Ruuppa's Lore - Aksai Karath / Annazir / Other

Biography Aksai was born into a small nomadic tribe inhabiting the western continent of Annazir, with large savannahs divided by strips of thick forests. The moment he was born, the shaman assisting the birth fainted, and this was immediately taken as a portent for the child's future. There were few and muddled accounts among the lores of the tribes about such children, children who would never fit into the tribes and who would cause the various shamans and seers among them to faint and falter. They were shunned and feared, but also greatly respected for the strange gift the God-Emperor, in his aspect of the Emptiness, had given them. They were invariably trained to become shamans of Emptiness, to serve the God-Emperor as a hunter of evil shamans. Such was also Aksai's fate, and he was taken from his parents to be trained the art of combat and the hunt, for the Empty shamans had to fight their prey alone. None could stand their company for too long. Aksai was perhaps lucky in that effect; For usually an Empty shaman would have been taken far away from their own tribe to train in an isolated warrior lodge. But the tribe Aksai was born into was a small one, with its own warrior lodge, so he was allowed to stay and train there. But he was still denied his parents, because a shamanic warrior's duty was to his whole tribe without picking any kind of favourites. Aksai's days were filled with exhausting training, both mental and physical, so he could control his body as well as his unique talents to better serve his future role as a hunter of evil. He was never the strongest or the most skilled among his peers, but his special abilities and future role caused his teachers to invest more time on him, driving him past the point of exhaustion over and over again. On his entrance to manhood, his hunt, he managed to fell a mature plainstalker, one of the apex predators of the savannah. The victory cost him deep scars on his chest and back, but survival allowed him to wear them as badges of honour. Even with the prestige gained from slaying one of the great beasts, his peculiar aura still marked him different from the rest, but such prowess and skill could not be allowed to go to waste in the case of his death, so he was married to a member of a neighboring tribe. Such marriages of convenience were not unusual on Annazir, and even though the two were not exactly in love, they were bound by duty. Life rolled as usual in the tribe for many a year, until some strange rumblings and rumours started moving among the tribes; Some tribes had abandoned the ways of the God-Emperor, and turned to a new god who demanded blood and war from his followers. The warrior lodges of the righteous tribes had already started planning a strike against such evil unbelievers, when Aksai's tribe made first contact the representatives of these heretical tribes. The heretics simple ultimatum to the tribe: Worship their god, or die. There was no discussion about what to do with such a generous offer. All who stray from the path of the God-Emperor must fall. The battle was brief but bloody, as the heretics were laid waste by the warriors of the tribe, who were spearheaded by Aksai. It did not take long for the heretics to respond to this, and the next contact started in a far subtler way. It was the day after first contact when something went amiss: The warriors who should be vigilant for more heretics suddenly went silent and still, and any attempts to rouse them would not be responded to by any way. This strange condition slowly seeped through the whole tribe, until only Aksai was unaffected. That was when the heretics stormed the camp, slaughtering the paralyzed sentinels and civilians alike in mad glee, with only Aksai to stand in their way. While the young man was strong, and protected by his gift, he could not stand against the relentless tide of bodies sent against him, and finally fell in a circle of his enemies' bodies. The heretics were not quite done with him, however, and kept him alive to watch as they slaughtered the rest of his tribe, forcing him to watch as they cut them apart, laughing. He screamed bloody vengeance even after they had hacked off his arms and left him to die, surrounded by his dead enemies and tribe-members alike. The murmurs about a chaos cult had not been taken lightly by an Interrogator of the Holy Inquisition who had happened to be in the system at the time, and he had went to investigate the rumoured location of such a cult. He was a day too late to help Aksai's tribe. He and his retinue found the bloody and battered man, still alive for Emperor's mercy, and saved his ragged life. More than half-dead, he was swearing holy vengeance upon the forces that had befallen his tribe. The Agents of the Holy Inquisition cannot be said to be overly altruistic, however, for if the Interrogator's psyker wouldn't have shakily pointed him out as a Blank, he would most probably have been allowed to expire. But as it stood, such an asset, one that also survived a whole day after getting his arms hacked off, could hardly