasphemous arsenal of the forces of Chaos that can compare to faith. With the power of faith, our weapons become shining instruments of deliverance that can cleave the mightiest daemon in twain. With the power of faith, our minds appear as slivers of pure agony to the daemon, driving into the wretched forms of those who would dare stand before us. With the power of faith, our words become commands that cause the daemon to cower and cringe in terror. I could meet my enemies unarmed without a shred of fear in my chest, for I know that the Emperor watches over me and guides my hand. So let them come. We shall show them what the power of faith can do."
- —Brother-Captain Arvann Stern
Amongst the ranks of the elite Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter, Arvann Stern is one of the longest-serving and most highly decorated Brother-Captains. Even from his earliest career, the highly regarded and valorous Stern was thought to set firmly on the path to becoming one of the Chapter's venerable Grand Masters. Unfortunately, this was not to be as his life took an altogether different path. During one of his most famous exploits on the world of Antraxes, the lone Brother-Captain confronted the Cult of the Red Talon and their daemonic master, the Lord of Change M'Kachen. Stern valiantly led the counterattack against the vile Greater Daemon, striking at the heart of the cult's temple. Despite being outnumbered, the Grey Knights slaughtered the damned souls of the foul cultists. Though the use of his powerful psychic abilities, Brother-Captain Stern managed to perform the formidable feat of banishing the mighty M'Kachen screaming back to the Warp. Normally such a feat was beyond the psychic abilities of a lone Brother-Captain. From that moment on, Stern's fate was to become forever intertwined with the Greater Daemon's. The Lord of Change vowed to devour the human's mortal soul, even if it took him an eternity to accomplish this task.
Thus began the long standing vendetta which as yet, is without end. One-hundred and one years since his initial banishment, M'Kachen managed to enter the material universe once again. The loathsome creature possessed the body of an unwitting cultist and laid a trap for the Brother-Captain amongst the obsidian pyramids of Sargotha. Out of the squadron of 5 Grey Knights who set foot upon this world, only Stern managed to survive the ambush. The Brother-Captain still bears the scars of this encounter from the vicious battle that occurred amidst the blinding sands while M'Kachen managed to escaped unharmed. Since that day, Stern and M'Kachen have fought many times. Though each time the Grey Knight is confronted, the Greater Daemon always flees the field, though not before slaughtering Stern's companions, leaving the Brother-Captain as the often unwounded, sole survivor of these encounters.
Despite the high cost to his Chapter, Stern's confrontations with the Greater Daemon is by no means counted in a tally of the M'Kachen's victories, for the schemes being pursued by the daemon is ended with his inevitable retreat. Each time Stern battles his arch-nemesis he garners fresh knowledge of the Greater Daemon's weaknesses, which fuels his hopes that one day that M'Kachen will be defeated permanently - either cast back into the Warp, or sealed within the technological prison of a tesseract labyrinth. What purpose the Lord of Change is hoping to accomplish by fueling this hope to his own ends is not known. The Grey Knights' Iron Grimoire records that these devious opponents are as apt to deceive and ensnare themselves as any foe. The possibility of finally vanquishing his eternal foe fuels Stern's drive to constantly train and prepare, refusing promotion to the rank of Grand Master until he ends M'Kachen's threat to the Realm of Man permanently. Stern's Brotherhood supports the Brother-Captain unflinchingly, their duty and honour extinguishing any mortal fear. The Grey Knights feel that M'Kachen will surely one day overreach himself, and on that day, Arvann Stern's sword will avenge the fallen Grey Knights the Greater Daemon has slain. Stern has solemnly sworn himself to undertaking this sacred duty, and so shall it be done.
Sources
- Codex: Daemonhunters, p. 59
- Codex: Grey Knights (5th Edition), p. 41