Mystic

‘My inner eye has opened.… No, no, it is too much! Shut it, shut it!’

— Fyrthos the Forgotten

Beyond what many think of as reality, there is another realm. There the laws of realspace matter little, time and space blend together in unfathomable ways, and entities of overwhelming power and malice plot to throw the galaxy into ruinous fire and chaos. This is the Warp, and it is poorly understood by some, and an enigma to most. A handful of people — a tiny fraction of the population, but one that is nevertheless growing each year — have a connection to the warp. They are known by many names — Witch, Psyker, Sorcerer, and worse, but some prefer the ancient title of Mystic.

Such individuals have power and insight that even they may not fully understand. These gifts are of use to powerful patrons in the Askellon Sector. Some psykers are as lethal as any Plasma Gun, while others are soothsayers and augurs of uncanny accuracy — even if their pronouncements are riddled with ravings and snippets of the listeners' own uncomfortable secrets.

Mystics can be broadly divided into two categories — that whose existence is permitted by the Imperium, and those who are not. The former consists mainly of Sanctioned Psykers and Astropaths, valuable if dangerous resources without which the Imperium would struggle to exist. The latter category consists of those the Imperium does not approve of, which is to say any psyker not under their direct control. All are classified as Rogue Psykers, though there is much diversity. Some understand the nature of their abilities, while others are ignorant of their source or do not even realise they possess them at all.

Whether a Mystic is an unwitting bridge to the warp or a trained weapon of the Imperium, their abilities may unnerve, confuse, or even frighten others. Yet Mystics are invaluable when their allies must deal with the mysteries of the warp, the threat of Daemons or other psykers, or even more inexplicable phenomena. They can open previously hidden paths, overcome preternatural obstacles, and often succeed where all hope seems lost. They can also be a conduit for energies that only a fool would trifle with, and it is often up to their allies to know when to administer the Emperor’s Mercy to those on the precipice of just such an event.