Most Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus are imagined as callous, ruthless individuals, ready to sacrifice dozens of lives only to bring justice upon a single heretic. Isidora Tenley, although not entirely out of this stereotype, was known to administer justice at least with more consideration.
Operating mostly in the Cinnabar Sector and the neighboring Ultima Segmentum, Inquisitor Tenley has put countless heretics, traitors and witches to the torch, on most of these occasions even without revealing her position as Inquisitor to those involved.
Her life would end at the age of 181 years at the hands of Eldar, though the Xenos motivations for killing an Inquisitor were never fully disclosed, despite the efforts of her former student, Inquisitor Toma Filipov.
History[]
Aside from her early life, there exists no consistent record of Inquisitor Tenley's work, as she often preferred to conceal her office. However, there are several confirmed occasions where her involvement has directly lead to the uncovering of traitorous or heretical elements.
Early Life[]
Rassella, a Frontier World on the north-western fringe of the Cinnabar Sector made of wide, barren moors, dusty mountains and sparse woods is home to a population of farmers harvesting the many, medically useful herbs growing in abundance. It was to a couple of those farmers that Isidora Tenley was born as the third child, spending the first 12 years of her life uneventfully. She received a simple education in Imperial history, reading and writing, botanical knowledge and the obligatory, basic combat training. The records detailing her results have long been seized by her future master.
In 934.M39, Firuza Konul, an Acolyte of Inquisitor Raimondo Bellani and several of his Throne Agents visited the planet, investigating suspicions of his master that a Istvaanist, deranged individuals believing that the Imperium can only survive as long as it stays in conflict, had spread their corrupting influence on Rassella.
These suspicions were eventually confirmed when Konul discovered that several farmer communities had begun to sell portions of their produce off world in order to fund weapons and armor with the goal to overthrow the planet's ruling elite. Upon arriving on the planet himself, Konul exploited the effect that the population was divided regarding the righteousness of this goal and started a series of trials, promising mercy who would be able to deliver or identify a traitor and death to everyone else.
This forced the traitors into motion after several of their cells had been exposed and destroyed. One of these cells was located in Isidora's municipality and when they took up arms, they were quick to slay those still loyal or at least not willing to fight. Among the traitors were Isidora's parents, hiding their children in secret underground facilities as they moved against the forces of the PDF, the Arbites and the Acolyte.
When the settlement was searched for traitors, Isidora secretly left the hideout and revealed its position and entrance to an Acolyte of Bellani in exchange for her own life. The man, a former Preacher named Yannick Erwann, handed Isidora a Hand Flamer, claiming that she had to redeem herself with her own hands. She did as she was asked to.
After emerging from the smoldering ground once more, the stench of burning flesh stuck in her hair and pained screams crawling up through the soil, Erwann took the young girl under his wing. She was taken along on subsequent purges after witnessing trial after trial of neighbors selling out each other to survive. Once the rebellious elements on Rassella had been eradicated, the young girl had ended hundreds of life by her own hand, equipped with the weapon first bestowed on her.
Service Under Bellani[]
Upon conclusion of the campaign, Erwann introduced her first to Konul and later to the Inquisitor himself, who decided to offer her a position in service for the Inquisition. With nothing left to hold her on Rassella, the young Isidora accepted. Receiving a higher education in language, history and above all combat, she soon served as his personal steward and was eventually promoted to a proper Acolyte in 946.M39 after Firuza Konul received her own Inquisitorial Rosette and consequently operated on her own.
From that point on, she became much more involved in the Inquisitor's matters, actively being taught the rights and duties of an Inquisitor rather than simply observing them over her Master's shoulder. Bellani valued the sharp mind of the young girl as well as pure hatred for anyone straying from the light of the Emperor. Proving her worth and ability repeatedly on several independent missions over the course of her training, she was elevated to an Inquisitor in 950.M39, taking the trusted Yannick Erwann with her as one of the most important members of her retinue.
Poenus Delta (958.M39)[]
Following rumors about a flourishing population of mutants, Tenley and Erwann landed on the Hive World Poenus to discern the truth. Escorted into the lowest levels of the Hive Poenus Delta by a group of mercenaries, they were soon ambushed by heavily mutated, well-armed groups of subhumans. Originally seeming of low intelligence, they managed to trap the Inquisitorial forces deep within the labyrinthian sewers and tunnels.
