Vritra the Howler

"The mere fact that a line still exists to be crossed means that our work is not done, my friends. Where we walk, nothing is sacred."

- Vritra the Howler The one thing anyone can be sure of about the infamous Noise Champion and mercenary, Vritra the Howler, is that he is from Chemos. In truth, it's the only thing that he is sure about in his own past. Millenia passing through the warp, partaking in countless drugs, raids and orgies of depravity have all but robbed the creature of his own past memories. Not that he cares at all. As far as Vritra is concerned, the only thing worth living for is the moment. A true and utter nihilist, Vritra cares for absolutely nothing other than his insane quest for Slaanesh and spending every waking moment indulging in cacophonous, roiling excess.

History
Despite fighting at the side of Fulgrim, Lucius, Eidolon and other famous members of his legion, Vritra remembers very little about his fellow Third Legionaires. His clearest memories are of experiencing the Laeran-inspired performance that spawned the first Noise Marines, and participating in the massacre at Istvaan V. Beyond that it begins to blur. His presence has been seen in many battles ever since, as he and his Noise Marine cult, the Screaming Rapture, devastate the opposition with sonic weapons before defiling and desecrating everything they can get their claws on.

The Maraviglia touched Vritra in a way that nothing else ever had in the remembrance hall, with his fellow Emperor's Children. As the assembled mortals and Astartes erupted into an insane spree of depravity and foulness, Vritra felt the power of Chaos awaken in him a terrible addiction, and urge to reach the emotional heights he felt when he heard Kynska's masterpiece. The decades of the Horus Heresy blur into one immense binge on chemicals as Vritra sought ever to artificially induce the perfect ecstasy he felt that day. The quest finally culminated when his ship, The Flayed Lady, as it retreated from Terra, made their way back to the Laer homeworld, as if drawn there by the Warp. There he found facilities housing genetic samples of Laeran DNA, which Vritra used to make narcotics for him and his crew.

The answer was plain and simple. Narcotics and other chemicals could allow someone blessed by the Dark Prince of Chaos to experience immeasurable heights of sensation and pleasure, but nothing could come for free. In order for Slaanesh to provide this experience, tribute had to be paid, tribute in the form of living souls. In order to impress his goddess, and to prove himself the ultimate Xenoticant, Vritra vowed to find and consume the narcotic flavor of every sentient being he could, all in glorious tribute to Slaanesh.

For centuries thereafter, Vritra and his small cult of Noise Marines, the Screaming Rapture, would go from battlefield to battlefield, hiring themselves out as mercenaries to any Chaos Lord willing to offer something interesting for the Rapture to consume. Unlike many Noise Marines, the Screaming Rapture tended to be too focused on the object of their desire to turn on their allies, and Vritra developed a reputation for being somewhat more reliable than his brethren. The Flayed Lady became as much a pleasure barge as it was a battlecruiser, refilling the slave stocks and recruiting cultists from anyone left alive after the Rapture had begun to tire of a location, knowing that the only ones who would be willing to come with them were either utterly broken or as mad as they were.

Currently, Vritra and the Rapture are employed by the Serpent Kings, who utilize their services as enforcers in ruling the Shiva system within the Eye of Terror. After decades of deranged, messy indulgence, the Rapture has found it an amusing hobby to pretend to be the decadent daemon gods that the populace of Shiva think they are. Prayers are offered to avert the Screaming Rapture's attention, a phenomenon that amuses Vritra enough that he may even spare those who offer a good sacrifice, or decide to join the Rapture in the fun.

Unlike Virgil or Vasuki, Vritra is a true nihilist, who believes in Slaanesh simply because she allows him his indulgences, which suits her just fine. Vritra will kill or violate anything with a pulse, mostly on one of his random, insane whims. The only thing Vritra can be counted on to do is something unexpected.