be shrugged off as a simple disposable guide. Aksai was transported to the largest single city of the planet, and given emergency treatment to stabilize him, while the Interrogator followed up on the chaos cult. They eventually lost track of them in one of the many jungles of the planet. Meanwhile, Aksai was offered a chance to fight against such heretics and powers that had so destroyed his tribe, a chance that he took without hesitation. To make up for his mauled frame, he was outfitted with augmetic arms, and given training on how to use them properly. Due to his peculiar status, he was also given a quick training on proper Arbites protocol, as it was decided that that fit his personality the best. During all this time, Aksai was a smoldering heap of aggressiveness, his Blank aura feeling somehow even more oppressive to the people around him, and none would care to take his company. During sparring matches he would attack his opponents with fierce abandon, giving little thought to defending himself instead of dealing as much damage as possible. Many cited him as "unstable" and "psychotic", but these could also be counted as boons in the line of the Inquisition, and there were also his special gifts to consider. He was eventually inducted to the Inquisition proper, and "given"(wheeled, traded and dealed) to an Inquisitor in the Ordo Bestilius. "Death to the enemies. Death to the monsters. Only in death will there be release. May the Golden Lion-Emperor's vengeance be mine."

Appearance & Peculiarities Wears loose pants and a tight tunic under his armor, as is usual for Annazirian warriors. Unaccustomed to boots, he has a tendency to kick them on the ground from time to time. He wears some charms and trinkets on his belt and over his Arbiter -issue carapace. Is heavily tattooed around his chest, stomach and back with tribal designs from Annazir. Has recently acquired heavy chains inscribed with Ecclesiarchal symbology and inscriptions, and wears them as a constant reminder of his failure and penitence towards the Golden Lion and the All-Father. Has two bionic arms, and keeps them as clean and maintained as he humanly can, for the such Gifts are not to be sullied with dirt or irrepair. Hair is gray and short, build is muscular and tan. 1.98m tall, 97kg. Quirk: Tattoos representing his entire tribe cover his body. Quirk: Ecclesiarchy does not approve: His beliefs do not quite match the orthodoxy of the Imperial Creed, and some hard-liners would call his system of belief heresy. Quirk: That which is unknown: Much of the common lore of the Imperium is unknown to him, and the only technology he is familiar with are his two augmetic arms, to which he refers as the Gifts. Quirk: Angry and taciturn: He is those things. Personality: Hot-headed, aggressive (in combat, just taciturn out of it). Motivation: Vengeance upon the Emperor's enemies. To repay a debt. A good death. Flaw: Brash and unknowing of ways outside Annazir.

Homeplanet - Annazir Aksai was born on the planet Annazir, a feral planet only recently re-introduced to the Imperium of Man and, by proxy, the Imperial Creed. While many planets long lost to contact with the Imperium devolved into base animism or even complete Chaos worship, the Creed maintained a planet-wide grasp on Annazir. The centuries of isolation didn't leave it completely untouched however, as the primary form of Emperor-worship on Annazir involve praying and serving different, often animal-form, aspects of the Holy Emperor, and the spirit-servants that serve him. This is a far cry from Ecclesiarchy-approved worship, and the first pilgrims and missionaries waged a brief but bloody war against these "heretics", before the denizens of Annazir were deemed redeemable, and a slower induction to the Imperial Creed was agreed upon. Part of the reason such a decision was reached, was because the warrior- lodges of Annazir, its pre-reintroduction peacekeepers and arbites, were frightening and competent foes. Most of the losses received by the early missionaries were taken at the hands of these men, who were often underestimated because most of them eschew the use of weaponry of any kind, training to turn their bodies into biological killing machines instead. For unarmed forces to manage killing fully-equipped missionary forces armed with the zeal of the creed is quite the an accomplishment. And for these men to do it with the Emperor's prayer as their battlecry, even if bellowed in broken Gothic and often referring to him as the "Golden lion", was quite the surprise. A repeated argument for a slow induction was, indeed, "Imagine the first tithe to the Imperial Guard!". The weather on Annazir is fickle, hot and humid, with plenty of plainstorms raging across it's vast savannahs, making regular maintenance on technology difficult. This is one of the reasons unarmed combat is so highly prized amongst the warrior lodges of the planet. The other reason is an age-old ritual of manhood among the tribes, where a young adult is tasked with hunting down a specimen of the local carnivorous fauna without any weapons; The fiercer the better.

