"Protectorate? More like the bleeding scraps of one. The Warp storm tore it to shreds, but my servants will piece it back together. And if they don't -- I'll chop off their heads and find myself more capable helpers."
- —Calligos Winterscale
Calligos Winterscale, Rogue Trader and lord of House Winterscale, ruler of Winterscale's Realm in the Koronus Expanse.
Calligos Winterscale is the current head of House Winterscale, one of the three most powerful Rogue Trader dynasties operating in the Koronus Expanse of the Segmentum Obscurus. Calligos Winterscale comes from a storied line of powerful Rogue Traders that has waged wars, conquered planets, and written its name across the Koronus Expanse's very stars. The friends and resources of House Winterscale are legion, but so are its foes -- for if there is one thing a Winterscale loves more than profit, it is a worthy enemy.
Ever since the Rogue Trader Purity Lathimon charted safe passage through the Maw and the stars beyond in the Koronus Expanse opened to Imperial exploration, there has been a Winterscale in the Koronus Expanse. Centuries later, Calligos Winterscale is the latest of his dynasty to inherit the now famous Winterscale Warrant of Trade. In the years since his ancestor, Sebastian Winterscale, died, the power of the Winterscales has only expanded, and Calligos Winterscale has proven unwilling to rest on his family's laurels. In the last half-century, he has proven himself as capable as his ancestor Sebastian, and now the name Calligos Winterscale is spoken with fear and awe throughout the Koronus Expanse.
History[]
Calligos Winterscale rose from complete anonymity and emerged from out of nowhere to claim to be the rightful heir of House Winterscale when there was a vacancy in recent years. In a single solar week, the regents that controlled House Winterscale's Warrant of Trade while they searched out new heirs to its legacy either bowed to his will or simply vanished. Various rumours attest that Calligos Winterscale either is or is not the legitimate heir to Arturos Winterscale's dynasty or that he grew up as a pit-fighter in the lowest decks of Footfall.
What is known for sure about Calligos are deeds that seem the stuff of legend: he rammed the Kroozer of the dread Ork Freebooter Kaptin Snagrash Da Burna, led the boarding parties, and hewed Snagrash's head from its shoulders; he walked the surface of Somnium even as his crew went mad and attacked each other while the spirits shirked from his wrath; he has hunted beasts on Burnscour; he drove the Aeldari Corsair vessel Silence of Eternity from the Koronus Expanse and he has journeyed to the cursed star systems on the edge of the Rifts of Hecaton. In personal combat, Winterscale wields a power axe named Breaker, a Storm Bolter called Hostile Argument, and a mono-knife named Fair Point, all of the best craftsmanship in the Imperium.
Calligos Winterscale's interests span the Koronus Expanse, centred on Winterscale's Realm. His fleet contains voidships of every description but numbers more ships of the line than other Rogue Traders, as befits his martial nature. The flagship of his fleet is the grand cruiser Emperor's Vow. His endeavours include arms-dealing, participation in the xenos Cold Trade, smuggling, piracy, exploration of the Koronus Expanse, and even legitimate trade ventures. If there is a way to make money, one of Winterscale's agents is doing it right now.
The focus of Calligos's current effort is on Lucin's Breath, where he is embroiled in a stalemate against rival Rogue Trader Aspyce Chorda, a rival whom he can neither cow nor crush, over the planet's immeasurable wealth of nephium.
Appearance[]
Calligos Winterscale is a tall, broad man with terrifying physical strength, and is a man ruled by his passions. He is known to go from good-natured joviality to towering fury at a single word and will tear into a man at the slightest provocation. He commands the respect and obedience of scum and hardened crew while at the same time treating them as friends or equals.
Wargear[]
- Breaker (Power Axe)
- Hostile Argument (Storm Bolter)
- Fair Point (Mono-knife)
Sources[]
- Rogue Trader: Edge of the Abyss (RPG), pp. 101-102
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (PC Game)