After hours of a fighting retreat, they were confronted by the mutants' leader, with which Tenley engaged in a fierce fight. At the end, the mutant was slain at the price of the Inquisitor's left arm and the troop made their escape using the confusion of their opponents. Once they were back on the civilized levels of the Hive, Governor Madaras insisted on funding a bionic replacement for Inquisitor Tenley, fearing that she would make him take responsibility for the loss of her limb.
Once stabilized, Tenley ordered the complete lockdown of the lower sections of the Hive and recruited willing civilians as well as members of the PDF and the Adeptus Arbites imminent purge. Equipped with weapons requisitioned from a variety of sources, the militia and officials descended once more into the bowels of the Hive and burned the remaining mutants out down the last man, woman or child.
Goran-D6 (996.M39)[]
After the Ordo Machinum discovered that a transport carrying a STC-fragment heading for the Forge World Kaur had been raided by parents, their agents eventually traced it to Goran-D6, a Space Station on the outmost border of the Topolev sub-sector. Inquisitor Tenley requisitioned 5 full squads of the 44th Jovkian Tunel Volci, siege engineers accustomed to the brutality of combat in tight surroundings.
The records detailing the incident have been locked under the seal of the Inquisition, but not a single one of the soldiers would return, neither alive or dead although decorated posthumous with high honors. The fate of the STC-fragment remains equally unknown. After this incident, Tenley is reported to have expanded her retinue with a boy by the name of Toma Filipov, who would later become an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.
Bolna Sott (998.M39)[]
Tracing a deserted Psyker, Inquisitor Tenley eventually joins the Interrogator assigned to the task, Rebecca Orn, on the Agri World Bolna Sott to investigate the mysterious loss of contact with several farming communes.
Meronon (103.M40)[]
Her ship, the Dubium Venatio was found drifting in the orbit of the Factory World Meronon. Upon investigation, her former pupil Inquisitor Toma Filipov found traces of Eldar being involved in the raid of the ship.
Retinue[]
Like many Inquisitors, Tenley was usually accompanied and aided by a number of Acolytes, Throne Agents, Interrogators and other servants, some of them permanently, others only temporarily employed. The most notable ones among them are listed here.
Permanent[]
Yannick Erwann[]
The priest who set her on her path as an Inquisitor, forcing her to condemn her friends, neighbors and siblings to fire in order to redeem herself from the stain of treason. Originally serving Raimondo Bellani, he joined Isidora once the young woman became a full Inquisitor. Equipped with a distinct lack of mercy for anyone remotely involved in heresy, he proved a loyal advisor and spiritual guide until his eventual death at the hand of Tenley herself, sparing him from the slow and painful death of Nurgle's Rot.
Originally a priest of the Munitorum, he was recruited by Inquisitor Bellani during the pursuit of a deserting guard regiment. A member of that regiment, Erwann realized the corruption of his superiors and slayed them single-handedly with his Eviscerator before convincing the soldiers to surrender. Once brought before the Inquisitor, he asked to receive death as the only proper punishment for his treason but was convinced to instead serve in Bellani's retinue.
Damus Gloren[]
The illegitimate son of a noble from Knight House Peregrine, it is recorded that his physical beauty was matched equally by the frailness of his body, binding him to a wheelchair from an early age on. His psychic abilities manifested at the age of 8 and after an education on Terra, he was able to make proficient divinations. He eventually returned to his home world in service of his father, enjoying a rather leisurely life and entertaining the House's members with his skills as a diviner.
Damus and Inquisitor Tenley met first in 963.M39, when she requested the House's aid in the subduing of militant missionaries aiming to establish a Theocracy on a nearby planet. After warning her of an impending assassination attempt from the side of these missionaries, it took her several weeks to continue him to join her retinue. From then on, Damus used the Emperor's Tarot to uncover parts of the future and guide the Inquisitor on her missions. He lead an exceptionally long life before his demise aboard the Dubium Venatio, counting close to 190 years.
Villem Koit[]
Koit's notorious pursuit of female company was offset by his skill with all kinds of vehicles, whether ground-based or airbone. Hailing from an insignificant noble house somewhere in the Cinnabar Sector he possessed the looks and attitude commonly associated with this heritage.
He entered Inquisitor Tenley's service after falsely assuming that his advances had been successful but instead of a romantic tryst, he found himself in the service of the Inquisition. There was little complaint from his side, as his new position as the retinue's designated driver and pilot offered him a place comfortably far from the cruel realities of an Inquisitor's work while having access to the majority of its benefits.
