Ceridwen Lothringen

Ceridwen Lothringen was an inquisitor who lived in mid M41 and acted mainly in the Iox sector. She was known to be of Lothringen family, descending from the line of Velgram d'Ark and Naomi Lothringen all the way back from M40.

Ceridwen was widely known for her fierce and fiery nature. She was notorious member of Ancalyan's Cabal, being one of the only monodominant-inquisitors in it. Rightfully feared by her radical colleagues, she had a sinister reputation as inquisitor-hunter. In her later career she was nominated as Grand Mistress of Ordos Iox.

History
Born into an ancient family, Ceridwen was branded from her birth with an unfortunate surname that carried the name of heresy on it. Even if those many generations between Ira d'Ark (later Ira Lothringen) and her, had mitigated the name's connection to the heresy, it was still Lothringen, name of the Usurpers of Saint's Rift.

Ceridwen was born on An Romos Prime, capital of Iox Maarches sub-sector where her ancestors had settled in after the Lothringen Heresy. Like many other men and women of her family before her, she was introduced into the Schola Progenium Heios at the age of six. Her parents wished good luck and passed her to the Abbot of Schola, never seeing her again.

Schola Progenium Heios
During the first night, Ceridwen was led into a chamber where fifty other cadets slept, played cards, smoked, wrestled and gossiped. Little girl, walked in by Abbot himself, made everyone silent... for a while. After Abbot had left, Ceridwen crawled on her bed sobbing constantly. After hours of sobbing, three older cadets of ages between ten and twelve, took Ceridwen of her hair and beated her until she stopped crying. As a warning, the older cadets took a knife and cut Ceridwen's right ear off. With her blood they messed her books and finally took her prayer-beads and broke the chain, leaving her trembling, too afraid and shocked to even cry.

On the next day, one was missing of the morning count in the citadel's inner square which caused an all-out alert inside the Schola. As cadets stood firmly in rows in the inner square, squads of Schola's private army were dispatched all over the citadel and surrounding mountain-area. They turned over every table, opened every closet, wardrobe, drawer, ripped every curtain and sheets of every bed. A sobbing little girl was finally found, locked in a locker with an ear in her hands, in one of the chambers. The little girl was brought in the square and with Schola's reeve, she walked before every line of cadets until found the two boys and one girl that had cut her ear off, messed her stuff and locked her up in the locker. "Schola Progenium is harsh school. It is harsh because of training, because of strict rules and hierarchy. But it is not harsh because cadets take right of punishment in their own hands! In the line you three! Ready, set.. FIRE!"

- Reeve Eckart of Schola Progenium Heios

Three cadets were taken by guard, their hands tied and set into line. Reeve Eckart said few words after what the mutilators were executed.

Ceridwen's ear was not fixed, which left an ugly scar for her whole lifetime.

Being still too young for serious physical training, Ceridwen, with others of same age, studied High Gothic, Imperial Creed and weapon types. Soon they were introduced with behavior-models and technology. At the age of eight, anyone in the Schola could take any of the fifteen most usual lasgun models, take it in parts and assemble it back. At the age of ten, anyone in the Schola could take any auto- or stubgun, including machine-gun and pistol variants, take them apart, assemble them and shoot with them from the move. Those who got left behind from the fast pace of learning were introduced in other areas in Schola. One girl, being at best average in shooting, was introduced into Medicae wing, a boy who had lost his legs during grenade trainings, was quickly introduced into wing where strategists were made. In Schola, people were forged to be something and only one out of fifty (1/50), at most, were totally left out and put into Heios's PDF or other similar duties. Ceridwen did well, her certain area of strenght was the Imperial Law, Dictates Imperialis.

Last years in Schola
At the age of eleven, Ceridwen was introduced into the jurisprudence wing. That was the wing from where most of the Iox's Adeptus Arbites were from. She got rigid training of close quarter combats, including numerous martial arts and apprehending situations. For a short period she was introduced into Heios Prime's police to take her training on the field. She was quickly returned due the fact she "used too much force".

Ceridwen was taken back to Schola for further training. In 444.M41 a new boy was introduced in the same chamber as she. He was a pesky little bastard who quickly got few "enemies" inside the chamber. When five older cadets tried to beat the boy up, Ceridwen tried to protect the little boy by cracking one cadet's hand and other one's knees, before guards noticed the racket and stopped them. Reeve Eckart, who had become maybe a bit soft in his late years, only flogged those who took part in the fight, including Ceridwen. "May the justice be done."

