Captain Rull Mothantis, part 1: Background

(Today: some fluff to start a series of four postings about a unique character...) After the Heresy, the Sons of Horus became the Black Legion. But they were suffering many woes. The Emperor's Children stole the clones of Horus from them. Their numbers were shattered. The other traitor legions held them in contempt. Abaddon, unifying the core of what was left of them, lead lightning raids to destroy the clones. As the years became decades, the chaos powers that the Black Legion paid service to shifted also ebbed and flowed. Caught up in the ebb and flow was one Captain Rull Mothantis.

In the midst of the wars to unify the other legions behind the Black Legion's banner, he gave himself up for daemonic possession. A Great Unclean One of Nurgle answered the call and mutated his body. He increased in bulk, grew mutated wings and his fingers lengthened to monstrous proportions: pushing through the gauntlet of his power fist.

Yet, in the fullness of time, one war lead to another war. Nurgle fell out of favour as Tzeentch ascended into prominence in the Black Legion. It was shortly thereafter that the Black Legion figured out how to remove safely recover the host as the unwanted daemons retreated (voluntarily or not) back to the Warp. This discovery is reported to have singularly saved the Black Legion from extinction.

Captain Rull Mothantis was one of the first group of Black Legion marines to be safely recovered from daemonic possession. Regaining full control of his body, he realized that the body was scarred for eternity. the Black Legion had not yet discovered how to turn a mutated body back to its original form. Even the Thousand Sons were reported to be suffering from excessive and rampant mutations without finding a cure. Although Rull knew the Iron Warriors simply chopped off the offending mutation and replaced it with bionic and cybernetic implants, this would never be enough.

Moreover, the Great Unclean One who had controlled the flesh had left residues behind, such was its power. His very flesh had been contaminated with various unpleasant Nurgle pestilences and his body was decaying. His fear fermented. Then he went in to action.

In desperation, he left the Black Legion on a stolen fighter and sought out a Death Guard warband. They accepted him as one of their own and he dedicated himself once again to Nurgle, but this time in control of his own body and no longer suffering from the ailments that the Great Unclean One had left for him (although still a carrier).

Rull is now one of Nurgle's finest Chaos Lord's and willingly serves both the Black Legion and Death Guard. Additionally, he has been sighted on the battlefield on numerous occasions with an ominous looking Great Unclean One. Scholars believe it is the self same daemon who had control of him all those decades earlier: but now they are strongly allied in different bodies.

(This background is unofficial; Please read the disclaimer).