Seizure of the Hadronian Wall Black Run. Part A. The inside of the run-down van was filled with the stale smell of old lho-sticks and smoke, the smell having soaked deep into the dirty plasteel walls of the packed van. "Yes, it is him. Here, see the man with hat?" Vladistin pointed at a pict-screen among the rack of similar pict-screens, showing multiple locations around a dilapidated habblock. Aksai leaned forward, grunting and squinting at the screen, trying to make out the man the grizzled old Investigator had pointed out, but couldn't make him out from the massed throng of people slowly roiling around in the images. Vladistin in the meanwhile was muttering commands into his vox, brushing his mustache with a bone comb. "Team 3, stop drinking rahzvod, I smell it from here. Four minutes until go. Team 2, start moving onto backside of block, don't khek it up." after which he clicked his commbead and banged his fist on Aksai's pauldron before stooping up in the van, and grabbing a gilded shockmaul from the van's weapon rack. "Why we not crush them all." Aksai said, and it was not a question. Vladistin looked at him, then looked around at the three other Arbites crammed into the small van and laughed "This crazy chevek! I love him! Thick as mother's ohx, but crazy like ork!" Aksai growled and stood up, stooped against the roof of the van "You make fun. We kill evil, we win. Go." Still smiling, the old Investigator patted the feral warrior on the arm "Calm, friend. We take prisoner, we win. I explained that, yes? It is good. Just do not crush the heads too bad, yes? Because now we go!" The last words were shouted to the commbead, and Vladistin slid past the big feral warrior with surprising grace, kicking open the back door of the van, revealing a throng of people milling about on their business, the closest dozen or so yelping in surprise. The three strike-teams moved like synchronized swimmers through the rivers of people flowing in the hivecity Pearl of Iolcos, colloquially known as Dregvale among the lower-class citizenry. --- A fly was buzzing around a chemlamp in the canteen, slowly dinging off the flickering lamp from time to time in the gloomy room. There were seven people in the room, four playing tarot on the table closest to the front entrance, with two others at the counter of the canteen, slowly talking with the bartender. "Ahm naht sure yah geht me, 'aite?" the bigger of the two men at the bar said to the bartender, placing his patchwork cap on the counter "Tha run ahn't goin' over 'til nex' monf. Ai ain't gots naw goods 'til then." The clean-shaven bartender glared disdainfully at the dirty man while cleaning a glass "I do not need excuses. I was promised the go-" His words were cut short by a shrill beeping from under his desk, and he snapped his gaze downwards, blanching white almost immediately. He opened his mouth to say something, but whatever he was going to say was turned into a scream as the back door of the canteen exploded in pieces of flakboard. "In the name of the Imperium, surrender!" a screeching, inhumanly loud shout blasted into the canteen as five heavily armored men charged into the room, dropping the portable ram they had blown the door open with. The four men playing tarot had no time to react, one of them twitching for his sidearm, before the Arbites were on them. The three men by the bar had a scant second more time, the bartender reaching below the counter for a shotgun and his two companions grabbing at their own weapons. Then the reinforced front door exploded, forcing the trio to cower as pieces of plasteel and rockcrete rained on them in a stinging rain. The big, filthy man recovered quickly, rising up with his readied autopistol. Since he was the only one with his wits about him at that time, he was the only one to spot the three grenades landing at the counter. "Oh fra-!!" and then his whole world went white, his ears ringing from the concussive force of the point-blank flashbangs. He was still up, however, somehow managing to fire blindly around the room, his stray shots exploding into corrosive pools of acid. The man couldn't see nor hear, but even if he could, he couldn't have stopped the bellowing barbarian charging at him with a furious tackle, nailing the man to the floor and forcing him to drop his gun as the air was knocked from his lungs. The very last thing the dirty man saw, was a fist growing larger in his blurry vision.