- Ceridwen Lothingen to reeve Eckart before her flogging

After that, Ceridwen enjoyed clear respect and fame within the walls of Schola and was favoured by reeve Eckart.

Out of Schola
Phillip Ancalya was a respected inquisitor at those times. He had failed to train any pupils in his career and by the request of Ordos Iox's High Council in 446.M41, Phillip was introduced in Schola Progenium Heios.

Ceridwen Lothringen was fourteen then and was quickly earning her way into Adeptus Arbites. Her sense of what was right and what was against the Law was absolutely remarkable and her professors were going to mold a judge of her.

Phillip wandered with the Abbot around the Schola, judging cadets and progenia alike. Abbot of course led the famous inquisitor only to the wings where he knew the most promising students were. After couple days, Phillip took couple cadets into interview and promised to weight them carefully. It was then, when Phillip bumped into Ceridwen.
 * P - Ceridwen... Lothringen?
 * C - Yes, sire.
 * P - I've understood that your ear was cut by your fellow-cadets earlier.
 * C - That is right.
 * P - You think it was correct to execute the mutilators? According to law of Schola?
 * C - I think that is a question for our honoured reeve Eckart, if you wish, I can bring him to you.
 * P - It was a question for you.
 * C - My thoughts are irrelevant, justice was done.
 * P - ...mm-hm? I've understood that you got into fight because... you were protecting a younger cadet?
 * C - Yes, sire.
 * P - You don't think you should've been executed back then?
 * C - My thoughts remain irrelevant.
 * P - So you think that reeve Eckart's judgement was... inappropriate?
 * C - I think that is a question for Abbot of Schola, if you wish...
 * P - Don't beat around the bush! Tell me, why you think reeve Eckart flogged you instead of shooting?
 * C - Because I'm special.
 * P - In what way?
 * C - Every way.

Phillip Ancalya left the Schola day after the interviews, accompanied by his new pupil, Ceridwen Lothringen.

Interrogator
Ceridwen, spending time with Phillip, started to loose her official (some might say; political) way of speech. Her overall image became a bit more freed but she still preserved her just nature and in her early years she was dubbed as Ceridwen "Just" Lothringen by Phillip's colleagues.

Ceridwen gained the rank of explicator when she was took by Phillip from Schola in 446.M41. To Phillip's disappointment, Ceridwen couldn't manifest any kind of psychic powers and actually had a bit negative psychic level, sigma. She was able to communicate only via vox which made some operations more difficult. Phillip himself had a gift of telepathy which he regularly used during investigations. Ceridwen became ever able to talk telepathically with Tearlach Rosenstein due his unnaturally high psychic aptitude.

To make her flaws off, she proved herself over and over again to her master. In 447.M41 she received rank of interrogator after terminating Trio-Judges of Vidar who controlled over frontier world Vidar with laws of their own. She disliked the nature of assassination operation and when she started to investigate the black market of rogue psykers with Phillip, she asked more straightforward way of investigations. This Phillip however denied and Ceridwen was forced to act undercover.

At the end of 448.M41 Ceridwen managed to uncover the origins of the black market onto the world of Prosphorant and finally to the inquisitorial cabal known as Conclave of Prosphorant. Gathering all available data and records from conclave's computers, she tranferred them to Phillip and confronted the conclave by herself. Wearing the power armour gifted by Canoness-Superior Amelia Exonos of Order of White Maiden, she took rights in her own hands, assaulted the conclave's headquarters with a band of storm troopers that were hidden on the planet. Assault lasted eight hours and ended in executions of 53 rogue psykers, inquisitors Lala and Orell Napier, Tibor Knox, Gaetano Vidal, Rajmund Fusco, Judge-Commander Ignacy Dwyer and planetary governor Urbain Yost. This was met with great outrage and at least inquisitors Angir Fex and Karr Dunian declared Ceridwen Excommunicate Traitoris and went after her.