Rebecca Orn[]
Originally an Intelligencer of the Adeptus Arbites, she convinced Inquisitor Tenley to make her a part of her retinue, though the precise circumstances of this incident were never made public. Known for her fiery temper and creative approach to problems, she would refuse the opportunity to become an Inquisitor herself, instead serving Tenley dedicatedly.
Toma Filipov[]
A Jovkian youth, he entered the retinue at the age of 12. He would serve as Isidora's steward, liaison officer and bodyguard. During the two decades in her service, he honed his telepathic talents under the tutelage of Damus and many others, eventually becoming an Inquisitor himself, although he joined the Ordo Xenos rather than the ranks of the Witch Hunters.
Temporary[]
Aside from those permanently employed, Tenley worked with a number of agents over her career, either recruited from branches of the Imperial Military or lent to her from fellow Inquisitors for the duration of an operation. ...
Sgt Turis[]
An Astartes of the Exalted Paladins Astartes chapter, Turis was a Sargent of a Cleanser squad before some unknown accident caused him to be cast out from his brothers. Only by achieving some great victory or feat could Turis return to his chapter so when a call for help came from Inquisitor Tenley he didn't hesitate to answer the call.
Rosalind Ironstin[]
A former Sister of Battle, Rosalind is an Acolyte of Inquisitor Kern Barstalt (a member of the Ordo Originatus). She has been serving him diligently for a few years now and has been sent to work for Isidora Tenley for an undisclosed reason. Though she suspects its a learning experience as she has largely been a point and shoot woman up to this point. What little Kern did see fit to tell her was, "You are a poor investigator girl. Brush up..."
Personality[]
Mandatory in her line of work, Inquisitor Tenley possessed a sharp, analytical intellect and the necessary ruthlessness to act on her conclusions. However, having witnessed how the reputation of the Inquisition can turn brother against brother and children against their parents, she displayed a certain cautiousness when it came to using her Inquisitorial Rosette. Rather, she often informed only the highest ranking present official of her true nature and then conducted her investigation through a number of fake identities and aliases as well as her Agents, Acolytes, Interrogators and a wide-spread network of informants.
As far as it concerned human interaction, Tenley viewed the population of the Imperium as a single faceless mass of dull sheep requiring proper herding. She understood that to keep Mankind alive, trillions of souls are tasked with the most menial forms of labor imaginable and that further billions are required to sacrifice their life in order to keep its enemies at bay. In conclusion, she regarded her work as that akin to a surgeon, identifying dangerous tumors and removing them before they could do any damage. This of course meant that most servants, officials and other forgettable figures received a cold and distant treatment, merely useful in pointing her towards possible targets.
This perceived need for guidance from a higher level eventually resulted in her joining the Thorians, Inquisitors with the firm belief that the Emperor will manifest among Mankind again and the will to actively pursue means to bring about this event. It is not known which measures she took herself to aid this goal, but it is confirmed that she stood in regular contact with several other Thorian Inquisitors all over the Cinnabar Sector and beyond.
Towards her retinue, a small, hand-picked group of specialists, occasionally bolstered by additional forces such as Space Marines, Storm Troppers, Sisters of Battle or regular Guardsmen, the Inquisitor displayed a great amount of personal care. The expression of this affection was an entirely different matter, however. Raised to believe that salvation can only be achieved by oneself and that weakness of the mind or body are inexcusable, this mindset is of course applied to those under her command and those she found suspect of heresy.
In her later years, Inquisitor Tenley had several pupils, whom she carefully raised to take over the network of informants, safehouses and contacts she built over the 180 years of her life. Though not all of them were elevated to full Inquisitors, the harsh, uncompromising tutelage of Tenley made sure they were prepared for most dangers of the Galaxy. Until her last breath however, she would always seek the front line of an Inquisitor's duties, believing that the only way to ensure that work was well done was to do it herself.
Appearance[]
With thin lips, a straight nose and sharp gray eyes, Inquisitor Tenley was once described as 'beautiful, comparable to a bayonet'. Her copper red hair was her signature trait, somewhat dulled by increasing gray blurs as she progressed in age. However, even counting well above 150 years in the end, she had always stayed in the athletic shape of a professional soldier.