Seizure of the Hadronian Wall Black Run. Part B. The man's face was on fire, he could taste his own blood, hear the sinews grind against exposed nerves. He only managed a low groan, and immediately regretted it, as a new wave of pain shot through his jaw. "Ah! You waken, yes!" A cheerful voice called out from the darkness, causing the man to shift slightly from his seat which caused the chains on his arms and ankles to clink dully. There was a sound of footsteps and then the world flooded into vision again, as the bag covering the man's head was lifted away, exposing him to a cruelly bright lamp shining at him. "Yes, yes. You look bad." a man whose moustache loomed in front of his face mused "My friend, ah, he take everything to extreme." The moustachioed man turned towards someone out of the man's field of view "Aksai, please try to keep mouth intact, yes? It is important for questions." A disaffected grunt answered him from the corner, and the moustachioed man turned back, an apologetic smile on his face "Yes, much apologies friend. Now, you must tell me things. Yes? Then.." the moustache pursed his mouth and waggled his fingers "Then we put this behind us, yes? Very clean, very nice." At this, the man with the ruined face coughed, and spat, eliciting a low whimper at the same time due to the pain. The moustache sighed and turned his back, walking a few steps away. "The Black Run." the moustache said, not turning around. The man with the ruined face froze momentarily, then attempted to relax. It's jus' a fraggin' name, he don't know nothin'. The moustache looked over his shoulder at the ruined man "Yes, the Black. Freedom and the, ah, smuggling? And trafficking. I know of it, yes." the moustache pulled his moustache gingerly "Many operations, yes. Aaaall along the sector, many places like the products, mm?" There was silence in the room as the moustache inspected the man manacled to the chair. It stretched for an uncomfortably long time, the other man, out of view, was heard shifting position anxiously. "No talk? I know the dilemma, my friend. Ruined mouth? Ha!" the moustache suddenly barked a laugh that briefly echoed in the sparse rockcrete room. "Your friend, ah.. What was his name, Aksai? The friend in the other cell? Good cloth, cleanshaven?" the moustache snapped his fingers as if trying to remember. "Gundorn." the man, Aksai, grunted from the corner in a broken accent. The moustache smacked his palm with his fist, startling the broken man "Gundorn! Yes, that was his name. Ah, you must forgive me, mm. I have so many to attend, small details?" he pursed his mouth "Iffy. Now, this Gundorn, he was happy to assist, as he is loyal servant. Mm. Told us many things." The ruined man coughed, and drowled out, almost unintelligible "Lhies." "Yes, what is it friend?" the moustache came closer, cupping his hand to his ear. Cackling under the pain, the ruined man replied "Lhies, ihmp. Hjou dhon't evhen khno' nothin'. Th' Khrepin fham'ly rhun dis hive. Dhey khill hjoo." The moustache nodded along as the man talked, smiling a bit sadly "An' dhe Bhlack? Hjoo don' khnow fhrag. Ghundor' know he dhed if he rats." Now the moustache patted the man on the shoulder, with an understanding look on his face "Yes, my friend. The Krepin family does run the hive. We are very well afraid of them. My, they kill us "imps" at the drop of a hat, yes!" The moustache then stood up from the now bemused man, and snapped his fingers, after which the other man in the room opened the door from the cell, briefly saying something to the other side. Heavy steps followed, walking into the room now, and a new man came into view, greeted by the moustache "Valks! I missed you, friend!" and hugged the new man. The prisoner blanched as he recognized the new man, with his fitting black leathers emblazoned with twin half-moons pierced by a dagger. Valks, the local leader of the Krepin family, turned to face the prisoner with a look of utter contempt on