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Astraeos

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Astraeos was a Librarian and a member of a dying Renegade Chapter. His chapter's home planet was destroyed by the Inquisition and he and a handful of members fled. Astraeos and two other comrades were captured when the The Harrowing, a traitor warband, attacked their ship, the Titan Child.[Needs Citation]

History

The three renegades were captured and tortured by the Harrowing. During the torture Astraeos had his eye eaten by the warband's head sorcerer, Maroth, who believed that consuming the eye would provide Maroth with knowledge and power.[Needs Citation]

Later Astraeos and his comrades escaped with the help of Ahzek Ahriman and retook the Titan Child. In exchange he reluctantly swore an oath to aid Ahriman, that bound him and his brothers. Astraeos and his brothers assisted Ahriman with discovering who was seeking him out, and eventually identified the man as Amon, who they helped Ahriman to destroy and take over his fleet.[Needs Citation]

After Amon was defeated, Astraeos and his surviving brother Kadin were relieved of their oaths, however, they pledged new oaths of loyalty to Ahriman under their own free will.[1]

By the time Ahriman had consolidated his power and had taken full control of Amon's warband he planned to find where the Athenaeum of Kallimakus was and take its secrets for himself. In order to locate it, he needed to seek out Inquisitor Iobel.[Needs Citation]

Ahriman sent Astraeos to be captured by the Inquisition, and he was tortured for secrets about Ahriman and his plans. Unknown to the Inquisition, Astraeos's mind served as a beacon which allowed Ahriman to teleport inside the base and capture Iobel. Astraeos was left behind, suffering from the loss of his face and his sight. He was then re-captured by the Inquisition and tortured for Ahriman's whereabouts.[2x]

After obtaining the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, Ahriman contacted Astraeos via a psychic link and provided him with a means to escape. Pursued by a squad of four Grey Knights, Astraeos killed one but was overwhelmed by the remaining three. Desperate to survive, he bonded with the daemon that had previously inhabited his brother Cadar's body. Their combined strength defeated the Grey Knights and Astraeos escaped the clutches of the Inquisition. Genetic tests on Astreaos verified his chapter's identity, at this time still a loyalist chapter; revealing Astraeos was in the past due to the influence of the warp. Due to his involvement with Ahriman, his actions forced the Inquisition to sanction and eradicate his chapter, causing the events that forced Astraeos to ally with Ahriman in the first place.[2a][2b][2c]

Astreaos was believed dead by Ahriman, and thus abandoned. Bitter and driven by the desires of the daemon possessing him, Astreaos started to build his own forces by conquering or seducing warbands, building a substantial force with the intent of killing Ahriman in vengeance.[Needs Citation]

It was later revealed that the daemon possessing Astraeos was in fact a Shard of Magnus that sought revenge against Ahriman for the failure of his Rubric. When the arch-sorcerer unleashed his Second Rubric, Astraeos's forces attacked at the height of the ritual. Although they prevented Ahriman from achieving his goal, Astraeos and his forces were defeated, and Ahriman himself survived the ordeal.[Needs Citation]

After the second Rubric, Magnus himself came to Astraeos to confront the shard within him. After a brief confrontation, Magnus tore the shard form Astraeos's body and consumed it. Magnus then looked to Astraeos and announced his pity for the sorcerer. Magnus departed, sparing the sorcerer from any further torment.[Needs Citation]

With the shard exorcised from him, Astraeos's changed, undoing the mutations his possession inflicted and melting his eyes. The leaders of the Prodigal Sons found Astraeos not long after the Second Rubric's conclusion. Blinded and severely wounded, Astraeos denounced Ahriman one last time before disappearing into the wastelands of the Planet of the Sorcerers. Despite mutual hatred and recent fighting, Ctesias expressed concern for Astreaos's fate before he departs. Astreaos dismissed Ctesias's concerns, and the Prodigal Sons allow him to depart in peace.[3]

Sources