Vritra has impressed Slaanesh to the level that he has received some dark blessings. First and most obvious is that he is fused into his suit, his nerves forming a spider web-like lattice over the outside of his armor, allowing him to experience sensation through it. His second blessing is his daemonic sword Nervescream.

Notable Campaigns

 * Cleansing of 28-3 (Laeran) (ca. 000.M31) - Vritra, Bal-Serath and Mikael of an unknown company of Emperor's Children participated in the cleansing of Laeran of the serpentine xeno species.
 * Istvaan III Atrocity (005.M31)  - Vritra and his squad participated in massacring the loyalist remnants of the Emperor's Children.
 * Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V (006.M31)  - Vritra and his squad are inducted into the Kakophoni, the first Noise Marines.
 * Battle of Terra (014.M31) - Under the command of Fulgrim, Lucius and Eidolon, Vritra was present at the Siege of Terra, and like his fellow Emperor's Children, got bored with the grueling, exhausting siege effort and plundered the civilians of Earth, killing hundreds of thousands and turning the majority into combat drugs.
 * Slave Wars (Unknown Date. M31) - Like the rest of the Emperor's Children Legion, Vritra assisted Fabius Bile in stealing the corpse of Horus and cloning him, however he survived the destruction of Harmony as he was aboard The Flayed Lady in orbit when Abaddon destroyed it. While he never joined the official contingent of Black Legion Slaaneshi, the Children of Torment, Vritra has no problem with the Black Legion and has worked freelance with them on several Black Crusades.
 * Battle of Skalathrax (Unknown Date.M31)  - Vritra and the rest of the Emperor's Children battled the World Eaters on Skalathrax. The battle was ended when Kharn the Betrayer burnt down their shelters in the face of a freezing blizzard, causing an immense free-for all. Vritra and his squad lost three members, leaving only him, Bal-Sareth and Mikael, who managed to fight their way back to their ship.
 * Thirteenth Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Screaming Rapture, as well as many other Noise Marines under the command of Lucius the Eternal, participated in the 13th Black Crusade.

Personality
"Anyone who ever truly says they have had enough has simply not considered all the possibilities."

- Vritra the Howler

Vritra is like any other Noise Champion of the Pleasure God, in that he is vain, brutal, utterly sociopathic and addicted to so many substances that he has them flowing through his veins at all times. Despite this, however, Vritra tends to get along fine with other champions of chaos, regardless of Legion, warband or background. Despite other Emperor's Children tending to be haughty and condescending toward other Astartes, Vritra does not care much about bloodline and or ancestry, even allowing a Night Lord Noise Marine join the Rapture. This is not to imply any form of moral standard of course, it's simply that he has already violated, ground up and consumed humans and fellow Astartes so many times that it has simply become boring to indulge in.

Because of his devotion to keeping himself in the highest possible emotional state, Vritra is often overly jovial and constantly cheerful, often to a dissonantly sociopathic degree. Extensive and mostly amateur surgery have removed any portion of his brain that can even perceive anything negatively, allowing Vritra to constantly be a friendly, affable monster.

The only time this changes is when Vritra is denied his high or kept from tasting the essence of a truly new chemical. At those points, Vritra's personality becomes hollow and obviously fake, though still seemingly serene and relaxed. Because of these tendencies, it is very difficult to tell when Vritra has snapped until it is too late.

Appearance
Vritra is of a fairly average height and build for a space marine, with his power armor so warped and mutated that any sign of livery or finery is either long gone or blended impossibly with the organic mess, further obscuring his original rank and identity.

His service to Slaanesh has come with a mutation along with his Mark, as a Chaos Champion. He is fused into his suit of power armor, beneath which pulses writhing muscle bonded directly to machinery. A lattice of exposed nerves, like a meaty spiderweb, are bonded to the ceramite plate and transmit all sensations to Vritra, making the armor take the place of his actual skin.

