Byzantine Imperium Dramatis Personae

Imperial Family

Emperor Heraclius XX Komnenos the Great

"T'au Dalenda Est"

The God Emperor of Terra who has sat on the Golden Throne for nearly a millenia, his powers are nearly without rival, and his keen foresight and sharp intelligence has steered the Imperium for hundreds of years, and his Great Crusade which led to the utter extermination of the Tau remains his greatest triumph. The Karlacks denied him the victory he desired, but the Emperor himself views the Karlacks as a possible useful resource and perhaps they would serve him in some ways in the future. He remains the nominal head of the Imperium, directing its armies and fleets, and guiding the masses who either worship him as a God, or serve him dutifully and faithfully at the least. That he has remained alive for so long is itself a marvel, considering that even the meager genetic engineering he received cannot be compared to what humans can receive now. His psychic powers are as strong as ever, and woe before the fool who dares to challenge him in direct battle. Even a Titan would quake in his presence.

Warmaster Belisarius Komnenos

"When the Imperium strikes, it strikes with the wrath of God."

The Warmaster of the Imperium, he commands the entire Imperium's military, and answers to the orders of the Emperor himself. The Emperor's eldest and brightest son, he is a master strategist, and has led some of the bloodiest battles of the Great Crusade, and defeated and destroyed the Tau utterly in those battles. In one of the precursor battles to the Battle of T'au, he led his Adeptus Astartes and a sizable army of Imperial Guard and Titans on an assault on the main moon of T'au. In a lightning strike that demonstrated the powess of the Adeptus Astartes, the moon bases were taken with such swiftness and speed that it stunned the defending Tau. His Ultramarines Legion consists of some 300,000 Adeptus Astartes, 1/3 of the Space Marines in the Emperor's Legions. He commands from his flagship, the Ultramar, the mighty battle barge, which has been regularly refitted and upgraded with the latest equipment and armor. A powerful psyker himself, he leads from the front, and his enhanced speed and dexterity has allowed him to duel an foe, and come out winning.

Among all the Emperor's sons, he is regarded as the Heir to the Throne spiritually and intellectually should the God Emperor be incapacitated in any way, he would take command and assume the throne without question from his subjects. He has the respect of his two brothers, who acknowledge that he is first among equals.

Strategos Primus Rus Komnenos

"Let loose the Russian Dogs of War!"

Among all the brothers, Rus Komnenos was the most impulsive, yet he was a student of history, and he much admired the Varangian Guard of old. Though the Guard had since faded and evolved into the present day Scholae Palatinae, Rus Komnenos decided to name his Legion, Varangian Rus. Fierce and hot blooded, he favours lightning strike tactics, which were often so brutal that enemies of the Imperium who faced him were often better off just dying rather than facing him or his Legion.

A man whose contempt for his inferiors and his enemies is unmatched, Rus Komnenos is known for his extreme callousness when it comes to the treatment of his enemies. Known for his extreme brutality, during the Great Crusade, he is known for having ordered the deaths of billions of Tau civilians, and he has emulated the tactics of the Mongols of Earth at least once; on the Tau world of K'auvra, he ordered that all the civilians to be rounded up and left in a desert as he and his men personally slaughtered every single one of the Tau personally, be it by bolter or sword. His tactics are direct as they are extravagant; when he attacked the Tau world of Vaure, he deorbited the planetoid in orbit and sent it plunging right into the world, killing all life on it. However, no one would deny that the tactic was unconventional and effective; Vaure was a fortress world and any attempt to take the world or slag it would have been a year long affair, and Rus simply obliterated all life on the planet within a day. Some might say that that battle provided the inspiration for his attack on the Multiverse Empire capital Earth-4, where he ordered the enemy's colony ships to be deorbited at precise positions to bring the shields that protected the world down.