his face. "You should have known to leave the Black well enough alone. We had a good thing going on." Stuttering and sputtering through the pain in his jaw, the prisoner exclaimed "Bhut you're ohne of ush! The Bhlack!!" Valks sneered with utter contempt "Don't pull me to your level, fragger. We are loyal servants of the Imperium." he glanced at the moustache, smiling "With certain freedoms, surely. But we know our boundaries. You overstepped them. Now you pay." "Ah yes, my friend!" the moustache continued with a smile "Valks already met your friend, Gundorn, wasn't it?" Valks nodded "Yes, and he was most agreeable afterwards!" The moustache produced a vox-recorder and held it up on his palm, like a magician producing a bouquet of flowers. With a flourish, he pressed the button on it, and a raspy voice came out "Yes, we had.. We had a deal with the Black. Materials. Some drugs. A bit of xenotech.. A.. A few.. You know, it was harmless, really! A few.. Slaves.." -someone talking, indistinct "Stryxian slaves, of course. Best quality.. Really obedient too, the customers I ha-" The moustache stopped the recording, seeing the man in the chair wet himself "Yes, your friend was most helpful." the smile was gone now "The question remains: Will you be as helpful to us as he was?" He talked. Of course he did.

Arbites Investigator Vladistin Kovalchek's Guide to the Imperium - Aksai edition Aksai iff you lose note I will not be happy. Keep note close, ande read it lots of. BASIC GUIDLINES! The number one: If you can get somene else to do, get them to do. The number two: If you must do, do it right. The number three: Arbites are the ass. We are the ass. Sit on scum until confess and other. Ass is patience. The number for: Paperwork is imprtant. Write if you ever learn to. Does not matter what write but write anyway. It make seem efficent and professor. The number fives: Should be the number first, but is fives. Service to Imperium is biggest, best and must do. Small thing come, Imperium roll it over, crush it to pebble. Big thing steer Imperium away like bad rock in river. Ignore small thing, use lance-batteries on big thing. INVESTIGATIVE GUISLINES! The one: If unsure, keep calm. The two: If not know, look profession. The three: If know, but don't want other to know for they take glory and hog it to themself like khek-mongering shiny devasto, grit teeth. The four: Ignore the three. It is test. Glory kills mens. The five: When have captive, keep captive alive. It is important. The six: When talk to captive, keep calm. Captive is dumb, othrwise he free. The seven: If suspect of thing in investigatives, discard fourth and first suspicion. It is wrong. The seven: Smuggling is always. Strange ship come to ass-port, reqwest land-permit, want to go through check, is smuggling. Old mans walking into checkpoints with big pants, is smuggling. Even me, is smuggling. Do not tell assministratum, they take rahzvod if found. The nine: Xeno is always bad news. But not worst news. Worst news is when junior arbite run to office, yell "IS ATTACK!" is worst news. Tens: If suspecting of heretic, keep calm and throw them off voidship. Is safest. Ask question when they locked in airlock, very incentive. Elevent: If suspecting of witch, do not keep calm. Find emergency melta, krak and hellgonne. If problem persist, find exit. ADD TO ELEVENT: If have own witch, watch witch. Witch needs watch for otherwise witch is without watching watch. Ha, is joke. But no, keep watch. ADD TO ELEEN ADD: Aksai shake hands with new shinies, hold hand, hug, be like skinships, yes? Observe. They froth or eyes turn to show the whites? You know. The twelve: See Astarte? See Astarte?! Praise Emperor, then find exit. Astarte never good news for normal. If Astarte show up, it mean something wors than normal. AKSAI READ GUIDE! One: Gelt is like the thing in planet where you give big tusk of big monster to big chief who give you punchglove for in return. But lighter. Two: