The Tarhalis Ghost

It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries, the Emperor has sat immobile on the golden throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the dark age of technology. He is the carrion lord of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may never truly die.

Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest among his soldiers are the adeptus astartes, the space marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the imperial guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants and worse.

To be alive in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim, dark future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage, slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

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Editorial Note:

There are many heroes of our most glorious Imperium, with only a handful getting the recognition they deserve. Indeed, it is regrettable that many of our heroes go unrewarded. Still, I take comfort in the knowledge that most of our unsung heroes are fondly remembered either by their homeworlds or a handful of people they served alongside. Unfortunately, the hero I am here to tell you about isn't one of those people.

Trooper Seraphine Voss of the Tarhalis 24 Infantry Regiment is a hero of the Imperium who should have been known across the stars. She confronted and triumphed over nearly every foe of humanity: Necrons, Tau, Tyranids, Orks, and Eldar, both untainted and corrupted by the ruinous forces, as well as the daemonic agents of these very powers. Yet Trooper Voss never once received a promotion, a medal or recognition for her goals. You might be interested to know that when I looked into it, I found that Trooper Voss is the longest-serving guardsman to hold that rank in the history of the Astra Militarum. Though I would be the first to admit that my not be entirely accurate. You know how our records can be at times.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I only heard about Trooper Voss when her journals were flagged and sent to me for inspection after her death. While she did write about some heretical things she witnessed during her life, I found that she was a loyal servent of the throne. When I was investigating her past, I learned about her unheard achievements. I decided to take it upon myself to make her story known. After reading this, we would agree never to let her story become public. Still, nevertheless, I believe it is worthy of further study.

Now, before you read this, I must warn you that Trooper Seraphine Voss is not the kind of hero you would read about for entertainment, nor was she a poster child of the Astra Militarum. She would be the first to admit that she was terrified most of the time during her acts of heroism but it is worth remembering that courage consists not of the absence of fear but the overcoming of it. She was also rather… in no other better words, openly critical of certain aspects of our Imperium. Nothing that would get her executed for treason and her loyalty would always remain true, but nonetheless, I need to warn you about that fact before you read of her achievements.

Trooper Voss may not be the hero we wanted, but she was the hero we needed. Her achievements are indisputable regardless of our disapproval of her stated moral failings. With the emergence of her journal, her writings offer fresh perspectives on various lesser-known aspects of recent Imperial history. Trooper Voss's firsthand observations of our adversaries provide a wealth of unique insights that can aid in comprehending and unravelling their sinister schemes.

For this reason, I took the time to preserve the archive and have dedicated a significant portion of my free time since its discovery to editing and annotating it, aiming to make it more accessible to my fellow inquisitors who may want to explore it themselves.

Many of the anecdotes lack context because Trooper Voss focuses solely on her personal experiences. While the archive largely conveys its message on its own, I have taken the initiative to divide the lengthy and unstructured narrative into more manageable chapters for easier reading. When needed, I've included external sources to provide additional context and highlight the broader picture; however, the majority of this story is presented through Trooper Voss's own writing.