In which it is a fairly dreadful day for everyone, but for Lord Inquisitor Vallerie Desjardin it was a tuesday. Also, Thrax was a Good Boy™. Mind the sads before the end.
The excavation site 347-DS8 had sprawled along the cliff face in the months since they had arrived. Inch by inch the large rock relief had been revealed with painstaking precision and virtually endless patience. Though it already measured over 10 metres in height and 20 metres in width, it showed no sign of being anywhere near completely excavated. The relief featured a host of giant-sized figures in imposing profile. They wore elaborate kaftan over ancient battle-plate, their braided hair held by headband or crown. They gathered solemnly around the central motif of a winged scarab. The relief’s particular style and singular grandeur echoed one of Terra’s most ancient civilisations. However, they were not on Terra.
Doctor historicus-archaeologos Sarina Zochina-Kathar mopped her forehead as she sat up. She had braided her black hair into cornrows and wore a wide brimmed fedora against the sun. The red giant around which Aeganon revolved beat down its hot rays with unrelenting force. For almost a year she and her team had worked here at the behest of Lord Inquisitor Desjardin. She’d not yet had the pleasure of meeting him. They had been assured there’d be every opportunity to study the artifact. In fact, the Lord Inquisitor would endorse their publication on the matter publically. An endorsement from such an influential Imperial noteworthy could land their article straight in Interstellar History of Humanity, perhaps even the Proceedings of the Terran Academy of Sciences.
“This heat, I could do without,” Doctor historicus-linguilogos Terrence Kathar remarked as he sat down beside her, kicking up a cloud of red dust. His pale features had acquired a distinctly pink quality in the few days since he’d left his laboratory at Tel Vicona for the excavation site.
“And Zoorak was too cold, wasn’t it, Terry?” Sarina chuckled as she leaned towards him and gave him a kiss. “Is there any weather that pleases you?”
“Why, yes,” he grinned as he handed her a canteen of water. “Mild room temperatures.” Sarina laughed at that and drank from the canteen. Unlike her, Sarina’s husband was a labrat through and through. He much preferred to stay in the air-conditioned hab-block that served as their local research center. However, they had uncovered a new section of script which she wanted him to translate and so she had dragged him out into the light of day.
“Doctor Zochina!” Sarina looked up. One of their junior assistants came running towards them. Farshid Narmer. Astute young man, eye for detail. He’d go places, she was certain of it. “We have removed the cover relief!” His dark eyes shone with excitement, his brown cheeks flushed a shade redder from his exertion in the hot sun. “It’s right there, just as you suspected!”
Then here’s how. Reblog this post with a brief physical description – less than 100 words – and their name. No need for personal details, background, lore, info on their retinue or anything like that, since it won’t come up. Just a short, snappy indicator of what they look like, and they’ll make a cameo.
The catch? There is none! I was coming up with a bunch of inquisitors of a particular scene, and realised that this might be a nice way to add one extra. The winner will be chosen by random ballot and I’ll be holding it in 48 hours, so anything submitted after that won’t get in.
Get writing, and remember, innocence proves nothing.
Inquisitor Titus Amelius of the Ordo Malleus is a towering man despite his hunched shoulders. Together with his spidery bony limbs he gives the impression of a dead tree. It’s a bit unnatural the way he moves, like a marionette. He has a gaunt, grey-tinged face with tired and suspicious eyes. He dresses plainly in somber colors and disdains showboating.
In contrast, his three-eyed cyber raven is magnificent and knows it. It likes to mutter nonsense syllables to itself in other people’s voices. Titus is indulgent toward the thing and enjoys the disconcerting effect it has on others.
Aliquid de Magis 