Uriel Salazar

Uriel Salazar
Title/Honours	The Emperor's Justice, Keeper of the Solar Seal, Master of the Thirteenth Legion, Lord-Protector of Tiberia V
Discovered (world)	Tiberia V
Discovered (period)	circa 817.M30
Legion	Thirteenth
Heraldry/Sigil
Distinguishing Traits	Humility, strength of will
Flaws	Curiosity

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Uriel Salazar, was the Primarch of the The Justiciars, the 13th legion of the Legiones Astartes. Among the Primarchs, he was long considered the most trustworthy and reliable, until his fall into the service of the Chaos God Tzeentch.

History

When a being looks back on their life, it is commonplace to see a simple path leading from one place to the next. Such views only reveal a simplicity of understanding. The deeper truth is that each life is a maze of opportunities, teasing questions, and riddles that cannot be solved without the key of a new epoch.

- Uriel Salazar, Confessions

In the Forty-First Millenium, few outside of the Space Marine Chapters and the Inquisition are privy to the tales of the Traitor Primarchs. Even in these limited circles, true knowledge of Uriel Salazar's life is evasive. Although he was not the most secretive of the Primarchs, the ravages of the Heresy and the Scouring destroyed much of the evidence that might have lent credibility to the tales of Uriel Salazar. What follows is an accepted account, but perhaps an entirely flawed one.

Youth

Sin is everywhere in the world of men. The only refuge of virtue is the human spirit.

- teaching of the Good Men

The life of Uriel Salazar began deep beneath the Himalayza Mountains, in the laboratory of the Emperor of Mankind. He was the product of advanced science and psychic arcana, a god-like being intended to usher humanity from the darkness of the Age of Night into a new era as the masters of the Galaxy. But like almost all of his brother Primarchs, Salazar was stolen away from the Emperor by the forces of the Ruinous Powers and transported to the far-off world Tiberia V. Like many human realms of the day, Tiberia V was a world much in need of a saviour. Psychic mutation was common, leaving the planet under the thrall of sorcerer-kings and tormented by the perils of the Warp. Although resistance to the sorcerer-kings was never truly wiped out, long centuries of repression had forced resistance into mystical forms. Rather than attempt an uprising, dissenters met in secret to practice religious rites condemning the material world for its harshness. Although condemned by many names, the representatives of this cult preferred to be known as "the Good Men" and they were much-admired by common people both for their courage in the face of repression and the simplicity of their lives. Thus, when a star fell from the heavens near Aglos Baños and was found to have borne a child to earth, the humble people of that village delivered the heavenly infant to the brothers Salazar, two Good Men who preached their teachings in the region.

The Salazars had once been prominent businessmen and lived luxurious lives until the elder, Matías, fell into a deep despair. When his brother Bruno went to reason with him, Matias confessed that he was overwhelmed by the emptiness of their comfortable existence. The two had talked throughout a long night, gradually convincing one another that they had to set aside material plenty in order to nourish their spirits. They left their old families behind and lived the life of the Good Men for a decade before being presented with a child by the people of Aglos Baños. Matias and Bruno were reluctant to take on the burden of an infant and feared that they would only endanger the child and themselves, but on laying eyes on the Primarch they could not deny that he was special. Bruno named the child Uriel, which meant "the Light guides me" in the tongue of Tiberia V.

It was an apt name. Uriel Salazar grew and learned swiftly in the care of the brothers. He not only understood their mystical teachings, but was quick to point out new insights to his guardians. Yet in his third year on Tiberia V, by which time he already had the stature of a grown man, the Primarch confessed to the brothers Salazar that he could not take up the life of the Good Men. Although at first he rationalised his decision as the need to end the repression of the Good Men's teachings, Uriel Salazar finally admitted that something within him yearned to walk in the material world and do battle with sin directly. Matias and Bruno were understanding and patiently answered their ward's questions on profane matters to the best of their ability, though for years they had thought little on such matters.

