Santiago Morvoglio

"You primates believe you know what it is to worship your ancestor. I feel mine in my nerves, and in the back of my brain. I know it to be a great, gnawing hunger, one that has consumed countless species like yours, and will do so again."

- Santiago Hatched on Hive Sombra, the Genestealer that would come to be known as Santiago Morvoglio is a prodigy, a true victory of evolution and adaptation. Understanding the culture of its host-world, Santiago quickly developed its brood/cult into a crime family, in hopes of gaining greater influence in the realm of its victims. When the Tyrannic hive fleet devoured Sombra, Santiago escaped destruction aboard his personal fleet, and saw an opportunity. Unlike a human, the Genestealer cared nothing for its own existence, but saw the opportunity to spread its taint to dozens of different worlds. Through this thinking, Santiago gained a form of independence from the Hive Mind, and evolved to bring forth a brood of hungry, intelligent monsters, to better usher in the doom of the Milky Way.

History
"You primates should be more grateful. Do you believe we add just any vermin to our Hives? Your species was selected because we saw something great. Take your place at our side and be honored."

- Santiago

From the days of Hive Sombra, Santiago has evolved into a unique Tyrannic creature, a synaptic node within the great Hive dedicated to infiltrating, destabilising and infesting host populations. La Familia Morvoglio has spread like a tumor through the underbelly of Imperial Space, allowing it a great deal of influence and many willing converts to its cause. To date, La Familia has caused the destruction of nearly two dozen Hive Worlds, however, have always escaped before the Swarm could devour them or the Ordo Xenos could catch up with them.

Santiago has evolved into a disturbingly androgynous, insectoid human, or perhaps humanoid insect. Capable of siring and bearing young, as well as directly infesting members of other species with Tyrannic DNA, Santiago's cult of personality has expanded across dozens of subsectors. His servants worship their Allfather as the voice of the Hive Mind and prophet of the true, Tyrannic god.

For its part, despite Santiago's deviance and borderline insubordination, the Hive Mind is not stupid. Seeing Santiago and his brood for the asset that it is, the Hive Mind of the Tyranids allows the small subsect to exist, for now. Santiago, despite his extreme lifespan, knows that he is ultimately as expendable as the lowliest gaunt, and is fully prepared to feed himself and his followers to the Tyranid Swarm when the time comes.

Personality
"Do not speak of my lack of humanity as though it were some flaw, insect. Your species is crumbling and dying, whereas mine grows in strength every day."

- Santiago

Despite appearing empathic, serene and reasonable, Santiago's mindset is wholly alien and incomprehensible. He sees his family and followers as a personal Hive, one that he intends to feed and nurture until it blossoms to full, Tyrannic majesty. The Genestealer utterly lacks human morals and even standards, and will use rape, murder, kidnapping and acts of violation that would make even the most foul Chaos Marine blush to further his goals.

Despite this, Santiago truly loves his family and his Tyrannic masters. Killing a member of La Familia Morvoglio is a dangerously suicidal idea if Santiago is nearby, and enemies of the family are subjected to horrifying fates, often being used as brood-mares for the next generation of Genestealers.

Because of his alien nature, Santiago is impossible to read, even to Psykers, who hear only the alien hum of the Tyrannic hive mind. Santiago interprets the Hive Mind in a religious fashion, seeing himself as kin to a great and terrible god.

Ultimately, despite how friendly he appears, Santiago thinks that all non-Tyrannic life is fit only to be brood-mares or food. He sees the Tyranid Swarm as the ultimate apotheosis of organic life and thinks that humanity should be honored to have their genetic template added to the Great Devourer. Santiago sees the Genestealer's kiss as the highest elevation a mortal can receive, and gives it only rarely.

Abilities
"Do not underestimate me, frail primate that must hide in a suit of machines. My flesh is the greatest weapon I possess."

- Santiago

As a unique Genestealer, Santiago is a frighteningly dangerous opponent. Extremely strong and agile, Santiago is easily able to match even an Astartes in Terminator Plate with his inhuman strength. Despite his lithe and frail stature, Santiago's carapace is impervious to most light weapons and his claws and strength are capable of tearing even a fully-armored space marine limb from limb. Its right hand ends in a ferocious talon, dripping bio-plasma, that is the equivalent of a power-claw.

Santiago's unique physiology is capable of adapting to threats, evolving biological defensive measures to blows that the Genestealer has experienced and escaped from. Like his daughter, Trinita, Santiago is capable of reshaping his dermal layer to mimic any human. Its unique alien biology allows it to easily breed with members of a species of either gender, creating more nightmarish, bizarre hybrids. Santiago is able to customize its spawn's characteristics during the mating act, and will typically lay a brood of eggs within hours of fertilization (or in the case of impregnating a female, the spawn will burst from the unfortunate host's body within hours).

Santiago is capable of directly turning ordinary members of a host species into Genestealer hybrids through an injection of Tyrannic DNA through its razor-sharp proboscis. It views this with the ultimate honor and only does it rarely.

Santiago, as a synapse creature, exerts a mental dominion over all creatures containing its genetic material. This manifests as a strange hybrid of angelic singing and the hungry buzzing of flies.

Quotes
FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR OWN!!"Come, let go of the burden of freedom. Release yourself from fear and hate and pain. You serve a greater purpose now, my child."

- Santiago