Inquisitor
Ceridwen was soon apprehended and captured alongside her storm trooper squad's leftovers on Prosphorant. Inquisitor Angir Fex was the first to reach Ceridwen and put her into custody before they left the planet for Heios Prime, where inquisitorial palace of Ordos Iox was located. High Council of Ordos Iox gathered and scrutinized Ceridwen's log-marks, information and data that was retrieved from Conclave of Prosphorant's computers. Joseph Ancalya as an acting Master of Ordo Hereticus declared the case in halt before inquisitor Phillip Ancalya, his brother, was apprehended because of his interrogator's acts. Three months later, Phillip Ancalya was brought in front of the High Council by inquisitor Corey "Crow" Nemes. Many long hours were spent inside the inquisitorial palace's courthouse before the case was concluded.

As a result, Excommunicate Traitors declarations were lifted off of Ceridwen Lothringen's head and she was given a status of full-fledged inquisitor by High Council of Ordos Iox. She remains one of the fifteen inviduals who have gained the rank of inquisitor this way.

Before apprehended, Phillip Ancalya was leading investigations of what he refused to talk about to anyone when he and Ceridwen stayed in Inquisitorial Palace. Corey Nemes had however ruined his leads and so he had no work to do. High Council of Ordos Iox requested that Phillip and Ceridwen would take a look upon the Velgram's World, frontier world inside Ferghost Colonies sub-sector, of which local authorities had requested some investigations to be set upon the ruins of Rosenstein city.

Tearlach Rosenstein
It was early 450.M41 when Phillip Ancalya and Ceridwen Lothringen set their feet upon the Velgram's World. The two inquisitors set down in a city of Port Royal, the major (and only) space port on the world. They started their investigations and with the help of Primaris Psyker Hugh Hanson, an old friend of Phillip, they managed to uncover the dark menace inside Rosenstein city.

The investigations revealed that an uncontrolled psyker had lived within the ruins of the city, propably for many years. With careful and, for Ceridwen at least, ponderous planning Hugh Hanson and Phillip Ancalya came to an agreement how to act with the psyker. Ceridwen, possessing a slightly negative psychic level, was chosen to capture the psyker. To secure Ceridwen's body and mind during the procedure, Hugh and Phillip painted her skin full of hexagrammic wards and enchanted her power armour with the best possible protection available.

Crawing for action, Ceridwen took up with the challenge that Phillip and Hugh offered and covered with purity seals and other litanies of faith, she armed herself with a shock maul, webber and a shotgun as back-up weapon. As Phillip and Hugh were left behind, outside of the city borders, Ceridwen ventured inside the ruins. Soon after she got into the ruins the vox contact with Phillip was cut off and after one or two hours she started to hear and smell all kinds of strange things. A veil of darkness started to surround her and she was unable to get any readings out of psi-tracker or psyocculum she had used, she pushed forwards. After a while the veil started to lift off so she walked back, completely sure that the source of it was there where the veil completely closed in. Determined to find her price, she ignored the sounds that resembled a coarse flute playing, all kinds of shrouded green and violet creatures that came to her only to disperse at touch. As Ceridwen walked to the way the veil started to close in again she could see her parents impaled on spikes, and it all felt so real to her that she was almost losing it. More people emerged from the darkness, some flayed from head to toe, some without head or limbs, they all screamed in agony and ran in dismay. Amidst the running and screaming humans there were tall, slender figures with horned heads, their forms shrouded in shadows. All of them had fierce burning eyes of green flames and their Ceridwen could feel how their gaze burned through her skin into her heart and thoughts. The whole world seemed to go mad, she had never witnessed such violence that surrounded her then and there, and never would. Crows of black and white ripped the hearts of opened rib cages as the corpse ate some other mangled human.

It was then, at the brink of madness, when the young inquisitor stumbled in her own feet and fell through the veil of darkenss into the daylight. Carefully looking around, she found herself inside a chapel with fallen roof. Wide altar of white marble stood firmly in front of her, Imperial Eagle carved upon its front and the light of setting sun flooded from the hole in the wall. Behind the dust covered altar peaked a small boy, coated in filth, his plain grey hair were arm lenght, nails overgrown and infected. In his blood-stained hands he held a dead, blue-feathered bird. Ceridwen was left amazed. On Prosphorant just a year ago she had slaughtered psykers, covered in mystic tattoos and scars, all demonic in their own right, trying to pierce her mind and body alike with bolts of feral energy of warp. A small boy was not something she had expected. Taking a look in psyocculum she held in her hands, that bird holding boy clearly was a psyker, but was it one she was looking for? How could she know? Cautiosly she offered her hand for the boy, who clearly was curious above all else. Not a hint of hate or aggression was left upon boy's face and after a moment the boy came, crawling on all fours, to Ceridwen who did not hesitate when the chance came taking the shock maul from her belt and smashing the boy unconscious with it.

