Ephese
From UTRPG
Ephese is a player character in the WHDH: Digging Upward campaign. She is played by Mike S.
- Status: ACTIVE.
[edit] Childhood and Training
Born on a space hulk drifting in a long orbit around the sun Ouranos, Ephese upbringing was very insular. Living in a small village of less than three-hundred, she and the other children of her age were kept in the sealed creche, and their only access to humanity was two caregivers providing emotional support, and one close-mouthed technician who repaired the learning apparatus and food dispensers. Upon leaving the creche at fourteen, she began exploring the rest of the village. Always inquisitive and compassionate, she soon made many friends among the adults in her village, and became a member of the small militia which stood guard over the access to the unknown regions of the Hulk, and made occasional excursions into these regions for scavenging purposes.
During one of these excursions, Ephese and her scav-group ran afoul of a group of space marines, led by Chaplain Agenor. Unbeknown to Ephese' village, the Hulk had been taken over by Orks, who inhabited nearly all of the lower regions, and were in the process of altering its orbit so that it would bring them near the civilized worlds of the Ouranos system. Chaplain Agenor's team had infiltrated the Hulk and was returning from sabotaging the orks' efforts by angling the Hulk so that it would collide with the sun. Wanting to warn the village (of which they were unaware) they followed Ephese, but encountered an ork patrol. In the fight, Ephese' latent psychic ability manifest in an intense and characteristically uncontrolled way. The orks were killed, but Agenor was critically wounded. The second in command deemed the Chaplain's life more important than warning the village, and he evacuated his men, taking Ephese (as an unlicenced psyker) with him.
Upon returning to the Battle Barge, Ephese was quickly sent planetside, where she was then transferred to one of the Black Ships. There she was subjected to the Holy Sanctioning Rites, and found lacking. Her power showed a level of chaos and lack of control above and beyond the usual psykers, and she was quickly scheduled for transfer to the Golden Throne where she would be consumed for His glory. During the transfer, a Holy Inquisitor, inspecting the indoctrination facility, witnessed her most fantastic attack; an explosion of warp energy which destroyed several servitors and did serious trauma to her skull. Apparently the Inquisitor saw something in this event the official Sanctioners did not, and immediately asked for her transfer to his supervision.
[edit] Time with Group 57
Originally intended as a kind of psychic canary, Ephese has honed her psychic skills to impressive levels. Intensely aware of how close she came to destruction, she understands the gravity of her sacred duty to her new master. Sometimes clashing with her fellow acolytes due to differing interpretations of the Inquisitorial missions, she has always felt that the mission supersedes the safety and the very lives of her and her comrades. As she understands, she was snapped away from a fate worse than death; she is living on time borrowed for her by the Inquisitor, and she seeks to ensure that he made a wise investment.
Her connection to the warp has been fraught with peril, both for her and her companions. She was originally wracked with guilt over the danger she caused, but has becoming dangerously accustomed to it. She has become more passive, allowing her companions to determine their course of action, and trusting that their eventual conclusion will be chosen by the will of the Emperor. Having been chance's plaything for so long, she has begun to see signs and portents everywhere. Her eyes have lost their original luster, and her sight is becoming more and more based on the warp. The loss of her left eye only expedited this process. Her connection to humanity has grown somewhat tenuous, and some of her fellow acolytes suspect that something dire has happened to her while traveling through the Warp on their way to THX-1138, but they have yet to ascertain what...