When asked of the war crimes he had committed, his reply was as flippant as one could imagine: "War crime? The only crime that was commited was that the enemy didn't kill themselves for even having been born. I am merely the executioner who is exacting the sentence for the crime they commited." When asked of humans who frowned on the Great Crusade, his reply was straight to the point: "Spineless vermin such as themselves should just join the Tau so that we would have ample excuse to slaughter them during the Great Crusade. That would have at least spared our ears from hearing all the impotent whining and growling."

Strategos Primus Aurelian Komnenos

"First encircle the enemy. Next establish a circumvallation, then pound the enemy to pieces, methodically, and swiftly."

The most calculated strategist of the three brothers, Aurelian Komnenos is know for both his cunning and his deliberate methodical approach to warfare. He is loathe to waste men, and he methodically disassemble the enemy and laying all their weaknesses bare. His Anatolian Guard Legion follow his example, and it is little surprise that his legion particularly excels at siege warfare. During the Great Crusade, if there was a Tau fortress that proved too tough for the Imperial Guard to crack, the Anatolian Guard are called in, and they simply break the Citadel apart and breach the walls and shields within a day.

Adeptus Astartes

Scholae Palatinae Chapter Master Octavius Valentin

As chief protector of the God Emperor of Man, Octavius Valentin is entrusted upon one of the most sacred duties in the Imperium. He has the eyes of a hawk, a hawk among lesser birds. He also ranks as one of the most powerful psykers in the Imperium, and is particularly gifted with the halberk. He is ever at his master's side, and commands the Scholae Palatinae, the silent sentinels of the Imperial Palace. In a sense, he is the Emperor's left hand man, forever to do his dirty work in his shadows when required. He can be exceedingly ruthless, especially when it comes to defending his liegelord.

Imperial Navy

Lord Solar Admiral Macaroth

As fervent and dedicated a servant of the Imperium, Lord Solar Admiral Macaroth has held the title of Lord Solar Admiral for the last one hundred years. He first joined the Imperial Navy one hundred years after Great Crusade and worked his way up the ranks of the Imperial Navy. He served as a captain of a cruiser during the Imperium-Karlack war and he caught the eye of Belisarius Komnenos. Ever since then, his star was ever ascendent, and was appointed Lord Solar Armiral in 3299 with the retirement of the last Lord Solar Admiral. He is known for his sharp wit, murderous zeal for the destruction of xenos, and most of all his ruthlessness. He pushes his men hard and extols them to great deeds of courage and strength. He has fought the Karlacks on numerous occasions, and his hatred for the Karlacks is legendary. "There's no such thing as a good Karlack. Only Dead ones," the admiral is known for saying.

Imperial Army

Decius, Sigilite of the Emperor

The chief adviser of the Emperor, he is descended from a long line of men and women who have advised the Byzantine Emperors. The family views it as their duty to support and advise the Emperor, and they have maintained that tradition for generations.

Miscellaneous

Ecumenical Patriarch Ignatius Innokenti XXI

The resident fire and brimstone breather of Constantinople, he was appointed by the God Emperor in 3240 after the retirement of the last Ecumenical Patriarch. He was chosen from young for his perceived eloquence and for his zeal for the Imperial Creed. Selected for the priesthood, he studied theology and political science at the University of Constantinople and has proven to be an artful orator of the first caliber. Ever faithful and zealous, he is responsible for rousing the fires of the faithful, granting penance and indulgences to the worthy and contrite, and most of al

Ecumenical Patriarch Ignatius Innokenti

l, he is essentially the chief propagandist of the Imperium. Calling for the deaths of all xenos from his walking throne, of which is inscribed with many a blessed seal and scroll and with incense burned in the torches at the side, he walks around with authority, literally, and many who dare to look at him often find themselves starring at a man who made it his sole purpose in life to give a fierce stare of intimidation. Such is the power of his stare that many simply prostrated before him confessing his sins. It is rumored that he is a psyker, but this rumor simply spurs greater fear from the faithful. Regardless, none shall find him wanting when it comes to his service to the Imperium and the God Emperor