Esuin Rigantis
Esuin Rigantis was a Navigator Novator of House Zuma and heir apparent to the Paternova, during the Great Crusade.[1a]
History
Due to the misrule of his great uncle, House Zuma's fortunes fell low in that era and when Rigantis became Novator[1b], he pledged the House's services to the Imperial Fists[1a]. In doing so, Rigantis gambled that serving the Legion would allow Zuma to recoup its lost finances and return the House to greatness[1b]. His pledge, however, required the Novator to personally lead the contingent of House Zuma's Navigators that would serve aboard the Imperial Fists' warships. He then left Terra, where the Novator had earned renown and a position within the Magisterial Houses, during the opening decades of the Great Crusade. 20 years later, the Imperial Fists took part in the Night Crusade, which would journey into the Occluda Noctis and their Primarch, Dorn, commanded that House Zuma's Navigators took part in it as well. This became a boon to the House, though, as in an unprecedented decision, Zuma was given the right to rule over the other Navigators serving in the Imperial Fists' Night Crusade fleet. With Dorn's order, Rigantis was faced with a potential political coup, that could catapult his House into high status. The Crusade's success would also earn Zuma rights and contracts that would swell its coffers.[1a]
However the journey would be fraught with danger, as the Occluda Noctis lay far from the light of the Astronomican. Worse still, 4 [Expeditionary Fleet]]s had been lost in the region, without a trace, over the last 10 years. These dangers almost led Rigantis to refuse the Primarch's orders, as the risks involved, and his great skills as a Navigator, would require the Novator to personally take part in the Crusade as well. In the end, Rigantis followed Dorn's command, but knew that in doing so, his future and legacy, and that of House Zuma's, now rested in the hands of the Imperial Fists' Primarch[1a]. As the Night Crusade wore on, however, Rigantis came to curse himself, Dorn and his great uncle, for the numerous dangers the Crusade had forced the Novator to face.[1b]
Sources