During an operation on the Hive World Poenus, she lost her left arm in a dire encounter with the mutants of Poenus Delta's underworld. Eventually successful in exterminating the subhumans, the governor of Poenus Delta insisted on paying for a bionic arm to replace her lost one, afraid of the possible retaliation. The piece she received was expertly made of pearl white ceramite and adorned with decorations of white gold.
Abilities and Traits[]
Trained by Inquisitor Raimondo Bellani, a man taking great pride in his skill with the sword, her own prowess with the blade are nothing to look down upon. The dance-like elegance inherited from her Master has over the time mixed with nasty pragmatism and brutal efficiency though, making her a more than capable foe when it comes to duels.
Similarly proficient with guns, she favors pistols for their flexibility and has proven a deadly shot even in the chaotic heat of battle. Having gathered a varied collection over the years, many of these weapons would later be inherited by her students.
Inquisitor Tenley has never shown any sign of psychic talent, despite several screenings in her youth. Regardless, she has developed a great respect for the capabilities of Psykers and always held Damus in high regards. His readings of the Emperor's Tarot would often dictate her course of action and were essential to many of her investigations' success.
Like the majority of the Rassella's populace, she has consumed a stimulant distributed among the farmers of the planet from an early age on, reducing the amount of sleep needed to only 2 or 3 hours per day. Despite shunning the drug now for its severe side effects, including nausea and impaired cognitive ability, she still rarely slept, often consuming large amounts of overly strong Recaf.
Equipment[]
Weapons & Armor[]
An Inquisitor's duty naturally leads into conflict. For that purpose, they have access to the finest weapons and armor humanity is able to provide.
Loi-Pattern Burning Blade[]
Initially a faulty product, the Force Fields of these weapons would malfunction and cause the blade to radiate extreme heat. As the use of this as a potent combat aspect was discovered, the weapons were refined and put to serial production. Heavily insulated to protect the wielder from the heat, the blade of this sword reaches temperatures of over 600 degrees and easily melts flesh and bones.
This blade came into Tenley's possession during the investigation of a missionary fleet, suspected to violate the Decree Passive which stated that the Ecclesiarchy was not permitted to have any sort of men under arms in their service. The allegations proved partially true with parts of the leadership of the missionaries secretly recruiting a fighting force. The Cardinal in charge was in possession of this blade but proved unable to properly wield it.
Master Crafted Bolt Pistol[]
Encased in blue steel and a housing of bone carved into a depiction of the Saint Alicia Dominica and her retinue receiving the revelation of Vandire's madness from the Emperor, this weapon was a parting gift from her fellow Interrogator under Inquisitor Bellani, Firuza Konul. The weapon was reported to have never failed its duty and after her death, it was retrieved by Inquisitor Toma Filipov who carried it ever since.
Hand Flamer[]
This weapon has never truly left Tenley's possession ever since she received it from Yannick Erwann. However, it was once damaged nigh-irreparably in an encounter with mutants in the underbellies of the Hive World Poenus. In the very same operation, Inquisitor Tenley lost her left arm, though she received a bionic replacement, funded by the equally fear- and grateful Governor of Poenus Delta. The remains of her trusted Flamer were worked into the mechanical limb, sacrificing fuel capacity for the element of surprise.
Carapace Armor[]
Carapace Armor forgoes the protection Power Armor would provide for easier maintenance. This suit was custom-tailored and features a more stream-lined design compared to the bulkier patterns issued to the military. Coming with an optional, fully enclosed helmet and rebreather, it allows Inquisitor Tenley to operate in toxic and even airless environments.
Gear[]
The already lethal arsenal carried by Tenley is completed and enhanced by a number of additional artifacts aimed against the enemies of the Imperium.
Psyoccolum[]
A targeting device, allowing the user not only to see in the darkness but also to identify Psykers. The device marks any Psyker visually with an unclean aura of energy surrounding them.
Excruciator[]
Used to conduct torture in the field, this small, box-shaped device is put on the victim's skin and several mechanical tendrils inserted underneath it. Afterwards, the user can stimulate the nerves of the suspect, inflicting great amounts of pain without causing phsyical harm.
Inquisitorial Rosette[]
Like all Inquisitors, Tenley carries the sigil of her office. This particular one is rather simple, carved from the dark, nodose wood of her homeworld, depicting the Inquisitorial sigil and framed by a corona of stylized flames cut from painted glass.