"Where others have failed, I will be triumphant. I will burn my name into the core of the Reach; a bloody brand which will endure for a thousand years!"
- —Lord Militant Solomon Tetrarchus, "Beyond the Reach of Man" Vol. XXI
Lord Militant Solomon Tetrarchus, Warmaster of the Achilus Crusade.
Solomon Tetrarchus is a Lord Militant of the Astra Militarum and the current Warmaster of the Achilus Crusade to retake the Jericho Reach for the Imperium of Man.
History[]
Ordained by the grace of the God-Emperor, Solomon Tetrarchus has directed the crusade's strategies and actions for over thirty Terran years.
He is characterised by boldness and an aggressive style of leadership as well as his willingness to take risks and seize opportunities as they arise, traits often lacking in such high-ranking commanders of the Imperium.
They are traits, however, that have gotten him into difficulty more than once, and now years after his first optimistic predictions of complete victory within the Jericho Reach, his political and ideological enemies have begun to circle, perhaps sensing a loss of confidence in the Lord Militant and an inevitable change in the overall leadership of the crusade.
Those that work closely with the Lord Militant know that his is an utterly unenviable task, as he tries to counter the many problems assailing the Reach, from the slow and steady advance of the T'au to the sudden and cataclysmic arrival of the Tyranids' Hive Fleet Dagon.
Present much of the time on the crusade's Fortress World of Karlack, the aging Lord Militant spends as much of his day dealing with the petty squabbling of his generals as he does with his strategies for conquering the Reach. Added to the distrust and disdain many of his commanders have for each other, Tetrarchus must also contend with the political and jurisdictional nightmare involved in commanding so many conflicting Imperial adepta and organisations.
This is especially true of his dealing with the Deathwatch and the Adeptus Astartes, which operate largely outside of his direct political influence. This can at times lead to friction between the Lord Militant and the Watch Captains and Battle-Brothers of the Space Marines.
Despite these problems and the monumental nature of his task, Tetrarchus is still a man driven to succeed, not for personal glory, nor even the glory of the Imperium, but out of a deep and secret fear of failure.
This hidden fear, which Tetrarchus has not confided to even his closest advisors, began in the first years of his reign as Lord Militant when the ghost of Tiber Achilus came to him in a dream.
What the ghost said to Tetrarchus he cannot recall, only that it filled him with a terrible sense of dread and the certain knowledge that should he fail in his mission, the consequences for all Mankind would extend far beyond the boundaries of the Reach.
Since that time Tetrarchus has been haunted by the memory of Achilus, coming to believe that the old Lord Militant's ghost does indeed wander the surface of Karlack, residing in the great cenotaph erected there to his memory. So far Tetrarchus' regular visits to the cenotaph, and the fact that he sends his advisors and bodyguards away to pray while there, have been passed off as simply piety.
However some have begun to notice a growing desperation in the Lord Militant and glimpsed him talking to himself while in the shrine. The presence of Achilus' ghost has also increased Tetrarchus' already growing paranoia about infiltrators and subversives within his own staff.
While still far from the excesses of madness exhibited by Lord Commander Sebiascor Ebongrave -- a general who Tetrarchus has also begun to suspect of corruption -- his behaviour has begun to influence the direction of the crusade, as more able commanders find themselves sidelined, or held back on Karlack (so Tetrarchus can keep an eye on them) and younger, more inexperienced commanders are sent into the field.
It can only be a matter of time before the dire state of the crusade, his own mental strain, or perhaps the whispering of Achilus' ghost drive Tetrarchus to make a terrible mistake -- a mistake which will have long and lasting consequences for millions of souls.
Sources[]
- Deathwatch - The Achilus Assault (RPG), pg. 133