THE EVIL LORD VARLAK

The perils of unchecked psykers and mutants are relentlessly drilled into Inquisitors. The annals of Imperial history are filled with reports of daemonic possession, alien subjection and other psychic events which have brought about the loss or corruption of entire cities, hives or even worlds. But the curse of the witch can be more insidious and destructive still when a rogue psyker successfully conceals their crimes and utilises their Warp-spawned powers to achieve their own ends. Notorious, even in the blood-soaked annals of the later 41st millennium, was the rise and fall of the so-called Evil Lord Varlak on Korsk II.

Korsk II is something of a backwater world, situated in Segmentum Obscurus, noteworthy only as a juncture in patrol and trade routes between the Tamahl sector and the Stygies forge worlds. The largely peasant population of Korsk II work the land and a technocrat elite rule from its handful of cities, governorship being held by the Autarch Primus of the board of directors. Thanks to its moderate strategic importance and a recent rebellion (the so-called 'Regime of Iron', which was crushed by the Imperial Navy), Korsk II is routinely garrisoned by several regiments of Imperial Guard.

Imperial Guardsmen form the Planetary Defence Force of Korsk II

Varlak was a lowly corporal in the private forces of the Voss Cartel during the disastrous 24th Meridian war. The Autarch Primus inflicted a crippling reparation settlement on the Voss Cartel in the aftermath, a sum which drove them into virtual bankruptcy. No witnesses still live, but it is surmised that this is the period when Varlak left the city of Voss and wandered the hinterlands. It appears he fell in with an obscure sect of priests, as his next few years saw him claim to be a devotee of the Emperor Mortified and travel from farm to farm preaching an extreme dogma. His rise in popularity was meteoric, and soon stories reached even the silicon towers of Voss.

The cartel demanded to see this charismatic priest and had him brought from the countryside. At the time rioting and mob rule had begun to disrupt Voss on a daily basis and many blamed Varlak for the dissent, dubbing him the 'Lord of Evil'. Despite this, the cartel, after a closed session with Varlak, declared overwhelmingly in his favour. Varlak replaced the Metachel representative in the Voss Cartel, gaining virtual leadership of it at a stroke. No one in the cartel raised a murmur of protest and the civic disorder in Voss disappeared overnight.

Over the following months Varlak became a frequent visitor to the planetary capital of Berda. Support came quickly and easily to him despite his apparently odious religious practices and underworld connections among the peasantry. He was elected Chamberlain Primus over the head of the ageing incumbent, Kelestres, and soon had the ear of the Autarch Primus himself.

The Dark Angels, together with their fellow Space Marines prepare to purge Korsk II of her infection

In an Imperium of a million worlds such machinations might have gone unnoticed for quite some time. It is only by great good fortune that Inquisitor Marcus of the Ordo Hereticus was present on Korsk II when Varlak finally revealed his true colours. Marcus was en route from Stygies after a gruelling and thankless sojourn rooting out heresies among the Techpriests there. He had chosen to move through Korsk with a small entourage incognito and so avoid undue attention from the local authorities, and it appears that this simple precaution saved him from being drawn in to Varlak's web of intrigues. Instead Marcus witnessed Varlak's declaration of himself as World-Autarch, to the fawning adulation of the board via public pict-display. Marcus was astounded by Varlak's brazen affront in openly declaring Korsk's secession from the Imperium.

It quickly became clear that Varlak was supported by not only by the planetary authorities but by Imperial adepts too, including the Prelate of Korsk, the garrison commanders and the Arbites judiciary. Korsk II had been lost to the Imperium without a shot being fired. Inquisitor Marcus quickly concluded that such a total and overwhelming coup reeked of witchcraft of the basest sort. He wasted no time in smuggling himself aboard a transport to the distant Korsk IX mining array, from whence he sent a priority astropathic transmission warning the Adeptus Terra of Varlak's treachery.

Within days, a combined Space Marine force comprising elements of the Ultramarines, Dark Angels, Space Wolves and Blood Angels Chapters converged on Korsk. Without warning they unleashed an orbital bombardment on Varlak's summer palace and then made rapid planetfall, catching the defenders completely unprepared. Rather than wait for reinforcements, the Space Marines decided to attack immediately. A mechanised detachment was formed and pursued Varlak to his bunker command centre.

Varlak was forced to fend off the Space Marines with a scratch force of cooks, subalterns and flunkies to buy time until reinforcing columns of Imperial Guard armour arrived to protect him. The Space Marines' Predator tanks, Razorbacks and Rhino APCs of the mechanised force swept through the bunker complex despite fierce resistance. The reinforcement columns were smashed as they appeared, one being literally torn apart by Deathwing Terminators of the Dark Angels. With his plans in ruins, Varlak attempted to flee, but was caught by a Land Speeder attack as he left the safety of the bunkers with his Ogryn bodyguards. The Evil Lord of Korsk was cut down by the incandescent fury of a multi-melta; his remains left as barely identifiable goo.

With the death of Varlak, his spell was broken. It became apparent from the Witch Hunters purge of the Cult of the Emperor Mortified that Varlak had manifest a unique and powerful psychic ability, which convinced anyone he was able to speak to that every word he said was true, no matter how outrageous the words might be! Varlak had used his witchery to good effect, convincing the leaders of the planet that he was their saviour and that the Emperor and the Space Marines were their most deadly enemies. Like so many would-be secessionists and power-hungry tyrants, Varlak made the fatal mistake of underestimating the power and resolution of the Imperium. But had Inquisitor Marcus not been on Korsk, or worse still if he had chosen to confront the rogue psyker at the first instance, Varlak's crimes would have long gone unpunished and his lust for power unchecked.

Next: Inquisitor Silas Hand & Sister Ephrael Stern