Nikkolo Augustus Marr

The Lord Marr, Protector of Achanor, Rogue Trader

Birthdate: 3256044.M42 / 44.474+ VNH M42
Birthplace: Planet Arcius (Capital, Vanhir System), Artia Subsector, Dimant Sector, Segmentum Ultima

Early History

Born 44.M42 to Lord Cassius Marr and Lady Clementine Marr, Lord Nikkolo Augustus Marr is the current head of the Marr Dynasty and holder of the Warrant of Trade issued to Lord Commander Juron Marr (48th Primary Expeditionary Fleet, Great Crusade) by imperial decree and the Emperor’s own seal.

The fifth and last born son of Cassius Marr. Nikkolo’s likelihood of gaining the Marr crown through the line of succession was slim, his chances were further diminished as he had been confirmed to show psychic potential at an early age.

It should be noted that Nikkolo was not submitted directly to the Scholastia Psykana on Terra for training and indoctrination. As per the Warrant of Trade granted to Juron Marr by the Emperor, the house of Marr is exempt from the Imperial Tithe regarding psychic individuals of their own bloodline with the caveat of requiring direct evaluation by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, which keeps an outpost on Planet Arcius for this very reason.

In contrast to most of his family members, Nikkolo’s early achievements were of a more martial nature. Up until Nikkolo’s ascension to the throne the house of Marr derived most of its vast wealth from trade and thus its direct family members were usually raised up as administrative merchants and other pursuits were generally left to their consorts. Exceptions were far and few between and virtually all cases were due to a family member possessing their lineage’s inherent psyker gene; these family members generally took a more scholarly role instead. Nikkolo could thus be seen as an extreme divergence to his house’s familial tendencies; this situation however may be offset by the fact that five scions were born into the dynasty in a single generation, this is unusually high in regards to the propensities of house Marr. In hindsight and with the current on-hand information it could be surmised that Lord Cassius Marr had accepted his son’s inclinations only to be rid of him both politically and personally due to the damage caused to their house’s reputation. The possession of a nascent psyker within a noble family is still considered taboo in many parts of the Imperium.

These martial achievements first came about as Nikkolo took a sub-command role within the Arcian Dragoons, the Marrian household military and served alongside the Dragoons’ commander, his cousin-by-marriage Vadan Tessius (consort to Junea Marr, second in line to the throne, note that consorts are not allowed to take the house name, indicating that complete trust is only given only to members of direct bloodline) in the wars to retake and consolidate the Arkas sub-sector (which is considered to be under the sovereignty of House Marr) and surrounding systems against heretic and xenos invasion in the aftermath of the Noctis Aeterna (these wars are locally referred to as The Sightless Scouring). His exploits as both warrior and commander during these wars earned him immense political power and influence from both house Marr’s vassals and trade partners in neighboring areas. He was then promoted by his father to the overall commander (taking the rank and title of Caesari) of the Aranian Dragoons. No direct descendent of the Marr line has taken up this title since the years of the Great Crusade.

Some time after the complete consolidation of the Arkas subsector House Marr mustered the entirety of the Dragoons and house navy under the command of the now Caesari Nikkolo Marr and answered the tithe-call of Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman, joining the Indomitus Crusade.

It should be noted that Nikkolo had been evaluated by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and confirmed to be a low-grade (assignment class Iota) telekine at the time. The Telepathica outpost had relayed successful completion of a 3-year training programme as a young adult and all subsequent evaluations until the point of his departure to the Indomitus crusade had confirmed to be successful with no evidence of taint or change in his assignment level. However as a scion of a powerful rogue trader dynasty (and house Marr’s specific Warrant of Trade) he could not be surveilled and controlled in the same fashion most sanctioned psykers are, and although the Telepathica’s evaluations cannot be considered as completely valid due to this in all likelihood their reports were correct at the time. Furthermore, during the sightless scouring Nikkolo had also been confirmed to have honed his psychic abilities to a degree where he could be considered a low-level combat psyker.

The first time Nikkolo was brought to the attention of the Ordos was due to an event on the planet of Kadnar IV (Kadnar System, Fadaar Marches, Karthegar Sector). The battle for Kadnar IV was the final action of note in the sub-sector and marked the conclusion of the reconquest of the entirety of the Fadaar Marches, which had previously fallen under the thrall of the black legion warlord Estonacus Bavax. Although House Marr was known more for its naval assets during their war-tithe for the crusade, the Aranian Dragoons had a presence on the battlefield as heavy infantry. Kadnar IV was the first time the Dragoons were deployed en masse in any theatre, with nearly half of their regiments (some fifty thousand men) actively participating in the last push to take the warlord Bavax’s citadel. It should be noted that although at the time the Dragoons composed a large part of the army’s supporting infantry, they were nonetheless joined by dozens of astra militarum regiments as well as two companies from the Sons of Stone chapter of adeptus astartes. Remarkably, Nikkolo himself led his Dragoons on the front-line. Although not unheard of, it is still rare for men of Nikkolo’s rank and station to put themselves in such danger.