Ceridwen delivered the boy for Phillip and Hugh, who took him and after days of talking and planning, the boy was taken by Phillip on An Romos Prime where Ceridwen's former master's estate was located. Hugh Hanson returned to his duties within Astra Militarum regiments of Exerces.

Failure on Phoens
Destroying Conclave of Prosphorant prior her assignment to inquisitor was left to be Ceridwen's greatest achievement. She soon noticed that as her former master took his time with the boy found on Velgram's World, Tearlach Rosenstein, she was left quite lonely. For months she tried to figure out new jobs and leads or anything. It was not her nature to be doing nothing and she travelled on Heios Prime in Schola Progenium to seek some advices from the Abbot of Schola. Abbot, carrying thrice as many years as Ceridwen, was pleased to have a chance to meddle with Inquisition's business and gladfully gave some advices for his former cadet.

After long conversations the Abbot points Ceridwen towards a ring of drug smugglers that are known to operate on industrial world of Phoens. How the Abbot came to know of such band of criminals remains unknown. After the meeting, the Abbot gave Ceridwen a greatsword that was wielded by her ancestor Velgram d'Ark, as a gift.

Ceridwen had never enjoyed other people's present and even if the Abbot asked her to take a cadet or two with her, she refused. She made her way on Phoens and in couple of months with the direct aid from Phoens's Arbites, she tracked down at least dozen major dealers. Acting rashly, she assaulted one of the slum areas with planetary enforcers and handful of Arbites that acted as her personal retinue. Quickly learning the well-earned untrustworthiness of planetary enforcers, she was betrayed and a full scale battle flamed in the streets of District 8-9. With her Arbites bodyguard she cleaved a path of blood out of District 8-9 after what she quickly gathered mobilised Arbites forces who with Repressor APCs destroyed blocks of District 8-9 and killing almost five thousand citizens before the revolt settled down. All leads to the smugglers were lost and Ceridwen left ashamed. Her rashness had costed a lot.

Cleaning up most of the mess left behind, she tried to uncover the smugglers again in couple months but the ring had sniffed out the presence of inquisitor and gone underground. Furious of this, Ceridwen led full-scale investigations upon enforcers of Phoens and personally hacked off the heads of 155 enforcers.

Crow and Lioness
After her failure on Phoens, Ceridwen banded together with an older inquisitor Corey "Crow" Nemes who was more or less part of Ancalyan's Cabal similar to Ceridwen. Corey, known of his repulsive manners and tolerant nature towards mutants and abhumans, took a great pride when given a chance to work with Ceridwen who was in a way a legend already. Corey Nemes was gifted in finding people and other things and so Ceridwen, even if disgusted of Corey's unorthodox methods, agreed to work with him.

In the following years Corey helped Ceridwen to track down the smuggling ring. They ventured deep into Bassenheim Expanse, wilderness space behind Gateway of Necareth and Saint's Rift sub-sector, finally reaching the origins of some of the narcotics dealed by the ring. Huge amounts of obscura and spook were manufactured on a remote space station, scratch-built around an old cruiser class ship. Now as the Corey had tracked down the criminals, Ceridwen played her part in the show and with heavily armoured boarding squad, she assaulted the station. Two Black Ships had silently crawled in range of the station and when the boarding assault started to go further away, many smaller ships left the station only to be shot apart by the Black Ships. Over 500 tons of obscura were taken by the Inquisition and fifteen leaders of the ring captured while 28 were outright killed during boarding. Fifteen leaders were taken upon the world of Siracia and by the holy whips of Adeptus Ministorum they were flogged to death in front of cheering crowd.

In 454.M41 Ceridwen returned on An Romos Prime and took her time with some paperworks. During that time she met Tearlach who was already almost human. Creative and dexterous of his hands, Tearlach gave Ceridwen a headband made of long, blue feathers.