For some years, Uriel Salazar wandered Tiberia V in the manner of the Good Men. But he did not simply preach a simple life and mystical salvation. He gathered unto him those who were willing and able to fight to against the wickedness that beset their homeworld. These hardy souls were forged by Salazar into a brotherhood of warrior-ascetics with the strength of will and unity of purpose to fight against the sorcerer-kings of Tiberia V. Uriel Salazar's Hand of Fate, as they came to be known, first carried out their actions from the shadows, using stealth and surprise to assassinate psychically-endowed tyrants. These first pin-pricks paved the way to Tiberia V's salvation, but the Hand of Fate would not deliver their homeworld from evil until they transformed into an army and broke the armies of the sorcerer-kings in the field of battle. Even then, the mighty psykers who had ruled Tiberia were terrible threats in their own right. Uriel Salazar took it upon himself to slay the tyrants and one by one they fell by his blade. Finally, the Hand of Fate stormed the Sanctum of the Mage-King Balthazar, the last of the tyrants. Although even the mightiest of Tiberia V's psykers was no match for a Primarch, Balthazar had a trump card. He tore the weft of reality and opened a rift to the Warp as Uriel Salazar stormed into the inner sanctum. The Primarch was sent tumbling into the Warp once more. All that remained of Uriel Salazar was one of his short blades, thrown at the last instance and lodged in the black heart of Balthazar. Tiberia V was free, but her liberator was gone.

The Great Crusade

Before the planet could settle into a new pattern, Tiberia V was thrown into fresh upheaval by the arrival of mighty golden armoured warriors from the heavens. Led by the giant figure of the Emperor of Mankind, the First Expedition Fleet of the Imperium had come to claim another world for the Great Crusade. More than that, the Emperor had sensed a powerful presence and hoped to find the first of his lost Primarchs and a worthy second for Hektor Cincinnatus. Yet by the time His fleet arrived at Tiberia V, the only trace of the missing Primarch was the legend of Uriel Salazar. Disappointed but ever adaptable, the Emperor bade his servants set a course to the next lead on the missing Primarchs, a path that would take the First Expedition Fleet to Whitestone and a reunion with Arelex Orannis.

On Tiberia V, the process of Compliance with Imperial law went smoothly. Many members of the Hand of Fate were enthusiastic about the vision of humanity emerging from a long night of ignorance and cant. These disciplined warriors formed the core of Imperial Army regiments recruited to spread the Great Crusade further into the stars. Those who were less impressed simply retreated from the world and dwelled as hermits, ignoring the Imperial Governor and his decrees as best they could. Nobody expected that Uriel Salazar would return as mysteriously as he had vanished - and yet, ten years to the day after he had been thrown from realspace by the Mage-King Balthazar, Uriel Salazar came back to Tiberia V.

After a short period of reorienting himself and deducing the events that had brought him to this point, the Primarch was not well-pleased with the changes wrought to his homeworld in his absence. Uriel Salazar had been cast out of a world almost liberated from the yoke of sorcerers by a dedicated corps of warriors. The Tiberia V he now found himself in seemed to have been conquered by psykers from the stars. Worse, the Hand of Fate had disbanded and the greater part of his followers had betrayed their oaths to serve a star-faring sorcerer-king. Outraged and defiant, Uriel Salazar began to rebuild his guerilla organisation and lead raids against the Imperial garrison. He did not, however, invite veterans of the Hand of Fate to join his new army, styled The Serpents. The alleged autobiography of Uriel Salazar, the so-called Confessions, attributes this decision to the Primarch's newfound belief that the Hand of Fate was a flawed organisation, ignorant of their responsibilities to galactic humanity. Others suggest that Uriel Salazar simply felt betrayed by so many of his former followers swearing loyalty to the Imperium and craved a fresh start. Regardless of his reasons for setting aside the Hand of Fate, Uriel Salazar's Serpents were a distinctly different organisation. Where the Hand of Fate had aimed to throw off Tiberia's shackles in their own lifetimes, the Serpents were taught to see the rule of the Imperium as a long-standing evil that they could attack and poison, but perhaps never defeat.

