Avaric the Unworthy

"A thousand dead men promised me they were the best around. Are you sure you wish to disappoint their memories?"

- The Bastard Avaric Malcolm Tivael Avaric, or as he was known to the rest of his family, Avaric the Unworthy was one of many male tributes to the Adeptus Astartes from the noble house of Avaric. Descended from Chemos, the House of Avaric was well known for producing worthy stock to be turned into Space Marines. This, and their obscene wealth, allowed them to be quietly relocated to another planet and wash off the stain of the Third Legion's betrayal.

History
"All I ever got from the Emperor was shame and derision. Through Chaos, I have the power to be the Prince I should have been."

- Avaric

Malcolm was a sickly child at birth, suffering from a wasting illness that made him weak. The rest of the House mocked their young scion, but sent him for the trials to become an Astartes like all their male descendants. Predictably, Malcolm failed these tests, earning him a spot as House Avaric's dirty secret.

Avaric the Unworthy, filled with spite and unfulfilled need to prove himself, abandoned the family. Heeding the whispers of voices in his fevered dreams, Malcolm trained his mind and body with renewed vigor, perhaps channeling some hitherto unknown Psyker potential. Whatever the reasons, fate would eventually guide Avaric to cross paths with an Imperial Knight who he slew. With a vicious will of iron and warp-spawned aid from the Dark Prince, Avaric shattered the machine-spirit's willpower long enough to subjugate it.

Twisted, mutated, haunted by Daemons and hungry for souls, the Knight Verbero stalks the many battlefields of Chaos, piloted by Avaric the Unworthy, a title the Champion embraces to the exclusion of all others, as a testament to his personal accomplishment against all odds.

Personality
"When they inevitably lose the duel, I often feed them to the Knight. It is gratifying to feel their bodies crushed between my teeth, and to feel my Knight eat their weak souls."

- Avaric

Malcolm Avaric is arrogant, cocky and utterly insane. Years of constant drive to be the best have led to some dangerous habits and experiments, that have seen his body become bleached and deathly thin. Avaric firmly believes he is the greatest Knight Pilot to live, a delusion at least partially implanted by the Daemonettes who follow him to feast in his wake. As such, Avaric takes a sadistic and terrifying pleasure in breaking Imperial Knights whenever he gets the chance. As a particularly gruesome finale, he often allows his Hellknight to tear the enemy from the cockpit and devour them whole.

Unlike typical Slaaneshi, Avaric is dirty, obviously unhealthy and unattractive. His mind is addled and often unfocused in social situations, and he tends to come across as the psychopath he is when he talks for too long. This hides the fearsome drive and raw willpower and talent that attracted Slaanesh's eye, and Avaric is a terrifying combatant both in and out of the cockpit.

Despite his failings, Avaric is very strongly principled, and is an honorable fighter through and through. Never has he resorted to anything as base as cheating in fights, at least not before his opponent. Avaric believes in testing himself, and always adheres to the rules of an honorable duel.

Verbero
"They always say the same thing, and they always have the same look of surprise on their face when the blow falls."

- Avaric

Verbero, meaning 'Lash' in High Gothic, is a twisted, mutated and possessed Hellknight of Slaanesh. Originally a Knight Paladin, Verbero's armor is twisted, Daemonically infused metal. Like many other Hellknights, Verbero specializes in speed, agility and destroying enemy mecha.

Verbero is armed with a powerful Multi-Melta as a ranged weapon, ideal for reducing enemy Knights to slag if they try to retreat from the duel. The left arm is a mass of mutated, razor-sharp steel tendrils, not unlike those of a Maulerfiend. These are adepts and dextrous, perfect to tearing off armor and attacking more vulnerable components.

Verbero is possessed by a small clique of Daemonettes, who have slowly mutated into a single, Daemonic creature, fused into the machine. Verbero has a Daemon's hunger for souls, and will often tear enemy pilots from their Knights when they lose, devouring them whole.

Quotes
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Trivia

 * Avaric the Unworthy and Verbero are self-insert (somewhat) characters for their author, Kephn, who plays them in Freeblade.