Alphaeus Gearhardt

"There is no truth in flesh only betrayal, and for that your crimes were foreseen.There is no certainty in flesh but death, and for your crimes you will die."

- Alphaeus; The Rite of Judgment

Alphaeus is the current Lord Malagra of the Chamber Cardinal of the Ruling Synod of the Forge World of Hephaestia and Alpha Dominus of the Anima Cult. Hailing from Hephaestia-II, Alphaeus rules the majority of the lesser foundries upon the moon from his domain of Fane Deculus, having seized political power through his ties to the Cult of Anima Omnissiah and his high standing within it. Befitting his position as head of the intelligence network, Gearhardt is a patient and intelligent man who embodies the nature of the machine, capable of implementing and employing long running calculations for maximum benefit. It is this aptitude for long term planning which has seen him rise from lowly chirurgeon to one of the most potent of the Prefecture Magisterium in the history of Hephaestia.

History
"You of Mankind are components of a flawed equation, and it is predicated on an error; the error that anything escapes the sight of the all knowing Omnissiah. Compounding this error is the deliberate distortion by those who would deem themselves mankind’s masters, the greatest of falsehoods being the claim that these masters speak for the Omnissiah, a misrepresentation rivaled only by the patent error that these masters of mankind cannot be reached or touched. The truth is far simpler; that all men are but men, and all men are corrupt save for those of the purest of will and iron. This equation cannot stand and will decay to entropy as all cogitation errors must, and it is the duty of the Magisterium to hasten that runtime to conclusion."

- Alphaeus; Rite of Terror

Early Life
The early life of Gearhardt is known among those of the lowborn ranks of the Machine Cult of Hephaestia; an inspirational story for the masses that ambition can lead anyone from the dregs of society to the very heights of knowledge, technology, and power. Born to a menial household upon the forge moon of Hephaestia-II in the middle of millennium 41, in distant orbit around the main forge, Alphaeus was destined to a lifetime of medicae work serving the menial population. Though talented, it was truthfully chance which blessed the once man with the chance to prove himself. Though capable of performing augmetic surgeries which restored menials to full working capacity in highly efficient manner, all medicae workers upon the forges are expected to return their fellow menials to working order, lest they be rendered to servitors, it was during a tragic accident in which Alphaeus drew attention to himself by the priesthood.



While assigned to the work facility of Autokrator assembly yard 72-D, a routine inspection by the Magi Lord Jergan ended in disaster as a batch of Krios battle tanks particle cannons cooked off and detonated, incinerating hundreds of menials and slagging the augmetics of dozens of tech priest artisans. Among that number was the Magi Lord, a prominent member of the Autokrator and Ordinary Priest of the Lord Ordinator at the time, Malassiag. Finding himself in a position to save the magi, he took his chance. Rushing to the priest lord, he was able to quickly analyze his damage and stabilize the failing augmetics, enough that the magi lord was able to survive, and his unique augmetics returned to a life sustaining condition. When the genetors and augmeticists were finally able to reach Malassiag, they took Alphaeus with them such that his improvisational work could be detailed and accounted for. His work impressed the magi, and his exceptional talent was rewarded with selection for the induction trials into the cult proper.

Rise Through the Mechanicus
Little is known about this portion of the Magi’s life. What is known is that his rise through the base ranks was meteoric and that he worked his way through his trials with startling efficiency. Alphaeus was considered to be a genius, a studious and apt mind that comes out maybe once a century. Mastering nearly all the traditional crafts of the Adeptus Mechanicus within his masters teachings. Showing aptitude for fine machinery, robotics, and of course cybernetics, showing incredible talent for installation procedures and developments. He made many enemies at this time, his eye and devotion toward cybernetics surpassing even the most studious of the other adepts. Numerous times he would see his fellows fail to adhere properly to doctrine and to sacred forms and patterns, and see them punished for their failures. His dedication to doctrine lent him favour with his superiors and by his third decade of tuition, he was considered to have reached the peak of innovation and invention by his peers. Such that eventually his interests began to stray into the higher mysteries.

To fulfill these desires for knowledge, gearhardt began to spread his influence outward. He had already made a name for himself among the lesser forge fanes of the moon, eventually coming back to the notice of Magos Malassiag and his forges. He would supplicate himself before the Magos and request to become his Apprentii. The Magos, recognizing his debt, accepted, and Alphaeus was permitted to study under him amongst 17 other Apprentii. Alphaeus would know disappointment though as the bulk of the study came under Malassiag’s apprentii prime, or head apprentice, a priestess by the name of Dessia. The two clashed constantly, Dessia’s close minded ways and refusal to integrate new technique saw gearhardt chafe under her direction, he learned nothing from her.

The issue would resolve itself some months later, as it was suddenly revealed that her close mindedness has been a cover for extreme heterodoxical practices skirting the border of heresy. The magi under Lord Malassiag were thrown into a frenzy, the woman had been a reliable lynchpin of bureaucratic prowess and were shocked that she could be revealed to do such a thing. She vehemently denied it, but it ended with her exile from Malassiag’s employ to the sciptorums. The fact that this happened so suddenly and was so convenient for Alphaeus would go unnoticed by the priesthood, but rumors of foul play would eventually emerge that hung about the incident for years to come.

With the removal of Adept Dessia, Alphaeus was selected to take her place, and with it, take over her meager forge domains within the feudal structure under Malassiag, gaining control of a small manufactorum which produced focusing lenses for laser weapon and barrels for photon weaponry. With this standing came further freedom for Gearhardt to expand his research and with further resources, into more areas. Eventually coming to rest on the highest mysteries of Hephaestia; the cybernetica. Plying his expertise into photonic weapon assembly, Alphaeus found his true calling in the Cult of Anima Omnissiah.

Cult of Anima Omnissiah
The Anima cult is the dominant sub-cult of the greater Cult Mechanicus upon Hephaestia, and has stood ascendant for over 10,000 years. Worshipping the crude semblance of machine intelligence that is the Beastia Anima, seeing the will of the Omnissiah acting through vessels of unliving metal. Developing his skill into battle automata weapons construction, Alphaeus’ renown for the crafting of finely made Darkfire Cannons, melta shoulder mounts, and the fine cybernetic components required for automata function. As his skill increased under the Dominus Proctors of the cult, he grew to be held in high regard by the artisans of the Sub-Cult, drawing further attention to himself as dedicated to orthodoxy and a genius of fine bionic manipulation whose reverence for automata grew daily. His zeal for the machines lent well to his prestige and his reputation grew, and he was selected for candidacy for the greater secrets and blessed with the key augmetic of the Cybernetica orders; a cortex controller and with it he was given his ultimate chance to prove himself; to join a Tahgmata battlegroup and serve as part of the Triad Magna.

Ascension
His growing stature in the Anima Cult lent Alphaeus a growing influence. Slowly, he masterminded a series of alliances with other cult members, taking on additional responsibilities and delegating others. Eventually he maneuvered his way into a position of overseer of robotic construction, and with that he secured his path. After a year of outstanding robotics construction upon the moon as Domina Fabricatus, he was summoned to Fane Deculus, the center of robotics manufacturing in the system, dedicated almost entirely to their construction. The Alpha Dominus of the Anima Cult, Archmagos Diomese Lectur, called the fabricators of the cult's power together