Mentep
Mentep the Inscrutable was a Necron Cryptek, who was once part of a conclave led by the Warlock Am-heht.[1c]
History
Composed of Am-heht's other disciples Dagon and Khertykh as well[1c], the wandering conclave Cryptek scholars came to power[1b], during the Necrons' War in Heaven[1a]. While the conclave all practiced the art of the Psychomancer, they sought to bring together all of the Cryptek disciplines through the mastery of the Necrons' mind. Am-heht believed that if the conclave achieve their goal, then the disciplines could be combined into a single controllable art. The will power to do so, would result in giving the conclave mastery over the essence of reality itself[1b]. The Crypteks searched for resources to aid them in their quest and thanks to Mentep's efforts they became patrons of the Nuthyan Dynasty. After establishing themselves on Nuthyan's Crownworld, Carnotite, the conclave's work began to increase the wealth of the Dynasty's Phaeron, Weret-segh[1c]. They also came closer to reaching their goal, which led the conclave to discover and gain access to the Ghostwind dimension.[1d]
They would all, though, begin to commit horrible actions in pursuit of achieving their goal[1a]. As a result of this, Mentep's talents came to the attention of the last Silent King, Szarekh. This was as the Necrons had turned upon the C'tan, during the War in Heaven, and Szarekh tasked the Cryptek with creating weaponry capable of destroying the Star Gods. Mentep succeeded and his weapons were wielded by the Ithakas Dynasty warship Akrops, in the Battle of the Sokar Gate. It was the last battle of the War in Heaven and it ended with the death of the C'tan Llandu'gor. However before he died, the Star God cursed the Necrons with the Flayer Virus and Mentep was horrified at the part he played in bringing the curse upon his species[1a]. Afterwards, though, the Cryptek returned to Carnotite and continued to aid in his conclave's research. However while the disciples sought to master the depths of the Necron mind, to aid in ensuring the well being of their race, Am-heht's goals were very different. The conclave's leader was talented beyond measure, but also ambitious beyond caution. They sought to break the limits of what the Necrons thought was possible, for no reason other than the pleasure of doing so. To them the conclave's goal would achieve this and on Carnotite, Am-heht began a journey to the fevered depths of reason itself. In such a place, the distinctions as space, time, energy and matter became meaningless and caused Am-heht to become something else. They became more powerful afterwards afterwards, but Am-heht's disciples soon discovered that a madness began to overtake their leader[1b]. Am-heht became driven to conduct a grand experiment using the Crownworld itself and used their power to gain control of the Dynasty's resources. This was not enough for Am-heht to achieve their goal and soon the population of Carnotite became their puppets. The depravity of Am-heht's actions and their experiments would cause the conclave to shatter.[1c]
One by one each of Am-heht's disciples would leave Carnotite in disgust of their leader and themselves. Each would then strike out on their own[1c], to continue their research[1d], with Mentep leaving after being unable to convince Am-heht to free the Crownworld's population. Am-heht had refused, as they needed Carnotite's Necrons for their experiments. However they would not give Mentep permission to leave, until he performed one last task. This was to convert Carnotite's Phaeron Weret-segh into a Cryptothrall that was slaved to Am-heht's will. Mentep would do so, but upon leaving the guilt he felt for aiding the conclave, caused him to delete his memories. Also any feelings of love Mentep once held for his former mentor, had now been replaced with nothing but hatred. Meanwhile with Carnotite fully under Am-heht's control, the Nuthyan Dynasty disappeared from the Necrons' history, and the Crownworld was dramatically changed to better suit the needs of their experiment. However while Mentep's memory was gone he still had vague recollections of his actions. This included the Cryptek's part in unleashing the Flayer Virus, during the Battle of the Sokar Gate. He became guilt ridden because of this and began a wandering journey, to search for a cure for the curse he helped bring about. Millennia later, though, and Mentep was still not closer to finding one. It was at this time, however, that the Ithakas Dynasty faced its destruction. It had been struck by the Flayer Virus and had been overrun by an Imperial Crusade. Now Ithakas' new Phaeron Oltyx was seeking to escape the still pursuing Crusade and find a new world to start rebuilding his Dynasty. Mentep would aid them in this task and led the Dynasty's remnants to Carnotite. While the Crpytek still held hatred for Am-heht, he hoped his former mentor would help save Oltyx's Dynasty. However while Am-heht agreed to do so, they would not provide direct aid. As the Warlock explained, such measures were too late for the remnants of Ithakas and now only traveling through the Ghostwind dimension would help them. Doing so would solve both of Oltyx's predicaments and ensure the Dynasty's survival. Though Am-heht warned that only the Phaeron's strength would determine if Ithakas reached their destination.[1c]
The Warlock then returned the knowledge to enter the Ghostwind to Mentep, who then placed the protocols to do so into the Dynasty's ships. Afterwards, Am-heht hoped that his former disciple would come to his senses, so that the Warlock could restore Mentep's deleted knowledge to him. If he did, Mentep would be welcomed to stay, an offer Am-heht also extended to his other departed disciples, Dagon and Khertykh. Then the conclave could be reunited and aid Am-heht's experiment which was still ongoing. Mentep looked upon the Warlock with hatred in response, but Am-heht explained they were working on a transcendent grandeur on the Crownworld. The Cryptek refused and stated Am-heht's disciples had rejected the mad Warlock for a reason. The conversation quickly caused Oltyx to end the conversation and the two returned to Ithakas's ships[1c]. They would then begin a journey to Drazak, where they would seek the aid of the Necron Lord Valgul, who was stricken by the Flayer Virus. It was hoped that he would be able to aid the remnants of Ithakas, by showing them how to preserve their sanity from the Virus like he did. However this did not sit well with Oltyx[1d]. The Phaeron instead thought those who were infected by the Flayer Virus, needed to be exiled from the fleet. He felt this would ensure the safety of his Dynasty as the Phaeron's ships journeyed through the Ghostwind. However matters would later come to a head, when Oltyx discovered Mentep had been undermining him by hiding the Flayed Ones. The Phaeron then confronted the Cryptek, and an argument erupted between them. Oltyx accused Mentep of wanting his Dynasty to fall to the Flayer Virus, in order to aid the Cryptek's research for a cure. While Mentep agreed that he wanted to redeem himself, the Cryptek claimed that despite their sickness, Ithakas' Flayed Ones were still Oltyx's people. He claimed that with the Phaeron's Dynasty now having such few numbers, those who were infected needed Oltyx protection. The Phaeron refused to change his mind about exiling the Flayed Ones, however, and Mentep bitterly proclaimed that the Oltyx was now acting like his father, Unnas. This was a poor choice of words, as Unnas had been driven mad by the Flayer Virus, which led to Oltyx succeeding him. Seconds after saying those words were spoken, the enraged Phaeron killed Mentep and put an end to the Cryptek's quest for a cure for the Virus.[1e]
Sources
