Covenant

Inquisitor Covenant of the Ordo Malleus

Covenant is an Inquisitor of the daemon-hunting Ordo Malleus. He is one of a new breed of fiery, determined individuals dedicated to purging perceived corruption within the Inquisition itself. As a member of the Ordo Malleus, he has access to specific daemon-hunting equipment, such as a Psycannon, and makes a particular point of destroying the daemonhosts created by his less puritanical cohorts. Currently Covenant is scouring the southern rim of the galaxy of the taint of Chaos.

History

The driven and charismatic Covenant is the foremost of a movement of young firebrand Inquisitors emerging from the Ordo Malleus conclaves of the galactic South, focused not on the broad Imperium but upon the ranks of the Inquisition itself. Initially dismissed as over-zealous novices promoted too early, Covenant and his colleagues have answered this cynicism with brutal purges of their brethren. Rumour has it that their crusade through their own corridors of power is a reaction to a series of betrayals along the southern rim, where Inquisitors gave in to despair in the depths of the Second Tyrannic War and turned to forbidden arts to combat the menace of Hive Fleet Kraken. There are even claims of a secret pact wherein the young and hot-blooded Inquisitors swore to punish the crimes of the old and misguided, and that Covenant renamed himself for that pact to honour it. But he and his fellows refuse to discuss their pasts, only the work they have yet to do and the justice they have yet to mete out.

Covenant's Retinue

• Daemonhuntress Ivixia Dannica - Covenant recruited the notable Inquisitor, the Daemonhuntress Ivixia Dannica, from one of the Schola Progenium on Alena-Mora. She was the daughter of the Imperial Guard Colonel Dannica whose regiment had been seconded to service with Inquisitor Grainne of the Ordo Hereticus during his Examinations into the Cardinal of Alena-Mora during the Sargossa Schism. Following the successful persecution of the Cardinal for his apostate teachings and the prescribed punishment of both him and his world, Colonel Dannica's regiment was granted feudal rights over the ashes of this world. The tales of the executed Cardinal's wickedness filled her with a righteous loathing of all things heretical and evil. Such was her fervour in this pious hatred that many believed she would take her vows and become a member of one of the militant orders of the Adepta Sororitas. This was not to be. On Ivixia's eighteenth birthday, Inquisitor Covenant appeared at her family's estate and demanded to see the young girl. The Colonel obeyed the mysterious robed figure and allowed him to speak with his daughter. Covenant was convinced that Ivixia would make an ideal recruit for his retinue and began subjecting her to a lengthy series of ordeals to prove her spiritual purity and physical suitability. Ivixia passed each one with ease, but as she continued with the tests, an act of base treachery reaching back to the examination of Inquisitor Grainne was to come to fruition. Those that had escaped the initial purges of Colonel Dannica's regiment had clandestinely continued following the apostate teachings of the planet's formal ruler. A network of daemon-hunting cults existed throughout the planet, slowly gathering power until such time as they were ready to avenge their master and regain control of their world. As Ivixia's tests continued, the Chaos Cultists struck at the Colonel as his family attended a regimental ball. A Daemon from the darkest regions of the Warp manifested in a blazing pyre of blood, slaughtering the guests in a frenzy of bloodletting. Schooled in the mystical arts of the Daemonhunter, Covenant was able to hold the daemon at bay, but not before it slew the Colonel with a sweep of a warp-forged blade. The Colonel's body burst into flames, immolating in a heartbeat until nothing but his charred skull remained. At the sight of her father's murder, Ivixia screamed at the daemon and the power of her words staggered the daemon for the briefest instant. It was all the opening Covenant needed and he was able to destroy the daemon's form and send it back from whence it came. In the aftermath of the massacre, Inquisitor Covenant led the purges of the cults with Ivixia at his side, convinced more than ever that Ivixia was the right choice for his acolyte. Six months to the day following her father's death, Inquisitor Covenant left Alena-Mora with Ivixia Dannica as his latest Acolyte. Recalling the teachings of her father, Ivixia had his skull modified by the lexmechanics of Inquisitor Covenant and turned into a weapon carrying Servo-skull. Now her father would remain with her wherever she went and could continue to serve the Emperor beyond death. Together Covenant and Ivixia continued to travel around the southern rim of the galaxy, stamping out many blasphemous sects dedicated to the worship of daemons and other warp-spawned abominations.

• Duke von Castellan - Duke von Castellan is the scion of a wealthy family on Xarxis Plethis. Having inherited the von Castellan hereditary trade license, he sold the family estates to buy a starship in order to start out as a merchant. His travels took him further and further towards the Southern rim, and he encountered no less than four non-Imperial worlds, with which he opened exclusive trade negotiations. It was at this point that Inquisitor Covenant caught up with him. In return for not being punished for failing to disclose the whereabouts of aliens, the Duke signed an agreement pledging himself and his ship to Covenant, and has subsequently answered the Inquisitor's call on several occasions. Von Castellan has little sense of honour or duty, but is scared of reprisals should he renege on his oath.

Wargear

• Carapace Armour
• Flak Armour
• Power Falchion
• MIU-Linked Shoulder Mounted Psycannon
• Pump Action Combat Shotgun
• Scatter Shells
• Hellfire Shells
• Bolt Pistol

Sources

• Dark Heresy: Enemies Beyond (2nd Edition) (RPG), pg. 20
• Inquisitor: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 97, 107
• Specialist Games - Inquisitor Ivixia Dannica by Graham McNeill
• The Horusian Wars: Resurrection (Novel) by John French