As a counter-favour for Corey Nemes, Ceridwen accepted to help him to acquire a relic. Silent about the relic's contents, Ceridwen grew vary of her sly colleague. After visiting countless worlds and gaining little to no information from his colleague, Ceridwen started to sleep one eye open. Finally she took rights in her own hands and went through all Corey's dataslates, tablets and notebooks after giving him sufficient dose of tranquilizers to keep him unconscious. Of all what she understood, it seemed that Corey had been slowly uncovering a mystery buried deep within the Twin Colonies in Bassenheim Nebula. Ceridwen, uncertain of what to do made contact with Ordos Iox and demanded that further investigations take place concerning Corey's acts. Doping Corey until she reached An Romos Prime's Inquisitorial Palace again, she arranged a meeting with inquisitors Angir Fex and Karr Dunian, who she knew to be pure of their heart.

High Council of Ordos Iox took the matter of Corey Nemes and confiscated his Inquisitorial Rosette. Angir, Karr and Ceridwen headed on the planet of Otropha, second one of the Lost Twins and beneath the surface they found a great tomb of a sort. Inside the tomb hundreds and thousands immobile humanoid figures of gleaming metal stood still in an eerie blue glow. Small spider-like constructs crawled the floors and high walls. None of the three inquisitors could tell what the tomb was for but they were dead certain, that it was not made by human hands. Corey Nemes was interrogated for fifteen days, both physical and psychic means and tortured beyond normal human's imagination but he gave no information about his project with the tomb. Inquisitors Ceridwen Lothringen, Angir Fex and Karr Dunian declared Corey "Crow" Nemes as a traitor and heretic and Ceridwen Lothringen took his head off before High Council could ask for further investigations to take place.

All three inquisitors were made to vow not to say a word for any living person about it and all records regarding Corey Nemes were suppressed after that. The Lost Twins were put under quarantine, all further knowledge about the case was so well suppressed that Ceridwen never heard anything about the Tomb of Iron Men.

Taint in Nightshores
It was year 457.M41, when Ceridwen decided to take a vacation by the request of his old master Phillip. She stayed with Tearlach in Phillip Ancalyan's estate when Phillip was on some secret mission he refused to tell about. During this time Ceridwen came to know many people associated with Ancalyan's Cabal. Even if she was formally named to be part of it, she had never really made any contacts within it. Now as she stayed in Phillip's estate to keep things in order and record the raports of her colleagues she met many people. Primaris Psyker Hugh Hanson was an old friend of her and he visited the estate from time to time. There was inquisitor Janna Napier, cousin to the twins Lala and Orell Napier who Ceridwen had executed before she became an inquisitor. Master Hereticus Joseph Ancalya, who was Phillip's older brother, Master Malleus and Grandmaster Iox Olga "Pureheart" Volak of Ordos Iox's High Council. Even one of her own, though distant, relative Kjeld d'Ark, the acting prefect of Iox Marches. She became to understand the vast network of connection that Ancalyan's Cabal offered when she had to answer messages from rogue trader Cornelius von Gundrad and pass birthday wishes from High Cardinal Iox himself to Phillip. When Phillip returned 460.M41 Ceridwen had already had long conversations with the acting Commander Jaak Andres of Bosen Grenadiers about the golden beaches of Lothringen Primus and with Arch-Deacon Watse Anjema of Canacorka fortress world about the joy of having children. Not that he had any but for Ceridwen it seemed like he would've wanted some.

When Phillip returned, he asked Ceridwen to take Tearlach on Heios Prime to Schola Progenium Heios. She did as she was bid and took Tearlach to the Abbot and left for Saint Seren's Hope to visit Amelia Exonos with whom Ceridwen had been in contact with while watching over Phillip's estate. When Ceridwen finally reached the Saint Seren's Hope she had heard stressing news of the conditions of planets in Nightshores. Petty heretics and all kind of warp-mongers had spawned upon the worlds of Exerces and Rigobel systems. Ceridwen rushed to the shrine of Saint Seren and the massive monastery built around it and looked Amelia in her hands.

