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The character I wanted was one that had been taken on by the Inquisition fairly recently, but was starting to get to grips with life in the 400th century. Consequently he's got a curious mix of clothing and equipment from his days on his primitive world, and fancy new stuff he's taken a liking to - gruesome trophies sitting happily next to combat webbing, refusing to use a gun over the bows he's grown up with but being quite happy to shoot exploding arrows out of them, etc.

This aspect was quite convenient from a modelling point of view because it meant I didn't have to go too far out of my way to get rid of the high-tech stuff - it quite fits the character that he'd be wearing some modern clothing as well as his tribal stuff, so it actually works pretty well.

Born into a primitive warrior society on the planet Aleron, Kayen'taye was a member of a nomadic tribe, one of many that inhabited the fertile southern continent of the world. These tribes followed the movements across the vast veldt-plains of the giant herd-animals that they hunted for their meat and hides.

Every Migration, Kayen'taye's tribe would pass within a hundred miles or so of an obscure arrangement of standing stones, unlike any other formation on the world in its texture and appearance. Simply called The Stones, they were believed to be a place sacred to the spirits that guided the people of Aleron and therefore many offerings of food were left there as the various tibes passed by them, to attempt to appease them. This idea proved somewhat prescient, although hardly in the way that was thought, since it was through these stones that the galaxy at large was to make itself known to the awestruck people of Aleron.

The role of Traveller - one of those who make the journey to the stones with offerings, named for the metaphorical journey to the spirit world as well as the physical trek to the site - was always given to the strongest warriors of the tribe, to show the proper respect to the spirits they were honouring with the sacrifices. Twenty-five Migrations had passed in the life of Kayen'taye by the time he was selected by the council of elders as worthy enough for the task, and it was with great pride that he and the two other Travellers set off for the Stones.

One of the Travellers, a woman named Namar'aya, had taken on the role once before, and when they arrived at the Stones she swore blind that something was wrong. Although she could not place it she was sure that something had moved, or that one of the intricate, flowing designs on the Stones had changed shape or colour. Uneasy at what could be a bad omen, the young Travellers nonetheless made their offerings, performed the proper rites and left to make their way back to their tribe.

It was on returning that they realised that the omen, far from merely bad, had been terrible. Their tent village was being attacked from above, by some kind of awful flying monsters disgorging dark, demonic figures which were setting about the tribesmen with diabolical weaponry. At once terrified, mystified and angered, the three young warriors took the only course they could have; they drew their weapons and sprinted towards the village to fight off the attackers.

Before they reached it they were bewildered to see more flying creatures plummet into the village like falling stars and send forth warriors of their own, larger than the dark demons and clad in faceless, shining metal, who set about the first group of invaders with deafening magical weaponry of their own. Had they been watching objectively the three would have been overawed but spurred by the need to defend their people they continued on.

By the time they arrived and joined the fight the armoured invaders seemed to be prevailing; the dark warriors were retreating to their flying mounts and soaring away, dragging struggling tribesfolk with them. Kayen'taye saw his father and sister pulled up onto the back of one of the beasts by six of the dark attackers, screaming in their agony as brutal hooks and chains hoisted them away. Near panic he ran towards the thing, the village burning around him, and as he came the warriors appeared to recognise that he was kin to their captives; they jeered and taunted him. In desperation he bellowed a battle cry and hurled his war-axe towards the creature as it rose from the ground. At least one of the spirits had stayed on his side because the weapon appeared to sever part of the monster as it span and it sank back to the ground, the power of flight stripped from it.

Without breaking stride Kayen'taye barreled into the black-clad demons. They had not readied their weapons and were still shocked at the crippling of their steed, and as they turned to fight he began to slaughter them, his blades finding throats and guts even through their thick, dark skins. Before he could strike them all down, though, the last remaining demon slashed at his two captives with a double-bladed knife, killing them instantly before turning to face Kayen'taye with the knife raised. With a cry of despair the young warrior dashed aside the blade and sank his own sword deep into the startled demon's chest.

The battle seemed to be over. The armoured warriors had won, and fortunately they seemed to bear no ill towards what was left of the tribe. Yet another airborne creature, larger still, descended with a howl, and the metal warriors began to climb into its belly. The last warrior to leave, its armour more ornate than the others, turned to him and spoke before he clambered aboard the monster. The words and syntax were strange and hard to follow, as if they had a slightly different meaning to that which Kayen'taye was interpreting, but he was amazed to find that, with effort, he followed them: "The Highest Ruler weeps for your loss but you honour Him with your prowess and bravery. May you find calmness on reflection of this." With that the monster took off with a mighty screech, and all the aliens were gone.

Kayen'taye took in the aftermath of the battle. He was the only survivor. The tents were razed. The other people, including his fellow Travellers, were all either dead, or taken captive by the black demons as they had fled. Many bodies, both Aleronian and demon, littered the ground around them. None of the armoured warriors appeared to have been killed. Perhaps they had been the spirits themselves, come to avenge the demons' desecration of their stone temple? If so they had been too late to protect their people. Kayen'taye looked around him, truly taking in the carnage for the first time, and wept.

It was then, in the quiet, that he realised he was not completely alone. Three figures approached: one looking intently towards him, one appearing rather nonplussed, and the other - with arms of metal! - taking great care to examine the dead and dying demons and their weapons. They looked like men but carried weapons like those of the demons and spirits, and they were dressed in the style of neither, sporting instead a miscellaneous assortment of obscure fabrics and designs. The one who appeared interested in him, clad in a great dark cloak and carrying a blade that had teeth like a beast, spoke, using the same archaic, awkward dialect as the spirit-captain: with effort, Kayen'taye realised that the man - if it was a man - came from the stars, and hunted demons like those he had just witnessed. Furthermore, he asked Kayen'taye to join him in the hunt, so as to help others - and to take his revenge.

There was only one possible answer...

Notes

IX: I came up with Kayen'taye because I was fascinated by the idea of how a primitive character would feel if suddenly thrust into the 40K galaxy at large - how he'd react to the technology, aliens, etc. Consequently he's got a curious mix of clothing and equipment from his days on his primitive world, and fancy new stuff he's taken a liking to - gruesome trophies sitting happily next to combat webbing, refusing to use a gun over the bows he's grown up with but being quite happy to shoot exploding arrows out of them, etc.

Kayen'taye comes from a warrior society made up of extremely rugged people, and even among them he was a noted fighter, so he's very physically powerful and athletic and is excellent in close combat. He's got a low Sagacity because, although he's not stupid, he hasn't had time to fully adjust to contemporary technology and society, and so will struggle with things like trying to figure out what button to press to make the truck go, etc.

And he's definitely NOT evil. Indeed...