Despite their fatalism, the Serpents were effective. Tiberia V's garrison was mainly local militias, supported by a regiment of Saturnine Hoplites under the command of Legate-Colonel Marsimus Cassiel. Uriel Salazar was more than a match for the Saturnine officer, repreatedly baiting Imperial forces into abandoning high-priority targets or falling into ambushes. Within a year of his reappearance, the Primarch had raised a guerilla army, assassinated the Imperial Governor, and reduced the garrison to barely a thousand combat effective personnel. Worse yet for Cassiel's beleagured command, the Serpents had made a point of targeting psykers so by the time the crisis became acute there were no astropaths left to sound the alert. Were it not for First Legion serfs monitoring reports of rebellions in newly-Compliant sectors, Tiberia V might well have completely thrown off Imperial rule before any reinforcements arrived.

As it was, the vigilant serfs noticed that initial reports of terrorism on Tiberia V had not concluded with the customary notice of the outlaws being brought to justice. Instead, the planet had simply gone silent. Their analysis was quickly passed up the Legion chain of command to Hektor Cincinnatus himself, who was then planning a second expedition to the troubled Parthorum Sector.

Wargear

Uriel's armour

Uriel has an armoury that strikes some as unnecessarily extensive, and others as beyond paranoid; Most commonly however, Uriel is seen carrying several slug pistols, including a bolt revolver. Sometimes he wields a shotgun of a calibre one can only guess at. He is never without the pair of adamantium power daggers forged by his brother-primarch Brennus as a gift; they are nearly always concealed on his person with an alarming multitude of other assorted weapons. His right arm is a high quality cybernetic, replacing the hand he lost in his youth. His armour is of the highest quality, as befitting a primarch, but plain and simple in design, only sporting a plain black cloak for decoration. He is often accompanied by one of his canids or a pack thereof, and if the battlefield suits it, one of his cybernetically enhanced raptors flies above him transmitting a literal birds-eye-view of the surrounding area directly to Uriels helmet feed.

A fan's Attempt at Rules

	PTS	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Uriel Salazar:	410	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	10	2+/4++

Unit type: Independent Character, Infantry.

Wargear: Adamantine Blades, Adder's Plate, Uriel's Arsenal.

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Bulky, Eternal Warrior, Fear, Fearless, Independent Character, It Will Not Die, Master of the Legion, Precise Insertion, Preparation.

Adamantine Blades: Uriel's paired daggers. Adamantium blades, often coated in poison. SU-1, AP1, Paired (+1A), Poisoned 4+, Rending.

Adder's Plate: Primarch armor, forged by the mightiest blah blah you know the story.

Uriel's Arsenal: Choose as many of the following as you're willing to pay for.

Assault Bandoleer: (30pts) Not a literal bandoleer, but a collection of hardpoints and pouches attached to Uriel's armor. Has the following benefits: Counts as assault and defensive grenades, and twin-links all shooting attacks.

Breacher: (60pts) A shortened, lighter version of the thunder hammer, designed for close quarters fighting. SU+2, AP2, Sunder.

Disruption Hub: (20pts) A backpack with a bunch of advanced techy shit. All units deepstriking within 12" double their scatter and subtract 1 from their mishap rolls.

Demolition Charges: (25pts) A bunch of bombs. S8, AP2, 12", Heavy 1, Ordnance, 7" blast,

Target Locator: (75 pts) Basically what it says on the tin. S:D, AP1, Heavy 1, 7" Blast, Infinite Range, Ordnance, One Use.

The Twins: (65pts) Uriel's favored weapons for a melee, an axe and a revolver. Because Uriel is from Texas, I guess. Uses the following profiles: S:U AP2, Master Crafted, Paired (+1A) or S5, AP4, 16", Assault 3.

Xetan Diplomicy: (40pts) A big goddamn shotgun. S6, AP3, Assault 2, 2" blast, 24", Shred, Rending.

Zael's Laurels: (80pts) The being known as Zael is purely fictional; the name of this Archeotech halo is purely coincidental. Offers a 3++ invuln save, and for one game turn of your choosing reduces the strength of all incoming attacks by 2.

Precise Insertion: Uriel may either Infiltrate or Deep Strike without scatter.

Preparation: Always know your enemy. Words to live by. Uriel has Preferred Enemy: Everything, and confers it to all units with Legiones Astartes: Justicars within 6".