Amelia Exonos expressed her worries about the state of Nightshores to Ceridwen. She soon realised that many deacons and preachers have died of all sorts of poxies and other diseases with common citizens and the cardinals and other high ranking members off Ecclesiarchy had shut themselves inside their own households to stay safe of the raging diseases. Before departing the monastery, Ceridwen visited the shrine of Saint Seren that was located in a windowless, round hall, where only single black candle burned, surrounded by snow white feathers that were said to be feathers from Saint Seren's wings. There, confirmed by Shrine Guardian Aliya Rose, Saint Seren appeared for Ceridwen and though the true words said by Saint Seren are lost in whirl of rumours, it was said that the Flame of the Lightbringer was carried by Ceridwen. Soon after this inquisitor raised the Sororitas preceptory from Saint Seren's Hope and led a new crusade over the Nightshores. Order of the White Maiden followed her with zeal and respect and after burning the chaotic cults on Exerces and Rigobel systems Ceridwen tracked in great fervour the origins of them to the feral world Vermillion Rock and killed Dark Apostle of Word Bearers chaos space marine legion that had started the cults. Vermillion Rock was purged from the chaotic filth brought there by the Dark Apostle and after that Purge of Rigobel system took place. "Innocence proves nothing! Burn them all."

- Ceridwen Lothringen during the Night of Flames

Purge over Nightshores lasted for nine years in total and the Sororitas of Order of White Maiden pledged to be ever-loyal servants of the lightbringer of their Saint.

Field Inquisitor
After Purge over Nightshores Master Hereticus Joseph Ancalya asked Ceridwen to come on Heios Prime. After showy paradase on Saint Seren's Hope, Ceridwen bid farewell to Amelia Exonos and left for Heios Prime.

Master Hereticus, already closing the age of hundred Terran years, he had grown patient and longsighted plotter. He and Ceridwen had long conversations about Ceridwen's recent acts in Nightshores and Ceridwen's ability to raise such zeal amidst the ranks of Sororitas. Giving complete reports about the purge, Ceridwen left the Inquisitorial Palace for Saint Seren's Hope to see Amelia and Tearlach. Contents of the conversations between Joseph and Ceridwen were never leaked to anyone else but after that Ceridwen took a long vacation and got some distance for the life of inquisitor. During this time she trained in the monastery of Order of White Maiden alongside the Sisters of Battle and gained personal influence on Saint Seren's Hope. More than twice she visited the Cardinal Broen Dulf and took part in great parties of noble-born where her name was already familiar even if she knew very few people.

Growing tired of such inactivity, Ceridwen started to gather information in her own way. In 473.M41 she traveled into Ferghost Colonies and first months gathered information about mercenaries and more-or-less-renegades that resided on the sparsely populated worlds of sub-sector. She eventually bumped up to rogue trader Cornelius von Gundrad, who willingly shared some of his informants with Ceridwen in order to gain some "inquisitorial favour". "I only wish my mistress had her fire..."

- Cornelius Amadeus von Gundrad about Ceridwen Lothringen

For two years Ceridwen roamed the Iox sector under name of Jozefa Ulysses creating a vast network of informants and spies, until finally she received information about plans of massive outbreak of Dorsova system's prisons. She quickly headed to Karles system where she raised three brigades of Karles Grenadiers and when she finally set her course to Dorsova system, reports of massive revolts and outbreaks reached her ears.

Sending astropathic messages to her former master Phillip Ancalya, she organized brigades of Karles under the most prominent leaders found within and deployed whole three brigades upon the planet Dorsova Pi. Somewhat 36.000 heavy infantry troopers formed Strike-Viper force and started to systematically cull the prisoners that had run hiding in the marshes of planet's northern territory. It took three weeks, when Phillip Ancalya arrived in the system and deployed by the Ceridwen's orders on Dorsova Pi-2, under codename Strike-Cobra, where escapees were reported to break armouries.

The most psychotic killers and sociopaths off Iox sector were formitable force to fight with and before Karles Grenadiers's managed to break the prisoners that had broken into Dorsova Pi's northern armoury, the task force suffered great losses from heavy bolter and auto-cannon fire unleashed by salvaging prisoner forces. After reclaiming the armoury, Ceridwen ordered all troops to change their special weaponry to flamers and heavy flamers found in great numbers in the vaults of armoury. "Let the justice be done! Burn them all."