There is no reason to not eat food when put in front. It is good food, and if it is, even better. Three: Do not drink the rahzvod or the amasec. The man you throw out of window still falling, we do not know where. His family miss him much. Four: Make the joke, so others think you a fun man. No-one think fun man be the one put you in manacle and strap to excrusiatoring machine. Is sneaky. Last: Make others think stupid, they not expect smart. But they will think stupid. If hurts pride, punch heretic or scum until better. Real last: You learn to deceive friend, you deceive enemy. Is smartest thing Vlad found out. But I always straight to you. Promise. The realest last: Do not get kill by stupid men in hats or smart men without hats. Is silly. We meet again, yes? Drink rahzvod and you throw man to find the first man you throw. -Friend, Vladistin Kovalchek

Annazirian Bestiary - A quick look at how to end one's life on Annazir The plains of Annazir are the home to most of the populace on this feral planet, and for good reason: The forests and low mountains are often inhabited by cruel and unusual predators, which are fiercely territorial even among themselves. Even the most battle-hardened follower of the native warrior lodges would rather face off-world enemies than venture into the thick forests dividing the great plains. First, let's have a look at the somewhat less dangerous plain-dwellers of Annazir, starting with the most unassuming of creatures; The Kanaak. The Kanaak are quite docile plain-dwellers, who wander the plains in search of food and water in herds that range from a dozen to a hundred. They are quite stubborn, and can be dangerous when agitated. More than a few would-be domesticators have ended gored upon their horns. Kanaak - Herbivorous Herd Beast trans. Gnashing horn WS 24 BS - S 40 T 45 Ag 25 Int 16 Per 30 WP 40 Fel -- Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 16 Armour: None. Total TB: 4 Skills: Awareness (Per), Survival (Per). Talents: None. Traits: Bestial, Natural Weapons, Quadruped, Sturdy, Size (Hulking 5), Placid. Weapons: Horn (1d10+4 I; Pen 0; Primitive(7)). Uktan'Usk are scavengers; For an ancient reference from the archives of Magos Zoology, their contemporary would be the Terran Hyena. They tend to congregate in packs of half a dozen, and mainly hunt Kanaak who get isolated from their herds. They are burrowing creatures, and make familial caves under the plains where they sleep for most of the nights, venturing out to hunt during the day. They are somewhat timid creatures, but will not hesitate to gang upon lone travelers or even near villages during hard times. Uktan'Usk - Omnivorous Scavengers trans. Thieving follower WS 31 BS — S 32 T 36 Ag 40 Int 16 Per 40 WP 28 Fel –– Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 11 Armour: None. Total TB: 3 Skills: Awareness (Per), Survival (Per), Stealth (Ag). Talents: Takedown. Traits: Bestial, Natural Weapons, Size (Scrawny 3), Burrower(2). Weapons: Claws or Fangs (1d10+3 R; Pen 0; Primitive(7)). Now we shall move to the dangers of Annazir: The predators. First we have one half of the reason why Annazirians never wander into the lush forest-strips demarcating different plains: The jungle-cat known as Kopilat. Kopilat are man-sized feline creatures with a beautiful scaled pelt much prized as a trophy by the natives. It is also exceedingly dangerous and territorial, with a tendency to hide in the upper foliage of the forest and pounce upon the unsuspecting visitor. Their ability to climb and ambush travelers in this manner, coupled with the tough hide on their back and swift movement makes these creatures the blood-thirsty sentinels of the day-time forests of Annazir. They are solitary creatures, only making contact with others of their species during heat. The female of the species raises the cubs only until they can fend for themselves, after which she abandons them. Kopilat - The diurnal Apex Predator of the forests