Prophet"Rejoice, brothers and sisters, for the Immortal One has bestowed a great gift upon us!" The grey-haired old man in crimson robes smiles blissfully as dozens of eyes peer at you, greedily scrutinising you from head to toe. "Join our feast, wanderers in the dark. The Crimson Hand welcomes all seekers of salvation!"
YOU"First, you shall kneel, for you are speaking to a Rogue Trader and the master/mistress of this world!"
Prophet"A Rogue Trader?" The old man regards you with interest. "Oh, if only I had foreseen our meeting! I would have prepared a proper welcome."
YOU"First, you shall kneel, for you are speaking to a Rogue Trader and the master/mistress of this world!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have many questions about what is going on here."
ProphetThe old man ponders this for a moment. "There may be enough time for me to answer at least some of them."
YOU"Who are you?"
Prophet"We renounce our names when the Immortal Emperor bestows His divine grace upon the flock. And yet the brothers and sisters call me the Crimson Prophet, for I have borne His word and spoken His will for many cycles. You may address me thus."
YOU"Who are you?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"
Prophet"Serving the Immortal One and partaking of His flesh." The old man points at the two new acolytes who have just tasted the bloody sacrifice. "Only the Emperor's blessing will let us survive the horrors that have befallen Santiel's Pride. The dead star, the depredation by xenos, the biting cold. The Emperor protects us as long as our faith remains strong and our blood sacrifices continue."
Prophet(sequence)
Heinrix"Global disasters often produce necrophage cults such as this. It is unfortunate what a desperate man can be reduced to after being cut off from the Imperium... But it would be best to set the anthropological observations aside in favour of practical considerations, such as ridding your world of this filth."
end of branch
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"
Prophet"We once called her Nolla, the Emperor's Heavenly Messenger. She was beautiful and merciless, claiming the lives of millions of men working too close to the hive's scalding surface every cycle."
Prophet"I witnessed her demise with my own eyes, for on that day I was singing praise to the glory of the God-Emperor with other servants of the Ecclesiarchy. At sunset, when Nolla's burning gaze relented and we went to the peak of the temple's spire, a dark green flash tore up the sky, forevermore eclipsing the Messenger."
YOU"Who are you?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"
Prophet"Did you think I would simply ramble on about divine retribution and the Nightmares the Emperor set loose on our world to punish our hubris?" The old man smiles serenely. "I have seen many things in my lifetime, including the enemies of Humanity. The Emperor would never punish his loyal servants in such a heretical manner. The xenos set upon our world soon after the star was gone, when the cold had already sunk its claws into our cities and hearts."
Prophet"Like locusts that destroy everything in their path, they vanished just as suddenly, but not before taking countless lives. I was fortunate to have preserved my flock, for the blood tithe we pay to the Immortal One had imbued us with strength that was denied to the others. Not all the xenos left the planet, however. Some of them keep hunting us, but so far I have failed to divine their darker purpose."
YOU"Who are you?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"
Prophet"The Crimson Hand serves the Immortal One exactly as He demands. One day I woke up hungering for flesh, for I could no longer eat a crumb of ordinary food. Plain bread tasted like rotten fish, clear water made me retch like poison. I had an epiphany — the Emperor was showing me the way, promising me salvation! The hive had become an icy tomb where only the chosen ones would survive. The ones who received the communion of flesh as I had."
YOU"Who are you?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."
Prophet"The Children of Redemption are but a remnant of the past, the victims of centuries of misguided faith. Who are the mad ones, I ask you — the fanatics who revere a star and conflate it with a saint, or the loyal servants of the Emperor who have done everything they can to survive and to keep honouring the Immortal One? And besides... the elders are not so different from us, after all."
YOU"Who are you?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."
Prophet"Indeed. The patience of my brothers and sisters is running thin."
YOU"First, you shall kneel, for you are speaking to a Rogue Trader and the master/mistress of this world!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have many questions about what is going on here."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Woah, the Emperor on a spit! That's not something you see every day."
ProphetThe old man's eyes grow incredibly wide. "How dare you! Uttering such disrespect for the Immortal One is heresy! There will be punishment! He will smite you in His fury!" Suddenly, the old man stops shrieking and continues in a serene and blissful voice, "You must show greater reverence."
YOU"First, you shall kneel, for you are speaking to a Rogue Trader and the master/mistress of this world!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have many questions about what is going on here."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Woah, the Emperor on a spit! That's not something you see every day."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Very well, I will join your feast."
Prophet(sequence)
Jae"What azhi bewitched you, shereen? You are not serious, are you?"
end of branch
Heinrix"Rogue Trader, the sacred Warrant grants you many privileges. But this... I hope it was a tasteless joke, for your own sake."
end of branch
Yrliet"Few beasts would devour one of their own kind, mon-keigh. I did not expect you to be worse than an animal."
end of branch
Prophet"I am pleased you have accepted my invitation. When the sacrifice welcomes the slaughter and comes to the butcher without fear, its flesh remains juicy and tender until the end."
ProphetThe old man raises his arms, turning to the statue: "May this feast honour the Immortal One!"
end of branch
YOU[Attack] "Excellent, more target practice!"
ProphetThe old man raises his arms, turning to the statue: "May this feast honour the Immortal One!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "You have perverted the Emperor's faith and succumbed to heresy! I, [Name] von Valancius, Rogue Trader and bearer of the sacred Warrant, hereby sentence you to death!"
ProphetThe old man raises his arms, turning to the statue: "May this feast honour the Immortal One!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "I do not negotiate with heretics."
ProphetThe old man raises his arms, turning to the statue: "May this feast honour the Immortal One!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Say nothing and charge]
end of branch
YOU"Very well, I will join your feast."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "Excellent, more target practice!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "You have perverted the Emperor's faith and succumbed to heresy! I, [Name] von Valancius, Rogue Trader and bearer of the sacred Warrant, hereby sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "I do not negotiate with heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Say nothing and charge]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is going on here? What feast are you talking about?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What do you know about the extinguished star?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How do you know that it was xenos who attacked Santiel's Pride?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You are eating people!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"The Children of Redemption did warn me you were a swarm of cultists and heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talk."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Woah, the Emperor on a spit! That's not something you see every day."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Very well, I will join your feast."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "Excellent, more target practice!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "You have perverted the Emperor's faith and succumbed to heresy! I, [Name] von Valancius, Rogue Trader and bearer of the sacred Warrant, hereby sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "I do not negotiate with heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Say nothing and charge]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I have many questions about what is going on here."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Woah, the Emperor on a spit! That's not something you see every day."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Very well, I will join your feast."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "Excellent, more target practice!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "You have perverted the Emperor's faith and succumbed to heresy! I, [Name] von Valancius, Rogue Trader and bearer of the sacred Warrant, hereby sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "I do not negotiate with heretics."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Say nothing and charge]continues where this line first appears above
Prophet(sequence)
Cassia"A-ah!.. It hurts, it hurts!" Cassia covers her eyes, red tears streaming down her cheeks. "Sanguine thorns of insanity, black chains of despair... This place overflows with thirst and anguish. I cannot... [Name], we must flee!"
end of branch
Argenta"What on...?" Argenta stares in astonishment at the statue of the bloody Emperor and shouts angrily, "Heresy! May His righteous flame purify your souls!"
end of branch
Jae"Exalted One, deliver us from evil..." Jae makes a holy symbol in the air and reaches for her weapon.