- Ceridwen Lothringen during Kindling of Prisoners

When more requested troops arrived on Dorsova Pi, Ceridwen led half of the reinforcements upon Dorsova Pi-2 where Strike-Cobra's progress was stalled by organised prisoner bands. Deployed via Navy's Valkyrie Airborne Assault Carriers, Ceridwen smashed right into the armoury breaking the escapees's morale and driving them off only to be shot later. Three months later penal worlds were put under Imperial rule again and Karles Grenadiers formed the new PDF.

Gaining taste for war, Ceridwen asked permission from Ordos Iox to be stationed in the raging warzones of Gregora sector where chaotic cults had denounced Imperial Law and Order and established an empire of their own. Informing mostly destroyed Gregoran Conclave, Ceridwen made her way to Gregora sector and was quickly introduced into the staff of Lord Militant Corentine Ezekiel as supervising member taking the post of the couple months earlier assassinated General-Commissar.

Ceridwen acted in the Battlegourp Eta during the 15th Gregoran Reformation all the way to the 484.M41 when the sector was introduced under Astra Militarum junta. Now tired and sick of war and blood, her fire had burned off and when she returned in Iox she kept by herself much more than earlier.

Cardinal Heresy
Ceridwen spent first years after the wars inside a hermit monastery on Saint Seren's Hope until in 487.M41 Amelia Exonos pushed Ceridwen on her way again. Contacting Cornelius von Gundrad, Ceridwen started to remake her network that was left unattended after she left into Gregora. Carefully regrouping all her old associates she created the network again and started to follow a trail of unsanctioned weapon deals. After a while she started the Blessed Poet Cabal which was merely a cell within the Ancalyan's Cabal.

She shunned the works of her half-brother Tearlachwhen when they were published in 488.M41 and was left out of the court held by High Council to decide the matter whether they were completely heretical or only partially. Ceridwen however acquired thesis "Psyche of Living Beings" when Tearlach sent the original manuscript to her to keep it safe from the High Council. After inner conflict of many hours, Ceridwen finally took the manuscript and red it from cover to cover. The potent of the thesis was mostly overlook by her colleagues, and the theses were shunned from public and hidden beneath the locked labyrinth of forbidden tomes under Inquisitorial Palace. Ceridwen however learned the many ways to capture and hold a psyker properly, without harming the "subject", as Tearlach wrote, and how to keep oneself safe from mind probing. When finished the book, Ceridwen grinned for Tearlach's hand-written comment on the last page: "...of course, there is no safe haven from my mind and even the deepest secrets and removed memories can be regained by my glorious powers that the Emperor on the Golden Throne has given to me in His holy grace".

Ceridwen acted undercover under her alias Jozefa Ulysses for numerous missions where she tried to apply Tearlach's studies to field work. More or less of the thesis's content was true enough to keep Ceridwen safe from psykers and so she brought further info to the High Council of Ordos Iox in 490.M41 to reconsider theses fate and Tearlach's position in the ranks of Inquisition. Tearlach was nominated as an inquisitor half a year later when he took and left to the Ordo Xenos.

Ceridwen kept her little secret hidden from prying eyes and ears and continued to follow the million leads and billion hints about the weapon smugglers. In 490.M41 it appeared that more or less human slave market was involved in the smuggler's ring and when she finally got a hold on one of the key members of the ring, she found out what was going on. On the next day she departed to the cardinal planet d'Anglos Prime and on the day after that she received a distress signal from Tearlach who was captured by the Ecclesiarchal witch hunters and was being held on d'Anglos Prime. As fast as the warp let her, Ceridwen ventured on d'Anglos Prime and made her way to the chambers of the High Cardinal Iox. Had she not grown some character during her years away in Gregora, High Cardinal Iox would have lost his head without the second thought but now Ceridwen tried to act politically.

Her leads concerning the weapon and slave market had ultimately led to the very room she was standing in with Tearlach Rosenstein on the next day.

Tearlach
 * 450 - Found
 * 460 - Schola Progena
 * 470-473 - Amelia's servant on SSH
 * 475 - Dorsova Revolts
 * 485 - Project Assignment
 * 488 - theses published
 * 490 - inquisitor
 * disappeared shortly afterwards
 * 491 - d'Anglos Incident
 * 504 - Howling of the Saint's Rift
 * 506 - Fall of Menegron Municipalities
 * Tearlach disappears after Ancalyan's Cabal is apprehended and executed by Big-C