trans. Lurking feeder WS 43 BS - S 45 T 37 Ag 46 Int 16 Per 40 WP 43 Fel -- Movement: 8/16/24/48 Wounds: 16 Armour: 2 Total TB: 3 Skills: Awareness (Per), Survival (Per), Stealth (Ag), Dodge (Ag) +10, Athletics (S) +20. Talents: Swift Attack, Leap up, Inescapable Attack, Catfall. Traits: Bestial, Deadly Natural Weapons, Deadly, Stealthy, Swift, Quadruped, Size (Average 4), Natural armor (2). Weapons: Claws and Fangs (1d10+4 R; Pen 0). The night-time sentinel of the forests is as deadly, or deadlier than the dangerous Kopilat: The Sakat. Sakat are medium-sized feline beasts with poisonous ridges along the whole of their back, ending in a stinger dripping with paralytic venom. These beasts delight in taking live prey and dragging them to their underground lairs to feed their young. Unlike Kopilat, who some even say are quite noble beasts, the Sakat are plain monsters, their appearance faithfully representing their terrible nature: A pair of glowing yellow eyes over a snarling, drooling mouth. Unlike Kopilat, Sakat cannot climb trees, but they make up for this deficit by being amazing ambushers, moving almost unseen in the night. There are also cases where Sakat have coordinated as a pair, forgoing their normally solitary nature. Sakat - The nocturnal Apex Predator of the forests trans. Stinging feeder WS 39 BS - S 38 T 35 Ag 41 Int 16 Per 40 WP 41 Fel -- Movement: 8/16/24/48 Wounds: 15 Armour: None. Total TB: 3 Skills: Awareness (Per), Survival (Per), Stealth (Ag) +10, Dodge (Ag). Talents: Leap up, Catfall, Takedown, Resistance (Poison). Traits: Bestial, Deadly Natural Weapons, Deadly, Dark-sight, Paralytic, Stealthy, Quadruped, Size (Average 4). Weapons: Claws and Fangs (1d10+3 R; Pen 0; Tearing), Stinger (1d10+1 R; Pen 1; Paralytic). While the Sakat and the Kopilat are the twin gatekeepers of Annazirian forests, and are locked in a seemingly eternal territorial war, the Annazirian mountains and hills only need one beast to make sure no-one goes there. The Oko. A free-form translation of their name is "Slayer", and that is what they are: ruthless monsters that tear apart anything straying into their territories. During the first occupational wars, many Ecclesiarchal settlers went to the hills to set up monasteries to praise the Emperor from on high, but all of them were lost. It took a surprising amount of time for the settlers to find out the true cause of these disappearances, since they were dead-set on not asking the "barbarians" for advice or help. Eventually all attempts to settle the higher climes of Annazir were given up on, as the beasts proved too territorial and annoying to handle, while working on the natives at the same time. Rich folklore exists about the Oko in traditional Annazirian tales, most of which center on stories about how bad an idea it is to head to the hills. The fact remains that the Oko are fiercely territorial beasts, each owning a huge stretch of land on the hills and mountains, with multiple dens for every beast. One particularly old subject is reported to control a set of hills covering a hundred square kilometers of land. Such a stretch of land is not inconceivable when one takes into account the phenomenal speed that an Oko can move: Many a big game hunter has been caught off-guard as their prey closed upon them from sniper-rifle range in but a few moments. Even more surprised they must have been when the beast sprayed a nerve-agent upon their whole hunting party, turning them into a welcome feast for the great beast. While it's speed, strength and poison make Oko a fierce foe, it's robust toughness makes it a horrifying one: More than once a hunter has been surprised to see the Oko charging at him after having it's rib cage blown off and exposed. It's this hellish vitality that turns venturing into the hills from extremely dangerous to almost suicide. If the Oko would ever descend from their lofty perches to the plains below, Annazir might be ranked a Deathworld. But as it stands, the