Vritra wears a Doom Siren on his back, bonded to his power armor with both machinery and mutated, writhing organic parts. Speakers on the Siren are bonded directly to Vritra's vocal cords, earning his infamous nickname.

Finally, Vritra possesses a Daemonic sword, yet another gift of Slaanesh known as Nervescream. This sword is a large scimitar that appears to be made of twisted meat and bone.

Equipment

 * Mutated Mark V Heresy Power Armor - Vritra has remained in the same suit of Power Armor since the Dropsite Massacre on Istvaan V. The suit has bonded to his body in all possible ways, allowing the Astartes a degree of flexibility and grace comparable to wearing no armor at all. Because of its mutated and organic nature, the armor can heal damage to itself over time.
 * Doom Siren - Backpack mounted and connected to Vritra's vocal chords and lungs directly, allowing the Noise Champion to release the devastating howl he is named for. The Doom Siren amplifies the sound into a cone of condensed noise capable of liquifying organic matter and causing catastrophic failure in any kind of delicate system.
 * Nervescream - A daemonically infested Power Sword recovered by Vritra from the world of Laeran, where he returned after the warband retreated from Terra. Nervescream is an immense, curved scimitar carved from smoothed bone and covered in pulsing veins. Even the slightest touch of Nervescream amplifies even the smallest sensation to that of blinding agony. Of course, this applies to anyone wielding Nervescream as well, ensuring that only a true devotee of Slaanesh could endure it.

Relations/Employers
'''Feel free to add your own. Vritra is more than happy to work for any Chaos Lord to offer him new experiences and drugs.'''
 * St. Virgil the Immaculate - Chaos Lord of the Serpent Kings.
 * Abbadon the Despoiler - Warmaster of the Black Legion. Vritra and the Screaming Rapture partook in the 13th Black Crusade under the command of Lucius the Eternal, along with many other warbands of Emperor's Children.
 * The Red Hand Night Lords - Fought alongside them, spreading terror as mercenaries.
 * Dark Covenant

The Screaming Rapture
The Screaming Rapture are Vritra's personal band of Noise Marines. Unlike many of these Slaaneshi war-parties, Vritra is not exclusive in his men, and will allow members of any Astartes legion or chapter, provided they are truly devoted champions of Slaanesh.
 * Dirge - A Night Lord Noise Marine, a cold and cruel scientist of experiences. Known for enjoying consuming the brain matter of his victims to enjoy their sensations.
 * Alpharius - Alpharius is an anomaly. Despite that in all ways being a child of the Third Legion, even genetically, Alpharius claims to be an Alpha Legion agent who turned to Slaanesh when he was sent among the Emperor's Children. No one knows if he is telling the truth, lying, or utterly insane. None of the Rapture care terribly as he is still Slaaneshi to the core.
 * Salazar the Shaper  - Chosen and champion of Slaanesh, and formerly of the flesh-sculpting Violators warband. Master of flesh-shaping, for medicinal, recreational and tactical purposes. Dual wields lightning claws which are wired directly into the pleasure-centers of his brain, sending a stimulating bolt of electricity up there every time the claws carve into flesh.
 * Bal-Sareth - Noise Marine of the Screaming Rapture, originally from the Emperor's Children.
 * Mikael, the Laughing Swordsman - Noise Marine, also formerly of the Emperor's Children. Arrogant and witty duelist, and a veteran of Skallathrax. Wears a repainted Khorne Berzerker helm to mock the blood-god.

Quotes
Feel free to add your own!"Alright, mortals. We welcome you to the festivities. Everyone grab something sharp or heavy. Now, whoever survives the next few minutes will have the privilege of accompanying us. Make us proud."

- Vritra, recruiting cultists for his ship. "You are nothing but cattle, and you think like cattle. When threatened, you back into a corner and bleat like a scared lamb. We do this not for vengeance, not for ancient guilt or grudge. We do this simply because it is who we are. We like it, and you cannot stop us."

- Vritra the Howler