Vulkan He'stan

Vulkan He'stan is the Forgefather of the Salamanders, holder of one of the most revered offices of that Chapter. Once the captain of the 4th Company, he was chosen by the Salamanders' Pantheon Council to take up a sacred and solitary burden, and in accordance with ancient custom he surrendered his own birth-name to bear that of the Chapter's lost primarch, Vulkan.

The duty of the Forgefather is a quest that may span a lifetime. Before his disappearance, the primarch Vulkan is said to have scattered nine potent relics across the galaxy, both to keep them from the grasp of Humanity's enemies and as a test set for his gene-sons, a promise that he would one day return when all nine were reunited. It falls to the Forgefather to hunt these Artefacts of Vulkan across the stars and restore them to the Chapter's keeping. Of the nine, five have so far been recovered, and He'stan carries three of them into every battle.

He bears the Spear of Vulkan, whose flames can burn through ceramite and which he casts like a thunderbolt at his foes; the Gauntlet of the Forge, an armoured fist that spews cleansing fire; and Kesare's Mantle, a cloak of drakescale that turns aside blows that would fell a lesser warrior. The two other recovered relics, the forge-ship Chalice of Fire and the mighty defence laser called the Eye of Vulkan, stand guard in orbit above Prometheus, the volcanic moon that hosts the Chapter's fortress.

More than a warrior, He'stan is the living embodiment of his Chapter's deepest hope, that one day the Lord of Drakes will return to his sons. Between campaigns he walks the galaxy alone as a pilgrim, following every rumour and fragment of lore that might lead to another of Vulkan's works, carrying with him the quiet, unbreakable faith that defines the Promethean Cult of the Salamanders.