horrors of the hills are more than content to stay where they are. Oko - Apex Predator of the mountain and the hill trans. Slayer WS 48 BS - S 49 T 53 Ag 54 Int 17 Per 51 WP 45 Fel -- Movement: 10/20/30/60 Wounds: 26 Armour: None. Total TB: 5 Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Survival (Per) +10, Dodge(Ag), Athletics (S) +10. Talents: Swift Attack, Hard Target, True Grit, Iron Jaw, Resistance (Poison). Traits: Bestial, Brutal Charge(2), Deadly Natural Weapons, Apex, Quadruped, Paralytic, Size (Hulking 5), Terrain Master. Weapons: Claws and Fangs (1d10+8 R; Pen 2;), Paralytic spit (Range 10m; 1d5+3 I; Pen 2; Paralytic, Spray). -- Entering the realm of folktale and legend, Annazir houses the great stone giants known as the Baktuu. Known as signs of good luck amongst the natives, the Baktuu are massive creatures of stone, housing their own forests atop their broad backs, often used by smaller creatures as shelter. Nomadic in nature, these titans wander across the continents of Annazir in wide-ranging patterns in their migratory cycles. No-one knows why they wander, for they seem to require no nourishment from either fauna or flora, nor do they need water. The Magos Biologis have speculated that they derive energy from the plants growing on them in a form of symbiosis. These are simple speculations, however, as any Baktuu captured will shortly crumble into inert piles of stones without any special qualities. This self-euthanasia is known to have happened on all captured samples, regardless of housing or method of capture, hinting at some intelligence in the giants. Baktuu are massive creatures, the largest recorded being a hundred meters from snout to tail, and half as wide and a quarter as tall. Most specimen are only half or less of this, but they are a magnificent sight to see, large or small. These giants are extremely placid and peaceful, often ignoring attacks on them wholesale. Recorded attacks from a Baktuu number less than a dozen planet-wide, and those that happened were caused by attacks with heavy weaponry upon them. These battles left only a ruined battlefield behind them, with troop carriers crushed flat and deep indentations in the earth where the Baktuu attacked. While the normal lifestyle for a Baktuu is that of permanent wandering, there are known to be dormant Baktuu littering the planet here and there. These dormant types are extremely hard to find, for they resemble rock-formations with plants growing on top of them, some of them extremely old. Deep-scanning a specimen with specialized Auspexes is one way of identifying a dormant Baktuu, but this has been deemed a waste due to the effort and time required for such a procedure. Active Baktuu are very few and far between, although easily recognized and counted, with the current count numbering 8 planet-wide. Baktuu - The walking forest trans. Walker WS 22 BS - S 83(12) T 81(13) Ag 12 Int 24 Per 44 WP 63 Fel -- Movement: 2/4/6/12 (AgB+6 movement) Wounds: 82 Armour: 12 Total TB: 13 Skills: Awareness (Per), Survival (Per) +10. Talents: True Grit, Iron Jaw, Resistance (Psychic), Immune (Poison, Fire, Fear), Strong Minded, Hardy. Traits: Brutal Charge (11), Deadly Natural Weapons, Natural Armor (12), Unnatural Strength (4), Unnatural Toughness (5) Quadruped, Size (Titanic 10), Terrain Master, Placid, Silicate, Regeneration (5), Touched By The Fates (1), Unnatural Senses (300m, vibrations from ground), Colony. Weapons: Stomp and Crush (3d10+15 I; Pen 4;) Trait: Colony The creature carries its own ecosystem wherever it goes, and it might include: A flock of Size (Miniscule 1) fauna, a group of Size (Puny 2) fauna, a few Size (Scrawny 3) fauna, or anything in between. These creatures consider the Colony -creature their home, and might take actions to defend it and themselves should they feel threatened. Often the creatures inhabiting a Colony are using the creature as defense for themselves, so they are rarely of an aggressive species.