"The Emperor graced me with a gift -- I can see inner life in addition to the mundane. You cannot know that a fruit has rotten from the inside until a blade slices it in two. I can see the rot from far away -- it roils like swamp mud, oozing through the bright peel. Anger and boredom, sadness and joy, everything that people shut away inside themselves is revealed to me like colours on the canvas of my world."
- —Navigator Cassia Orsellio
The Navigator of House von Valancius' flagship and heir to the Navis Nobilite's House Orsellio, Cassia Orsellio.
Cassia Orsellio is a Navigator and the heiress of the Navis Nobilite's House Orsellio. She was convinced by the most recent heir to the Rogue Trader dynasty of House von Valancius to serve as the new Navigator of the von Valancius flagship after her predecessor was killed during the Warp incursion that also resulted in the death of Lord Captain Theodora von Valancius and the new Rogue Trader's unexpected inheritance of the dynasty.
History[]
There are many assets within the possession of a Navigator family of the Navis Nobilite, no few of which are those born within its many interwoven branches of one singular and uninterrupted grand lineage. Each one serves to further the house's grand reputation, enabling their continued ascent through the political arena of the Imperium. And one such tool was Cassia Orsellio, hidden away as she was on Eurac V, a void station sequestered within the Rogue Trader Calligos Winterscale's domain, Winterscale's Realm, in the Koronus Expanse.
However, she is quite unlike many of her fellow Navigators.
Due to her unique position as a vital asset to House Orsellio, Cassia was kept sequestered within the void station for longer than she can remember. This was due in part because of her importance to the house as its potential heir, but another was due to the intensity of her abnormal abilities, even for a Navigator, something that deemed her both an idol and a pariah amongst even those of her own house. But this did little to sway her from her purpose, her drive to become someone worthy of the prestige of her house. Thus she spent every waking moment dedicated to her studies, learning everything she could at a voracious pace while doing her best to try and master the ever-growing power of her third eye.
But there has never been a shade of colour she could not see, and the ones cloaking those she considered her closest compatriots were not all that they appeared to be. But before the final curtain closes on Eurac V, she has one more canvas to paint.
The Navis Nobilite heraldry of House Orsellio
Those vaunted few who might count themselves among the bloodlines that populate the Navis Nobilite have a duty to hearth and home. They must always look to expand the holdings and prestige of their family, upholding untold Terran millennia of traditions while spreading the light of the Emperor to all corners of the galaxy. Nowhere is this more true than with Cassia Orsellio, a member of a truly storied Navigator family which would one day expect her to carry on the family legacy as the leader or "novator" of the house. However, the burdens and isolation of such expectations have left her alone and separate from kith and kin -- it is a lonely existence to lead. Someone who might stand with her could find a way to open her heart to the wonders of life if a man might be bold enough to look past her outward appearance as a mutant.
In a time of great need, the Navis Nobilite is who Rogue Traders turn to when they need to acquire a new method of traversing the infinitely twisting pathways of the Warp. But it is no easy thing to lay claim to a new Navigator. For in the political arena of the Imperium, the many houses of the Navis Nobilite hold great power and influence over innumerable matters. However, there are many scenarios that might bring them to the bargaining table -- the sudden uprooting of one's entire life is one such occasion.
With a climactic showdown separating Cassia from her home aboard the void station Eurac V, the new Rogue Trader of the von Valancius dynasty brokered a deal with and secured Cassia, beloved scion of House Orsellio, as their new Navigator.
However, slotting into the position of the dynasty's old Navigator is not easy. Nor is it easy to come from a sheltered upbringing and thrust into the wider world of dangers, politicking and lethal escapades that is life in service to a Rogue Trader house. But inexperience is no excuse for an inability to adapt. And with the von Valancius Rogue Trader's help, who knows what might become of Cassia and her house?
Only time will tell what becomes of this burgeoning relationship.
Personality[]
Among the God-Emperor's innumerable servants, few are as loyal or integral to maintaining and expanding Humanity's domain as those who populate the Navis Nobilite. They are steadfast in their duties, and they have memorised the organs of the vast political machine that is the Imperium of Man. But even more so, they are loyal to the Master of Mankind's designs to bring the torch of Human civilisation to all corners of the galaxy. This is an inclination further reinforced by the fact they are of a higher stock, members of the vast aristocracy that dominates the entirety of the Imperium.
Because of this, Cassia Orsellio would be considered an adherent of the Puritan school of thought as the Inquisition defines such things.
Abilities[]
For those counted among the Navis Nobilite, there are many psychic powers and abilities that derive from their mutant origin as a Navigator. Many of these abilities come at the ghastly cost of further mutation over the course of their lives, a genetic instability that stems from and is caused by their third eye and its ability to peer into the Immaterium.
But the powers Navigators gain over the course of their life make them a truly formidable foe to face on the field, even more so when they possess the ability to channel the unfiltered essence of the Warp from their third eye.
Wargear[]
Sources[]
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (PC Game)